Resources for Translators, Scholars & Practitioners

This list of online resources was last updated on 18 December 2024.

If you have questions, email gforgues@tsadra.org at any time.

Buddhist Texts: Searches & Repositories

Buddhist Texts (Tibetan)

• Buddhist Digital Resource Center: The largest archive of scanned PDFs of Tibetan texts. Useful to have an overview of an author's work or to prepare an extensive bibliography on a given topic.
• Buda: Buddhist Digital Resource Center's new online library.
• Resources for Kanjur & Tanjur Studies: The most complete online database of Tibetan canonical texts (Kangyur & Tengyur).
• Asian Classics Input Project
• The Buddhist Canons Research Database: Kangyur and Tengyur search with links to available recensions in ACIP, TBRC and others.
• Adarsha Online: Kangyur, Tengyur, and Sungbum repository of e-texts and scans.
• The Tibetan & Himalayan Library: Tibetan Canon Catalogs at UVa’s Tibetan & Himalayan Library.
• Asian Classics Input Project: ACIP Tibetan Digital Text for Kangyur and Tengyur.
• Munchener DigitalisierungsZentrum Digitale Bibliothek: Scans of Tibetan Texts in Munich.
• Dharma Downloads Karma Leksheyling
• Sakya Research Center- Tibetan texts
• Buddhanexus: Intertextuality in the Tibetan canonical literature.
• Tibetan Text Repository at Otani University
• Tibetan Texts (Kern Institute) - University of Leiden
• Nepalese-German Manuscript Cataloguing Project (Tibetan texts)
• Ngor's Textual Treasures

Buddhist Texts (Old Tibetan)

• Old Tibetan Documents Online: Old Tibetan texts (VIIth to XIIth centuries) including Dunhuang manuscripts, inscriptions and related materials.
• The International Dunhuang Project: The Silk Road Online: Manuscripts, paintings, textiles and artefacts from Dunhuang and archaeological sites of the Eastern Silk Road.

Buddhist Texts (Chinese)

• WWW Database of Chinese Buddhist texts
• SAT Daizōkyō Text Database
• CBETA digital Chinese canon
• Digital Comparative Edition of the Bieyi za ahan jing 別譯雜阿含經 (BZA) at Dharma Drum College
• A Digital Comparative Catalog of Āgama Literature

Buddhist Texts (Sanskrit)

• Digital Buddhist Sanskrit Canon: Repository of Buddhist Sanskrit digitized texts.
• GRETIL Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon
• KWIC Index to the Sanskrit Texts of Dharmakīrti
• Sarit - Search and Retrieval of Indic Texts
• Pandit: Database for Indic texts
• Thesaurus Indogermanischer Text- und Sprachmaterialien
• Nepalese-German Manuscript Cataloguing Project (Indic texts)
• DCS - Digital Corpus of Sanskrit

Buddhist Texts (Pali)

• Pali Tipitaka
• Access to Insight (Theravada Buddhism)
• Ancient Buddhist Texts

Buddhist Texts (Gāndhārī)

• Catalog of Gāndhārī Texts (Stefan Baums and Andrew Glass)

Buddhist Texts (Multilingual)

• Open Philology (University of Leiden): Digital environment for the study of Buddhist sūtra literature.
• Materials in Tibetan and Sanskrit - Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia (Vienna, Austria)
• Bibliotheca Polyglotta: A multilingual text alignment project of Buddhist literature.
• The Tibetan-Mongolian Rare Books and Manuscripts (TMRBM) project
• Buddhanet (Theravada and Mahayana eBooks)
• Digital Database of Buddhist Tripitaka Catalogue
• Publications of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology (IRIAB)

Dictionaries

Dictionaries (Tibetan)

