Research Guides: Buddhist Studies: Manuscripts, Libraries and Archives

Manuscripts and Inscriptions

The Nepalese-German Manuscript Cataloguing Project
The Nepalese-German Manuscript Cataloguing Project was launched in April 2002. Its main purpose is to prepare a comprehensive descriptive catalogue of the more than 180,000 Nepalese manuscripts microfilmed under the Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project.
International Dunhuang Project
A database of materials and manuscripts from Dunhuang
Dharma and Puṇya
Newar Buddhist and Hindu Art and Ritual Exhibhition at the Cantor Museum of the College of the Holy Cross, MA USA. Newar Buddhist manuscripts with miniature illustrations.
Buddhist manuscripts from Thailand
The Chester Beatty preserves an internationally important yet little known collection of Buddhist manuscripts from Thailand.
Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon (DSBC)
Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon: "The Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon (DSBC) is an ambitious project to preserve the original intellectual and spiritual heritage of Buddhism through digitization and organization of these texts into a complete and comprehensive Sanskrit Buddhist Canon that may be freely accessed online.
Manual of Astrology and Divination
Interactive book that shows selections of a Mongolian manuscript entitled "Manual of Astrology and Divination," written in Tibetan (ca. 1900). "The illustrations are astrological tables, divination plots, and coloured illustrations of the planetary god Rahu the Devourer, the garuda wheel (bya-byung-gi-’khor-lo), the wheel of 8 vases (chu-brtag-bum-brgyad-’khor-lo), the lotus wheel (padma’i-’khor-lo), the mda’-gzhu’i-’khor-lo, the lions’ wheel (sen-ge’i-’khor-lo), the tortoise wheel (rus-sbal-gyi-’khor-lo), the spren-pa’i-’khor-lo, the klu’i-’khor-lo, gyul-rma-brtag-pî-’khor-lo and the gdugs-kyi-’khor-lo. In the text reference is made to the course of the planets Jupiter (phur-bu), Saturnus (spen-pa), Mars (mig-dmar) and Rahu."
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More information on this manuscript: https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2014/11/13/mongolian-manuscript-comes-to-turning-the-pages/ Link to some more close-ups: https://ceb.nlm.nih.gov/proj/ttp/mongolian-gallery.html
Resources for Kanjur & Tanjur Studies
"Resources for Kanjur & Tanjur Studies (rKTs) is dedicated to making research on Tibetan Buddhist canonical collections openly accessible. The website provides comprehensive tools for studying canonical literature in more than 50 Kanjurs and manuscript collections, such as online catalogues, searchable e-texts, and an extensive archive of images of Tibetan manuscripts as well as secondary sources." (University of Vienna)
Rare 2,000-Year-Old Text of Early Buddhism Now Online
The Library of Congress has restored and made available online the Gandhara Scroll, a manuscript dating back to around the first century B.C., that offers insight into early Buddhist history. The scroll is one of the world’s oldest Buddhist manuscripts.
SEAlang Projects
Major Southeast Asian inscription database for "Hindu" and Buddhist epigraphy.
Kammavaca: Burmese Buddhist ordination manuscripts
British Library blogpost on Burmese Buddhist Kammavaca ordination manuscripts.
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This blog post may be useful for introductions regarding kammavaca and monastic ordination rituals in Theravada Buddhism. Also maybe useful for courses involving material Buddhism. Has some nice pictures of ornate kammavaca from Burma on palm leaves and other materials.
Southeast Asian digitized manuscripts
At present, digitised pages of manuscripts from a variety of Southeast Asian cultures have been made available online. The public can read these digital manuscripts on the Open Access website https://dreamsea.co after clicking on REPOSITORY menu. The digitised manuscripts and the Open Access website have been made available by the program Digital Repository of Endangered and Affected Manuscripts in Southeast Asia (DREAMSEA).
Digitized Burmese manuscripts at the British Library
Burmese manuscripts; Burmese manuscripts, Jatakas, Kammavaca, Buddhist cosmology, Buddhist art, Burmese culture
Endangered Archives Programme
British Library “Endangered Archives Programme” Nepal collection: includes digitized manuscripts, photographs, pamphlets, etc.

Translated texts

Translating the Words of Buddha
A global non-profit initiative to translate the Buddha’s words from the Tibetan Buddhist Canon into modern languages, and to make them available to everyone
Kimattha Sutta: What is the Purpose?
Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Ven. Ananda went to the Blessed One and on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to the Blessed One: 'What is the purpose of skillful virtues? What is their reward?' (...)
Access to Insight · Readings in Theravāda Buddhism
Very generic introduction to Theravada Buddhism, good for teaching first-year courses about the term, its origins, and its diverse practices.
BDK Daizokyo Text Database
Free downloads of translated Sino-Japanese canonical primary sources, with translations and publication sponsored by BDK. Includes the BDK English Tripiṭaka Translation Series and other specialized topics.

