Path Press

Path Press is a nonprofit organization and publishing imprint devoted primarily to preserving, publishing, and distributing the writings of the Sri Lankan Buddhist monk Ven. Ñāṇavīra Thera. The organization also handles legal and copyright matters for Ñāṇavīra’s works and for selected writings by other authors. Its office is in the Netherlands, while its institutional origins lie in Sri Lanka. The organization was founded in 1987 by Samanera Bodhesako, also known as Robert Smith, during the final period of his life in Sri Lanka. It began as a practical name for the people who had contributed to the preparation and publication of Clearing the Path: Writings of Ñāṇavīra Thera (1960–1965). The original idea was limited: to make a major but difficult and commercially unattractive Buddhist work available to readers. The project subsequently developed into a continuing publishing operation because additional unpublished, out-of-print, or otherwise neglected writings were considered worthy of preservation. Path Press’s central literary figure is Ñāṇavīra Thera, whose Notes on Dhamma and related letters offer a highly individual philosophical interpretation of the Pali Buddhist discourses. The writings combine Buddhist doctrinal analysis with sustained engagement with modern European thinkers and existential themes. They have been praised for their intellectual originality and criticized for their severity, difficulty, and uncompromising style. Path Press does not present these works as the official position of a Buddhist school, university, or established sect. Instead, its stated rationale is to circulate writings of unusual merit that may not attract conventional academic or commercial publishers. The organization’s first major undertaking was Clearing the Path, which brought together Ñāṇavīra’s expanded Notes on Dhamma, originally developed between 1960 and 1965, and a selection of approximately 150 letters written from his forest dwelling to readers seeking clarification. Editorial work was led largely by Bodhesako, with participation from Forrest Williams. Although the combined volume later went out of print, its contents were subsequently issued in separate and revised Path Press Publications editions, including Notes on Dhamma and Letters to Sister Vajirā. Under the Path Press Publications name, the catalog expanded during the 2000s and 2010s. It included further editions of Ñāṇavīra’s writings, biographical and interpretive works about Buddhist monastic life, correspondence, translations, and books by authors such as Bhikkhu Ninoslav Ñāṇamoli. The list also includes electronic publishing, as demonstrated by The Silent Sages of the Old. The catalog is small and specialized rather than mass-market, serving readers interested in early Buddhist texts, phenomenological or existential interpretation, monastic biography, and independent Buddhist scholarship. Path Press is therefore best understood not as a conventional commercial publishing corporation but as a nonprofit literary and religious publishing initiative. Its identity rests on stewardship of a particular intellectual tradition, long-term access to difficult texts, and the dissemination of Buddhist writings that occupy a distinctive position outside mainstream institutional publishing.

Path Press emerged from an effort to publish the work of Ñāṇavīra Thera, a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk whose writings occupy an unusual position in modern Buddhist literature. Ñāṇavīra composed Notes on Dhamma over the period 1960–1965. An earlier form of the work, covering 1960–1963, was privately printed in 1963 in a small edition sponsored by Lionel Samaratunga. Ñāṇavīra later revised and enlarged the manuscript, leaving an expanded typescript at his death. The work was difficult, controversial, and unlikely to attract a conventional publisher. It attempted to provide an intellectual framework for reading the Pali Suttas while retaining the importance of faith and personal transformation. Its style was forceful and its arguments demanding, and responses to it ranged from strong criticism to claims that it was an exceptionally important modern Buddhist text. Ñāṇavīra’s accompanying correspondence was similarly distinctive. His letters, written from his residence in the Bundala Forest Reserve to readers in Sri Lanka and abroad, addressed doctrinal questions, illness, existential responsibility, and the practical implications of Buddhist insight. Samanera Bodhesako, the monastic name of Robert Smith, organized the publication effort in Sri Lanka and founded Path Press in 1987. The name initially functioned as a collective description for the people who had supplied editorial, organizational, and other assistance in bringing Clearing the Path to publication. Forrest Williams of the University of Colorado also participated in the editorial work. The resulting book, Clearing the Path: Writings of Ñāṇavīra Thera (1960–1965), combined the expanded Notes on Dhamma with a substantial selection of letters. It became the organization’s defining publishing project. Bodhesako died in Kathmandu in 1988. In the same broad period, he had also worked with the Buddhist Publication Society in Kandy, which published The Tragic, the Comic, and the Personal: Selected Letters of Ñāṇavīra Thera in 1987. Path Press’s own combined Clearing the Path volume later went out of print. Its contents continued to circulate through separate editions, including Notes on Dhamma and Letters to Sister Vajirā. The initial project was not intended to create an ordinary long-term publishing house. However, the existence of further unpublished or out-of-print materials led to the establishment of Path Press Publications as a continuing nonprofit imprint. The organization also came to hold copyrights and manage legal matters for Ñāṇavīra Thera’s writings, together with selected works by other authors. Its publishing rationale remained selective: it would issue books considered exceptional or worthwhile even when they were not commercially viable and did not represent the official doctrine of any established religious or academic institution. During the 2000s and 2010s, Path Press Publications developed a focused catalog. It issued new editions of Ñāṇavīra’s writings, including Notes on Dhamma in 2009, Letters to Sister Vajirā in 2010, and Clearing the Path and Seeking the Path in 2011. It also published works such as Getting Off: A Portrait of an American Buddhist Monk, Stringhoppers and Rabbitholes, The Hermit of Bundala, and Meanings. The catalog included writings and translations by Bhikkhu Ninoslav Ñāṇamoli, including The Silent Sages of the Old in electronic form in 2018. The organization’s office is in the Netherlands, while its historical foundation remains tied to Sri Lanka and to the international readership for modern English-language Buddhist literature. Path Press is best characterized as a small nonprofit publishing and rights-management institution whose principal contribution is the preservation and dissemination of difficult, independent Buddhist writing.

