Background sources are written for a general audience and are intended to give an overview of a topic, fill gaps in the reader’s knowledge, and provide context for deeper understanding. Examples include Wikipedia, introductory textbooks, and reference works such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, and handbooks. They can be a useful place to start your research and can assist in selecting a topic for a research project, locating basic information and key facts, defining important words and concepts, and getting suggestions for additional sources to consult.
Typical characteristics of background sources:
Chinese Rare books Collection (coming soon)
A compilation of Buddhist terminologies, temples, schools, persons etc that are found in East Asian Buddhist canonical sources. Since much of what East Asian Buddhists have written about is the Buddhism of India, Central Asia, and Tibet, the content of this database/translation glossary is pan-Buddhist in character. Dictionaries and other reference sources are in many different Asian languages (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Pali, Sanskrit and Tibetan).
Buddhist Texts online 佛教大藏經
CBETA Chinese Tripitaka – 大藏經
Japanese Taisho Tripitaka – 大正新脩大藏經
Master Shengyan Dharma Drum – 聖嚴法師法鼓全集