List of writers on Buddhism

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Buddha's statue near Belum Caves Andhra Pradesh India

This is a list of writers on Buddhism. The list is intended to include only those writers who have written books about Buddhism, and about whom there is already a Wikipedia article. Each entry needs to indicate the writer's most well-known work. Multiple works should be listed only if each work already has a Wikipedia article.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

## Early Buddhism

[edit]

Main article: Pre-sectarian Buddhism

Early Buddhism is the oldest Buddhism, before the split into several sects. The only surviving school is Theravada. Early Buddhism is still being studied by scholars.

* Y. Karunadasa
* Hajime Nakamura
* C. A. F. Rhys Davids
* T. W. Rhys Davids
* A. K. Warder

## Theravada Buddhism

[edit]

Wat Chaiwatthanaram temple in the old city of Ayutthaya in Thailand.

Main article: Theravada

### Other Theravada writers

[edit]

See also: Vipassana movement

* Rajguru Aggavamsa Mahathera
* Ajahn Amaro
* Ampitiye Rahula Maha Thero
* Bhikkhu Analayo
* Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan
* Ananda Metteyya
* Ashin Ananda
* Aniruddha Mahathera
* Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero
* B. R. Ambedkar
* Sayagyi U Ba Khin
* Samanera Bodhesako
* Bhikkhu Bodhi
* Ajahn Brahmavamso
* Buddhādasa Bhikkhu
* Buddhaghosa Mahasthavir
* Acharya Buddharakkhita
* Ajahn Candasiri
* Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda
* Dhammalok Mahasthavir
* Ashin Dhammasāmi
* Dharmaditya Dharmacharya
* Anagarika Dharmapala
* Ernest Reinhold Rost
* Frank Lee Woodward
* Preah Maha Ghosananda
* S. N. Goenka
* Gregory Paul Kramer
* Hammalawa Saddhatissa
* Henepola Gunaratana
* Henry Steel Olcott
* Jack Kornfield
* Ajahn Jayasāro
* Joanna Rogers Macy
* Joseph Goldstein
* Jyotipal Mahathero
* Katukurunde Nyanananda Thera
* Ayya Khema
* Kotugoda Dhammawasa Mahanayaka Thero
* Kumar Kashyap Mahasthavir
* Larry Rosenberg
* Ledi Sayadaw
* Ajahn Lee
* Madihe Pannaseeha Thero
* Mahasi Sayadaw
* S. Mahinda
* Matara Sri Nanarama Mahathera
* Matthew Flickstein
* Nanamoli Bhikkhu
* Nanavira Thera
* Narada Maha Thera
* Nauyane Ariyadhamma Mahathera
* Nyanadassana Mahathera
* Nyanaponika Thera
* Nyanatiloka Mahathera
* Pa-Auk Sayadaw
* Phra Paisal Visalo
* Palane Vajiragnana Thero
* Sayadaw U Pandita
* U Pannya Jota Mahathera
* Ajahn Pasanno
* Paul Dahlke
* Pragyananda Mahasthavir
* Prayudh Payutto
* Piyadassi Maha Thera
* Rahul Sankrityayan
* Rerukane Chandawimala Thero
* Sayadaw U Rewata Dhamma
* Shaila Catherine
* Sharon Salzberg
* Sīlācāra
* U Sīlānanda
* Achan Sobin S. Namto
* Soma Thera
* Stephen T. Asma
* Sudarshan Mahasthavir
* Sylvia Boorstein
* Ajahn Sucitto
* Ajahn Sumedho
* Bhante Sujato
* Sujiva
* Ajahn Sundara
* Thanissaro Bhikkhu
* Sayadaw U Thittila
* Sister Vajirā
* Bhante Vimalaramsi
* Ajahn Viradhammo
* Walpola Rahula
* Webu Sayadaw
* Weligama Sri Sumangala
* R. G. de S. Wettimuny
* Yagirala Pannananda

### Politics

[edit]

* B. R. Ambedkar, religious Leader, jurist, political leader, Buddhist activist, philosopher, thinker, anthropologist, historian, orator, writer, economist, scholar, editor, revolutionary and the revivalist of Buddhism in India. He was also the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. [1]
* Aung San Suu Kyi, political activist

### Scholars

[edit]

* Ashin Nandamalabhivamsa
* Benimadhab Barua
* Charles Hallisey
* David Kalupahana
* K.L. Dhammajoti
* K.N. Jayatilleke
* Karl Eugen Neumann
* Isaline Blew Horner
* L. S. Cousins
* Mingun Sayadaw
* P.D. Premasiri
* Polwatte Buddhadatta Thera
* Rajguru Aggavamsa Mahathera
* Rerukane Chandawimala Thero
* Richard Gombrich
* Robert Chalmers, 1st Baron Chalmers
* Rupert Gethin
* List of Sāsana Azani recipients, Buddhist monks who have successfully passed the Tipiṭakadhara (oral) and Tipiṭakakovida (written) examinations in Myanmar and only fifteen monks have been recognized as "Sāsana Azani".