• Rangjung Yeshe Dharma Dictionary and Lotsawa Workbench: Tibetan-English dictionary, dharma glossaries, and resources.
• Wörterbuch der tibetischen Schriftsprache: Tibetan-German Dictionary (Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities)
• Comprehensive list of Tibetan print dictionaries (Columbia University Library)
• Dictionaries& encyclopedias (Columbia University)
• Steinert Online Tibetan Dictionary and App: Allows search of most available dictionaries in a pleasing online format.
• GoldenDict: Online and offline Tibetan dictionaries combined.
• THL Tibetan to English Translation Tool
• Informative link about Tibetan dictionaries from THL
• Glossaries for Buddhist Studies
• THL Tibetan Historical Dictionary at the University of Virginia
• Index for Spices in Tibetan Script
• Tibetan Translation Tool
• Rangjung Yeshe, Tshig mdzod chen mo, and Monlam dictionaries at Nitartha
• Tibetan medical terms (Katherina Sabernig)
• Dzogchen Wiki (French)
• Lexicography in Motion: A History of the Tibetan Verb
• Sakya Research Center - Specialized glossaries
• Goldstein Tibetan to English Dictionary
• Goldstein English-Tibetan Dictionary

Dictionaries (Sanskrit)

• Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries
• Digital Dictionaries of South Asia – Sanskrit Dictionary
• Digital Dictionaries of South Asia
• Edgerton's Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary
• Oguibénine's Materials for the Lexicography of Buddhist Sanskrit
• Indo-Tibetan Lexical Resource (Hamburg University)

Dictionaries (Gāndhārī)

• Gāndhārī Dictionary

Dictionaries (Pali)

• Dictionaries of South Asia – Pali Dictionary

Dictionaries (Chinese)

• Digital Dictionary of Buddhism
• CJKV English Dictionary of Confucian, Daoist, and Intellectual Historical Terms
• SmartHanzi - Chinese Dictionaries
• Introduction to Chinese Buddhist Reference Books

Dictionaries (Multilingual)

• Searchable Glossaries (Tsadra DRL)

Dictionaries (Specialized glossaries)

• Clans and Families in the Blue Annals
• Personal Names Cited in the Blue Annals
• Rangjung Yeshe Glossary of Buddhist People, Places, and Things
• A General Dharma Glossary from Matthieu Ricard on Rangjung Yeshe Wiki
• Geographical Glossary from Matthieu Ricard on Rangjung Yeshe Wiki
• Glossaries of Sanskrit terms and their meaning in various Indian spiritual traditions (incl. Buddhism)
• Catalog of Glossaries (DRL)

Encyclopedias & Databases

Buddhism

• UVa Tibet Center
• Tibetan Studies WWW Virtual Library
• The Treasury of Lives: Biographies of Tibetan Masters.
• Masters of Buddhism: Biographies and lives of Buddhist Masters
• Rigpa Shedra: An online encyclopedia of Tibetan Buddhism.
• Classical Tibetan Knowledge: Archive and Study Resource from Central University of Tibetan Studies.
• Resources for Tibetan Calligraphy and Reading Mantras
• Sakya Research Center - Database of images, texts, people, deities, and places
• Database of inscriptions in Western Tibet, Ladakh, Zanskar. ahul, Spiti, and Kinnaur
• Database of early Tibetan scholastic materials
• Tibetan Buddhist Wall Paintings of Mustang
• Digital Museum of Buddhism in Taiwan

History, Society and Culture

• The World of Xuanzang and the Silk Road
• Susan Whitfield's blog on the Silk Road
• Digital Silk Road: Digital archives of cultural heritage.
• Burial Mounds of Central Tibet and TAR Toponym Search: The site search currently holds around 45,000 entries.
• Resources for Tibetan historical research (Columbia University)
• Tibetan Newspapers from Anna Sawerthal's Research: An Overview of Historical Tibetan-language Newspapers.
• Tibet Heritage Fund
• Mandala - Knowledge maps about Tibetan and Bhutanese sources, people, and places
• Photographic & archival images (Columbia University)
• Digital Himalaya (University of Cambridge)
• TibArmy: History of the Tibetan army under the Ganden Phodrang government (1642-1959)
• Tibetosophy - Tibetan Proper Name Index (Dan Martin)
• Prosopography of the Tibetan Empire according to Old Tibetan sources

