Dear Piya, Christine and friends,

thanks. As buddhists, we are generally concern with the
present 'wellness' of Buddhism. And to me, though I'm not a
statistician, simple statistics give us a rough analysis and
indication of that 'wellness'. In fact, I think Buddhism is in some
trouble if it was to have problem with statistics, which is so much
of our everyday life: unemployment trend, consumer purchasing index,
birth rate, etc. Statistics is an important tool for all sorts of
professions: scientists, doctors, bankers, engineers, advertisers,
etc. While Buddhism analyse the mind to understand life and nature,
Statistics analyse numbers to understand life and nature.

However, numbers sometime is not a definitive indicator. (Numbers are
not always statistics, which is a very scientific methodology.)
Yahoo! Groups has 1133 Buddhism groups, but a good 566 (50%) of them
has only 7 or less members. Many are almost inactive right from the
start. Of the remaining 567, 275 has 8 to 25 members, and so on.
Furthermore, as Christine has pointed out, many of these groups are
only buddhist in name. In this information-explosive age, we have to
be selective of what we read so as to better utilise the limited time
we have for dhamma study and practice.

Information technology has allow people sharing similar interest to
come together to learn, study and share collectively. I don't mind
prolonged discussion as long as the discussion takes place in a
genuine and sincere atmosphere. And, no flaming please.

Allow me, at the same time, to share the plan that I have come up
with for Tipitaka Network and All Things Pali Discussion Group:

All Things Pali Discussion Group
This mailing list will soon exhibit three features:

(a) Pali Day by Day
This thread will adopt the rote familiarization method we are
familiar with from grammar lessons in school. We will work through a
book by answering all the questions and, where appropriate, highlight
some effective study methods or tricks.

How it works: Pali Day by Day will run in series. The current series,
Series A, will cover Pali Primer. Series B will cover another book,
and so on. Currently, I have nine books in the line-up.

Schedule: Daily. As this is the first book, I'll be going at a slow
pace. Series A will take approximately 16 months to complete.

For whom: This thread is for myself and those who,
(i) want to learn Pali but only have a little time each day, or
(ii) want to enjoy Pali but not get addicted to it.

Difficulty level: Beginner to Advance (depending on the book we read)

Backend support: I will dedicate space on tipitaka.net to put up full
answers in the trilinear format, essential points from our
discussion, and language tools such as those John and myself have
created for the book.

(b)?????
I will give a formal introduction to this new thread tomorrow. It
will serve as a bridge between Pali Day by Day and Sutta Translation.
It will get us wet by working on real Pali sentences from the
Tipitaka.

How it works: It will be a series in its own right. Sentences from
the Tipitaka will be used from translation practice.

Schedule: Weekly, every Sunday. If the response is good, this series
will go on for years.

For whom: This series is for anyone who like to try first hand
translating real sentences from the Tipitaka instead of make-up ones
in Pali textbooks. The focus is still largely on language, but some
dhamma knowledge may be required.

Difficulty level: Intermediate to Advance

Backend support: I will also dedicate space on tipitaka.net to put up
full answers in the trilinear format, and essential points from our
discussion.

(c) Sutta Translation
The real Pali immersion, started by Dimitry and Derek, in which we
work through a full sutta from the Tipitaka. Most time consuming but
most rewarding. Dhamma knowledge is required to understand the
concepts discussed therein.

How it works: Each sutta will take up a discussion thread of its own.
Translation of the sutta will be done with a paragraph each time.
Members are encouraged to participate by translating full paragraphs.
Further discussion of buddhist concepts, background information and
references related to the sutta are highly welcomed. At present, John
has been helping to translate Maharahulovada Sutta, and Nina has been
providing background information from the commentary.

Schedule: I will only attempt one or two paragraphs each month, but
all are welcome to carry on from where I left off. John has put in a
lot of effort in it, so has Nina been providing interesting
background information. And also not to forget many others who having
been chipping in on and off to provide insights to the sutta. I
deeply appreciate their contributions. At our current rate, we would
be able to complete the translation of Maharahulovada Sutta by end of
the year.

For whom: Anyone who are keen and confident enough to enter the 'real
world' of Pali literature.

Difficulty level: Intermediate to Advance

Backend support: I have already set up a placeholder page for Sutta
Translation at http://www.tipitaka.net/strans/ I will be putting up a
trilinear edition, an English-only edition, and essential points from
our discussion for the suttas we translate.

What about Tipitaka Network?
The website will continue to serve as an information collection and
retrieval centre providing backend support for this mailing list, and
storing articles and information related to the study of Pali
language and Tipitaka. On top of that, a forum-based community will
be built to provide an alternative mode of online discussion for Pali
students.

metta,
Yong Peng