Libraries and Archives

The Tibetan & Himalayan Library
The Tibetan and Himalayan Library (THL) is a publisher of websites, information services, and networking facilities relating to the Tibetan plateau and southern Himalayan regions.
International Dunhuang Project
A database of materials and manuscripts from Dunhuang
Dharma Ebooks
Dharma Ebooks is a site featuring ebook editions primarily of the Buddhist canon in Tibetan, Buddhist philosophical texts from the Tibetan traditions, and practice texts.
Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon (DSBC)
Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon: "The Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon (DSBC) is an ambitious project to preserve the original intellectual and spiritual heritage of Buddhism through digitization and organization of these texts into a complete and comprehensive Sanskrit Buddhist Canon that may be freely accessed online.
GRETIL - Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages and related Indological materials from Central and Southeast Asia
The Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL) and related Indological materials from Central and Southeast Asia is a resource platform providing standardized machine-readable texts in Indian languages that have been contributed by various individuals and institutions.
SEAlang Projects
Major Southeast Asian inscription database for "Hindu" and Buddhist epigraphy.
Access to Insight · Readings in Theravāda Buddhism
Very generic introduction to Theravada Buddhism, good for teaching first-year courses about the term, its origins, and its diverse practices.
Study Guides · Access to Insight
Anthologies of readings compiled and explained by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu that focus on a particular topic or theme, and are designed as aids for individual or group study. The texts are drawn from the Pali canon, teachings of the great Thai forest ajaans, and other sources.
Resources for Kanjur & Tanjur Studies
"Resources for Kanjur & Tanjur Studies (rKTs) is dedicated to making research on Tibetan Buddhist canonical collections openly accessible. The website provides comprehensive tools for studying canonical literature in more than 50 Kanjurs and manuscript collections, such as online catalogues, searchable e-texts, and an extensive archive of images of Tibetan manuscripts as well as secondary sources." (University of Vienna)
BDK Daizokyo Text Database
Free downloads of translated Sino-Japanese canonical primary sources, with translations and publication sponsored by BDK. Includes the BDK English Tripiṭaka Translation Series and other specialized topics.
Digital Himalaya Rare Books Online collection
A collection of online books (scanned pdf's). Collection includes Journals, Dictionaries, manuscripts, government documents, maps etc.
Tibetan Literary Encyclopedia (THL) - The Tibetan & Himalayan Library
The encyclopedias consist of a set of multimedia reference sources on Tibet and the Himalayas on diverse topics such as art, environment, culture, history, and literature.
The Collected Tantras of the Ancients - The Tibetan & Himalayan Library
The Collected Tantras of the Ancients (rnying ma rgyud ’bum) is a canon of esoteric scriptures revered by the Nyingma (rnying ma) or “Ancient” school of Tibetan Buddhism.
ASEAN Cultural Heritage Digital Archive
The ASEAN Cultural Heritage Digital Archive (ACHDA) celebrates the rich and diverse cultural heritage of ASEAN, and showcases a veritable treasure trove of exemplary artefacts and history.
Inya Institute Digital Archive
The Inya Institute's digital archive features objects, manuscripts, books, paintings, and photographs identified and preserved during research projects undertaken by the institute throughout Myanmar and its diverse states and regions.
Digital Pāli Reader
Pandemic Religion: A digital archive of religion in America
Religion during the pandemic; Buddhism in America
Timeless Treasuries
Timeless Treasuries is a free public repository of Tibetan Buddhist literature hosted by the Tsadra Foundation. It provides ebooks by prominent monastery-based publishers of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions.
Oxford Center for Buddhist Studies Resource Page
Dharma Documentaries
An archive of Dharma documentaries set up by an English Theravadin monk who ordained in Sri Lanka, Anandajoti. Includes documentaries under the categories Dharma, Culture, and Ecology. Each category includes a list of films, which lead out to their own pages giving an overview of the film and an embedded video. There's a big variety in terms of geography, format, and lineage. It's also possible to browse via the "Archives" link, which shows recent updates in chronological order. In terms of copyright, most of the films seem to be embedded YouTube links, and the author of the site has a note in the sidebar that if anyone has a copyright objection they should contact him and the film would be taken down.
Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies resource repository
Digital Himalaya Rare Books Online collection
A collection of online books (scanned pdf's). Collection includes Journals, Dictionaries, manuscripts, government documents, maps etc.
Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC)
Buddhist Digital Resource Center (formerly Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center) is dedicated to preserving and sharing Buddhist texts through the union of technology and scholarship.

Catalogs

Inventory of inscriptions from medieval Cambodia (Angkor) in both Sanskrit and Pali
Many of these inscriptions are Saiva or Vaisnava, but plenty are Theravada or Mahayana Buddhism
The Collected Tantras of the Ancients - The Tibetan & Himalayan Library
The Collected Tantras of the Ancients (rnying ma rgyud ’bum) is a canon of esoteric scriptures revered by the Nyingma (rnying ma) or “Ancient” school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Up to date reporting the theft and destruction of sacred art from around the world
The link here is only for items from Nepal, but the site can filter by region and country (e.g. includes Bhutan and Tibet).
A few general free online resources - museums, theatre, libraries, art

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