Tibetan Astrology

• Tibetan calendar - An overview
• Tibetan Phugpa Calendar Calculator
• Tibetan to Gregorian Calendar Converter
• The Kālacakra Calendar
• Phugpa and Tsurphu calendars
• Tibetan calendar tables 1027-2046
• Tibetan calendar software
• Tibetan calendar software - Sherab Ling monastery

Maps of Tibet

• The Tibet Map Institute
• Maps & social data (Columbia University)

Tibetan Art

• Early Paintings from Central Tibet
• Himalayan Art Resources: Largest educational resource for Himalayan Art and Iconography.
• Tibetan art & material culture (Columbia university)
• Tibetan music & performing arts (Columbia University)

Theravada, Indian and Chinese Buddhism

• The origins of Buddhist Schools by Bhikkhu Sujato
• Theravadin Dhamma Wiki-Encyclopedia
• Maps of Ancient Buddhist India
• List of online resources for the study of Buddhism in China
• Jātaka Stories (University of Edinburgh): A free online searchable database of jātakas in Indian texts and art.

Tibetan Language Resources

• Esukhia: Tibetan Language Learning, Translation, and Research.
• Amdo Dialects: A list of Amdo dialect instructional books
• Learn Amdo pronunciation and basic spoken dialect: An excellent resource with sound bites and detailed comparison for Lhasa dialect speakers.
• Language resources (Columbia University)

Libraries

• Michael Kicey's Buddhism: A Guide to Research (University at Buffalo)
• Library catalogs (Columbia University)
• Tibetan Studies - Survey articles, journals, dissertations, blogs (C.V. Starr Library - Columbia University)
• South/Southeast Asia Library (UC Berkeley)
• The Tibetan Studies Collection of the C. V. Starr East Asian Library (Columbia University)
• Library of the Department of South Asian, Tibetan, and Buddhist Studies (University of Vienna)
• Library of the Department of South Asian and Tibetan (University of Hamburg)
• Andover-Harvard Theological Library
• Digital Buddhist Library and Museum at National Taiwan University Library
• Chinook (University of Colorado)
• Bibliotheca Philologica et Philosophica Buddhica
• Library of Tibetan Works and Archives
• NTU Digital Library of Buddhist Studies
• Buddhist Publication Society Online Library
• The Buddhist Society Library
• Buddhanet Buddhist eLibrary Project
• Clay Sanskrit Library (CSL)
• The Myanmar Manuscript Digital Library (MMDL)

Bibliographies and Catalogues

• Michael Kicey's Buddhism: A Guide to Research: Contains bibliographies focusing on Buddhist traditions as well as on various themes and issues related to Buddhism.
• General Bibliographies (Columbia University)
• H-Buddhism Bibliography Project: H-Buddhism’s truly massive bibliography project.
• Bibliographies on Buddhism in Western Languages: Professor Bingenheimer’s work.
• Karma dgon Tibetan Bibliography Database
• Tsadra Digital Research Library Bibliographies
  • Bibliographies from books in the DRL
  • Bibliographies from dissertations in the DRL
  • Primarily French bibliographies in the DRL
  • Primary Source Bibliographies in the DRL
• Kham Research Bibliography
• Bibliothèque Dhagpo Kagyu: Bibliography
• Buddhist Epistemology and Ontology: Bibliography
• Dan Martin's Tibskrit: Bibliography
• Dan Martin's Bon Bibliography
• Tibskrit: introductory essay and comprehensive bibliographical index on Indian and Tibetan Buddhist topics, emphasis on literary.
• Bibliography of Buddhist Studies Bibliographies in Western Languages
• Buddhist studies monographs published in German, Austrian and Swiss series

