Hand-Book Of Chinese Buddhism: Being A Sanskrit-Chinese Dictionary With Vocabularies Of Buddhist Terms

The author reveals that no apology is needed for the appearance of this little book, though it is the first attempt of its kind. The student of Chinese religious literature finds themselves at almost every step hampered by the continual recurrence of Sanskrit and other foreign terms embedded in the text, generally without a word of explanation. These form a series of vexatious riddles for a clue to which one has to go beyond the range of a Chinese library. This is especially the case with Buddhist works, many of which are simply translations from Sanskrit or Pali or Tibetan originals. Hence arises the need of a Dictionary like the present which aims at smoothing the pathway to an understanding of Buddhism and of native religions influenced by it. That this is a real want is proved by the cordial response with which the announcement of this publication has been received. No doubt the present volume has many defects and omissions, but the writer feels confident that it will enable anyone who has acquired an ordinary acquaintance with the Chinese language, to read and understand all the popular Buddhist classics, from the study of which Missionaries and others have been deterred by the inability of Chinese Pundits to give any assistance in that direction. This edition was first published in 1888. Being it is Sanskrit Chinese dictionary with vocabularies of Buddhist terms in Pali, Sinhalese, Burmese, Tibetan, Mongolian, and Japanese.