## Mahayana Buddhism

[edit]

Main article: Mahayana

Although Mahayana Buddhism is virtually extinct in India, its philosophical systems, namely the Madhyamaka and Yogacara are still being studied.

### Chán/Zen

[edit]

Bodhidharma and Huike

Main article: Zen

#### Teachers

[edit]

* Reb Anderson
* Taisen Deshimaru
* Norman Fischer
* Gil Fronsdal
* Steve Hagen
* Hsuan Hua
* Nan Huai-Chin
* Philip Kapleau
* Dainin Katagiri
* Long Gen
* Taizan Maezumi
* Thich Nhat Hanh
* Kitaro Nishida
* Shohaku Okumura
* Paul Reps
* Seung Sahn
* Seongcheol
* Sheng-yen
* Brad Warner
* Alan Watts
* Hsing Yun
* Han Yong-un
* Hakuun Yasutani
* Peter Levitt
* Gyomay Kubose
* Marvin Harada
* Kenryu Takashi Tsuji

#### Scholars

[edit]

* Alfred Bloom
* Edward Conze
* Nishitani Keiji, Japanese philosopher
* Nishida Kitaro, Japanese philosopher
* Kogen Mizuno, Japanese scholar
* Red Pine
* Theodore Stcherbatsky, Russian, wrote Buddhist Logic
* D.T. Suzuki, Japanese scholar
* Stephen F. Teiser

#### Other

[edit]

* Alan Watts, American philosopher and lecturer

### Humanistic Buddhism (China)

[edit]

Main article: Humanistic Buddhism

* Taixu
* Yin Shun

### Nichiren Buddhism (Japan)

[edit]

Main article: Nichiren Buddhism

* Tanaka Chigaku
* Daisaku Ikeda
* Nikkyo Niwano

## Vajrayana Buddhism

[edit]

Main articles: Tantra and Vajrayana

Vajrayana originated as Tantra in India.

### Tibetan Buddhism

[edit]

Tibetan Buddhist monks at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim

Vajrayana was introduced in Tibet, preferring Indian Buddhism over Chinese Buddhism, where it still survives.[2]

#### Religious writers

[edit]

* Pema Chödrön
* Dalai Lama
* Anagarika Govinda
* Kelsang Gyatso
* Khyentse Norbu
* Namkhai Norbu
* Thinley Norbu
* Ole Nydahl
* Matthieu Ricard
* Sangharakshita
* Sogyal Rinpoche
* Surya Das
* Thrangu Rinpoche
* Chögyam Trungpa

#### Scholars

[edit]

* Alexander Berzin
* Lokesh Chandra
* Alexandra David-Néel
* Walter Evans-Wentz
* Christmas Humphreys
* Robert Thurman
* Donald S. Lopez Jr.

## Navayana Buddhism

[edit]

Main articles: Navayana and Dalit Buddhist movement

* B. R. Ambedkar
* Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi
* Iyothee Thass
* Shanti Swaroop Baudh

## Western Buddhism

[edit]

Main article: Western Buddhism

* Gil Fronsdal
* Stephen Batchelor
* David Brazier
* Mark Epstein
* Vidyamala Burch

## Writers of fiction and literature

[edit]

* Matsuo Bashō, Japanese poet and journalist
* Jack Kerouac, US poet and novelist
* Tom Lowenstein, English poet, cultural historian and translator
* Peter Matthiessen, US novelist
* Ruth Ozeki, US novelist
* Jess Row, short story writer
* Gary Snyder, US poet
* Allen Ginsberg, US poet

## Writing instructors

[edit]

* Natalie Goldberg

## See also

[edit]

* Access to Insight
* Buddhist Cultural Centre
* Buddhist Publication Society
* Dhamma Society Fund
* Dharma Seed
* Pali Text Society
* Pariyatti (bookstore)
* List of Buddhists
* List of modern scholars in Buddhist studies

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in" (PDF).
2. ^ "Ethics in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism".

