Re: Creating a Pali Tipitaka and Pali Literature Wiki-space

Bhante,

> Maybe the problem with the links to other editions and
> manuscripts in other scripts is that very few scholars will know all the
> Asian scripts ...

The Roman-only approach (for this kind of digital resource) is problematic
from two different perspectives:
  (1) It actually removes the scholars from the source text by a significant
degree of separation/alienation,
  (2) Although Romanization can be construed as empowering a very small
number of PTS-dependent scholars, it is also disempowering to the various
indigenous Buddhist communities --some of whom are scholars, some are monks,
and some just laypeople with a moderate degree of interest and application.
  On balance, I think that a great deal is lost in Romanization (and current
methods are problematic; the reduction of euphonic elisions/combinations to
individuated words separated by nasal sounds is a real desecration of the
source texts --and this whole business of inserting the apostrophe (')
creates ambiguities in Romanized Pali that simply aren't there in original
MS).  Besides which, why have such low expectations of western scholars? 
They can learn a few different scripts.  I'm 26, and I can Pali in read 5 or
more different scripts (*not* including Roman); anyone who intends to sink
more than a few months into study can extend their knowledge of one Indic
script to include others --but if you become reliant on Romanization, it is
a big effort to ween yourself off of that dependency.

> ... even to learn one or two scripts takes a lot of time and
> effort.

I really don't think it takes more than two weeks, if you already know one
Asian Pali script, to learn a second or a third one.  Developing excellent
penmanship requires more patience --the hand is slower than the mind.

> Could you clarify: ``(3) the ability for participants to "mail in" their
> suggestions and corrections.''?

I just meant that someone could systematically collect and reply to e-mails
that have caught/reported errors.  Aside from the "e-" in "e-mail", this is
the same low-tech method that was used to write the Oxford English
Dictionary.

> Regarding the durability of microfilms (I suppose that this is what you
> mean with ``microfiche'')...

Sorry: Canadian English is a mishmash of British, French, and American
elements.  British English itself is the unfortunate product of the Norman
conquest --i.e., a bunch of Germanic islanders being colonized by
Francophones.

> They might be durable in the well organised
> and well supported universities in the West, but one can not speak about
> durability in a climate and society like Sri Lanka or Laos.

I agree --and this is all the more reason why these resources should be
digitized and put onto the internet.

> By the way,
> microfilm scanning machines are very expensive and I wonder if the
> quality would be good enough.

I picked up a microform reader off the sidewalk in Toronto --literally, a
free Microform reader.  All that it needed was a new lightbulb.  Some
"micro-" formats can be printed onto paper by a relatively simple zoom &
xerox procedure; the "roll" formats (used for archived newspapers, etc.)
generally require a specialized reader & printer --however, these can be
cheaply purchased (second hand) from architects and mechanics.  Until
recently, almost every major architecture and machine-tools firm needed this
kind of equipment --now most of them are selling them off cheaply.

> The British Museum library has microfilmed
> very few if any of its huge collection of Pali manuscripts ...

Almost none of the Pali MS in the U.K. have even been catalogued.  When I
contacted the Manchester U. library about the Rhys-Davids collection of Pali
MS, they were blunt in saying that they had been put in a vault for many
decades, and not seen by any human eyes since.  Generally, all Pali MS in
Europe are neglected ( ... maybe Denmark is an exception) --and the old
imperialist arguments that they're better off in the west than in the
countries where they were produced has "worn very thin".  I'm the sort of
rare Westerner who spoils everyone's dinner by saying aloud that the French
ought to return all the Cambodian art they've stolen --and I've had a few
amusing replies from Cambodian museum specialists.  For the record: *I* was
paying for dinner, and a delightful time was had by all.

> I inquired last year about getting a printout of a manuscript but gave
> up. The irony is that most of these manuscripts have either been looted
> or bought for a few pennies in Asia by the British.

Until now, I believe I was the only one on this list ever to complain about
this history; however, I am accutely aware of the piratical methods whereby
the British amassed their Indological holdings --most museums and libraries
are quite vague as to where and when these things were "accessioned"
  --however, if you do the research, you can normally trace a specific MS to a
specific massacre.  The "scorched earth policy" of the Uva rebellion
doubtless justified the "preservation by way of theft" of many of the
contents of temples in the area.  I should also note that the Thai
government is now chasing up the U.S.A. for Buddhist relics, statues, etc.,
looted from the Issan country during the American presence there --the irony
here being that the U.S. & Thailand were allies, not enemies, in that
conflict.

E.M.


--
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