Dear Yong Peng;

> To start with, do you have any particular Tipitaka edition in mind?
> This is not a trick question, but it can get tricky (read sensitive).

The only online Pali versions that I've ever used are the CSCD versions.

As for the English translations, the copyright on the Rhys Davids
translations must have run out already. Wonder why it hasn't been
scanned and put online?

Sacred texts of Buddhism would seem to be a prime candidate for open
source content licenses (creative commons licenses) which really seem
to be in the spirit of dana or sharing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_content
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons_licenses

I have to admit though that I know absolutely about the ins and outs of
the politics in Buddhist religious hierarchies that must be involved in
getting official permission to use texts. Off course, as has been
mentioned. some organisations simply feel free to use sacred texts
without concern about having permission, which actually doesn't bother
me, but is not something I would personally do.

Sincerely,
Jon

--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, "ong.yongpeng" <pali.smith@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Jon,
>
> yes, it is huge collaboration, but nonetheless manageable. Translation
> efforts itself will involve various skill sets. In addition, it will
> also involve editorial, administrative and technical support efforts.
>
> To start with, do you have any particular Tipitaka edition in mind?
> This is not a trick question, but it can get tricky (read sensitive).
>
> metta,
> Yong Peng.
>
>
> --- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, Jon Fernquest wrote:
>
> Yong Peng: "Jon, you mentioned a parallel Pali-English Tipitaka, not
> the first time. To me, it isn't just a nice thing to have, but an
> essential tool to be acquired. It, however, will be a very involved
> task and require a great deal of effort. The tipitaka.net website can
> provide the platform for it if there is enough interest to start with."
>
> I think it definitely doable, of course, some sort of open content
> license for editions of Buddhist texts and their translations alogn
> with proper citation.
>
> In the end most translations are collaborative efforts because
> successive translators learn from the mistakes of their predecessors.
> Rhys Davids, made mistakes that were corrected by subsequent
translators.
>