REL 340: Buddhism and Social Change   Tags: class pages, religion  

Dictionaries, Encyclopedias & Atlases

General information is a good place to start your research because it can help you to narrow a too broad topic or broaden a too narrow one. Reading an encyclopedia article can give you insight into an area within the broader topic that will be suitable for your research and give you enough knowledge about that topic to begin researching it intelligently. Articles in these pieces are usually written by experts in the field and will include bibliographic references which will lead you to other books and journal articles on the same topic. Keep in mind, however, that this is not where most of the research for your paper should come from!

• Critical Terms for the Study of Buddhism BQ4040 .C75 2005 (Also, electronic access)
• Adams, Charles J.  Readers Guide to the Great Religions  BL 80.2 .A35 1977
• Bowker, John, ed.  The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions  BL 31 .H37 1995
• Buswell, Robert E. Jr.  Encyclopedia of Buddhism  BQ128 .E62 2004
• Doniger, Wendy, ed.  Encyclopedia of World Religions  BL 31 .M47 1999
• Eliade, Mircea.  Encyclopedia of Religion  BL 31 .E46 1986
  (in stacks: 6th floor)
• Embree, Ainslie.  Encyclopaedia of Asian History  DS 31 .E53 1987
• Jones, Lindsay, ed.  Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd ed.  BL31 .E46 2005
• Keown, Damien  A Dictionary of Buddhism BQ 130 .K46 2003
• Malalasekera, G.P.  Encyclopaedia of Buddhism  [1961-]  BL 1403 E5
• Mills, M. A., Claus, P. J. and Diamond, S., eds.  South Asian Folklore:An Encyclopedia  GR302 .S68 2003
• Prebish, Charles S.  Historical Dictionary of Buddhism  BQ 130 .P74 1993
• Powers, John  A Concise Encyclopedia of Buddhism  BQ 128 .P69 2000
• Joseph Schwartzberg, ed.  A Historical Atlas of South Asia

Once you have a well defined topic and a good basic sense of what your topic is "about" a bibliography will lead you to more books, and in some cases journal articles, on your topic. Most of the items below are shelved in Reference; some may be found in the circulating collection.

• Patterson, Maureen  South Asian Civilizations  DS 339 .P37 1981
• Bibliographic Guide to the Comparative Study of Ethics  BJ 1.5 .B48 1991
• Bibliography of Asian Studies DS501 .F274
• Thompson, Laurence G.  Chinese Religion in Western Languages  BL 1802 .T556 1993
• Bibliography of the History of Art
• Bibliography of South and Southeast Asian Art and Archeology  N7300 .A128   (7 vols.)
• Reynolds, Frank E.  Guide to Buddhist Religion  BQ 4012 .R48
• Yu, David C.  Guide to Chinese Religion  BL 1802 .Y8 1985

Review essays are good sources for both an overview of some of the important questions within the field and a survey of recent scholarship. Examples of such essays are:

• Eckel, Malcolm David "The Ghost at the Table: On the study of Buddhism and the Study of Religion," in Journal of the American Academy of Religion 62 (1994), 1085-1110.   BV1460 .N23
• Griffiths, Paul J. "Recent Work on Classical Indian Buddhism," in Critical Review of Books on Religion 1993, 41-76.   BL 1 .C75
• Hallisey, Charles. "Recent Work on Buddhist Ethics," in Religious Studies Review 18:4 (October 1992), 276-285.   BL1 .R44

• Global Resources for Buddhist Studies (from the Jnl. of Buddhist Ethics)
• Asia Digital Library
• South and Southeast Asian Art and Archaeology Index
• The Virtual Library South Asia
• Digital South Asia Library
• The Archives & Special Collections section {School of Oriental and African Studies Library}
• Danny Fisher's Buddhist Links (broken down by subject)

BQ1-9800    Buddhism:

BQ1-10        Periodicals.  Yearbooks (General)
BQ12-93        Societies, councils, associations, clubs, etc.
BQ96-99        Financial institutions.  Trusts
BQ100-102    Congresses.  Conferences (General)
BQ104-105    Directories (General)
BQ107-109    Museums.  Exhibitions
BQ115-126    General collections.  Collected works
BQ128        Encyclopedias (General)
BQ130        Dictionaries (General)
BQ133        Terminology
BQ135        Questions and answers.  Maxims (General)
BQ141-209        Religious education (General)
BQ210-219        Research
BQ221-249        Antiquities.  Archaeology
BQ240-244        Literary discoveries
BQ246-249        Inscriptions, etc.
BQ251-799        History
BQ800-829        Persecutions
BQ840-999        Biography
BQ840-858            Collective
BQ860-999            Individual
BQ860-939                Gautama Buddha
BQ940-999                Other
BQ1001-1045        Buddhist literature
BQ1100-3340        Tripiaka (Canonical literature)
BQ4000-4060        General works
BQ4061-4570        Doctrinal and systematic Buddhism
BQ4180-4565            Special doctrines
BQ4570            Special topics and relations to special subjects
BQ4600-4610        Relation to other religious and philosophical systems
BQ4620-4905        Buddhist pantheon
BQ4911-5720        Practice of Buddhism.  Forms of worship
BQ4965-5030            Ceremonies and rites.  Ceremonial rules
BQ5035-5065            Hymns.  Chants.  Recitations
BQ5070-5075            Altar, liturgical objects, ornaments, memorials, etc.
BQ5080-5085            Vestments, altar cloths, etc.
BQ5090-5095            Liturgical functions
BQ5100-5125            Symbols and symbolism
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BQ5251-5305                Education and training
BQ5310-5350                Preaching
BQ5360-5680            Religious life
BQ5485-5530                Precepts for laymen
BQ5535-5594                Devotional literature.  Meditations.  Prayers
BQ5595-5633                Devotion.  Meditation.  Prayer
BQ5635-5675                Spiritual life.  Mysticism.  Englightenment.  Perfection
BQ5700-5720            Festivals.  Days and seasons
BQ5725-5845            Folklore
BQ5821-5845            Miracle literature
BQ5851-5899            Benevolent work.  Social work.  Welfare work, etc.
BQ5901-5975            Missionary work
BQ6001-6160            Monasticism and monastic life  Sagha (Order)
BQ6200-6240            Asceticism.  Hermits.  Wayfaring life
BQ6300-6388            Monasteries.  Temples.  Shrines.  Sites
BQ6400-6495            Pilgrims and pilgrimages
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BQ7100-7285                Theravāda (Hinayana) Buddhism
BQ7300-7529                Mahayana Buddhism
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BQ8500-8769                    Pure Land Buddhism
BQ8900-9099                    Tantric Buddhism
BQ9250-9519                    Zen Buddhism