• Bibliography of Indian Philosophies
• A Descriptive Bibliography of The Sanskrit Buddhist Literature, Vol. III: Abhidharma, Madhyamaka, Yogācāra, Buddhist epistemology and logic
• Bibliography of Gāndhārī Studies
• Gāndhārī studies bilbiography (Stefan Baums and Andrew Glass)
• Epistemology and Argumentation in South Asia and Tibet
• Online Library of Digitized Sanskrit and Prakrit Manuscript Catalogues

• Bibliography of Translations from the Chinese Buddhist Canon into Western Languages
• Bibliographical sources (Buddhist Studies) - Yasuhiro Sueki
• The Digital Catalogue of Chinese Buddhism 中國佛教數字目錄
• Indian and Buddhist Studies Treatise Database

Dissertations

• University sites
  • Harvard HOLLIS
  • Emory ETD
  • SOAS Research Online
  • Oxford SOLO
  • Vienna E-Theses
  • Berkeley OskiCat
  • University of Virginia VIRGO
  • Columbia CLIO

• Regional searches
  • Library and Archives Canada
  • National Library of Australia TROVE
  • India Shodh Ganga
  • France http://www.theses.fr/

• Other sites
  • Dissertation Reviews (Tibetan and Himalayan Studies)
  • PQDT Open
  • Open Access Theses and Dissertations
  • British Library EThOS
  • WorldCat

Journals

• Databases of academic articles
  • Academia.edu
  • Google Scholar
  • Cinii articles
  • INBUDS Article Database
  • Jstor
  • Oxford journals
  • Bibliotheca Buddhica (1897-1937)
  • NTU Digital Library of Buddhist Studies - Journals
  • Selected publications by Ernst Steinkellner
  • Cikitsā - Dominik Wujastyk's blog
  • Jean-Luc Achard's Tibetan Studies Forum

• Journals for Tibetan Buddhist Studies
  • Études mongoles & sibériennes, centrasiatiques & tibétaines (EMSCAT)
  • Waxing Moon: Tibetan and Himalayan Studies (Columbia University)
  • Periodicals (Columbia University)
  • Journals of Himalayan Studies (University of Cambridge)
  • Tibet Journal
  • The Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies
  • Journals of Himalayan Studies
  • Bulletin of Tibetology
  • Shezoed - Rigzhung Research Journal: Bhutanese studies (Buddhism, literaure, history, anthropology, arts, language)
  • Kailash - Journal of Himalayan Studies
  • Journal of the Tibet Society
  • Journal of Newar Studies
  • Journal of the International Association for Bon Research
  • Journal of Bhutan Studies
  • European Bulletin of Himalayan Research
  • Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines

• Journals publishing articles on Buddhism
  • Journal of Buddhist Philosophy
  • The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies
  • Journals of Buddhist Studies (Indica et Buddhica)
  • The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies
  • Journal of Buddhist Ethics
  • Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies
  • ARIRIAB
  • The Buddhist Forum
  • Annual Report of The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University (ARIRIAB)
  • Buddhist Studies Review
  • Buddhist-Christian Studies
  • Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies
  • Contemporary Buddhism
  • Eastern Buddhist
  • Higashi ajia bukkyō kenkyū
  • Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies
  • International Journal for the Study of Humanistic Buddhism
  • Journal of Buddhist Ethics
  • Journal of Buddhist Philosophy
  • Journal of Chinese Buddhist Studies
  • Journal of Global Buddhism
  • Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies
  • Journal of Indological Studies
  • Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies
  • Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies
  • Journal of the Pali Text Society
  • Pacific World
  • The Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies
  • Bulletin of the International Institute for Buddhist Studies (Tokyo)
  • Journal of the Pali Text Society
  • Asian Philosophy
  • Comparative Philosophy
  • Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy
  • History of Religions
  • International Journal for Philosophy of Religion
  • Japanese Journal of Religious Studies
  • Japanese Religions
  • Journal of Chinese Philosophy
  • Journal of Continental and Comparative Philosophy
  • Journal of Indological Studies
  • Journal of Japanese Philosophy
  • Journal of Japanese Studies
  • Journal of Religion in Japan
  • Monumenta Nipponica
  • Religious Studies in Japan
  • Udaya: Journal of Khmer Studies
  • Journal of Chinese Buddhist Studies
  • Buddhism, Law, & Society
  • International Journal for Philosophy of Religion
  • Hualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies: E-journal
  • Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies
  • Sungkyun Journal of East Asian Studies (SJEAS)
  • Critical Review for Buddhist Studies (Geumgang University, Korea)
  • Journal of the International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies 国際仏教学大学院大学研究紀要 (Tokyo)
  • Korea Journal of Buddhist Studies (Bulgyohak Yŏngu 佛敎學硏究)
  • Journal of Korean Religions
  • Journal of Chinese Religions