* v
* t
* e

Topics in Buddhism

* Outline
* Glossary
* Index

Foundations|

* Four Noble Truths
* Three Jewels
* Buddha
* Dharma
* Sangha
* Noble Eightfold Path
* Nirvana
* Middle Way

The Buddha|

* Tathāgata
* Birthday
* Four sights
* Eight Great Events
* Great Renunciation
* Physical characteristics
* Life of Buddha in art
* Footprint
* Relics
* Iconography in Laos and Thailand
* Films
* Miracles
* Family
* Suddhodāna (father)
* Māyā (mother)
* Mahapajapati Gotamī (aunt, adoptive mother)
* Yaśodharā (wife)
* Rāhula (son)
* Ānanda (cousin)
* Devadatta (cousin)
* Bodhi tree
* Places where the Buddha stayed
* Buddha in world religions

Bodhisattvas|

* Avalokiteśvara
* Guanyin
* Mañjuśrī
* Mahāsthāmaprāpta
* Ākāśagarbha
* Kṣitigarbha
* Samantabhadra
* Vajrapāṇi
* Skanda
* Tārā
* Metteyya/Maitreya

Disciples|

* Kaundinya
* Assaji
* Sāriputta
* Mahamoggallāna
* Ānanda
* Mahākassapa
* Aṅgulimāla
* Anuruddha
* Mahākaccana
* Nanda
* Subhūti
* Puṇṇa Mantānīputta
* Upāli
* Mahapajapati Gotamī
* Khema
* Uppalavanna
* Asita
* Channa
* Yasa

Key concepts|

* Avidyā (Ignorance)
* Bardo
* Bodhicitta
* Buddha-nature
* Dhamma theory
* Dharma
* Enlightenment
* Five hindrances
* Indriya
* Karma
* Kleshas
* Mental factors
* Mindstream
* Parinirvana
* Pratītyasamutpāda
* Rebirth
* Saṃsāra
* Saṅkhāra
* Skandha
* Śūnyatā
* Taṇhā (Craving)
* Tathātā
* Ten Fetters
* Three marks of existence
* Anicca
* Dukkha
* Anattā
* Two truths doctrine

Cosmology|

* Ten spiritual realms
* Six Paths
* Deva realm
* Human realm
* Asura realm
* Hungry Ghost realm
* Animal realm
* Naraka
* Three planes of existence

Branches|

* Mahayana
* Zen
* Chinese Chan
* Japanese Zen
* Korean Seon
* Vietnamese Thiền
* Pure Land
* Tiantai
* Huayan
* Risshū
* Nichiren
* Madhyamaka
* Yogachara
* Vajrayana
* Tibetan Buddhism
* Chinese Esoteric Buddhism
* Shingon
* Dzogchen
* Theravada
* Southern Esoteric Buddhism
* Navayana
* Early Buddhist schools
* Pre-sectarian Buddhism
* Basic points unifying Theravāda and Mahāyāna
* Southern, Eastern and Northern Buddhism

Practices|

* Bhavana
* Bodhipakkhiyādhammā
* Brahmavihara
* Mettā
* Karuṇā
* Mudita
* Upekkha
* Buddhābhiṣeka
* Dāna
* Devotion
* Deity yoga
* Dhyāna
* Faith
* Five Strengths
* Iddhipada
* Meditation
* Mantras
* Kammaṭṭhāna
* Recollection
* Smarana
* Anapanasati
* Samatha-vipassanā (Vipassana movement)
* Shikantaza
* Zazen
* Tukdam
* Koan
* Ganana
* Mandala
* Tonglen
* Tantra
* Tertön
* Terma
* Merit
* Mindfulness
* Mindful Yoga
* Satipatthana
* Nekkhamma
* Nianfo
* Pāramitā
* Paritta
* Puja
* Offerings
* Prostration
* Music
* Refuge
* Sādhu
* Satya
* Sacca
* Seven Factors of Enlightenment
* Sati
* Dhamma vicaya
* Pīti
* Passaddhi
* Śīla
* Five precepts
* Eight precepts
* Bodhisattva vow
* Pratimokṣa
* Threefold Training
* Śīla
* Samadhi
* Prajñā
* Vīrya
* Four Right Exertions
* Twenty-two vows of Ambedkar
* Yujia Yankou
* Shuilu Fahui

Nirvana|

* Bodhi
* Bodhisattva
* Buddhahood
* Pratyekabuddhayāna
* Four stages of awakening
* Sotāpanna
* Sakadagami
* Anāgāmi
* Arhat

