Version: Dec.2006 (updated Sept. 2008)
1. Please, use Unicode fonts only (Arial Unicode, Gentium, Times NR Extended etc.). We will not accept non-unicode formats.
2. Do not worry about formatting (line spacing, font-size etc.).
3. Worry about consistency (Does every footnote end with a full-stop? Are passages that look parallel really parallel?).
4. Please do no distribute your translations in any way. (We all know how difficult to contain digital texts is. Once something is out on the Internet it cannot be called back. We do not want any preprint versions of our translation circulating the net. Once the text are published by the Numata foundation we agree to abide to a five year grace-period. After five years we can re-publish our Vaggas freely (with all footnotes, perhaps reverting to our own prefered vocabularyetc.). I therefore ask for your discretion: please to not cite, copy, publish, distribute, pass on to friends etc. your or others' translations before the grace-period has elapsed.)
5. Please stick to the vocabulary in the Main Glossary as far as possible.
6. Transparency and feedback: Each translator will be informed where his/her translation is in the editing process. On request I will make the proofs available. The translators will therefore be able to check edited versions of their own translations at every stage and are invited to discuss and suggest changes. Final decisions on the wording of the translation, however, will be made by the editors and the Numata Foundation. In cases where a translator requests a sample or a particular sutra from a Vagga translated by someone else, I will probably pass it on after consulting with the original translator.
7. Format of the translations: Please include the Chinese text with your translation. It does help the editing, if the English paragraphs appear after their Chinese originals. Just copy the original from CBETA into your document and translate part by part, without deleting the Chinese.
Marcus Bingenheimer