Buddhist Translation projects

• From Tibetan
  • 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha: Translations of texts from the Tibetan Kangyur.
  • Lotsawa House: Free Translations with Digital Tibetan Texts.
  • Translating the Core Texts of the Longchen Nyingtik
  • Zang Thal: Karen Liljenberg's personal website
  • Tibshelf: Translations by Ryan Jacobson, Tenzin Choephel, Tom Greensmith

• From Chinese
  • BDK America
  • Buddhist Text Translation Society (BTTS)

• From Pali
  • Buddhist Publication Society - Translations
  • Early Buddhist texts and translations
  • Ancient Buddhist Texts
  • Dhammatalks (Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu)
  • Suttacentral
  • Tipitaka (Drei-Korb), der Pali Kanon des Theravāda-Buddhismus

Translation Group Websites

• Padmakara Translation Group
• Institute of Tibetan Classics
• Dharmachakra Translation Committee
• Drikung Kagyu Translation Group
• Nalanda Translation Committee
• Nitartha Translation Network
• American Institute of Buddhist Studies
• UMA Institute for Tibetan Studies
• The International Buddhist Academy’s Chödung Karmo Translation Group
• Light of Berotsana Translation Group
• Trikāya Translations
• Berzin Archives and Translations
• Padma Karpo Translation Committee
• Chödung Karmo Translation Group
• Garchen Stiftung
• Tibetan Classics Translators' Guild of New York
• Lhasey Lotsawa Translations
• Chökyi Gyatso Translation Committee
• Dharmashri Translation Group
• The Ka-Ter Translation Project
• Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee
• Marpa Translation Committee
• Yeshe De Text Preservation Project

Dharma Publishers

• Publishers
  • Shambhala Publications
  • Wisdom Publications
  • Parallax Press
  • Padmakara, France
  • The American Institute of Buddhist Studies
  • Rangjung Yeshe Publications: Oral teachings of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and his spiritual sons.
  • IITBS Gmbh
  • Institute of Tibetan Classics
  • Library of Tibetan Works & Archives
  • Light of Berotsana
  • Vajra Publications, Nepal
  • Tibetan e-Books
  • Dharma e-Books from Gyalwang Karmapa
  • Dharma e-Books from Tsadra Foundation and partners
  • Institut d'Études Bouddhiques
  • Bodhicharya Publications
  • Blazing Wisdom Institute
  • Rangdröl Publications
  • Padma Publishing
  • Dharma Publishing
  • Pariyatti
  • Dharma Drum Publications
  • Windhorse Publications
  • Éditions Yogi Ling

• E-texts publishers
  • Sera Jey Rigzod Chenmo
  • Dharma Downloads: Library of Free Digital Tibetan Texts.
  • Tibetan e Books
  • Nitartha Digital Library
  • A Sakya Digital Library: Khenchen Appey Rinpoche, Khenpo Ngawang Jorden, and the International Buddhist Academy in Kathmandu have created a great resource of Tibetan texts available for free.
  • Buddhist Publication Society
  • Lotsawa House
  • Buddhasasana - A Buddhist Page

