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[This version: 27 October 1993]
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Date:	Thu, 22 Jul 1993 13:24:14 EDT
Sender: Buddhist Academic Discussion Forum <BUDDHA-L@ULKYVM.BITNET> 
From: JHUBBARD@smith.BITNET

SUBJECT: PALI CANON - ELECTRONIC TEXTS

[This is a slightly edited message from the Indology list a few months
back-- Jamie]

The project to put the PTS materials onto disk is quite far along. In
fact, the input has been entirely finished (tho I haven't seen the whole
thing, reports have it that that includes tranlsations, texts, and even
journal articles). the project was begun some time ago, mainly initiated
by Robert Thurman, Lew Lancaster, and myself. After several rounds of
denials at the US NEH, Lew was able to interest the Dhammakaya
foundation in Thailand in the project.

Under the direction of Ven. Mettanando, some hundreds of monks
virtuously typed in the whole thing (two versions, checked against each
other). The proofing is going on now. The original intent was to publish
the corpus on CD-ROM through the Scholar's Press, the publishing house
of the American Academy of Religion. We have also agreed upon following
the TEI guidlelines for tagging, at least minimally in the initial
production run and more fully as time goes by.

Alas, there are numerous "upper-level" snags that have come up, mostly
regarding the publishing, cost, PROTECTION DEVICES!!!, rights, etc. etc.
At the moment the Dhammakaya Foundation has pulled out of the initial
agreement, and I am not sure how they intend to proceed.

 I feel strongly that the international Buddhist and academic community
will be best served by an open system, distributed at low cost. But I am
only a small cog in a large machination.

I am sorry that I cannot say more at this point, but perhaps, if folks
are interested, we could begin a grass-roots effort to outline interface
needs (which platforms? what kind of indexing? Sanskrit<-->Pali
cross-indices? phrase marking? what kinds of problems have you
encountered on other CD-ROM text bases?), and most important, getting
the material out the door. Although I am sometimes frustrated in the
"process", it shouldn't be too long now.

On the other hand, it appears that the Mahidol University textbase of
the Thai edition of the Pali canon _is_ to be published by the AAR this
year. If I hear more I will let the list know.

Jamie Hubbard


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Date:         Mon, 25 Oct 1993 08:46:08 EDT
Sender: Buddhist Academic Discussion Forum <BUDDHA-L@ULKYVM.LOUISVILLE.EDU>
From: INDINST@vax.ox.ac.uk
Subject:      Pali Tipitaka on CD-ROM

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
From: K.R. Norman, President of the Pali Text Society

             BUDDHISM AND INDIAN STUDIES
        IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE VERY CAREFULLY

You may have received a communication from Professor Witzel of Harvard
informing you that the Dhammakaya Foundation has completed the input of
the whole of the Pali Tipitaka on CD-ROM, and will be distributing it
free.

Please take note that the material which the Foundation proposes to
distribute in this way is the property of the Pali Text Society, of
which I am President. The Foundation has no right to copy the material
on CD-Rom and distribute it in that or any other way. We have been
negotiating with the Foundation for some time with a view to possible
copying and distribution, but the negotiations have not been completed,
and any copying, distribution and use are therefore in breach of our
rights.

Please also take note that we reserve the right to take legal action to
enforce our rights in this important material against those who
disregard them.

The Pali text Society is a non-profitmaking organisation established for
many years and dedicated to the advancement of the study of Pali texts
and the Pali language. The material which the Dhammakaya Foundation has
put on CD-ROM represents many years of work and original research by
this Society's scholars. Any legal proceedings which we institute will
be necessary to enable us to carry out the purposes for which this
organisation was founded. The pursuance of academic studies everywhere
becomes impossible if the rights of others are abused as is happening in
this case.

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