This is a list of writers on Buddhism. The list is intended to include only those writers who have written books about Buddhism, and about whom there is already a Wikipedia article. Each entry needs to indicate the writer's most well-known work. Multiple works should be listed only if each work already has a Wikipedia article.

Early Buddhism

Early Buddhism is the oldest Buddhism, before the split into several sects. The only surviving school is Theravada. Early Buddhism is still being studied by scholars. * Y. Karunadasa *

Hajime Nakamura was a Japanese Orientalist, Indologist, philosopher and academic of Vedic, Hindu and Buddhist scriptures. Biography Nakamura was born in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. In 1943 he graduated from the Department of Literature at Tokyo Imperia ...

* C. A. F. Rhys Davids * T. W. Rhys Davids * A. K. Warder

Theravada Buddhism

Other Theravada writers

* Ajahn Amaro * Bhikkhu Analayo * Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan *

Ananda Metteyya Charles Henry Allan Bennett (8 December 1872 – 9 March 1923) was an English Buddhist and former member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. He was an early friend and influential teacher of occultist Aleister Crowley. Bennett received ...

Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero ( si, අග්ග මහා පණ්ඩිත බලංගොඩ ආනන්ද මෛත්‍රෙය මහා නා හිමි;23 August 1896 – 18 July 1998; was a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk who was one ...

* B. R. Ambedkar * Sayagyi U Ba Khin * Samanera Bodhesako * Bhikkhu Bodhi *

Ajahn Brahmavamso Phra Visuddhisamvarathera ( th, พระวิสุทธิสังวรเถร), known as Ajahn Brahmavaṃso, or simply Ajahn Brahm (born Peter Betts on 7 August 1951), is a British-born Theravada Buddhist monk. Currently, Ajahn Brah ...

* Buddhādasa Bhikkhu * Acharya Buddharakkhita * Ajahn Candasiri * Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda * Anagarika Dharmapala * Ernest Reinhold Rost * Frank Lee Woodward *

S. N. Goenka Satya Narayana Goenka (ISO 15919: ''Satyanārāyaṇ Goyankā''; ; 29 January 1924 – 29 September 2013) was an Indian teacher of Vipassanā meditation. Born in Burma to an Indian business family, he moved to India in 1969 and started tea ...

Hammalawa Saddhatissa Hammalawa Saddhatissa Maha Thera (1914–1990) was an ordained Buddhist monk, missionary and author from Sri Lanka, educated in Varanasi, London, and Edinburgh. He was a contemporary of Walpola Rahula, also of Sri Lanka. Early life Saddhati ...

* Henepola Gunaratana * Henry Steel Olcott * Jack Kornfield * Ajahn Jayasāro * Joseph Goldstein * Katukurunde Nyanananda Thera * Ayya Khema * Ledi Sayadaw * Ajahn Lee * Mahasi Sayadaw * Matara Sri Nanarama Mahathera * Nanamoli Bhikkhu * Nanavira Thera * Narada Maha Thera * Nyanatiloka Mahathera * Nyanaponika Thera * Pa-Auk Sayadaw * Phra Paisal Visalo * Sayadaw U Pandita * Ajahn Pasanno * Paul Dahlke *

Prayudh Payutto Prayudh Payutto (also P.A. Payutto; th, ประยุทธ์ ปยุตฺโต, ป.อ. ปยุตฺโต) (b. 1937), also known by his current monastic title, Somdet Phra Buddhakosajarn, is a well-known Thai Buddhist monk, an intelle ...

Piyadassi Maha Thera Piyadassi Maha Thera ( si, පියදස්සි මහා ස්ථවිරයන් වහන්සේ, 8 July 1914 – 18 August 1998) was a preacher of the Dhamma both in Sinhala and in English. He was born on 8 July 1914 at Kotahena in ...

* Rahul Sankrityayan * Rerukane Chandawimala Thero * Sayadaw U Rewata Dhamma * Sharon Salzberg * Sīlācāra * U Sīlānanda *

Achan Sobin S. Namto Achan Sobin S. Namto ( th, พระอาจารย์โสบิน ส. นามโท) is a Buddhist monk who has taught Vipassana meditation and Buddhist psychology in Southeast Asia and North America for over 50 years. Biography Bor ...

* Soma Thera *

Stephen T. Asma Stephen T. Asma (born 1966) is Professor of Philosophy and Distinguished Scholar at Columbia College Chicago. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Research Group in Mind, Science, and Culture at Columbia College Chicago. He works on the philosophy o ...

* Sylvia Boorstein * Ajahn Sucitto * Ajahn Sumedho * Bhante Sujato *

Sujiva Sujiva is a Malaysian Buddhist monk (samanera) and teacher of Vipassanā meditation in the Theravāda Buddhist tradition. Sujiva teaches Vipassanā meditation in the Western countries. He has written many books on vipassana and Metta medita ...

