Buddhism, Buddhists, and Buddhist Texts
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A note on OCLC
As is now the norm, OCLC counts are tentative, at best, as we recognize that searches using different qualifiers will often turn up different results. Searches are now further complicated by the vast numbers of digital, microfilm, and even print-on-demand copies, which have polluted the database considerably, making it difficult, without numerous phone calls or emails, to determine the actual number of tangible copies. Hence, even though the counts herein have been recently checked, most all should be taken as a measure of approximation.
1. Buddha's lions: the lives of the eighty-four siddhas ... Translated into English by James B. Robinson . [Berkeley]: Dharma Publishing, [1979].
$50
First edition, 8vo, pp. [5], viii-xv, [1], 404, [2]; 84 illustrations of the siddhas (one who has achieved enlightenment) in the text; fine copy in a fine dust jacket.
2. Contributions to Tibetan Buddhist literature. PIATS 2006: Tibetan studies : proceedings of the Eleventh Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Königswinter 2006. Halle: International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, 2008.
$75
First edition, 8vo, pp. 569, [1]; near fine copy in original printed gray wrappers.
The document discusses various topics related to Tibetan Buddhist literature including canonical texts, philosophical works, tantric literature, biographical works, and more. Orna Almogi studied Tibetology (major) and Religious Studies and Psychology (minors) at the University of Hamburg (MA 1998).
3. Textbook of colloquial Tibetan language. Zurich: Tibetan Institute Rikon, 1974.
$75
8vo, pp. [4], x, [4], 97, [4]; printed from typescript; alphabet sheet laid in, as issued; fine copy in original printed yellow wrappers.
"Venerable Khenchen Lama Sherab Gyaltsen Amipa Rinpoche was born in 1931 in the city of Sakya (Tibet) to a family with a long tradition of spiritual practice. Ven. Lama Sherab became a fully ordained Buddhist monk, a Bhikshu, at the age of twenty. Having obtained the Geshe degree, he started teaching at the main Sakya Monastery. He left Tibet in 1959, and after a short stay at Kalimpong in 1960, he joined the monks at the Sakya Monastery in Darjeeling.
"In 1967, following the request of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan government in exile (Department of Religious Affairs) requested Ven. Lama Sherab to move to a newly established Tibet Institute at Rikon (near Zurich), Switzerland. The main aim of the Tibet Institute was to support Tibetan refugees in Switzerland, helping them preserve their culture and religion in exile. Moreover, in this way, Dharma was brought to the western practitioners of Buddhism and bridges were built between the two cultures" (Center for Contemplative Research).
4. The light of Asia; or, the great renunciation (Mahabhinishkramana). Being the life and teaching of Gautama, prince of India and founder of Buddhism (as told in verse by an Indian Buddhist).. New York: American Book Exchange, 1880.
$50
12mo, pp. 121; bookplate of Nellie B. Miller & bookseller's ticket on front paste-down, front free endpaper has small hole at lower corner of leaf, corners very lightly rubbed, else a very good copy in original green cloth with gilt-decorated upper cover.
Nellie Burget Miller, was an author and Poet Laureate of Colorado. The most popular work by the journalist, translator, and poet, first appearing in the UK in 1879.
5. Sgrub brgyud śiṅ rta chen po brgyad kyi smin sgrol sñiṅ po rnams phyogs gcig tu bsdus pa Gdams-ṅag-rin po-cheʼi-mdzod kyi dkar chag rin chen bum bzaṅ = The treasure of precious instructions, teachings, initiations of the eight great vehicle of Buddhist doctrine in the land of snow ... Kagyudpa catalogue series volume I. Gangtok: Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology, 1990.
$45
Small 4to, pp. [8], v-xxxiv, 214, [4]; original red cloth stamped in silver on upper cover and spine; very good, sound, and clean. In Tibetan with prefatory matter and indexes in English.
Bibliographical catalogue of Tibetan Buddhist literature of different sects; originally prepared by Koṅ-sprul Blo-gros-mthaʼ-yas, 1813-1899 based on the collection at the Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology. The Treasury of Precious Instructions (Gdams ngag rin po che'i mdzod) by Kong-sprul-yon-tan-rgya-mysho, a great non-sectarian Buddhist scholar, is one of the most important contributions to Tibetan literature.
Volume I only is located in OCLC so it's likely this is all that was published.
6. Paurānic and Tāntric religion (early phase). [Calcutta]: University of Calcutta, 1966.
$50
First edition, 8vo, pp. xiv, 188, [2]; original printed mauve cloth slightly spotted, but in a fine dust jacket. Issued as No. 2-A in the Lectures and seminars series, Centre of Advanced Study in Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta.
The author (1895-1966) was the Carmichael Professor of Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta, and was the author of the much acclaimed The Development of Hindu Iconography (1956). This book was posthumously published and includes a 3-page tribute to him by D. C. Sircar, Director of the Centre of Advanced Study in Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta.
7. Papers on the date of Kaniska. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1968.
$40
First edition, 8vo, pp. xiv, 478; 6 plates and tables in the text; original blue cloth, gilt-stamped on upper cover and spine; very good and clean. Issued as volume IV in the Australian National University Centre of Oriental Studies, Oriental Monograph Series.
A review copy ("Ter Recensie") with a number of neat annotations throughout by an informed reader. Kanishka the Great, was a Kushan emperor whose reign (approximately 127-150 CE) marked the height of the Kushan Empire. He is renowned for his military achievements, political influence, and patronage of Buddhism.
8. Tales of an old lama. Translated with notes... from a Mongolian text. Tring: The Institute of Buddhist Studies, 1997.
$75
8vo, pp. xiv, [4], 163, [2]; full gray cloth, fine.
First published in Mongolian in 1959 under the title "Old Jambal's Stories." This translation is after the second edition of 1969. It serves as a detailed account by a survivor of the religious purges of Soviet Mongolia.
9. The Mongol chronicle Altan Tobči. Text, translation, and critical notes. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1955.
$95
8vo, pp. x, 205, [1]; uncut and largely unopened; fine in original printed mustard wrappers.
The Altan Tobchi, or Golden Summary, is a 17th-century Mongolian chronicle written by Guush Luvsandanzan. It is "one of the most important Mongol historical texts. Its value lies less, however, in the contribution it brings to our knowledge of Mongol history than in its literary merit. Though permeated by Buddhist elements, it remains sufficiently unaltered to be considered as a true product of the Mongol spirit. It is also interesting from the linguistic point of view. Compared with 'classical Mongol', which is basically the language of the Buddhist texts, the language of the Altan tobči shows a usage much looser, often considerably altered by the penetration of vernacular elements" (Cambridge University).
10. Buddhist art: an historical and cultural journey ... Translation by Narisa Chakrabongse. [Bangkok]: River Books, [2009].
$150
First edition in English, folio, pp. [4], 7-400; illustrated throughout, much in color; fine copy in a fine dust jacket.
The author is an expert in Asian art and chief conservator of the Cernuschi Museum in Paris.
11. "Tableau de la Kalmoukie Russe et de ses habitants." An extract from: Nouvelles anales de voyages, de la geographie et de l'histoire, ou, recueil des relations, originales inedites, communiques par des voyageurs francais et etrangers.... Paris: Librarie de Gide fils, 1821.
$150
8vo, pp. 255-320 (i.e., 68 pages); recent quarter green morocco, gilt-lettered spine; fine.
Kalmoukie (i.e., Kalmykia), is a republic of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region of Southern Russia, and its peoples are largely of Mongolian origin who are primarily of the Buddhist faith.
12. A catalogue of the Urga Kanjur in the Prof. Raghuvira collection at the International Academy of Indian Culture. New Delhi: [International Academy of Indian Culture], 1980.
$75
4to, pp. [4], vi, [2], 319, [1]; text largely transliterated Tibetan with English preliminaries, 47 pages of facsimile; full green cloth, gilt title on cover and spine, corners a little bumped, else fine.
Sata-Pitaka Series. Indo-Asian Literatures Volume 246.
13. The dialectical method of Nagarjuna (Vigrahavyavartani). Translated from the original Sanskrit with introduction and notes. Delhi, Varanasi, Patna: Motilal Banarsidass, [1978].
$40
8vo, pp. [8], 54; full black cloth, gilt title on spine; fine, in lightly toned, near fine dust jacket.
