Zen Bibliography (2014)

A selective bibliography created for a Religious Studies course at Kenyon College by Professor Joseph Adler
Topics included:

General

China

Japan

Dogen

Monastic life

Arts

Korea

Vietnam

Women

America

Modern philosophy

Ethics

http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln360/Zen-bib.htm

Tibetan Texts and Sutras

This web page links to sources of Tibetan texts and sutras.

From the web page:
The Tibetan canon of essential Buddhist scripture consists of two parts:

The Kangyur ("Translation of the Buddha's Word")--the texts that are attributed to the Buddha. Esteemed and woshipped for centuries in Tibet, it is regarded as the single most authoritative repository of Buddhist thought by Tibetan speakers throughout Asia and beyond.

The Tengyur ("Translations of treatises")--traditional commentaries attributed to subsequent learned and realized masters of Buddhism.

http://www.dharmanet.org/lcsutrasTibetan.htm

Mahayana Texts and Sutras

"Mahayana sutras began to be compiled from the first century BCE. They form the basis of the various Mahayana schools, and survive predominantly in primary translations in Chinese and Tibetan of original texts in Sanskrit. From the Chinese and Tibetan texts, secondary translations were also made into Mongolian, Korean, Japanese and Sogdian.

Unlike the Pali Canon, there is no definitive Mahayana canon as such. Nevertheless the major printed or manuscript collections, published through the ages and preserved in Chinese and Tibetan, each contain parallel translations of the majority of known Mahayana sutra. The Chinese also wrote several indigenous sutras and included them into their Mahayana canon.

http://www.dharmanet.org/lcsutrasmahayana.htm

Theravadan Texts and Suttas

This page provides links to English translations of the Pali canon and the Dhammapada:

http://www.dharmanet.org/lcsutrastherv.htm

The Face of the Buddha: a book

"Taking up a teaching appointment in Tokyo in 1931, the English poet and literary critic William Empson found himself captivated by the Buddhist sculptures of ancient Japan, and spent the years that followed in search of similar examples all over Korea, China, Cambodia, Burma, India, and Ceylon, as well as in the great museums of the West. Compiling the results of these wide-ranging travels into what he considered to be one of his most important works, Empson was heartbroken when he mislaid the sole copy of the manuscript in the wake of the Second World War. The Face of the Buddha remained one of the great lost books until its surprise rediscovery sixty years later, and is published here for the first time. The book provides an engaging record of Empson's reactions to the cultures and artworks he encountered during his travels, and presents experimental theories about Buddhist art that many authorities of today have found to be remarkably prescient. It also casts important new light on Empson's other works, highlighting in particular the affinities of his thinking with that of the religious and philosophical traditions of Asia."

For table of contents and other details:

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-face-of-the-buddha-9780199659678?prevSortField=8&sortField=8&start=40&resultsPerPage=20&q=buddhism&facet_narrowbytype_facet=Academic%20Research&prevNumResPerPage=20&lang=en&cc=us#

Genius of the Ancient World: 1 - Buddha

A BBC production, this video is Part 1 of a series about figures in the ancient world, this video concentrates on the Buddha.

From the website: "Historian Bettany Hughes travels to India, Greece and China on the trail of three giants of ancient philosophy - Buddha, Socrates and Confucius"

Produced in 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77bzAGeVrq8

The Buddha - video

"This documentary for PBS by award-winning filmmaker David Grubin and narrated by Richard Gere, tells the story of the Buddha’s life, a journey especially relevant to our own bewildering times of violent change and spiritual confusion. It features the work of some of the world’s greatest artists and sculptors, who across two millennia, have depicted the Buddha’s life in art rich in beauty and complexity. Hear insights into the ancient narrative by contemporary Buddhists, including Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.S. Merwin and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Join the conversation and learn more about meditation, the history of Buddhism, and how to incorporate the Buddha’s teachings on compassion and mindfulness into daily life." [Description from PBS website]


Link to full documentary on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDgd8LT9AL4