* Ajahn Sundara * Thanissaro Bhikkhu * Sayadaw U Thittila * Sister Vajirā *

Bhante Vimalaramsi Bhante Vimalaramsi (born 1946) is an American Buddhist monk and currently the Abbot of the Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center in Annapolis, Missouri. Biography Born Marvel Logan, Bhante Vimalaramsi studied with Anagarika Munindra in 1977 and became ...

* Ajahn Viradhammo * Walpola Rahula * Webu Sayadaw *

R. G. de S. Wettimuny Ramsay G. de Silva Wettimuny (January 26, 1925 — July 13, 1974) was a Buddhist writer. Writings He was attracted to the Dhamma from his young days and, in the later stages of his life, he practically gave up wordily activities and devoted him ...

Politics

* B. R. Ambedkar, religious Leader, jurist, political leader, Buddhist activist, philosopher, thinker, anthropologist, historian, orator, writer, economist, scholar, editor, revolutionary and the revivalist of Buddhism in India. He was also the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. * Aung San Suu Kyi, political activist

Scholars

* Ashin Nandamalabhivamsa * Benimadhab Barua * David Kalupahana *

K.L. Dhammajoti K. L. Dhammajoti (born 29 May 1949) is a Buddhist monk from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He was ordained according to the Theravada tradition of Buddhism. He is also one of the leading scholars on Sarvastivada Abhidharma. and is well known in the wo ...

K.N. Jayatilleke Kulatissa Nanda Jayatilleke (1 November 1920 – 23 July 1970) was an internationally recognised authority on Buddhist philosophy whose book ''Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge'' has been described as "an outstanding philosophical interpretatio ...

* Karl Eugen Neumann * Isaline Blew Horner * L. S. Cousins * Mingun Sayadaw * P.D. Premasiri *

Polwatte Buddhadatta Thera The Venerable Ambalangoda Polwatte Buddhadatta Mahanayake Thera (A. P. Buddhadatta) (1887–1962) was a Theravada Buddhist monk and a professor of Buddhist philosophy at Vidyalankara University. During 1928 he travelled to Switzerland to teach Pā ...

* Rajguru Aggavamsa Mahathera * Rerukane Chandawimala Thero * Richard Gombrich * Robert Chalmers, 1st Baron Chalmers * Rupert Gethin * List of Sāsana Azani recipients, Buddhist monks who have successfully passed the Tipiṭakadhara (oral) and Tipiṭakakovida (written) examinations in Myanmar and only fifteen monks have been recognized as "Sāsana Azani".

Mahayana Buddhism

Although Mahayana Buddhism is virtually extinct in India, its philosophical systems, namely the Madhyamaka and Yogacara are still being studied.

Chán/Zen

Teachers

* Reb Anderson * Taisen Deshimaru * Norman Fischer * Gil Fronsdal * Steve Hagen * Hsuan Hua * Nan Huai-Chin * Philip Kapleau *

Dainin Katagiri Jikai , was a Sōtō Zen priest and teacher, and the founding abbot of Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he served from 1972 until his death from cancer in 1990. He is also the founder of Hokyoji Zen Practice Comm ...

Long Gen Venerable Long Gen (Chinese: 隆根长老) (1921-2011) was a key monastic figure in the Singapore Buddhist community. Early life Venerable Long Gen, a revered figure in the realm of Chinese Buddhism, was born in the picturesque Jiangsu provin ...

* Taizan Maezumi * Thich Nhat Hanh *

Kitaro Nishida was a Japanese moral philosopher, philosopher of mathematics and science, and religious scholar. He was the founder of what has been called the Kyoto School of philosophy. He graduated from the University of Tokyo during the Meiji period in 1 ...

* Shohaku Okumura *

Paul Reps Paul may refer to: * Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

* Seung Sahn * Seongcheol *

Sheng-yen Sheng Yen (), born Zhang Baokang (), (January 22, 1931 – February 3, 2009) was a Taiwanese Buddhist monk, religious scholar, and writer. He was one of the mainstream teachers of Chan Buddhism. He was a 57th generational dharma heir of Lin ...

* Brad Warner * Alan Watts * Hsing Yun * Han Yong-un *

Hakuun Yasutani was a Sōtō rōshi, the founder of the Sanbo Kyodan organization of Japanese Zen. Biography Ryōkō Yasutani (安谷量衡) was born in Japan in Shizuoka Prefecture. His family was very poor, and therefore he was adopted by another family. ...

* Peter Levitt * Gyomay Kubose * Marvin Harada * Kenryu Takashi Tsuji

Scholars

* Edward Conze *

Nishitani Keiji was a Japanese university professor, scholar, and Kyoto School philosopher. He was a disciple of Kitarō Nishida. In 1924 Nishitani received his doctorate from Kyoto Imperial University for his dissertation ''"Das Ideale und das Reale bei Sche ...