• 2018

  Electronic publication added to catalog

  [1]Path Pressen.wikipedia.org

  The Silent Sages of the Old was published as an e-book, extending the organization’s specialist catalog into digital distribution.

• 2011

  Clearing the Path and Seeking the Path issued

  [1]Path Pressen.wikipedia.org

  The imprint expanded its catalog with new editions of foundational and related Buddhist writings.

• 2009

  Notes on Dhamma edition released

  [1]Path Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Path Press Publications issued a standalone edition of Ñāṇavīra Thera’s principal philosophical work.

• 1987

  Path Press founded in Sri Lanka

  [1]Path Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Samanera Bodhesako founded Path Press to support publication of Clearing the Path and related writings.

• 1987

  Clearing the Path is published

  [1]Path Pressen.wikipedia.org

  The organization published Clearing the Path: Writings of Ñāṇavīra Thera (1960–1965), combining Notes on Dhamma with selected letters.

• 1963

  First private printing of Notes on Dhamma

  [1]Path Pressen.wikipedia.org

  An earlier version of Ñāṇavīra Thera’s Notes on Dhamma, covering 1960–1963, was privately published in an edition of 250 copies.

A nonprofit, specialized Buddhist publisher and copyright steward focused on preserving and circulating intellectually demanding writings associated with Ñāṇavīra Thera and related authors.

• Buddhist philosophy and correspondence · 1987

  Clearing the Path: Writings of Ñāṇavīra Thera (1960–1965)

  Path Press’s foundational publication combines Ñāṇavīra Thera’s expanded Notes on Dhamma with a selection of approximately 150 letters. The volume presents the monk’s interpretation of the Pali discourses alongside correspondence addressing doctrine, illness, personal responsibility, and existential questions. Its editorial preparation was led principally by Samanera Bodhesako, with participation from Forrest Williams. The original volume is described as out of print, although its contents have subsequently appeared in separate editions.

• Buddhist philosophy · 2009

  Notes on Dhamma

  This is Ñāṇavīra Thera’s major philosophical and doctrinal work, developed through successive drafts between 1960 and 1965. It seeks to give readers an intellectual basis for understanding the Pali Suttas without reducing Buddhist practice to abstract theory. The work is known for its demanding conceptual style, strong judgments, and engagement with modern existential and phenomenological concerns. Path Press Publications issued a standalone edition in 2009.

• Buddhist correspondence · 2010

  Letters to Sister Vajirā

  This collection presents correspondence by Ñāṇavīra Thera and illustrates how he explained, defended, and applied ideas associated with his Buddhist writings. The letters are part commentary, part independent philosophical discussion, and part personal record of life as a monk living in a remote forest setting. Their language draws on Buddhist texts as well as modern European literary and philosophical references.

• Buddhist writings · 2011

  Seeking the Path

  Seeking the Path is one of the later titles listed in the Path Press Publications catalog. It belongs to the imprint’s specialist program of making independent Buddhist writings available to readers outside mainstream commercial and institutional publishing.

• Buddhist biography · 2012

  Getting Off: A Portrait of an American Buddhist Monk

  This book presents a portrait of an American Buddhist monk and reflects Path Press Publications’ willingness to publish biographical and interpretive works connected with independent Buddhist practice and thought.

• Buddhist correspondence and memoir · 2013

  Stringhoppers and Rabbitholes: Letters of a Wayfarer

  Stringhoppers and Rabbitholes is a collection of letters by a wayfarer, extending the imprint’s interest in personal correspondence as a vehicle for religious reflection, travel, and independent Buddhist inquiry.

• Buddhist biography · 2014

  The Hermit of Bundala

  Written by Bhikkhu H. Ñāṇasuci, The Hermit of Bundala concerns the life and setting of Ñāṇavīra Thera, whose forest residence and distinctive intellectual career are central to the Path Press tradition.

• Buddhist interpretation · 2014

  Meanings

  Meanings is a work by Bhikkhu Ninoslav Ñāṇamoli included in Path Press Publications’ catalog of independent Buddhist scholarship and textual interpretation.

• Buddhist translation and e-book · 2018

  The Silent Sages of the Old

  This electronic publication by Bhikkhu Ninoslav Ñāṇamoli presents translations from the Sutta-nipāta. It demonstrates the imprint’s continuing interest in making early Buddhist literature available through specialist digital publishing.

• 2011

  Foundational writings repackaged in separate and new editionsGeneration change

  Background

  The original combined Clearing the Path volume had become unavailable, while demand remained for Ñāṇavīra Thera’s central texts.

  Action taken

  Path Press Publications issued Clearing the Path again and also published related standalone editions including Notes on Dhamma and Letters to Sister Vajirā.

  Aftermath

  Readers could access the core material through a broader and more durable catalog rather than relying only on the original combined volume.

  Source

• 1987

  Path Press evolves from a one-off publication project into a continuing imprintStrategy

  Background

  The organization was initially conceived as a temporary name for contributors working to publish Clearing the Path. Additional unpublished and out-of-print writings created a continuing preservation and publication need.

  Action taken

  Path Press established Path Press Publications as a nonprofit publishing house for selected Buddhist writings that might not be commercially viable.

  Aftermath

  The imprint developed a continuing specialist catalog and became associated with copyright administration for Ñāṇavīra Thera’s writings.

  Source

1. 1Path Pressen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Path Press official websitepathpress.org