Buddhism/Bibliography

Scholarly introductions
A review in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion considers the following worth mentioning.


 * Gethin, Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 1998
 * Habito, Experiencing Buddhism, Orbis Books, 2005
 * Keown, Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 1996
 * Klostermaier, Buddhism, Oneworld Pub, 1999
 * Lopez, Buddhism, Penguin/Story of Buddhism, Harper, San Francisco, 2001
 * Mitchell, Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2002, 2nd ed 2008
 * Olson, The Different Paths of Buddhism, Rutgers University Press, 2005
 * Prebish & Keown, Introducing Buddhism, ebook, Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 2005; printed ed, Routledge, 2006
 * Robinson et al, Buddhist Religions, 5th ed, Wadsworth, Belmont, California, 2004

The reviewer says they all have their own strengths and weaknesses, but prefers Robinson et al overall.

Buddhist writings
Most Buddhist writings represent particular forms of Buddhism and therefore belong in more specialized articles.
 * Lopez, Buddhist Scriptures, Penguin Classics, 2004; despite the title, this anthology makes no distinction between scriptures and other Buddhist literature.
 * Morgan, The Path of the Buddha, Ronald Press, New York, 1956; reprinted by Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, distributed by Wisdom Books; the editor travelled around the East asking leading Buddhists to recommend contributors, so the result is something like the "official" teachings of the major schools.