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https://github.com/math3matica/palimd

palicanon.online

A Living Edition of the Buddhist Canon

What is palicanon.online?

palicanon.online is a modern, human readable, sentence-aligned, and community-driven edition of the Buddhist Canon — designed for study, translation, thoughtful discussion, and future tools.

It starts with the Pāli Canon as its foundation, and expands outward to include texts from other Buddhist traditions — such as the Chinese Āgamas. The project will initially focus on the Early Buddhist Texts, but will expand to encompass a larger canon from many traditions.

This is not just a place to read the Canon — it’s a platform to engage with it, sentence by sentence.

Why “Pāli Canon” if it includes other traditions?

Great question.

The name palicanon.online reflects the historical role of Pāli as a lingua franca — a shared literary vehicle for preserving and transmitting the Buddha’s words. This platform will serve as a modern lingua franca by including texts in many languages – utilizing AI for initial translations and human involvement for discussion and determination of the standard translations for each language. One of the remarkable features of palicanon.online’s texts are constructed Pāli versions of Mahayana texts – as well as the complete texts being available in many other languages.

Pāli, here then stands for a universal platform for the transmission of the teachings of the Buddha, not a specific sectarian canon.

What Makes This Canon Different?

1. Sentence-Level Structure

Each sentence in the Canon has a unique ID (like mn10_3), enabling:

  • Precise quotation and linking
  • Sentence-by-sentence alignment between versions
  • Dynamic navigation and translation toggling

2. Fully Expanded Texts

Unlike traditional editions, this project removes ellipses (“…pe…”) and expands all repeated passages, so nothing is hidden or implied.

You see the entire Canon, as clearly as possible.

3. Community Translations

Everyone can:

  • Submit sentence-level translations
  • Choose their preferred version
  • See what others prefer — and why

The default translation shown is the current community consensus — but your own version is always available.

4. Living Commentary

Each sentence or passage is its own space for discussion:

  • Ask questions
  • Debate word choices
  • Share cross-references
  • Write your own commentary or read commentaries written by other users.

You can follow other users, receive replies, and build a public or personal commentary library.

5. Downloadable Editions

You can generate your own Canon:

  • Based on your preferred translations
  • As a PDF, EPUB, or plain Markdown
  • Including commentary, metadata, or stripped-down Pāli only

How is it built?

The project is:

  • Open-source
  • Markdown-based
  • Version-controlled — you can track every change
  • Non-sectarian, non-commercial

It’s designed to be lightweight, forkable, and future-proof.