Nāgārjuna (ca. 150- 250 CE) was an Indian monk and Mahāyāna Buddhist philosopher of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.
14. [Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna.] H. P. Blavatsky, Tibet and Tulku. Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1966.
$125
First edition, 8vo, pp. xxiii, [1], 476; 12 plates and 16 facsimiles; small crack at the bottom of the upper joint, otherwise a near fine copy in original blue cloth stamped in black, and preserving the pictorial dust jacket which has a few short breaks at the extremities.
Not a biography, as the author makes clear in his Preface, as much of Blavatsky's early life remains in shadow. Instead, this is primarily a survey of her writings. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891), "was a Russian and American mystic and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an international following as the primary founder of Theosophy as a belief system ... Blavatsky was a controversial figure during her lifetime, championed by supporters as an enlightened sage and derided as a charlatan by critics. Her Theosophical doctrines influenced the spread of Hindu and Buddhist ideas in the West as well as the development of Western esoteric currents like Ariosophy, Anthroposophy, and the New Age Movement. (Wikipedia).
15. Bod Rgya nang don rig paʼi tshig mdzod /藏汉佛学词典 [= Tibetan-Chinese dictionary of Tibetan Buddhist terms]. Chengdu: Sizhou Minzu Chuban She, 1993.
$120
First edition, 8vo, 2 vols., pp. 2087, [3]; publisher's red cloth gilt; boards lightly soiled, edges and endpapers foxed, textblock otherwise clean, very good in fine dust jackets.
16. The cult of the deity Vajrakila according to the texts of the Northern Treasures Tradition of Tibet (Byang-gter phur-ba). Tring: Institute of Buddhist Studies, 1993.
$75
8vo, pp. xiii, [1], 271, [1]; full gray cloth, fine.
Vajrakilaya is a wrathful form of the Buddha Vajrasattva, a key figure in Tantric Buddhism. He is commonly depicted holding a ritual dagger called a phurba or kīla, which is a distinctive iconographic trait. Vajrakilaya is often shown with multiple faces, six arms, and a crown of skulls, symbolizing his power to overcome obstacles and purify negative forces (AI).
Buddhica Britannica Series Continua IV.
17. In search of Shambhala ... Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. London: Jonathan Cape, [1996].
$35
First edition, 8vo, pp. vii, [1], 264; 27 color illustrations from photographs on rectos and versos of 4 plates, 2 maps, illustrations in the text; fine copy in a fine dust jacket.
Not in Yakushi.
18. Tshad ma rigs gter gyi grel pa = [Commentary on the treasures of Quantitative Theory and the Wheel of Teaching]. [Edited by Dorje Jebo]. Qinghai: China Tibetology Press, [1991].
$50
Second printing, 8vo, pp. [2], 2, 2, 2, 336, [2]; original gilt-stamped brown cloth; text a little toned else near fine. Text in Tibetan throughout.
Commentary on the Tshad ma rigs gter of Sa-skya Paṇḍita Kun-dgaʼ-rgyal-mtshan; dealing with Buddhist logic.
19. [Buddhism.] The marvelous companion: life stories of the Buddha (Jātakamālā). Berkeley: Dharma Publishing, 1983.
$150
First edition, large 8vo, pp. xxvii, 359, [1]; color frontispiece, 26 plates; a fine, bright copy in original gilt-stamped terracotta cloth and a printed, unclipped dust jacket.
Āryaśūra's Jātakamālā is composed in poetic Sanskrit and presents thirty-four stories of the Buddha's past lives.
20. [Buddhism.] The eight places of Buddhist pilgrimage: a pilgrim guide. [New Delhi]: Mahayana Publications, [1985].
$35
Second printing, 8vo, pp. [2], 30, [2]; 15 photographic illustrations on rectos and versos of 5 plates, plus illustrations in the text; a very good, sound, and clean copy in original pictorial white wrappers printed in maroon.
21. [Buddhism.] The fortunate aeon: how the thousand Buddhas become enlightened ... translated into English by Dharma Publishing staff under the auspices of the Yeshe De project. Berkeley: Dharma Publishing, 1986.
$750
First edition, 4 volumes, large 8vo, color frontispiece in each volume, illustrated in the text throughout; a fine, bright set in original half maroon morocco, a.e.g., printed unclipped dust jackets. Text in English and Tibetan.
Translation of Bhadrakalpikasūtra is a Mahāyāna sutra which discusses the names and deeds of over one thousand Buddhas of this "Fortunate Aeon." Most of the Buddhas in this sutra are future Buddhas, thus providing a future Buddhological history of the Buddhist world system.
22. [Buddhism.] The voice of the Buddha, the beauty of compassion ... translated into English from the French by Gwendolyn Bays. Berkeley: Dharma Publishing, 1983.
$125
First edition, 2 volumes, large 8vo, pp. xxii, [3], 353, [3]; [16], 362-704; 29 plates (27 in color) within the pagination; fine, bright set in original terracotta cloth stamped in gilt, fine dust jackets and publisher's slipcase.
Translation of the Lalitavistara Sūtra, a Sanskrit Mahayana Buddhist sutra that tells the story of Gautama Buddha from the time of his descent from Tushita until his first sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath near Varanasi.
23. [Buddhism.] The life and liberation of Padmasambhava. Padma bKa'i Thang. Part I: India [Part II: Tibet] as recorded by Yeshe Tsogyal [i.e. Ye-śes-mtsho-rgyal], rediscovered by Terchen Urgyan Lingpa. Translated into French as Le dict de Padma by Gustave-Charles Toussaint. Translated into English by Kenn Douglas and Gwendolyn Bays. Corrected with the original Tibetan manuscripts and with an introduction by Tarthany Tulku. Berkeley: Dharma Publishing, [1978].
$250
First edition (600 copies printed), 2 volumes, large 8vo, pp. xxxiv, 769 (continuous pagination); 58 color plates; a fine, bright set in original gilt-stamped maroon cloth and unclipped dust jackets.
Padmasambhava (c. 701–800) was an Indian Buddhist master who brought Tantric Buddhism to Tibet and who is credited with establishing the first Buddhist monastery there.
24. [Buddhist Sketchbook.] 閑意自養神 [= Relaxing the mind will refresh the spirit]. [Japan?]: [c. early 20th century].
$1,250
Accordion-bound, large octavo artist's sketchbook, containing 25 double-page, hand-painted color images, including nature scenes, portraits of Hotei and Daruma, and village life. The images are minimalist and bold, with heavy influence from Chinese brush painting. The artist is anonymous, but clearly quite talented and likely Buddhist. Bound in blue cloth-covered boards with paper label on upper cover; board edges rubbed, water stain to lower right corner of one image. An excellent collection of original art, most likely Japanese.
Budai, known as "Hotei" in Japanese, a semi-historical monk and deity who is often identified with and venerated as the future or Maitreya Buddha in Chan Buddhism and Buddhist scripture. Bodhidharma, known in Japanese as "Daruma," was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and is regarded as its first Chinese patriarch.
25. The Halase-Maratika Caves (Eastern Nepal) A sacred place claimed by both Hindus and Buddhists. Pondicherry: French Institute, [1994].
$30
8vo, pp. iv, [2], 69, [3]; printed paper wrappers; corner bumped, else fine.
The caves are a significant pilgrimage site for both Hindus and Buddhists in Nepal, located in the Khotang District.
26. The formation of Ch'an ideology in China and Korea: the Vajrasamadhi-Sutra, a Buddhist apocryphon. Princeton: Princeton University Press, [1989].
$45
First edition, 8vo, pp. xviii, 315, [1]; 15 illustrations on rectos and versos of 4 plates, plus a few diagrams in the text; fine copy in a fine dust jacket. Issued in the publisher's Library of Asian Translations series.
27. [Caodaism.] History and philosophy of Caodaism. Reformed Buddhism, Vietnamese spiritualism. New religion in Eurasia. Translated from the French by Pham-xuan-Thai. [Saigon: Tu-Hai, 1950.] .
$100
First edition in English, 8vo, pp. 189, [1], [10] ads; 28 photographic illustrations on plates; pages a little toned, mild dampstaining to the covers, but generally a very good copy in original pictorial wrappers.