Buddhist Organizations

• Institut d’Etudes Bouddhiques Centre francophone d'étude et d'enseignement sur le bouddhisme - Paris
• Study Buddhism - Alexander Berzin
• Institut Dhagpo (France)
• Barre Center for Buddhist Studies
• Institute of Buddhist Studies (Berkeley)
• Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies (CHIBS)
• Maitripa College (Portland)
• The Buddhist Society

Academic Publishers

• International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, Tokyo (=International Institute for Buddhist Studies)
• indica-et-buddhica
• WSTB, Vienna
• Academic articles - Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia (Vienna, Austria)
• Biblia Impex (Indian and Tibetan Studies Series): Free download.
• Books in open access - Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia (Vienna, Austria)
• Brill's Tibetan Studies Library
• Cambridge University Press
• Princeton University Press
• Routledge
• University of Hawai'i Press
• MIT Press
• Oneworld
• Oxford University Press
• The Murty Classical Library of India
• The Pali Text Society
• Nagarjuna Institute
• Digital Library of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

Academic Institutions

• Asia
  • Dharma Drum College
  • Buddhist Studies (Mahidol University)
  • Dongguk University
  • International Buddhist University (IBU) - Shitennoji University
  • International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies (Japan)
  • Center of Buddhist Studies (University of Hong Kong)
  • Nagarjuna Institute of Buddhist Studies (NIBS)

• Australia
  • Nan Tien Institute of Higher Education

• North America
  • University of the West
  • Naropa University
  • Dharma Realm Buddhist University
  • UCLA Center of Buddhist Studies
  • Buddhist Studies (Berkeley University)
  • The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Centre for Buddhist Studies (University of Toronto)
  • Committee on the Study of Religion (Harvard University)
  • The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Center for Buddhist Studies at Stanford University (HCBSS)

• Europe
  • The International Institute for Asian Studies at Leiden University
  • Center for Buddhist Studies at the University of Hamburg
  • The SOAS Centre of Buddhist Studies (CBS)
  • Dharma Gate Buddhist College (Hungary)
  • Oxford Center for Buddhist Studies
  • Buddhist Studies at Oxford University
  • The Centre for Buddhist Studies (University of Bristol)
  • Institute for South Asian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies (University of Vienna)

Magazines

• Tricycle
• Lion's Roar
• Buddhadharma

Booksellers

• Tibetan Bookstore: Get Tibetan Texts from Asia.
• Vimala
• Biblia Impex

Networks, Blogs, and Forums

• H-Buddhism
• Lotsawa Forum: A useful email listserv for translators.
• Official forum from IATS
• Dan Martin’s blog
• Sam van Schaik’s blog on Tibet's “early” period (7th-10th c.)
• Sam van Schaik’s blog on Old Tibetan manuscripts
• Dzogchen Wiki: Collection of encyclopedic entries on Dzogchen topics (in French).
• Publications from Dr. Achard: Jean-Luc Achard Blog.
• Philologia-Tibetica - Dorji Wangchuk's blog
• The Lost Yak - Geoffrey Barstow's blog

Computer Reference (Tibetan & Sanskrit)

• Digital Tibetan: An extensive online resource for Tibetan Dharma technology.
• THL’s Online Tibetan Transliteration Converter: Convert Wylie to Unicode Tibetan.
• THL’s Online Tibetan Phonetics Converter: Tibetan or Wylie to Phonetics Converter.
• Digital Tibetan Wiki - help with setting up your computer to work with Tibetan

• Fonts (Tibetan)
  • Online Phonetics Converter at THL
  • Extended Wylie conversion to Tibetan Script at THL
  • Tibetan Font Converters
  • Sambhota Fonts
  • THDL Unicode Fonts
  • THDL Diacritic fonts
  • The Tibetan and Himalayan Library: Information on Tibetan fonts
  • Qomolangma Tibetan Unicode Fonts
  • Nitartha International Sambhota Tibetan Fonts

• Fonts (Sanskrit)
  • University of Chicago's South Asian Language Resource Center -- font list