This dictionary is the most authoritative and comprehensive dictionary of Buddhism in the English language. It contains well over 5,000 entries and is the first dictionary to cover all the Buddhist traditions and languages, including Korean, Japanese, Tibetan, Chinese, Pali and Sanskrit, as well as some terms and proper names in Vietnamese, Sinhalese, Lao, Thai, Mongolian, Khmer, Newar and vernacular Burmese. The same two major authors of this dictionary worked together to produce the two-volume Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Buswell, 2004), (RR 2004/300), and thus, were well-equipped to compile this dictionary on the same topic.
There have been a number of scholarly dictionaries on Buddhism in the twentieth century, namely, a ten-volume work by Japanese scholar Mochizuki Shinko published between 1932 and 1964, and the Dictionary of Pali Proper Names (Malalasekera, 1937) and A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms (Soothill and Hodous, 1937). These works were based on a single Buddhist tradition or source language and are over 75 years old, which is why this dictionary is both timely and comprehensive in its coverage. The entries fall into three broad categories: the terminology of Buddhist practice and doctrine, the texts in which those teachings are framed and the persons (both divine and human) who appear in those texts or who wrote them. Important places and major sects/schools of the many Buddhist traditions are included as well.
Most of the main entries are in their original languages as a short essay between 200 and 600 words, discussing the significance of the term and extended meaning. Cross-references are indicated throughout. There are one-page instructions regarding conventions and transcription systems before the entries. The various Asian historical periods (Indian, Chinese, Korean and Japanese) are listed at the front of the dictionary, along with a Timeline of Buddhism, from 600 BCE to the twentieth century. There are also eight maps (Cradle of Buddhism, Ancient India, Ancient China, Japan and Korea, Tibet, Routes of Chinese pilgrims, Mount Sumeru World System [overview] and Mount Sumeru World System [side view]). At the end of the volume, there are a number of scholarly reference tools. One is a List of Lists, an important consideration into the Buddhist traditions, listing just about everything from ones (one vehicle) to the hundreds (100 dharmas of the Yogacara school). As a side note, the authors mention tongue-in-cheek that they decided not to add the 84,000 afflictions and their 84,000 antidotes. The second tool is a number of cross-references by language, of which there are seven (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Pali, Sanskrit, Tibetan and Tibetan phonetic).
An examination of the A-Z entries reveals a level of detail and preciseness that truly places this work as a must-have reference title. There are numerous entries, for instance, related to the many incarnations within Buddhism. The Dalai Lama and the Karma pa are just two of the many essays that document the lineages of Buddhist incarnations. The historical periods, timeline, maps, List of Lists and language cross-references are, in themselves, noteworthy and essential resources for the study of Buddhism, let alone the dictionary itself.
This is a one-of-a-kind reference book that will not be replicated in this generation’s lifetime.
