Encyclopedia
Explore Buddhist lineages and related contemplative traditions — with practices, texts, teachers, and places linked from Dharma Atlas.
A family of traditions arising from the teachings of the Buddha, spanning meditation, ethics, and insight across Asia and the modern world.
Read the overview →Major streams and their schools — open any lineage for subschools, practices, and local listings.
The Buddhist traditions of Tibet and the Himalayas — combining scholastic study, monastic discipline, and Vajrayāna practice.
Meditation traditions descending from Chinese Chan — including Japanese Zen, Korean Sŏn, and Vietnamese Thiền.
The “Teaching of the Elders” — grounded in the Pali Canon and living monastic traditions of South and Southeast Asia.
Temple-centered Buddhist cultures of Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka as they live in diaspora communities.
Devotional Mahāyāna traditions centered on Amitābha Buddha and birth in the Pure Land through faith and recitation.
Won Buddhism — a modern Korean tradition integrating meditation, ethics, and social engagement around the Il-Won symbol.
The Great Vehicle — Buddhist traditions emphasizing the bodhisattva path, emptiness, and universal liberation.
Contemplative and philosophical paths that appear alongside Buddhist communities in the directory.
Contemporary nondual teachings pointing to awareness beyond the subject–object split, drawing on Advaita, Zen, and related streams.
The nondual school of Vedānta associated with Śaṅkara — teaching the identity of Ātman and Brahman.
Islamic mystical paths of love, remembrance (dhikr), and proximity to the Divine through lineage orders.
Christian contemplative streams — centering prayer, monastic silence, and mystical theology in dialogue with meditation.
Hindu traditions of yoga, devotion, and philosophy — from temple ritual to meditation lineages worldwide.