Monasticism|

* Bhikkhu
* Bhikkhunī
* Śrāmaṇera
* Śrāmaṇerī
* Anagārika
* Ajahn
* Sayadaw
* Zen master
* Rōshi
* Lama
* Rinpoche
* Geshe
* Tulku
* Western tulku
* Kappiya
* Donchee
* Householder
* Upāsaka and Upāsikā
* Achar
* Śrāvaka
* Ten principal disciples
* Shaolin Monastery

Major figures|

* The Buddha
* Nagasena
* Aśvaghoṣa
* Nagarjuna
* Asanga
* Vasubandhu
* Kumārajīva
* Buddhaghosa
* Buddhapālita
* Dignāga
* Bodhidharma
* Zhiyi
* Emperor Wen of Sui
* Songtsen Gampo
* Xuanzang
* Shandao
* Padmasambhava
* Saraha
* Atiśa
* Naropa
* Karmapa
* Hōnen
* Shinran
* Dōgen
* Nichiren
* Shamarpa
* Dalai Lama
* Panchen Lama
* Ajahn Mun
* B. R. Ambedkar
* Ajahn Chah
* Thích Nhất Hạnh

Texts|

* Early Buddhist texts
* Tripiṭaka
* Mahayana sutras
* Pali Canon
* Chinese Buddhist canon
* Tibetan Buddhist canon
* Dhammapada
* Sutra
* Vinaya
* Madhyamakālaṃkāra
* Abhidharmadīpa

Countries|

*     * Afghanistan
* Argentina
* Armenia
* Australia
* Austria
* Bangladesh
* Belgium
* Bhutan
* Brazil
* Brunei
* Bulgaria
* Cambodia
* Canada
* China
* Costa Rica
* Croatia
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* England
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Greece
* Hong Kong
* Hungary
* Iceland
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Israel
* Italy
* Japan
* Kazakhstan
* Korea
* Kyrgyzstan
* Laos
* Libya
* Liechtenstein
* Lithuania
* Maldives
* Malaysia
* Mexico
* Middle East
* Mongolia
* Morocco
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* Netherlands
* New Zealand
* North Korea
* Norway
* Pakistan
* Philippines
* Poland
* Portugal
* Russia
* Buryatia
* Kalmykia
* Tuva
* Scotland
* Senegal
* Singapore
* Slovenia
* South Africa
* South Korea
* Spain
* Sri Lanka
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Taiwan
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Tibet
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* United States
* Uruguay
* Uzbekistan
* Venezuela
* Vietnam
* Wales
* Zimbabwe

History|

* Timeline
* Ashoka
* Kanishka
* Buddhist councils
* History of Buddhism in India
* Decline of Buddhism in India
* Huichang persecution of Buddhism
* Greco-Buddhism
* Gandharan Buddhism
* Texts
* Menander I
* Buddhism and the Roman world
* Buddhism in the West
* Silk Road transmission of Buddhism
* Persecution of Buddhists
* In Afghanistan
* In Vietnam
* Rimé movement
* Banishment of Buddhist monks from Nepal
* Dalit Buddhist movement
* Chinese invasion of Tibet
* 1959 Tibetan uprising
* Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism
* Buddhist modernism
* Vipassana movement
* 969 Movement
* Engaged Buddhism
* Women in Buddhism

Philosophy|

* Abhidharma
* Atomism
* Buddhology
* Creator
* Buddhism and democracy
* Economics
* Eight Consciousnesses
* Engaged Buddhism
* Eschatology
* Ethics
* Evolution
* Humanism
* Logic
* Reality
* Secular Buddhism
* Socialism
* The unanswerable questions

Culture|

* Architecture
* Temple
* Vihāra
* Kyaung
* Wat
* Ordination hall
* Stupa
* Pagoda
* Burmese pagoda
* Candi
* Dzong architecture
* List of Buddhist architecture in China
* Japanese Buddhist architecture
* Buddhist temples in Korea
* Thai temple art and architecture
* Tibetan Buddhist architecture
* Art
* Greco-Buddhist
* Budai
* Buddha in art
* Calendar
* Cuisine
* Funeral
* Holidays
* Vesak
* Uposatha
* Māgha Pūjā
* Asalha Puja
* Vassa
* Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi
* Kasaya
* Mahabodhi Temple
* Mantra
* Om mani padme hum
* Mudra
* Music
* Pilgrimage
* Lumbini
* Maya Devi Temple
* Bodh Gaya
* Sarnath
* Kushinagar
* Poetry
* Prayer beads
* Hama yumi
* Prayer wheel
* Symbolism
* Dharmachakra
* Flag
* Bhavacakra
* Swastika
* Thangka
* Temple of the Tooth
* Vegetarianism

