CHARACTER BASED INPUT PROJECTS

Tibetan:

1. Asian Classics Input Project: The mission of the Asian Classics Input Project is to collect, preserve and digitally propagate ancient, endangered Buddhist texts. The input project searches for copies of important and endangered scriptures and inputs them onto computer for publication. The project's preliminary goal is to preserve the Kangyur and Tengyur collections - works that are preeminent in Asian philosophical thought from 500 BCE onward. Thus far, the input project has transcribed some 100,000 manuscript pages from wood block prints onto computer. This material is published and distributed in digital form in the original source language (Tibetan); it is available on the Internet, and more than 10,000 disks have been sent to scholars, individuals and institutions in more than 50 countries worldwide, free of charge. More than a dozen input sites are located in monasteries and refugee communities throughout India, Mongolia, and Russia. Many of the endangered classics currently being transcribed are the sole remaining copies in existence. The wisdom and knowledge contained in these ancient texts is dangerously close to being lost forever; our goal is to save as many important works as possible. Please note that the purpose of this project is to preserve the original source material. All of the data is input and reproduced on CD-ROM in the original languages - Tibetan and Sanscrit and has not been translated into English.

2. Nitartha International: Nitartha has an extensive collection of Tibetan texts in traditional pecha format, as well as extensive texts and teachings recorded in other formats such as microfiche, on disk in digital format and in audio tapes. Among the notable works in our collection are a number of copies of rare manuscripts written as early as the 13th Century (of which only a few copies are currently in circulation), a reproduction of an edition of the Tangyur, and the very large and extensive P.L. 480 collection on microfiche. In addition to microfiche, we have an extensive collection of digital texts. By transferring texts to digital formats, we are preserving decaying and important texts which cannot be easily reprinted, and preparing them for future publication. A catalog of our extensive digital collection is available at this site. In addition to textual materials, Nitartha international also believes that unique requirements of the Tibetan educational system require the preservation of the extensive oral commentarial materials which explains the meaning of Tibetan texts. Thus we are developing an extensive collection of oral teachings by notable scholars from the Tibetan educational system Nitartha international is a collecting institution provisionally chartered as such by the New York Board of Regents. We are tasked with the responsibility to conserve texts pursuant to a collections policy that insures the preservation of texts under optimal conditions. Through the Tibetan Education Support Program, we are gathering the principle literature of the Tibetan educational system, with a special focus on important or endangered texts of the Nyingma and Kagyu schools. Nitartha is continuously working with many Tibetan organizations to gather and preserve these rare texts.

3. The Drukpa Kagyu Heritage Project, Under guidance of the very ven. Tsoknyi Rinpoche. The DKHP is a project that was begun for the purpose of collecting, preserving, archiving, and re-publishing the texts of the Drukpa Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The project office which is situated in Kathmandu, Nepal was opened in January 1993. Since its inception the project has typed in nearly 2000 titles and is now correcting those titles prior to archiving and publishing them. In tandem with the Tibetan Computer Company the project has developed the methodology and software necessary for doing this kind of work and has provided it to nearly all of the major Tibetan Buddhist text preservation projects which are spread throughout India, Nepal, Bhutan, and the rest of the world.

4. The whole Sakya text tradition: Sakya project here in Bauddha has about 10 vols typed in. They have five computers now after being underway for a mere five months and plan to input and correct the entire corpus of Sakya literature. Anyone else planning to do this should be working with them as they are the official office for the Sakyas. They will input their work and will then have a team of editors from Bir Sakya College in India do all of the correction work. They have not only agreed to publish all of their work in the new program but have been making me promise that they could do so.

5. Peter Gilks's Gomang Pharkhang project: Gomang Pharkhang. Run by Peter Gilks. A commercial destop publishing house which has been slowly working towards publishing the entire Gomang yig.cha. As a commercial proposition, the Treasure Treasury (gter.mdzod) of Chogyur lingpa, the great treasure-revealer of last century, has been produced by them. The 40 volumes are just now having their correction work finalized. Most volumes have had the camera-ready copy made. We will convert the Tibetan! 4.x format into the electronic pecha format in the next few weeks.