28. Yüan thought: Chinese thought and religion under the Mongols. New York: Columbia University Press, 1982.
$75
First edition, 8vo, pp. xiii, [3], 545, [5]; fine copy in a fine dust jacket.
"The Yüan, or Mongol, era (1260-1368) presented both great challenges and unusual opportunities for Chinese civilization. Although totally subdued by an alien conqueror and exposed to foreign ideas and influences from the larger, multi-cultural empire of the Mongols, China and its traditions survived with impressive vigor. The ten papers included in this volume emerged from a conference on Chinese thought under Mongol rule, which was sponsored by the American Council of Learned Societies to open up this neglected field of intellectual and religious history. The papers address areas of thought and religion that, in response to alien rule, reaffirmed the classical heritage, while providing the basis for further intellectual growth in the Ming and Ch'ing periods. Yüan Thought focuses on the Yüan literati's attempts to repossess and rejuvenate the indigenous traditions-Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism -- through adaptation and syncretism" (jacket blurb).
29. Dictionary of Buddhist Iconography, Vol. 1. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture and Aditya Prakashan, [1999].
$75
First edition, 4to, pp. lxiv, 323, [1]; illustrated throughout; fine copy in a fine dust jacket.
Volume I of a 15-volume set, containing all the preliminary matter, and A-Amoghavajra of the dictionary itself.
30. The three hundred icons of Tibet. N.p., n.d. [London: 1972?].
$35
Broadside, 29½" x 40"; printed in red, 300 icons with Romanized and Tibetan caption; a few short tears at folds, else near fine.
A corresponding book of the same title notes "The three hundred icons reproduced ... pertain to a Peking xylograph which has no title in Tibetan ... In the preface the work is referred to as 'sku-brñan brgya-phrag-gsum' and 'sku-brñan sum-brgya' --the latter is the title by which this pantheon is known throughout Mongolia."
31. Tibetan art. [Old Saybrook, CT]: Konecky & Konecky, n.d., [ca. 2008].
$45
First American edition, folio, pp. 216; profusely illustrated throughout in color; fine copy in a fine dust jacket.
"The rich artistic heritage of Tibet stems from the depts of the meditations of great masters. It translated into them an elaborate symbolic system that takes the form of three-dimensional images or two-dimensional thankas and mandalas. Tibetan Art is a comprehensive introduction to this complex iconography. It provides a glimpse of the underpinnings of this art and the land where it flourished. The reader is introduced to a panoply of divine and earthly beings: the historic Buddha Sakyamuni, arhats, spiritual masters, great lamas, and founders of different religious lineages, as well as celestial Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, female deities, protectors or tutelary gods, (yi-dams), defenders of the faith, guardians of the four cardinal points, minor deities and supernatural beings ... It looks deeply into tantric ideas and the energetic union of opposites represented in Yab-Yum imagery with its emphasis on the dakini, the embodiment of the feminine" (jacket blurb).
32. Contes et légendes du bouddhisme chinois ... préface et vocabulaire de Sylvain Lévi. Paris: Editions Bossard, 1921.
$85
First edition limited to 1655 copies (this no. 739 of the regular edition), 8vo, pp. [9], 12-220, [2]; illustrations in the text; textblock toned but an attractive copy in brown morocco-backed marbled boards, spine in 6 compartments, gilt-lettered direct in 2; spine slightly sunned. Issued as volume IV in the publisher's Classiques de l'Orient series.
33. The great Naropa poetry wars: with a copious collection of germane documents assembled by the author. Santa Barbara: Cadmus Editions, 1980.
$300
First edition limited to 100 copies (this, no. 42) signed by the author; 8vo, pp. 87, [9]; original quarter brown cloth over printed paper-covered boards, acetate dust jacket; fine.
An exposé and renunciation of Chogyam Trungpa, spiritual head of the Naropa Institute. The “Great Naropa Poetry Wars” erupted at the seminary that was held in fall, 1975, in Snowmass, Colorado ... Trungpa presided, but neither Ginsberg nor Waldman was present. The poet W.S. Merwin, interested in expanding his Buddhist training, and his then-partner the poet Dana Naone attended the seminary ... On Halloween, a party was given to celebrate the end of the second and the beginning of the intense third and final stage of the seminary. Merwin and Naone attended but did not stay. Summoned by Trungpa, they refused to return, and were confronted in their apartment by other seminary students who, acting for Trungpa, met their resistance by assaulting them and abducting them to the party, where, against their wills, they were stripped naked at Trungpa’s order, and humiliated ... This shocking event circulated through published writings in the aftermath and in Buddhist communities, and has reverberated in the record of Beat poetry and poetics" (Editors at Journal of Beat Studies).
Original broadside apology by Kenneth Rexroth laid in, as issued.
34. Buddhism the science of life. Two monographs ... also Tibetan initiates on the Buddha with explanations and comments ... Second edition, revised and enlarged. Peking [i.e., Beijing]: China Booksellers, Ltd., [1928].
$125
8vo, pp. [18], 217, [5]; frontispiece, portrait of Blavatsky, 3 facsimiles, 10 plates; front free endpaper excised, light toning of the text, but generally a near fine copy in original blue cloth-backed printed yellow paper-covered boards, and a near fine and uncommon dust jacket.
35. A Tibetan on Tibet. Being the travels and observations of Mr. Paul Sherap (Dorje Zödba) of Tachienlu; with an introductory chapter on Buddhism and a concluding chapter on the devil dance. London: T. Fisher Unwin, [1926]..
$150
First edition, 8vo, pp. xv, [5], 212; folding map, frontispiece; mission library bookplate and LC catalog slip pasted to front free endpaper, accession numbers neatly obscured on spine, else a very good copy in original maroon cloth, gilt lettering on spine.
Sherap, an English-speaking Tibetan merchant from Tachienlu, was hired by Combe to recount the customs and tales of his country.
Yakushi C326.
36. The perfect generosity of Prince Vessantara: a Buddhist epic translated from the Pali and illustrated by unpublished paintings from Sinhalese temples. Oxford: at the Clarendon Press, 1977.
$50
First edition, 8vo, pp. xlvii, [1], 111, [1]; color frontispiece and 7 color illustrations on rectos and versos of 2 plates, and 81 monochrome illustrations on rectos and versos of 20 plates; a fine copy in the dust jacket.
37. Materials for a dictionary of the Prajñāpāramitā literature. Tokyo: Suzuki Research Foundation, 1973.
$375
Second impression (first published in 1967), 8vo, pp. [4], vii, [1], 447, [3]; fine copy in original green cloth, gilt-stamped spine, and in a fine dust jacket.
According to Edward Conze, the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras are "a collection of about forty texts ... composed somewhere on the Indian subcontinent between approximately 100 BC and AD 600." Some Prajnāpāramitā sūtras are thought to be among the earliest Mahāyāna sūtras. Edward Conze (1904-79) described as "the most important researcher on Prajñāpāramitā literature" was also a polarizing presence. See his interesting entry in Wikipedia for details.
38. Power, politics, and the reinvention of tradition: Tibet in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Leiden & Boston: Brill, 2006.
$65
8vo, pp. vi, 215, [3]; fine in original pictorial yellow cloth. Issued as volume 10/3 in Brill's Tibetan Studies Library series, edited by Henk Blezer, Alex McKay, Charles Ramble.
Twelve papers from PIATS 2003: Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Tenth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Oxford, 2003. Managing Editor: Charles Ramble. "This volume focuses upon the relationships between the past and the present evoked in Tibetan historiography, ritual literature, and Buddhist esoteric writings. It offers diverse perspectives on a critical period in Tibet's history when Tibetans found themselves caught up in the tides of political turmoil and forced into the center of a much larger Central Eurasian struggle for power and territorial control between the Manchu rules of the Qing empire and the Mongols of the north. This volume highlights the various ways Tibetan historians, biographers, and Buddhist scholars during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries succeeded in the task of reinventing and reinforcing their respective traditions" (publisher's blurb).
39. Buddhists and glaciers of western Tibet. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1934.
$225
First edition in English, American issue (British sheets with a new title page); 8vo, pp. xiii, [1], 304; double-page map, 32 plates from photographs; original brown cloth, gilt-stamped spine, dust jacket spine sunned, overall soiling and with a few small breaks at the extremities.
