“The Search for the Buddha: The Men Who Discovered India’s Lost Religion” (2003) by Charles Allen
A popular history that tells the story of how a small group of European scholars rediscovered the Indian origin of the Buddha, reconnecting the doctrine’s founder to his homeland.
“The Wheel of Life: The Autobiography of a Western Buddhist” (1959) by John Blofeld
A fascinating account of spiritual discovery from an Englishman who spent decades in the Far East.
“The Living Thoughts of Gotama the Buddha” (1948) by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy and I.B. Horner (1948)
The Ceylonese art historian Coomaraswamy on one of his favorite subjects, the Buddha, or as he likes to call him, the Wake.
Buddhism, born on the Indian subcontinent in the sixth century B.C., has no holy book, no commandments, no prophets. Yet its teachings spread throughout Asia, mingling with local beliefs and customs along the way — and changing the continent forever.
In the three-part cover story for T’s Travel issue, Aatish Taseer follows Buddhism’s journey through Nepal, Thailand and Taiwan.
Plus: we share a map and timeline of the religion’s transmission across the East, a glossary of Buddhist terms, a snapshot of the great diversity of Buddhist monuments and an essential reading list. Click here to read Hanya Yanagihara’s editor’s letter.
“Keeping the Faith: Thai Buddhism at the Crossroads” (2001) by Sanitsuda Ekachai
A book of collected pieces by the Bangkok Post columnist on the challenges Buddhism faces in her country as it confronts modern pressures.
“The Robe and the Sword: How Buddhist Extremism Is Shaping Modern Asia” (2025) by Sonia Faleiro
An Indian journalist looks at Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand in a quest to understand how the Buddha’s doctrine has been repurposed in modern times for ethnonationalism.
“Monk, Householder and Tantric Priest: Newar Buddhism and its Hierarchy of Ritual” (1992) by David Gellhorn
An essential academic classic on the highly specific, caste-inflected character of Newar Buddhism as it is practiced in and around the Kathmandu Valley.
“Battles of the New Republic: A Contemporary History of Nepal” (2014) by Prashant Jha
Probably the finest contemporary history of this turbulent country.
“The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao” (2017) by Ian Johnson
A work of reportage on the religious revival in China after the ravages of the Cultural Revolution.
“Buddhism: A Journey Through History” (2024) by Donald S. Lopez Jr.
A magisterial study on the many facets of the Buddhist world by one of the great authorities on the subject.
“Buddhism in Practice” (1995) edited by Donald S. Lopez Jr.
A book of extraordinary essays by a range of scholars on the multiplicity of Buddhism.
“An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World” (2004) by Pankaj Mishra
A beautifully written, deeply erudite reckoning with the haunting absence left by the Buddha in India.
“Buddhist Monuments” (1971) by Debala Mitra
A survey of Indo-Buddhist architecture from a scholar who was among the early researchers at Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha.
“All Roads Lead North: China, Nepal and the Contest for the Himalayas” (2021) by Amish Raj Mulmi
From the best writer on Nepal, a political book that captures the growing influence of China on this liminal mountain republic caught between India and China.
“Gotama Buddha: A Biography Based on the Most Reliable Texts” (1977) by Hajime Nakamura
A slim, subtle meditation on the Awakened One and his doctrine coming from the Eastern edge of the Buddhist world.
“Zen Baggage: A Pilgrimage to China” (2009) by Bill Porter
A heartfelt book of travel through the remnants of sacred China.
“The Monk and the Philosopher: A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life” (1997) by Jean-François Revel and Matthieu Ricard
A father and son grapple with the latter’s conversion to Buddhist monkhood.
“The Jatakas: Birth Stories of the Bodhisatta” (2006) translated by Sarah Shaw
Like Aesop’s fables, these ancient, joyfully playful animal stories enshrine early Buddhist principles.
“Buddhist Himalaya: Travels and Studies in Quest of the Origins and Nature of Tibetan Religion” (1957) by David Snellgrove
An oldie, but a canonical goodie that deals with the role of the Kathmandu Valley as a crucible for the transmission of Tantric Buddhism into places such as Bhutan and Tibet.
“Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide” (2001) edited by Kevin Trainor
A much-needed manual of Buddhist thought, art and history as it developed in India and fanned out across Asia.
“Taiwan Travelogue” (2020) by Yang Shuang-zi
This National Book Award-winning novel dramatizes Japanese colonial rule in Taiwan.
