The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism

From Princeton University Press, what looks to be a very useful resource:

bookjacket

The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism
Robert E. Buswell Jr. & Donald S. Lopez Jr.

Cloth | November 2013 | $65.00 / £44.95 | ISBN: 9780691157863
1304 pp. | 8 x 10 | 2 line illus. 1 table. 6 maps.

eBook | ISBN: 9781400848058 | Where to buy this ebook

Shopping Cart | Endorsements | Table of Contents
Preface pdf-icon

With more than 5,000 entries totaling over a million words, this is the most comprehensive and authoritative dictionary of Buddhism ever produced in English. It is also the first to cover terms from all of the canonical Buddhist languages and traditions: Sanskrit, Pāli, Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Unlike reference works that focus on a single Buddhist language or school, The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism bridges the major Buddhist traditions to provide encyclopedic coverage of the most important terms, concepts, texts, authors, deities, schools, monasteries, and geographical sites from across the history of Buddhism. The main entries offer both a brief definition and a substantial short essay on the broader meaning and significance of the term covered. Extensive cross-references allow readers to find related terms and concepts. An appendix of Buddhist lists (for example, the four noble truths and the thirty-two marks of the Buddha), a timeline, six maps, and two diagrams are also included.

Written and edited by two of today’s most eminent scholars of Buddhism, and more than a decade in the making, this landmark work is an essential reference for every student, scholar, or practitioner of Buddhism and for anyone else interested in Asian religion, history, or philosophy.

  • The most comprehensive dictionary of Buddhism ever produced in English
  • More than 5,000 entries totaling over a million words
  • The first dictionary to cover terms from all of the canonical Buddhist languages and traditions–Sanskrit, Pāli, Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean
  • Detailed entries on the most important terms, concepts, texts, authors, deities, schools, monasteries, and geographical sites in the history of Buddhism
  • Cross-references and appendixes allow readers to find related and equivalent terms in multiple Buddhist languages
  • Includes an appendix of Buddhist lists, a timeline, and maps
  • Also contains selected terms and names in Thai, Burmese, Vietnamese, Lao, Khmer, Sinhalese, Newar, and Mongolian

Robert E. Buswell Jr. holds the Irving and Jean Stone Endowed Chair in Humanities at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he is also Distinguished Professor of Buddhist Studies and founding director of the Center for Buddhist Studies. He is the editor-in-chief of the two-volume Encyclopedia of Buddhism and the author of The Zen Monastic Experience (Princeton), among many other books. Donald S. Lopez Jr. is the Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan. He is the author of The Tibetan Book of the Dead: A Biography and the editor of Buddhism in Practice (both Princeton), among many other books.

Endorsement:

“This is without a doubt the most comprehensive, authoritative, and useful dictionary of Buddhism that there is. In reading it, I learned more about my field, in a serendipitous way, than I have from any other single book.”–John S. Strong, Bates College

“This will become the new standard reference in the field. Every scholar and graduate student in Buddhist studies will want a copy, as will every college instructor assigned to teach an introduction to Buddhism course. I wish I had had a work like this when I first began teaching. This is a truly monumental contribution to the field.”–Lori Meeks, University of Southern California

Table of Contents:

Preface vii
Acknowledgments ix
Conventions xi
Transcription Systems xiii
Asian Historical Periods xv
Timeline of Buddhism xix

Maps
Cradle of Buddhism xxv
Ancient India xxvi

Ancient China xxvii
Japan and Korea xxviii
Tibet xxix
Routes of Chinese Pilgrims xxx
Mount Sumeru World System (overview) xxxi
Mount Sumeru World System (side view) xxxii

Entries A-Z 1-1063
List of Lists 1065

Cross-References by Language
Chinese Cross-References 1103
Japanese Cross-References 1135
Korean Cross-References 1177
Pali Cross-References 1219
Sanskrit Cross-References 1229
Tibetan Cross-References 1231
Tibetan Phonetic Cross-References 1259

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