"Narrative of the author's personal experiences of the De Filippi expedition to the Karakoram in 1913-14" (Yakushi).
Yakushi D11b.
40. སོ་སོར་ཐར་པའི་མདོ་དང་། / So sor thar paʼi mdo: daṅ, Deʼi ʼgrel pa sñiṅ po nor buʼi śiṅ rta ; daṅ, Dam chos ʼdul baʼi gleṅ gźi mchog sprul dgyes paʼi mchod sprin bcas bźugs so [= Commentary on the Prātimokṣasūtra dealing on Buddhist monastic disciplinary code]. Varanasi: Vajra Vidhya Institute, 2002.
$40
First edition, limited to 500 copies, 8vo, pp. 31, [1], 279, [1]; text in Tibetan; printed paper wrappers; ownership tape on lower wrapper, else fine.
41. Swedenborg the Buddhist or the higher Swedenborgianism its secrets and Thibetan origins. Los Angeles: The Buddhistic Swedenborgian Brotherhood, 1887.
$300
8vo, pp. 322, half black leather over pebbled cloth; spine split and torn, some penciling on title page, text otherwise clean and sound, good.
Vetterling was a Swedish-American Theosophist and Buddhist. "His best-known work was Swedenborg the Buddhist, or The Higher Swedenborgianism ... It is a fictional spiritual dialogue between Swedenborg, a Buddhist monk, a Brahmin, a Parsi, an Aztec Indian, an Icelander, an anonymous woman, and Vetterling himself."
42. Lectures on the origin and growth of religion as illustrated by some points in the history of Indian Buddhism. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1882.
$75
First edition, 8vo, pp. [2], vii, [1], 262, [6] errata and ads; original blue-gray cloth, gilt-stamped spine; fore-edges of the free endpapers slightly nicked; a good to very good copy in a sound binding and with a clean text block.
"Thomas William Rhys Davids (1843-1922) was an English scholar of the Pāli language and founder of the Pāli Text Society. He took an active part in founding the British Academy and London School for Oriental Studies ... Rhys Davids attempted to promote Theravada Buddhism and Pāli scholarship in Britain. He actively lobbied the government (in co-operation with the Asiatic Society of Great Britain) to expand funding for the study of Indian languages and literature, using numerous arguments over how this might strengthen the British hold on India" (Wikipedia).
43. Rosary of white lotuses, being the clear account of how the precious teaching of Buddha appeared and spread in the great Hor country. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1987.
$120
8vo, pp. xxvii, [1], 536, [4]; full yellow cloth; fine. Issued as Asiatische Forschungen Band 95.
Originally published in 1889, in Tibetan. Only two known copies of the original edition survive.
44. Light of fearless indestructible wisdom. Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion Publications, 2008.
$35
First edition, 8vo, pp. 349, [3]; illustrated throughout from photographs, drawings, facsimiles, etc., some in color; a fine copy in a fine dust jacket.
"Beloved master, visionary, poet, revealer of profound spiritual treasures, His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche was a paramount figure in the history of twentieth-century Tibet. He worked closely with H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama to reinvigorate Tibetan culture and spiritual practice following the loss of their homeland. Nyingma masters and devotees, both ordained and lay, unanimously appointed him Supreme Head of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, and he served in this capacity until his passing in 1987" (jacket blurb).
45. Researches into Chinese superstitions ... Translated from the French with notes historical and explanatory by M. Kennelly [later, by D. J. Finn and others]. Shanghai: Tusewei Printing Press, 1914-38.
$3,500
18 volumes, mixed editions; 8vo, extensively illustrated throughout with plates, facsimiles, halftones, etc., much in color lithography after drawings by the author; original string-bound printed paper-covered boards; stamps from the library of St. Joseph's Priory on covers and title pages, else generally a very good to fine set.
Henry Doré was a French missionary and scholar of Asia. His 18-volume major work "Recherches sur les Superstitions en Chine" was one of the earliest 20th century European writings on Chinese culture and religion. Doré studied in Central China for more than two decades and was also an exceptionally talented illustrator who reproduced many pieces of Chinese art for his books.
Originally published in French in a set of eighteen volumes from 1914-1938, these texts are notable for their colorful illustrations. Only volumes I through X and XIII were translated into English. The First Part in 5 volumes covers "Superstitious Practices" (1914-1918); the Second Part in 7 volumes covers "The Chinese Pantheon" (1918-1933) - the last two volumes in French; and the Third Part in 6 volumes covers Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism ((1919-1938), all but volume XIII in French.
46. An analytical study on the Samye debate. Sarnath, Varanasi: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 2005.
$50
First edition (550 copies printed), 8vo, pp. xviii, 408; 20-page introduction in English, otherwise in Tibetan throughout; fine copy in the dust jacket. Issued as no. 18 in the publisher's Miscellaneous Series.
"Samye Debate, also called Council of Lhasa, ... was a two-year debate over whether enlightenment happened gradually or suddenly. It took place at Samye Temple, hosted by Trisong Detsen, between Indian Monastics from Nalanda and Chinese Moheyan from Tang Imperial Court between 792 and 794" (Wikipedia).
47. གདམས་ངག་བཀའ་རྒྱ་ཅན་ལྔ་ཡི་བླ་མ་བརྒྱུད་པའི་རྣམ་ཐར་དད་གསུམ་ཆུ་གཏེར་འཕེལབྱེད་ངོ་མཚར་ཟླ་བའི་མེ་ལོང་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་བཞུགས། / Gdams ngag bka' rgya can lnga yi bla ma brgyud pa'i rnam thar dad gsum chu gter 'phelbyed ngo mtshar zla b'i me long zhes bya ba bzhugs [= A broad history of the lineage of the five secret precepts of the glorious Drukpa lineage]. Plouray: Drukpa Plouray, 2009.
$40
First edition, limited to 3000 copies, 8vo, pp. [8], v, [1], 440; text in Tibetan; pictorial paper wrappers; fine. The cover title reads "No-mtshar Zla-ba'i Me-lon by Sgrub-sprul Thrin-las Rgya-Mtsho"
A broad history of the Lineage of the Five Secret Precepts of the Glorious Drukpa Lineage was written in 1845, and consists of nearly seventy biographies of realized masters of the past. Added in this edition is a list of some of the Drukpa Lineage masters and their reincarnations.
48. A history of Zen Buddhism. New York: Random House, [1963].
$40
8vo, pp. viii, [8], 335, [1]; 6 leaves of illustrations; publisher's brown cloth, gilt title on spine, top edge dyed red; fine in near-fine, price clipped dust jacket.
49. 敦煌彩塑 / Dunhuang cai su [= Tunhuang painted sculptures]. Beijing: Cultural Relics Press, 1978.
$50
Folio, pp. [4], 14, plus 85 color illustrations; text in Chinese with a 4-p English insert laid in; full tan cloth; fine in fine dust jacket an original card slipcase.
50. [Dunhuang Murals.] 敦煌壁畫集 Dunhuang bi hua ji [= The Dunhuang Mural Collection]. [Beijing: Wenwu Chuban She (文物出版社), 1957].
$350
Folio, pp. [2], 4, 3, 69, 1; printed and paginated on rectos only; text in Chinese; 69 full-page illustrations, one folding; original blue decorated brocade boards, silk label on upper cover; light sunning to spine, a couple pages dog-eared, not affecting images, pages clean and the binding sound.
The Dunhuang caves were dug out in 366 CE as a center of Buddhist meditation and worship. They consist of around 700 caves, many of which were lavishly decorated to aid in meditation and study over the course of over one thousand years.
51. Buddhist hybrid Sanskrit grammar and dictionary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, [2004].
$125
2 volumes, 4to, pp. xxx, 239, [1]; [8], 627, [1]; text in double column; very good, sound copies in the dust jackets.
Reprint edition, originally published by Yale in 1953. This is the first attempt at a description of the grammar and lexicon of Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit. Most North Indian Buddhist texts are composed in it. It is based primarily on an old Middle Indic vernacular not otherwise identifiable.
52. Chinese Buddhism: a volume of sketches, historical, descriptive, and critical ... Second edition, revised. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, & Co., 1893.
$125
8vo, pp. xxxiii, [1], 453, [1]; original terracotta cloth, gilt-stamped spine and upper cover; a very good, sound, and clean copy. Issued as part of Trübner's Oriental Series. With the bookplate of Frank K. Ikle and an early ownership signature of F. Lessing.