, Japanese philosopher *

Nishida Kitaro was a Japanese moral philosopher, philosopher of mathematics and science, and religious scholar. He was the founder of what has been called the Kyoto School of philosophy. He graduated from the University of Tokyo during the Meiji period in 18 ...

, Japanese philosopher * Red Pine * D.T. Suzuki, Japanese scholar *

Theodore Stcherbatsky Fyodor Ippolitovich Shcherbatskoy or Stcherbatsky (Фёдор Ипполи́тович Щербатско́й) (11 September (N.S.) 1866 – 18 March 1942), often referred to in the literature as F. Th. Stcherbatsky, was a Russian Indologist who, ...

, Russian, wrote ''Buddhist Logic'' * Stephen F. Teiser * Alfred Bloom

Other

* Alan Watts, American philosopher and lecturer

Humanistic Buddhism (China)

* Taixu *

Yin Shun Master Yin Shun (印順導師, ''Yìnshùn Dǎoshī''; 5 April 1906 – 4 June 2005) was a well-known Buddhist monk and scholar in the tradition of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism. Though he was particularly trained in the Three Treatise school, he ...

Nichiren Buddhism (Japan)

* Tanaka Chigaku * Daisaku Ikeda * Nikkyo Niwano

Vajrayana Buddhism

Vajrayana originated as Tantra in India.

Tibetan Buddhism

Vajrayana was introduced in Tibet, preferring Indian Buddhism over Chinese Buddhism, where it still survives.

Religious writers

* Pema Chödrön * Dalai Lama * Anagarika Govinda * Kelsang Gyatso *

Khyentse Norbu Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche (, born June 18, 1961),Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche

* Namkhai Norbu * Thinley Norbu * Ole Nydahl * Matthieu Ricard * Sangharakshita *

Sogyal Rinpoche Sogyal Rinpoche (; 1947 – 28 August 2019) was a Tibetan Dzogchen lama. He was recognized as the incarnation of a Tibetan master and visionary saint of the 19th century, Tertön Sogyal Lerab Lingpa. Sogyal Rinpoche was the founder and forme ...

* Surya Das * Thrangu Rinpoche * Chögyam Trungpa

Scholars

* Alexander Berzin *

Lokesh Chandra Lokesh Chandra (born 11 April 1927 in Ambala, India) is a prominent scholar of the Vedic period, Buddhism and the Indian arts. Between 1942 and 2004, he published 576 books and 286 articles. He has also held many official positions in the Indi ...

* Alexandra David-Néel * Walter Evans-Wentz * Christmas Humphreys * Robert Thurman * Donald S. Lopez Jr.

Navayana Buddhism

* B. R. Ambedkar * Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi *

Iyothee Thass C. Iyothee Thass (20 May 1845 – 1914) was a prominent Tamil anti-caste activist and a practitioner of Siddha medicine. He famously converted to Buddhism and called upon the Paraiyars to do the same, arguing that this was their original relig ...

* Shanti Swaroop Baudh

Western Buddhism

* Gil Fronsdal * Stephen Batchelor * David Brazier *

Mark Epstein Mark Epstein (born 1953) is an American author and psychotherapist who integrates Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings with Sigmund Freud's approaches to trauma. He often writes about the interface of Buddhism and psychotherapy.Mark Epstein''Freud and B ...

* Vidyamala Burch

Writers of fiction and literature

Matsuo Bashō born then was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative '' haikai no renga'' form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as the greatest ma ...

, Japanese poet and journalist *

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian a ...

, US poet and novelist * Tom Lowenstein, English poet, cultural historian and translator * Peter Matthiessen, US novelist *

Ruth Ozeki Ruth Ozeki is an American-Canadian author, filmmaker and Zen Buddhist priest. Her books and films, including the novels ''My Year of Meats'' (1998), ''All Over Creation'' (2003), '' A Tale for the Time Being'' (2013), and ''The Book of Form and ...

, US novelist *

Jess Row Jess Row (born 1974 in Washington, D.C.) is an American short story writer, novelist, and professor. Early life He received a B.A. in English from Yale University in 1997. He later taught English in Hong Kong for two years. He completed his Mas ...

, short story writer *

Gary Snyder Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. His early poetry has been associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance and he has been described as the "poet laureate of ...

, US poet * Allen Ginsberg, US poet

Writing instructors

* Natalie Goldberg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buddhist writers Lists of writers

Early Buddhism

Theravada Buddhism

Other Theravada writers

Politics

Scholars

Mahayana Buddhism

Chán/Zen

Teachers

Scholars

Other

Humanistic Buddhism (China)

Nichiren Buddhism (Japan)

Vajrayana Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism

Religious writers

Scholars

Navayana Buddhism

Western Buddhism

Writers of fiction and literature

Writing instructors

See also

References