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Religion: Religions of Asia

A guide to religion resources at the Belk Library and Information Commons.

Web Sites

Buddhist Studies WWW Virtual Library
Links to the fields of Buddhism and Buddhist studies.

Gateway to Sikhism
Includes links to Sikh gurus, Sikh history, Sikh scriptures, and links for Sikh youth.

The Hindu Universe
The resource directory includes links to scriptures, god, worship, philosophy, customs, history, and interfaith relations.

The Internet Sacred Text Archive
This nonprofit site is the single largest religious text archive on the Internet.

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

Online Encyclopedias

Encyclopedia of Buddhism

Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World

Encyclopedia of Modern Asia


Print Encyclopedias


Encyclopedia of Monasticism
ASU REF BL631 .E63 2000
Covers monastic life past and present, including its practices, doctrines, lifestyles, spiritualities and art as pursued in Buddhism, Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity.

The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism
ASU REF BL2017.3 .E63 1995
This four volume set provides a rich variety of signed entries related to the study of Sikhism.

The Hindu World: an Encyclopedic Survey of Hinduism
ASU REF BL1105 .W34 1968
This two volume work attempts to cover the entire field of Hinduism. Article length entries include bibliographic references.

Historical dictionary of the Bahá'í Faith
ASU REF BP327 .A33 1998
This historical dictionary includes timelines, an overview of the Baha'i history, definitions, and a bibliography.

Historical dictionary of Hinduism
ASU REF BL1105 .S85 1997
Provides definitions, biographical sketches and key Hindu concepts as well as a chronology and a select but extensive bibliography.

Historical Dictionary of Taoism
ASU REF BL1923 .P37 1998
Has an extensive introduction that summarizes the historical evolution, basic writings, and underlying concepts.

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism
ASU REF BQ9259 .B37 2002
Has brief entries with some bibliographic citations. Provides English translations to words as well as transliterated Chinese, Japanese, and Sansrit terms.

The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism - E-Book  [on order]

Sacred Texts and Commentaries

The Gospel of Buddha
ASU MAINS STACKS BL1451 .C3 1917
This is a modern (early 20th century) compilation of the Buddhist Canon and it is suitable for casual readers who want to get a sense of what Buddhism is about.

Hindu Scriptures
ASU MAIN STACKS BL1111.32.E5 H56 1996
Includes the Bhagavadg¯it¯a and selections from the Rgveda, Atharvaveda, and Upanishads.

Hymns of the Atharva-Veda
ASU MAIN STACKS PK3406 .E5 1969
Together with Extracts from the Ritual Books and the Commentaries. One of the primary texts of Hinduism.

Kitáb-i-Aqdas: the Most Holy Book (Bahai faith)
UNCA BP360 .B6813 1993
Includes bibliographical references and index.

The Rig Veda: an Anthology: One Hundred and Eight Hymns, Selected, Translated and Annotated 
ASU MAIN STACKS BL1112.54 .E5 1981
The Vedas are the primary texts of Hinduism. The Rig Veda, the oldest of the four Vedas, was composed about 1500 B.C., and written down about 600 B.C. 

The Sacred Books of China: The texts of Taoism
ASU MAIN STACKS BL1900.A1 S3 1962
Part 1: The Tao te ching of Lao Tzu. The writings of Chuang Tzu (books I-XVII). Part 2: The writings of Chuang Tzu (books XVIII-XXXIII) and The T'ai shang tractate of actions and their retributions.

The Teaching of Buddha
ASU MAIN STACKS BQ4012 .T43 1989
Parallel text in English and Japanese.

Social Sciences Librarian

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Allan Scherlen
Contact:
Belk Library, Office no. 224
P.O. Box 32026
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC 28608
828-262-2285
scherlnag@appstate.edu