53. The many canons of Tibetan Buddhism. Leiden, Boston, Koln: Brill, 2002.
$125
8vo, pp. vi, [2], 376; fine in original pictorial yellow cloth. Issued as volume 2/10 in Brill's Tibetan Studies Library series, edited by Henk Blezer, Alex McKay, Charles Ramble.
Fourteen papers from PIATS 2000. This volume "is one of the first to include scholarship on both the mainstream Tibetan canons of translated Buddhist classics known as the Bka' 'gyur & Bstan 'gyur (section one) and the alternative canon of literature of the Rnying ma tantric traditions known as the Rnying ma rgyud 'bum (section two). The first section discusses various aspects of the formation and transmission of Tibetan (canonical texts, but also includes important works of reference, such as a Bka' gdams pa handbook and several unique catalogues, and features a first report on Tibetan textual transmission in Mongolia. The second section presents interpretative analysis of one of the most important alternative canons in Tibet, the Rnying ma rgyud 'bum, but also discusses issues of legitimacy, authority and lineage during the
54. Handbook of Chinese Buddhism being Sanskrit-Chinese dictionary with vocabularies of Buddhist terms in Pali, Singhalese, Siamese, Burmese, Tibetan, Mongolian and Japanese. New Delhi and Chennai: Asian Educational Services, 2004.
$30
Facsimile edition after the second edition of 1888; 8vo, pp. [14], 231, [3]; text in double column, green cloth gilt; corners a touch bumped, text clean and sound, fine.
55. The sutra of golden light. Being a translation of the Suvarṇabhāsottamasūtra. London: Luzac & Company Ltd, 1970.
$65
First edition, 8vo, pp. xiii, [1], 108; previous owner's name on front free endpaper, else a fine copy in original maroon cloth, gilt-lettered spine.
The Golden Light Sutra or Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra is a Buddhist text of the Mahayana branch of Buddhism. It "was originally written in India in Sanskrit and was translated several times into Chinese by Dharmakṣema and others, and later translated into Tibetan and other languages" (Wikipedia).
56. Le Yoga Tibetain et les doctrines secretes ou les sept livres de la sagesse du Grant Sentiler suivant la traduction du Lama Kasi Dawa Samdup. Paris: Librairie d'Amerique et d'Orient Adrien Maisonneuve, 1948.
$50
8vo, pp. [10], 365, [3]; frontispiece; original printed wrappers bound in; recent green boards backed in cloth; wrappers chipped with some tape reinforcement, the textblock toned and quite brittle; good.
Walter Yeeling Evans-Wentz (1878-1965) "was an American anthropologist and writer who was a pioneer in the study of Tibetan Buddhism, and in transmission of Tibetan Buddhism to the Western world, most known for publishing an early English translation of The Tibetan Book of the Dead in 1927" (Wikipedia).
57. The Tibetan book of the great liberation or the method of realizing Nirvāṇa through knowing the mind, preceded by an epitome of Padma-Sambhava's biography and followed by Guru Phadampa Sangay's teachings according to English renderings by Sardar Bahādur S.W. Laden La and by the Lāmas Karma Sumdhon Paul, Lobzang Mingyur Dorje, and Kazi Dawa-Samdup. Introductions, annotations and editing by W.Y. Evans-Wentz ... With psychological commentary by C.G. Jung. London, New York, Toronto: Geoffrey Cumberlege, Oxford University Press, 1954.
$400
First edition, 8vo, pp. lxiv, 261, [1]; color frontispiece and 8 plates; fine copy in original green cloth stamped in gilt on upper cover and spine, preserving the printed dust jacket which is price-clipped, but approaches fine.
Walter Yeeling Evans-Wentz (1878-1965) "was an American anthropologist and writer who was a pioneer in the study of Tibetan Buddhism, and in transmission of Tibetan Buddhism to the Western world, most known for publishing an early English translation of The Tibetan Book of the Dead in 1927" (Wikipedia).
58. An archaeological history of religions on Indian Asia. New York: Paragon House, 1989.
$45
First edition, large 8vo, pp. xxvii, [1], 734; maps, tables, hundreds of illustrations; fine in original gilt-stamped green cloth.
59. Specimen du Gya-tcher-rol-pa (lalita vistara). Partie du chapitre vii, contenant la naissance de Sakya-muni. Paris: Benjamin Duprat, 1841.
$100
8vo, pp. 12, [2], 33, [1]; introduction in French, main text in Tibetan; 2 text illustrations; blue paper wrappers; spine perished, sewing split, two owner's inscriptions on wrappers, with annotations throughout text.
Philippe Édouard Foucaux (1811-1894) was a French tibetologist. He published the first Tibetan grammar in French and occupied the first chair of Tibetan Studies in Europe. The Lalitavistara Sūtra "is a Sanskrit Mahayana Buddhist sutra that tells the story of Gautama Buddha from the time of his descent from Tushita until his first sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath near Varanasi" (Wikipedia).
60. Der Wintermythus der Kesarsage. Ein Beitrag zur Kenntnis der vorbuddhistischen Religion Ladakhs [= The winter myth of the Kesar legend. A contribution to the knowledge of the pre-Buddhist religion of Ladakh]. Helssingfors: Société finno-ougrienne, 1902.
$50
First edition, 8vo, pp. vii, [1], 77, [5] ads; text in Tibetan and German; near perfect copy (likely a remainder at some point) in original brown printed wrappers.
Issued as no. XV.2 in the publisher's Suomalais-ugrilaisen Seuran toimituksia series.
Not in Yakushi.
61. "The song of the eastern snow mountain," as contained in Bibliotheca Indica, A Collection of Oriental Works published by the Asiatic Society of Bengal, New Series, no. 1426. [Translated and "lexicographically treated" by Johan Van Manen]. Calcutta: printed at the Baptist Mission Press and published by the Asiatic Society, 1, Park Street, 1919.
$100
8vo, pp. [6], 86; mostly unopened; text in Tibetan and English; original printed wrappers; very good, sound, and clean.
"It has remained one of his most popular and enduring verse works. In it he advised his followers to restrain themselves from responding to the violence with more violence, and instead practice compassion and patience.” It is a prayer in dedication to his gurus but most importantly Lama Tsongkhapa. Written during an extended retreat above Nartang Monastery when he was 50 years of age (approx. 1441), shortly after having a vision of Tsongkhapa. Gendun Drub “was in a quandary as to what to do for he was in meditation retreat and did not wish to break it. There was sectarian conflict in the region he was in, and 'Overwhelmed with sadness, he offered a prayer to his gurus and in particular Lama Tsongkhapa and his chief disciples. Suddenly Tsongkhapa appeared to him and resolved all his doubts.' This is his dedication prayer from that experience" (Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia).
62. Les aspects économiques du bouddhisme dans la société chinoise du Ve au Xe siècle. Saigon: École française d'Extrême-Orient, 1956.
$75
First edition, large 8vo, pp. [7], xii-xv, [1], 331, [1]; 10 plates at the back; largely unopened; slight toning, else a very good, sound, and clean copy in original printed wrappers. Issued as no. 39 in the publisher's Publications de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient series.
63. Quatorze sculptures indiennes de la collection Paul Mallon. Paris: [publisher not identified beyond an address] 58 Boulevard Flandrin, n.d., [ca. 1920s].
$100
Portfolio (approx. 12½" x 9½") containing a title leaf, index of plates, and an introduction, plus 14 mounted and numbered plates of Buddhist sculpture, each with a descriptive leaf of text; original drab paper-covered boards lettered in black and red, string-tied, and with a new brown cloth spine neatly lettered in gilt; some toning of the text leaves and mounts, but the plates themselves are clean; very good.
Paul Mallon (1884-1975) was a Parisian antiquities dealer who specialized in Asian, ancient (especially Egyptian), and Byzantine art.
64. The Cakrasamvara Tantra: the discourse of Śrī Heruka (Śrīherukābhidhāna). A study and annotated translation. New York: American Institute of Buddhist Studies at Columbia University, 2007.
$50
First edition, 8vo, pp. xvii, [3], 447, [1]; a fine copy in a fine dust jacket.
