Submissions

Author Guidelines

1. Typical Structure of Articles Published in JIBS

The Journal of International Buddhist Studies (JIBS) is in the subject area of Arts and Humanities and adopts a flexible format common in these fields. It prioritizes high-quality content, academic rigor, and thoughtful exploration of Buddhist issues within a global context. Its structure typically includes:

• Title
  - Clearly reflects the main issue or focus of the article.
  - Often thought-provoking, questioning, or highlighting a specific context within Buddhism.
• Abstract
  - Approximately 200–250 words.
  - Summarizes the main research issue or question, including the objectives, methodology, findings, and significance of the study.
• Keywords
  - Usually 3–7 words.
  - Emphasizes key terms related to the content, theoretical framework, or geographical/disciplinary area of study.
• Introduction
  - States the research problem or key question.
  - Provides a general overview of relevant literature.
  - Review previous research.
  - Wraps up by emphasizing the study’s importance and outlining its goals, as well as the article's structure.
• Methodology (For empirically based articles)
  - Describe the data collection methods (e.g., fieldwork, interviews, document analysis, etc.).
  - Explains the study site, target group, and analytical approach.
• Main Body / Analysis
  - Analyzes data or phenomena related to Buddhism.
  - Connects with theoretical concepts.
  - Highlights socio-cultural, political, and other dimensions.
•  Conclusion
  - Summarizes the main points.
  - Answers the research question.
  - Provides academic insights or critical reflections.
  - May include limitations of the study or suggestions for future research.
• References
  - Uses Chicago Style (author-date).
  - Includes both English and non-English sources where applicable.
  - Must be accurate and correspond to citations in the text.
• Appendices (if applicable), Such as tables, photographs, or interview excerpts (optional).

Note:
- Articles in the Journal of International Buddhist Studies do not require rigid subheadings like those in scientific articles.
- Writing emphasizes deep analysis over simple data reporting.
- The typical article length ranges between 5,000 and 8,000 words.

2. Submission Guidelines

Please follow the online submission guidelines to submit your manuscript to the Journal of International Buddhist Studies (JIBS). Begin by visiting the JIBS registration page at Register and carefully follow the step-by-step instructions to create an account and upload your files. It is important to note that the manuscript source files used for the review process will also be required for further processing upon acceptance.

All communication regarding your submission, including the editor's decision and requests for revisions, will be conducted via email. This streamlined online submission process eliminates the need for traditional paper-based correspondence, resulting in a more efficient and convenient manuscript submission and review system.

All submissions should be preceded by a header on a separate page containing the title of the manuscript, the name(s) of the author(s), any institutional affiliations, mail and email addresses, and telephone numbers. The header should be formatted as in the following example:

Title: Title of Submission
Author(s): A.N. Author
Word length: XXXX words
Date of submission: 1 March 2024
Address:
Name of Institution
Name of Department
Full Postal Address
Email Address
Telephone Number

Include an abstract of 200-250 words following the header, along with 5-7 keywords. Authors should anonymize the body of their manuscript, removing references to themselves in the text and document metadata. If it is unclear what is entailed, please consult the journal editors. If you have used a special diacritic font, please provide the name (e.g., Indic Transliterator, CS Bitstream Charter, etc.).

3. Requirements for Submitting Manuscripts to JIBS

All manuscripts must be submitted as five separate files.
       1. Cover letter file
       2. Main manuscript file (Microsoft Word document)
       3. Ethical approval letter (optional)
       4. English approval letter (optional)
       5. Supplement data (optional)

4. Cover letter

Submission of a cover letter from the corresponding author is mandatory, where it must be assured that the article has not been previously published and is not currently being considered for publication elsewhere. The cover letter should include the following information:
       1. A concise summary of the study.
       2. A statement confirming that all authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript before submission to the journal.
       3. A precise specification of the article type, such as a research or academic article.
       4. A request to suggest suitable reviewers for the research, providing their names, affiliations, and email addresses.

5. Journal Style Guide

•  General guidelines
  • Please ensure your articles are formatted according to the Chicago style using the author/date system for in-text citations.
  • Footnotes should be used exclusively for longer citations or additional information.
  • . For guidance, download the JIBS Reference Guide. We recommend using the journal's template when preparing your manuscript.
  • All technical terms in Buddhist languages, except proper names, will be italicized. The general editors will make decisions regarding the technical terms in Buddhist languages in the case of articles. Authors should direct queries about technical terms to the above individuals and not the JIBS copy editors.

• Recommendations  on Terminology Usage in Buddhist Studies
  • No "Lord Buddha," only "Buddha". 
  • This term implies the historical Buddha Shakyamuni. In cases where there may reasonably be another Buddha under discussion (in addition to Shakyamuni), this needs to be clarified and properly stated (examples: Amitabha Buddha, Samantabhadra Buddha).
  • “Ven.” can be used to show respect to monks, but other honorifics (“Most Venerable”, etc.) are not accepted unless they are an official monastic or academic title. Consistent use of titles is important; examine on a case-by-case basis.
  • Find a standard Tripitaka reference volume/number/passage system and keep it consistent.
  • Writers of focused academic journal articles rarely discuss Buddhism as a whole, so be prepared to distinguish the type or branch of Buddhism being discussed (Theravada, Mahayana, Vajra yana, Zen, Indian, Thai, Tibetan, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, etc.).
  • Providing the time period is helpful, even when current (if the topic is contemporary, state so in the introduction).
  • As an international journal, JIBS has used conventional Gregorian dating for years. If the author wishes to use the Thai dating system, please indicate this in parenthesis with the BE designation.    Example: 2024 (2567 BE)
  • The use of BCE and CE is required for papers dealing with antiquity (particularly near the first century), but otherwise, CE is implied and does not need to be stated.
  • When referencing two authors, use “and” not “&” – examples (Johnston and Chaiyaporn, 2024, 31)
• Diacriticals
  • Sanskrit and Pali: concerning Sanskrit and Pali terms, transliterations will follow the forms in the Sanskrit-English Dictionary by Monier-Williams, the Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary by Edgerton, and the Pali-English Dictionary by Rhys Davids and Stede. The form of transliteration used is as follows:
  • Long vowels appear with a macron (e.g., ā, ī, ō, ū)
  • Consonantal diacritics are underlined; thus, retroflex consonants are written as r t th d dh n m s
  • visarga is written as h
  • The palatal n that takes a diacritic is: ñ
  • The two sibilant consonants are written as s and ś
  • The guttural nasal is written.n
  •  The danda is written |
  • The Wylie system of Tibetan transliteration requires no diacritical marks. Chinese can be Romanized by either the pinyin or Wade-Giles system. Japanese need only macrons for Romanization, which can be treated as indicated above for Sanskrit. Diacritical marks are used where applicable for all technical terms, group names (e.g., Sōka Gakkai), and other names. Foreign technical terms also appear in italics. Neither diacritical marks nor italics are used for terms accepted into English and other Western languages (e.g., samsara, Pali). For consistency, diacritical marks should appear in direct quotations even if they are not original. Submission Preparation Checklist As part of the submission process, authors must check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors who do not adhere to these guidelines.

6. Types of Published Articles