The center maintains library and computer facilities for faculty and student research, develops research projects, and provides support for individual researchers. For information on visiting appointments, conference proposals, and research funding, see SCBS Research Opportunities.

The SCBS Library. The center houses a reference collection and reading room open to all members of the Stanford community. The library, which includes the 3000-volume Michel Strickmann collection, is built around primary works on religion in Chinese and Japanese languages. SCBS is actively developing its collection through purchases and donations and is working with other Stanford libraries to expand the university's resources for the study of Asian religions.

Research Projects and Publications. SCBS sponsors a number of ongoing research projects involving Stanford faculty and students.

Buddhist Manuscript Project. This project seeks to foster international collaboration and understanding of the different Buddhist manuscript finds worldwide through ongoing workshops and conferences. The goal of the project is to publish a state of the field survey of recent research on Buddhist manuscripts, and to facilitate networking among the various international project groups now working in this area.

Soto Zen Text Project. Undertaken with support from the Center for the Study of Soto Zen Texts, Tokyo, this project organizes an international team of scholars for work on the major texts of the Soto school of Zen Buddhism. When complete, it will provide annotated translations and glossaries, in both electronic and printed forms, for over one hundred works. The project, headed by Professors Bielefeldt and Griffith Foulk (Sarah Lawrence), offers an annual SCBS reading group in the spring term.

Mahaparinirvana Sutra Project. This project will bring together leading scholars to discuss their research on the Mahaparinirvana Sutra and the traditions connected with the sutra. The workshops and conferences will aim toward publication of the findings.

Asian Religions and Cultures Series. A scholarly publication series in collaboration with the Asian Religions & Cultures (ARC) Initiative and the Stanford University Press, under the editorship of Professors Carl Bielefeldt and Paul Harrison.

Research Support. SCBS provides support for individual research projects carried out at Stanford in Buddhist studies and other Asian religions. While current levels of financial support remain quite limited, the center is actively working to expand this program to full funding. For further information, see SCBS Research Opportunities.

Visiting Fellows Program. SCBS hosts visiting scholars, postdoctoral fellows, and doctoral students from other universities around the world to do research and writing at Stanford on Buddhist Studies and other Asian religions. Since the founding of SCBS, over sixty scholars from around the world have taken advantage of this program, which provides research assistance, incidental research expenses, and opportunities to participate in the colloquia, reading groups, and other activities of the Center. Please contact SCBS for information on the application process for the visiting fellows program.