"This is the first complete, critical English translation of the Cakrasamvara Tantra, also known as the Sriherukabhidhana and Laghusamvara. Composed in India during the late eighth or early ninth century, this text is a foundational scripture of one of the most important Indian Buddhist tantric traditions, as evidenced by the vast number of commentaries and ritual literature associated with it. Along with the Hevajra Tantra, it is one of the earliest and most influential of the Yogini Tantras, a genre of tantric Buddhist scripture that emphasizes female deities, particularly the often fiercely depicted Yoginis and Dakinis. The author's introductory essay provides an analysis of the historical and intellectual contexts in which the Tantra was composed, including its complex interrelationship with Hindu Saiva traditions, and investigates the history of its adaptation by Buddhists. The translation was made on the basis of the surviving Sanskrit manuscripts of the Tantra and its commentaries, as well as parallel passages in related explanatory tantras (vyakhyatantra). It is also takes into consideration two different Tibetan translations of the root text, and several Tibetan commentaries. The translation itself is heavily annotated, with extensive translations from the Indian and Tibetan commentaries on the text. Includes a trilingual glossary and index" (jacket blurb).
65. In the footsteps of the Buddha. London: George Routledge & Sons, 1932.
$50
First edition in English, 8vo, pp. xi, [1], 352; frontispiece, folding map, 7 illustrations on 8 plates; ex-James J. Hill Library, with perforated stamp in the bottom margin of the title page, small rubberstamp on the verso of the map, and accession numbers on the spine imperceptibly hidden; all else very good and sound.
66. Mythologie du Buddhisme au Tibet et en Mongolie basee sur la collection lamaique du Prince Oukhtomsky. Paris and Leipzig: Ernest Leroux and F. A. Brockhaus, 1900.
$300
Large 8vo, pp. xxxvii, [1], 247, [1]; text in French; photogravure portrait frontispiece and text illustrations throughout, largely after wood engravings; original pictorial wrapper bound in, recent creme cloth-covered boards, paper label on spine; sticker residue on upper wrapper, else fine.
Esper Ukhtomsky was a Russian Diplomat and strong advocate for creating close ties with Russia and the East. He is best known for writing the account of Tsar Nicholas II's grand tour of Asia, which he was a part of. His collection of Tibetan and Mongolian art was the first such major collection outside of the region.
67. [Gtsang-smyon He-ru-ka; Zla-ba-bsam-'grub.] Tibet's great yogī, Milarepa. A biography from the Tibetan being the Jetsün-Kahbum or biographical history of Jetsün-Milarepa according to the late Lāma Kazi Dawa-Samdup's English rendering. Oxford: University Press. London: Humphrey Milford, 1928.
$400
First edition, 8vo, pp. xx, 315, [1]; color frontispiece, 6 illustrations on rectos and versos of 4 plates; original green cloth stamped in gilt on upper cover and spine; lower cover somewhat spotted, else a near fine copy, preserving the original price-clipped dust jacket which is soiled and a bit worn at the extremities, and with 2 tiny chips out at the top of the spine.
Translation of Mi-la-ras-paʼi rnam thar made largely by Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup. Walter Yeeling Evans-Wentz (1878-1965) "was an American anthropologist and writer who was a pioneer in the study of Tibetan Buddhism, and in transmission of Tibetan Buddhism to the Western world, most known for publishing an early English translation of The Tibetan Book of the Dead in 1927" (Wikipedia).
68. Gateway to the temple. Manual of Tibetan monastic customs, art, building and celebrations. Kathmandu: Ratna Postak Bhandar, 1979.
$60
First edition in English, 8vo, pp. [10], 87, [1]; 2 folding color plates, 12 pages of grayscale plates after photographs; parallel text in English and Tibetan; full green cloth, pictorial endpapers, about fine in lightly toned dust jacket with small spot on upper jacket.
"Originally entitled: A requisite manual for faith and the adherence to the Buddhist teaching: including the way of entering the door of religion, the root of the teaching; the method of erecting temples, the resting place of the teaching; and cycle of religious duties, the performance of the teaching." Includes direction of iconography and religious illustration.
Bibliotheca Himalayica Series III, Volume 12
69. Being human in a Buddhist world. An intellectual history of medicine in early modern Tibet. New York: Columbia University Press, [2015].
$75
First edition, 8vo, pp. xi, [7], 519, [1]; over 50 illustrations from various sources, many in color; fine copy in a fine jacket.
"Critically exploring medical thought in a cultural milieu with no discernible influence from the European Enlightenment, Being Human in a Buddhist World reveals an otherwise unnoticed intersection of early modern sensibilities and religious values in traditional Tibetan medicine. It further studies the adaptation of Buddhist concepts and values to medical concerns and suggests important dimensions of Buddhism's role in the development of Asian and global civilization" (jacket blurb).
70. Bibliography on Buddhism. Edited by the Commemoration Committee for Prof. Shinsho Hanayama's sixty-first birthday. Tokyo: The Hokuseido Press, 1961.
$125
First edition (1000 copies printed), 8vo, pp. xiii, [1], 869, [1]; text in double column; fine copy in a fine dust jacket.
71. Western China: a journey to the great Buddhist centre of Mount Omei . Boston: Ticknor and Co., 1888.
$200
First edition, 8vo, pp. x, [2], [13]-306; folding map, frontispiece, and 12 plates; spine a little dull but a very good, sound, and clean copy in original blue cloth, gilt-stamped spine.
Mount Omei in Sichuan Province, China, is the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China.
Not in Yakushi.
72. Sa skya bkaʼ ʼbum: dkar chag = Sakya kabum catalogue: Sakyapa catalogue series. Volume I [all published?]. Gangtok: Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology, 1990.
$45
Small 4to, pp. [6], iv-xvii, 215, [1]; frontispiece; original red cloth stamped in gilt on upper cover and spine; very good, sound, and clean. In Tibetan with prefatory matter and indexes in English.
The first catalogue of the collection at the Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology of over 900 works in the Buddhist canon, as well as non-canonical works from Sanskrit and other languages, one of the largest repositories of Buddhist scriptures and indigenous Tibetan literature in the world.
Volume I only is located in OCLC so it's likely this is all that was published.
73. Essays on the languages, literature, and religion of Nepal and Tibet together with further papers on the geography, ethnology, and commerce of those countries. London: Trubner and Co., 1874.
$375
First edition thus, 8vo, pp. [3], vi-xi, [1], 124; 3 folding tables; original terra cotta cloth, gilt-stamped spine; college bookplate (released); all else very good, clean and sound.
Reprinted with corrections and additions from "Illustrations of the literature and religion of the Buddhists". Serampore, 1841; and "Selections from the records of the government of Bengal, no. XXVII", Calcutta, 1857.
74. 淨土聖賢錄易解 / Jing tu sheng xian lu yi jie [= Readable biographies of the Pure Land sages]. [Kaohsiung]: Gaoxiong wen shu jiang tang, [1999].
$75
8vo, 6 vols., text in traditional Chinese; pictorial boards; fine. In original publisher's slipcase; the slipcase split at one joint.
Pure Land Buddhism or the Pure Land Schoo "is a broad branch of Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Pure Land. It is one of the most widely practiced traditions of Buddhism in East Asia. It is also known as the "Lotus School" in China or the "Nembutsu school" in Japan. East Asian Pure Land mainly relies on three main Mahayana scriptures: the Sutra of Amitayus, the Contemplation Sutra and the Amitabha Sutra" (Wikipedia).
75. Illustrated history of Buddhism [cover title]. Rangoon: The Young Men's Buddhist Association, 1954.
$30
16mo, pp. [2],65, [1]; staple bound printed paper wrappers; spot on upper wrappers spine worn but holding, textblock clean, very good. Despite the title, the text is not illustrated, and refers to a separate collection of paintings not included.
The titles and descriptions of 65 images depicting the life of the Buddha and the events of early Buddhism.
76. ཤིས་བྱ-ཀུན་ཁྱབ་མཛོད་ལས་བཞི་པ་རྒྱལ་བསྟན་འཛམ་བུའི་གླིང་དུ་ཇི་ལྷར་དར་བའི་རིམ་པར་ཕྱེ་བའི་སྐབས་གཞུགས་སོ། / Shes-bya-kun-khyab-mdzod-las-bzhi-pa-rgyal-bstan-'dzam-bu'i-gling-du-ji-lhar-dar-ba'i-rim-par-phye-ba'i-skabs-gzhugs-so [= Treasury of knowledge part 4: how the victor's teachings spread]. Varanasi: Vajra Vidkya Monastery, 1999.