Miscellaneous|

* Abhijñā
* Amitābha
* Brahmā
* Dharma talk
* Hinayana
* Iddhi
* Kalpa
* Koliya
* Lineage
* Māra
* Siddhi
* Sacred languages
* Pāḷi
* Sanskrit

Comparison|

* Baháʼí Faith
* Christianity
* Influences
* Comparison
* East Asian religions
* Gnosticism
* Hinduism
* Jainism
* Judaism
* Psychology
* Science
* Theosophy
* Violence
* Western philosophy

Lists|

* Bodhisattvas
* Buddhas
* Buddhists
* American
* Korean
* Indian
* Suttas
* Sutras
* Temples
* Festivals

* Category
* Buddhism portal

* v
* t
* e

Modern Buddhist writers (19th century to date)

* Buddhism
* Buddhism in the West
* Buddhist modernism

Theravada /
Vipassana movement|

* Ajahn Amaro
* Acharya Buddharakkhita
* Bhikkhu Analayo
* Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero
* B. R. Ambedkar
* Charles Henry Allan Bennett
* Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu
* Bhikkhu Bodhi
* Sylvia Boorstein
* Vidyamala Burch
* P. D. Premasiri
* Ajahn Chah
* Anagarika Dharmapala
* Gil Fronsdal
* S. N. Goenka
* Joseph Goldstein
* Henepola Gunaratana
* Jack Kornfield
* Stephen Levine
* Noah Levine
* Nyanatiloka
* Walpola Rahula Thero
* Sharon Salzberg
* Sangharakshita
* Rahul Sankrityayan
* Ajahn Sucitto
* Ajahn Sumedho
* Bhante Sujato
* Ñāṇavīra Thera
* Katukurunde Nyanananda Mahathera
* Nyanaponika Thera

Mahayana|

* David Brazier
* Chin Kung
* Tanaka Chigaku
* Daisaku Ikeda
* Nikkyō Niwano
* Yin Shun
* Kenneth K. Tanaka
* Gyomay Kubose
* Alfred Bloom
* Kenryu Takashi Tsuji
* Marvin Harada

Vajrayana|

* Pema Chödrön
* Surya Das
* Anagarika Govinda
* Kelsang Gyatso
* Tenzin Gyatso
* Namkhai Norbu
* Thinley Norbu
* Ole Nydahl
* Matthieu Ricard
* Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche
* Sogyal Rinpoche
* Thrangu Rinpoche
* Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
* Robert Thurman
* Chögyam Trungpa

Zen|

* Reb Anderson
* Taisen Deshimaru
* Gil Fronsdal
* Steve Hagen
* Thích Nhất Hạnh
* Hsuan Hua
* Nan Huai-Chin
* Houn Jiyu-Kennett
* Philip Kapleau
* Dainin Katagiri
* David Loy
* Taizan Maezumi
* Kitaro Nishida
* Shōhaku Okumura
* Paul Reps
* Seungsahn
* Daewon
* Seongcheol
* Sheng-yen
* D. T. Suzuki
* Shunryū Suzuki
* Brad Warner
* Hakuun Yasutani
* Han Yong-un
* Hsing Yun

Secular Buddhism|

* Stephen Batchelor
* Robert Wright

Scholars|

* Alexander Berzin
* Robert Chalmers, 1st Baron Chalmers
* Lokesh Chandra
* Edward Conze
* Heinrich Dumoulin
* Nalinaksha Dutt
* Walter Evans-Wentz
* Richard Gombrich
* Herbert V. Günther
* Red Pine
* George de Roerich
* Caroline Rhys Davids
* Thomas Rhys Davids
* Fyodor Shcherbatskoy
* Lucien Stryk
* B. Alan Wallace
* David Kalupahana
* K. N. Jayatilleke
* Alfred Bloom

Westerners influenced
by Buddhism|

* Edwin Arnold
* Helena Blavatsky
* Fritjof Capra
* Leonard Cohen
* Alexandra David-Néel
* Heinrich Harrer
* Hermann Hesse
* Carl Jung
* Jon Kabat-Zinn
* Friedrich Nietzsche
* Henry Steel Olcott
* Helena Roerich
* Ernest Reinhold Rost
* J. D. Salinger
* Arthur Schopenhauer
* Gary Snyder
* Alan Watts
* Alfred North Whitehead
* Western philosophy and Buddhism
* Buddhism and psychology

Lists|

* List of modern writers on Eastern religions
* List of writers on Buddhism

* Religion portal
* India portal
* Myanmar portal
* Nepal portal
* Sri Lanka portal
* Thailand portal

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