PTS style Tipitaka CD-ROM ...$150

jonathan.silk at wmich.edu jonathan.silk at wmich.edu
Mon May 20 15:12:59 UTC 1996


There is an element of the computerization of the Pali Tipitaka (and any
other text) which we should not lose sight of:  Already by printing the canon
the PTS further canonized a text which the editors of the respective volumes
openly confessed to be highly problematic from a text-critical / historical
point of view.  At least the PTS printed editions have varia lectiones, as
problematic as they are.  (It is almost pitiful to read the Prefaces to the
editions and see the editors complain that they were unable to gain access to
good MSS, or that they could see only MSS from the Singhalese tradition, and
could obtain no Burmese MSS, etc. etc.)  While obviously it is difficult to
get up the energy to decide to reedit a text which is "more or less OK,"
perhaps we ought to give some thought to the validity, textually speaking, of
the editions which are being further enshrined as "THE" text through
computerization.

jonathan silk






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