$40
Second edition, 8vo, pp. [4], 256, [6], one portrait plate; text in Tibetan; red printed paper wrappers; a touch of toning to paper, else fine.
"Treasury of Knowledge was Jamgon Kongtrul's magnum opus, covering the full spectrum of Buddhist history, philosophy and practice." Book four covers the history of Buddhism's spread across the world.
77. 梵文《妙法莲华经》写本 : 拉丁字母转写本 : 民族文化宮图书馆藏 / A sanskrit manuscript of Saddharmapundarika kept in the Library of the Cultural Palace of the Nationalities, Beijing. Romanized text. Beijing: China Social Sciences Publishing House, 1988.
$200
8vo, pp. [6], 16, 440; full yellow cloth; about fine, jacket sunned and edgeworn with a few stain spots.
The Saddharmapuṇḍarika, or Lotus Sutra, is one of the most famous of the Buddhist Sutras. This is a romanization of a manuscript copy originally kept in the Sa-skya Monastery. It was completed in 1082.
78. Buddhist China. London: John Murray, 1913.
$375
First edition, 8vo, pp. xvi, 403, [1]; errata slip tipped in at p. 1; frontispiece, folding map and 61 illustrations on 40 plates; original red cloth stamped in black on upper cover and spine; spine a touch sunned, else very good, sound, and clean. Ownership signature of R. W. Elliott on front free endpaper.
79. The doctrine of recognition: (Pratyabhijna philosophy); a study of its origin and development and place in Indian and western systems of philosophy. Hoshiarpur: Vishveshvaranand Institute, 1967.
$100
First edition, 8vo, pp. xix, [3], 398, [2]; a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket. Issued as no. 40 in the publisher's Vishveshvaranand Indological series.
"The Pratyabhijña Darsana (the Doctrine of Recognition), is the main philosophical system of the Kashmir Saivas. The school emerged in the second half of the ninth century and developed in two stages, the earlier as represented by Somānanda's Sivadyşti and the later by Urpaladeva's Iśvara Pratyabhijña Karika and its exposition by Abhinavagupta. An attempt is made in this work to discuss about the origin and development of the system and to affiliate it to the thought of the Upanisads. The work reviews also the allied philosophical movements in India and the West and indicates what specific contribution the Pratyabhijñā makes to philosophy" (Foreword).
80. Pramanakirtih. Papers dedicated to Ernst Steinkellner on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Wien: Arbeitskreis für tibetische und buddhistische Studien, Universität Wien,, 2007.
$250
2 volumes, 8vo, pp. xxxvii, [1], 543, [1]; vi, [545]-1103, [5]; a number of illustrations throughout, many in color; fine in original pictorial mustard wrappers. Issued as nos. 70.1 and 70.2 in the publisher's Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde series.
Fifty contributions from various scholars from around the world in English, French or German. Dr. Ernst Steinkellner (b. 1937) is Professor Emeritus for Buddhist Studies and Tibetology at the University of Vienna, and from 1998 to 2006 was director of the Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia.
81. Mudrās the ritual hand-poses of the Buddha priests and the Shiva priests of Bali ... with an introduction by A.J.D. Campbell ... With 60 full-page drawings by the author. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co.; New York, E.P. Dutton & Co., 1924.
$85
First edition, 4to, pp. 42, [2], 62 plates on 31 leaves; original blue cloth-backed paper covered boards, gilt-stamped spine; endpapers with old playhouse rubberstamps, but no other markings; crack in spine neatly repaired; all else good, sound, and clean.
82. Knowing, naming, and negation: A sourcebook on Tibetan Sautrantika. Translated, annotated and introduced by Anne Carolyn Klein. With oral commentary by Geshe Belden Drakba [and others]. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, [1991].
$35
First edition, 8vo, pp. 266, [74]; fine in original blue cloth, silver lettering on spine; without a dust jacket, as issued. Issued in the publisher's Textual studies and translations in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism series.
83. Buddhist art and Tibetan patronage. Leiden, Boston, Koln: Brill, 2002.
$75
8vo, pp. xvi, 136; 98 full-page illustrations from photographs (many in color) on rectos and versos of 48 plates; fine in original pictorial yellow cloth. Issued as volume 2/7 in Brill's Tibetan Studies Library series, edited by Henk Blezer, Alex McKay, Charles Ramble.
Nine papers from PIATS 2000. "The increasing accessibility of Tibet has provided important new insights into the history and context of Tibetan art. This book discusses the impact of Tibetan patronage on Buddhist artistic monuments in the heartland of Tibet and on its far (cultural) borders" (publisher's blurb).
84. A short guide to Bamiyan [wrapper title]. Kabul: Historical Society of Afghanistan [printed by The Government Central Press, [1955].
$100
10¼" x 7¼", pp. 12; 25 illustrations on rectos and versos of 8 plates; original pictorial yellow wrappers; removed from a stapled binding with multiple tiny holes in the gutter; all else very good.
Three in OCLC, only LC in the U.S. The cataloguing for the LC copy was done by someone who may have had too much time on their hands, but who have provided nonetheless a valuable summary:
"This booklet is a brief guide to the Bamiyan Valley and the surrounding archaeological sites in central Afghanistan, published in the 1950s by the Historical Society of Afghanistan. For centuries, the valley was famous for its two Giant Buddhas, carved into cliffs in the fourth and fifth centuries, where they stood until the Taliban destroyed them in 2001. The guide begins with a brief description of the road from Kabul to Bamiyan, some 240 kilometers to the northwest. It offers in short sections information on the geography and history of the valley, which served for centuries as a Buddhist pilgrimage center and a commercial crossroads between China, India, Persia, and the Roman Empire on the southern branch of the Silk Road. The booklet gives early accounts by Chinese monks and travelers who visited Bamiyan in the seventh and eighth centuries. A few sections describe the two colossal statues, giving details about the murals and paintings on the niches and about the ancient grottoes that were once monasteries. The final sections are dedicated to other sites of interest, such as one in the nearby valley of Kakrak, where a smaller Buddha and other grottoes also exist. Images of the statues and the murals illustrate the guide, separating the English version from a French account that shares some of the same information, but focuses on the dynasties that ruled in Bamiyan before and after Islam. The author, Ahmad Ali Kuhzad (1907-83), was curator of the Kabul Museum and the first president of the Anjoman-e Tarik-e Afganestan (Historical Society of Afghanistan). The society was founded in Kabul in 1942. Its mission was to promote the history of Afghanistan through research, scholarship, and publication."
85. The iconography of the Derge Kanjur and Tanjur. Facsimile reproductions of the 648 illustrations of the Derge edition of the Tibetan Tripitaka housed in the library of the Oriental Institute in Prague
. New Delhi: [Sharada Rani], 1978.
$75
4to, pp. 286; frontispiece and approximately 600 illustrations; full green cloth, gilt title on upper cover and spine; fine.
Sata-pitaka series. Indo-Asian Literatures Volume 241.
86. [Korean Temples.] 韓國 寺刹 寶鑑 = Han'guk sach'al pogam = [Complete list of Korean Buddhist temples]. Sŏul : Uri Ch'ulp'ansa, [1997].
$125
First edition, 8vo, pp. [2], 538, [2]; text in double column; fine copy in a fine dust jacket. Text in Korean.
Includes locations, brief histories, administrative districts, etc.
87. Dictionnaire Mongol-Russe-Français = Монгольско-Руссо-Французкій Словарь = Mongolʹsko-russko-frant︠s︡uzskiĭ slovarʹ. Kasan: Imprimerie de l'Université, 1844-46-49.
$2,500
First edition, 3 volumes, 4to, pp. [6], xiv, [1], 594; [4], 595-1545, [1]; [4], [1547]-2690; 20th-century brown buckram stamped in gilt on spine; very good, sound, and clean throughout.