6. Matthieu Ricard at Khyentse Rinpoche's monastery: Zhechen Gonpa. Matthieu Ricard. They have completed the bKah 'bum of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and published it (27 vols). The work is being converted in to the electronic pecha format now. Matthieu is underway with a five-year plan to publish a great deal of rare Nyingma material. All to be available on both paper and our electronic pecha format.

7. Penor Rinpoche's Gonpa (main Nyingma gonpa in India): Namdroling Monastery in India. Their shedra is now officially computerized and their plan for the next few years is to input all of Longchen Rabjam' works, all of Jigme lingpa's works, and the 17 root tantras of Dzogchen. Numerous other works to be done as well. Their work is especially important because they have excellent scholars and will do very good correction work. All work to be published on paper and our electronic pecha format.

8. Drigung Kagyu at Jangchub Ling, Dehradhun, India: Drigung Kagyu at Jangchub Ling, Dehradhun in India. Have already published their most important sung 'bum (16 vols) and are now on to completing the whoe Drigung Kagyu literature. All to be published on paper and our electronic pecha format.

9. Nyingmapa at Kochen Tulku's monastery in India: Nyingmapa at Kochen Tulku's monastery in India. Publishing Mindroling material. Total amount equals 40 vols. All input and being corrected now. Will be published shortly on paper and in our electronic pecha format.

10. The Taklung Kagyu Textual traditions: Taklung Kagyu. Under the supervision of Sonam Tobgyal in Toronto, Canada. Have just started work on the complete collection of Taklung Kagyu works. These were written on paper by their last remaining great Khenpo and stolen by bandits en-route to Kathmandu. They are starting again from the beginning by computer. To be published on paper and our new format.

11. Sangngag Tulku of ZhechenMonastery: Sangngag Tulku of Zhechen Monastery. Has established a small project to preserve the writings of Tsasum lingpa, a famous treasure revealer. To be published both ways. 10. Bhutan as a whole is planning to purchase my software. We are negotiating now and training monks from the main Drukpa Kagyu Monastery in Thimpu. I expect a huge amount of work to be input and corrected by them. They have abandoned the Druk Mac for PC's and are using Tibetan 4.x.

12. Choling Rinpoche's Terma collection: Mostly Nyingma material e.g., about 16 vols. of material for Chatral Rinpoche including a lot of Patrul Rinpoche and so on.

Non-Tibetan Buddhist Projects:

1. Taisho Chinese/Japanese Canon Project

2. Sri Lanka Tripitaka Project: In association with the Sri Lanka Tripitaka Project SLTP the Journal of Buddhist Ethics is pleased to act as the primary distributor for the first public domain electronic version of the Pali Canon. Description (Note: these files are written in Pali. They are not English translations). The input of the entirety of the words of the Buddha and his immediate disciples, as preserved in the Sri Lankan version of the Pali "Tripitaka," was completed at the "Siri Vajirañâna Dharmâyatanaya," Bhikkhu Training Center, Maharagama, Sri Lanka in 1994. The texts, consisting of an estimated thirty-five million characters, were keyed in over a period of three years, commencing in 1991. The edition used as the basis for this was the Buddha Jayanti Tripitaka Series in fifty-eight volumes, published under the patronage of the government of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) during the 1960s and 1970s. The project was carried out under the auspices of Venerable Madihe Paññâsîha Mahâ Nâyaka Thera, Head of the Amarapura branch of the Buddhist Sangha in Sri Lanka, with financial sponsorship from the Chandraratne family. During the initial phase of the project a special Microsoft DOS™ based computer program was also developed to search for and view passages of the texts, in both Sinhala and Roman scripts. The semi-proof-read data has been placed on the JBE websites in text format, for downloading to both Macintosh and Windows computers. It is freely available for non-commercial purposes as public domain material under the terms of a GNU license.