IJTS Vol. 4, Special issue (June 12, 2000)

[Enrica Garzilli]

Dear Colleagues,

I am glad to announce this special issue of the *International Journal
of Tantric Studies* with the paper "Magically Storming the Gates of
Buddhahood: Extensible Text Technology (XML/XSLT) as a Simulacrum for
Research" by Dr. John Robert Gardner.

 http://www.asiatica.org/publications/ijts/vol4_special/paper1.asp

This issue will be free for 15 days. To subscribe to the IJTS look at
http://www.asiatica.org

Happy reading!                                              EG
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ABSTRACT:

An (un)surprising conceptual parallel between Tantric and Vedic
practices of mantra manipulation, and the very latest in computer
information technology--XML, or Extensible Markup Language--provides
scholars with unique new research possibilities. The well-known
procedures by which mantras are selected and extracted for ritual
application -- e.g., vidhaana -- as well as transposition and
intertwining -- e.g., viharaNam -- can be almost directly translated
into a powerful new computer tool, called Extensible Stylesheet Language
for Transformations (XSLT) and used on electronic versions of shrutii.
The paper draws upon these functional parallels to introduce the reader
to XML--which is very much like HTML--and then demonstrate the theory
and application of ideas like viharaNam and vidhaana with electronic
texts (full set is included with technical appendices) from the Rig Veda
(specifically RV 3.62).  Basic theory of XML, XSLT and XPath are
introduced, explanations and links to required files and programs (all
freeware), and a complete electronic Rg Veda in XML, with pre-written,
adaptable XSLT scripts are included.

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Dr. Enrica Garzilli                 University of Perugia (ITALY)
ex-Istituto di Linguistica                   Piazza Morlacchi, 11
06123 Perugia                 Tel./Fax: +39-075-585 3055 (office)
Editor-in-Chief,
Intl. Journ. of Tantric Studies, Journal of S. Asia Women Studies
http://www.asiatica.org/
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