From whowaswho-indology.info and wikipedia we learn that Józef Szczepan Kowalewski (1800-1878) was a Polish Mongolian and Buddhist scholar in Russia, and professor in Kazan and Warsaw. From 1818 he studied classical philology and literature at Vilnius University, but became involved in a student uprising and was expelled to Kazan in 1824 where he studied Mongolian and Tibetan Buddhism. In 1833, he founded the Department of Mongolian Studies at Kazan University, the first in Europe. Dismissed from the university for political reasons he returned to Poland in 1863, became Professor of history at Warsaw College (which became university in 1869), and lectured on Asian history including India. His great dictionary of classic literary Mongolian is said to be the best ever published as far as the Buddhist literature is concerned.
Zaunmuller, col. 274.
88. The Karmavibhanga. Transliterations and annotations of the original Sanskrit manuscripts from Nepal. Tokyo: Soka University, 2004.
$50
10 x 7.25 in., pp. xxx, 348, [2]; printed paper wrappers; fine.
An early Sanskritised Prakrit text which "in the context of Mahayana Buddhism, is a significant commentary that explores the Buddha's teachings and his interactions, such as his admonishment of Utpalavarna for her excessiveness in honoring him. Additionally, it serves as a Buddhist text that elucidates the concept of karma and its consequences, specifically illustrated through the actions of Nanda" (wisdomlibrary.com).
Bibliotheca Philologica et Philosophica Buddhica Volume VII.
89. Краткий обзор пантеона северного буддизма и ламаизма в связи с историей учения : по коллекциям, выставленным в Центральном музее народоведения / Kratkii obzor panteona Buddizma i lamaizma v svyazi c istoriei ucheniya... [= A brief overview of the pantheon of Northern Buddhism and Lamaism in connection with the history of the teaching] . Moscow: [Goznak], 1927.
$250
Edition limited to 1000 copies, 8 x 5.5 in., pp. 71, [1]; 8 plates; printed paper wrappers; some dogearing to cover corners, Armenian library stamp on title page with the name blocked out in pen, very good.
Boris Kuftin was a Russian ethnographer focused on ancient Central Asia. He was exiled from Russia for his revolutionary activities, returned to lecture at the University of Moscow, and then exiled again for counter-revolutionary activities.
90. Principles of modern Burmese Buddhist law ... Fifth edition. Calcutta: Easter Law House Ltd., 1951.
$50
8vo, pp. xviii, [2], 419, [1] errata; original pumpkin cloth-backed printed paper-covered boards; very good, sound and clean copy.
91. A concise history of Buddhist art in Siam. Rutland & Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle, [1971].
$45
Second printing, large 8vo, pp. xxiii, [1], 169, [80] illustrations; frontispiece, folding map; fine copy in original price-clipped dust jacket and publisher's box.
92. Buddhist scriptures series no. 1. The sutra of the Lord of Healing. (Bhaishajyaguru Vaiduryaprabha Tathagata). Peiping (Beijing): Society of Chinese Buddhists, [1936].
$75
First edition, 8vo, pp. xii, 32; one folding plate; printed paper wrappers; spine chipped, owner's signature on upper wrapper, light sunning, very good.
93. Guide through the Abhidhamma-pitaka being a synopsis of the philosophical collection belonging to the Buddhist Pali canon followed by an essay on the Paticca-samuppada. Colombo: Bauddha Sahitya Sabha, 1957.
$40
Second edition, revised and enlarged, 8vo, pp. xv, 179, [1]; folding chart; printed yellow boards backed in red cloth; shallow tide stain on top edge of upper board and textblock, not affecting text; owner's signature on free endpaper, very good.
"The Abhidhamma is the third section of the Ti-pitaka or three baskets of Buddhist doctrine... since the introduction of these books in Lanka [around 250 B.C.], shortly after the Third Council, by Ashoka's Arahant son, the have been considered to be finally closed and not open to alteration by jot or line... the tradition of the Theravada, the original trunk of orthodox Pali Buddhism, insists that the Abhidamma is the direct teaching of the Master himself."
94. Japanese scroll depicting the 10 ox-herding pictures serving as a parable for the Zen path of enlightenment. [Japan: 19th century].
$5,000
Horizontal scroll, 14 inches by approximately 14½ feet; 10 hand-painted panels, each measuring 14" x "19; headed by brocade; brocade lightly soiled, otherwise quite fine. Housed in a lightly worn cardboard box.
The ten colorful and masterfully produced ox-herding images each contain a series of short stanzas which serve as a parable for the Zen path of enlightenment, emphasizing the value of meditation and intuition. The images first appeared in 11th-century China, and became popular among Japanese sometime around the 15th century. This scroll was produced in the 19th century, and follows Chinese artistic conventions, although its artist was Japanese.
Zen "is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka philosophies, with Chinese Taoist thought, especially Neo-Daoist. Zen originated as the Chan School or the Buddha-mind school and later developed into various sub-schools and branches ... Zen emphasizes meditation practice, direct insight into one's own Buddha nature and the personal expression of this insight in daily life for the benefit of others" (Wikipedia).
95. Introduction a l`Iconographie du Tântrisme Bouddhique. Paris: Librairie d'Amérique et d'Orient / A. Maisonneuve, 1986.
$125
First edition, large 8vo, pp. xii, 495, [1]; 28 pages of plates at the back; very good, sound, and clean in original pictorial wrappers, mostly unopened. Issued in the publisher's Bibliothèque du Centre de recherches sur l'Asie centrale et la Haute Asie series.
96. The Tanka. Buddhist painting in Tibet and Nepal. [Kyoto]: Dohosha, 1979.
$500
First edition, folio, pp. [9], i-vii, 276, [2]; text in Japanese and English; 67 mounted color plates, 4 leaves showing 23 color illustrations, plus other illustrations throughout; fine copy in original cream linen, printed paper label on upper cover and spine, publisher's slipcase.
97. Mandala cosmogony. Human body, good thought and the revelation of the secret mother tantras of Bon. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 1994.
$40
8vo, pp. [8], 165, [1]; original yellow cloth; fine.
Asiatische Forschungen Monographienreihe zur Geschichte, kultur und sprache der volker ost-und zentralasiens Band 124.
98. Unearthing Bon treasures. Life and contested legacy of a Tibetan scripture revealer, with a general bibliography of Bon. Leiden & Boston: Brill, 2001.
$85
8vo, pp. viii, [4], 483, [1]; fine in original pictorial yellow cloth. Issued as volume 1 in Brill's Tibetan Studies Library series, edited by Henk Blezer, Alex McKay, Charles Ramble.
Bon is the indigenous religion of Tibet, and is also known as Yungdrung Bon. It is an ancient religion that incorporates shamanistic practices and magic.
"The subject for this study, the Tibetan "treasure revealer" Gshen-chen Klu-dga', is a crucial figure in the development of Bon as an organised religion after the eleventh century. Here for the first time he is situated in the context of what was happening in Buddhism at the time. By scrutinizing his life and gter-ma ("treasures"), that were to be of much controversy in later ages, Dan Martin sheds light on the mechanism of Tibetan polemical tradition and the ways in which sectarianism accords itself legitimacy by resurrecting ancient arguments in a subtly distorted manner. The exhaustive annotated bibliography of previous works about Bon, forming the second part of the work, can rightly be seen as a legacy of Gshen-chen" (Amazon).
99. The Sukhāvatīvyūha sūtra. Union City, Calif. : The Samgha Press, 1985.
$125
First edition, pp. iv, 41, [1]; printed from typescript; fine in original pictorial yellow wrappers. Includes a 10-page Chinese, Japanese, English, and Sanskrit glossary in quadruple column.
Inscribed by the Hawaiian-born Matsubayashi to Dr. & Mrs. Yukio Uyeno "with warmest regards and best compliments." Rev. Dr. Matsubayashi served as a minister of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii from 1959 till he was transferred to the Buddhist Churches of America in October, 1972. He also served as a resident minister of the Southern Alameda County Buddhist Church in Union City, California, and was an instructor of the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley.
Harvard only in OCLC.
100. Mandala and landscape. New Delhi: D. K. Printworld (P) Ltd., 1997.
$50
First edition, 4to, pp. xiv, 460; folding color map, plates (some in color), illustrations in the text; fine copy in a fine dust jacket.
A mandala, in Hindu and Buddhist Tantrism, is a symbolic diagram used in the performance of sacred rites and as an instrument of meditation.