CBETA – PAST RESULTS AND FUTURE EXPECTATIONS

Huimin Bhikkhu, Aming Tu, Dharma Drum Buddhist College, DDBC
Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association, CBETA, Taiwan, ROC

This presentation introduces the aims of the Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association (CBETA), its results up to now and its plans for the future. The purpose is to provide data for other projects to make the Tripitaka more easily available to users around the world.

CBETA has been formally established on Feb. 15, 1998 to create, maintain and distribute free of charge an electronic version of the Chinese Buddhist Tripitaka. Since then, the CBETA has finished the work of digitizing the Taisho Tripitaka volumes 1-55, 85 and the volumes 1-90 of the Shinsan Zokuzookyoo . In 2007 CBETA started the third phrase of digitizing all the sutras which are not included in the above two Tripitaka-edition, therefore we have compared 22 catalogs of different editions of the Chinese Buddhist Tripitaka .

We will convert the metadata contained in the sutra catalogs into databases, which in turn form the basis for a Spatial-temporal Information System. This can be linked to text databases such as CBETA to provide researchers with an interface that generates spatial-temporal information. Related projects at Dharma Drum Buddhist College (DDBC) deal with digital Buddhist studies such as the databases of the "Yogācārabhūmi (YBh)", the "Saddharmapuṇḍarīka (SDP)" and the "Bieyi za ahan jing (BZA)" which consist of the Sutras and its Commentaries, including texts in Chinese, Sanskrit, Tibetan, both as digital text and in manuscript facsimile image files.

CBETA was founded with the aim of creating electronic versions of Buddhist scriptures of the highest quality and greatest range of applicability - not only to reproduce the texts accurately, but to explore new approaches to the development, display, and distribution of research technology and methodology. Therefore, CBETA would like to offer its results and experiences to other projects exploring the use of information technology for the academic study of Buddhism.