Buddhist Dictionary: A Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines

Edited by Ven. Nyanaponika

Since its first publication in 1952, Buddhist Dictionary has been a trusted companion in the study of Buddhist literature. The author, Nyanatiloka Thera, was qualified as few others have ever been to serve as a reliable guide through the field of Theravada Buddhist terminology and doctrine. In this book he offers authentic and lucid explanations of Pali Buddhist terms, with cross-references in English and source references as well. Amidst the welter of modern works on Buddhism, and translations differing one from the other, this book will help in identifying the doctrinal terms and in correcting misleading renderings. Not a mere word dictionary but an aid to understanding the terminology of Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist Dictionary will be as helpful to the serious lay student as to the professional scholar.

Ven. Nyanatiloka Thera (1878–1957) was the first continental European to become a Buddhist monk and one of the foremost exponents of Theravada Buddhism in the twentieth century. He was ordained as a monk in 1903 and established the Island Hermitage in south Sri Lanka as a monastery for Western monks. His translations into German include the complete Anguttara Nikaya (five volumes), the Visuddhimagga, and the Milindapanha.