About this atlas.

Use it in four ways

Learn

A short introduction to the purpose, practices, traditions and texts.

Atlas

Traditions and their connections, geographical history, and comparisons by subject.

Library

Complete translations, study guides, books, teachers, talks, podcasts and YouTube channels.

Practice

Upcoming retreats, a worldwide retreat-center directory, meditation apps and the illustrated game.

How to read the sources

Original explanations and imagined stories are separate from quoted or translated texts. Four complete translations are included; the other reading pages are clearly marked as study guides. Each edition identifies its translator and usage terms.

The tradition tree is a selective teaching aid. It combines institutional lineages, textual inheritances and philosophical approaches that are not all the same kind of thing. Cross-branch links expose some of the relationships that a single tree cannot show.

Dates often describe a representative historical context. A dated manuscript is evidence about that copy, not a timestamp for an entire teaching. The collections timeline does not reconstruct an exact file tree of Buddhism in a given year.

Books, teachers and practice opportunities

The resource collection is selective and English-accessible. Inclusion identifies a useful source to explore; it does not imply affiliation, a ranking or an endorsement. Recordings remain with their original providers, including Dharma Seed, AudioDharma and Plum Village. Other traditions are also represented through their own archives and communities.

The curated retreat selection was reviewed on 14 September 2026; Insight Retreat Center listings are also refreshed from its public calendars. Listings are snapshots, and availability, costs and requirements belong to the organizer. Upcoming results show retreats starting within the next six months, online or on the US West or East Coast. The date window moves automatically. Follow the official calendars for the latest changes. Saved past retreats remain labeled.

Apps, podcasts and YouTube

The directories distinguish tradition-specific offerings from secular and cross-tradition approaches. These are editorial orientation labels, not claims of lineage transmission or a ranking. Related Atlas branches indicate influences or topics, not formal affiliation. Key people may be founders, teachers or hosts; each listing specifies their role.

App access and media details were checked on 14 September 2026. Free tiers, trials and subscriptions can change. The links on each card lead to the official offering or its publisher-supplied listing.

Your saved material

Browsing is open and an account is optional. Sign in with ChatGPT through My practice to sync saved resources, collections, notes, questions, followed teachers, study plans and retreat preparations across devices. Listening progress can also be saved while signed in. Google, Apple, email and X sign-in are not currently offered.

Personal notes and questions are private. Sharing a collection creates a snapshot of its selected resources; it does not include your private notes. You can revoke shared links, export your account data or delete it in My practice settings.

Reading display preferences, section bookmarks, game progress and reflection drafts remain in this browser on this device. Older browser-only study lists can be imported into your account from Settings. In-site updates are available; email delivery is not yet enabled.

Text and map sources

• SuttaCentralBhikkhu Sujato’s saved translations of MN 118, MN 10 and Snp 1.8 · CC0.
• Dhammatalks.orgNamed translations and modern teaching works linked in the comparisons.
• BDK AmericaTranslations from the Chinese Buddhist canonical inheritance.
• 84000Translations from the Tibetan Buddhist canon.
• Lotsawa HouseTranslations of named Indian and Tibetan teaching works.
• Natural EarthPublic-domain geographical outlines.

The Dhammapada uses F. Max Müller’s public-domain nineteenth-century translation. Its language and interpretations differ from many modern editions. Other source links accompany the particular text, teacher or event they support.

Where the atlas is still incomplete

This is a growing selection, with substantial gaps in regional traditions, languages and scholarly debates. A brief summary cannot settle interpretive disagreements. The most useful next editorial step is review by knowledgeable practitioners and scholars from several traditions.