No Nikaya XLIV.95

Generic Pali Sutta

English Title
English Subtitle

(excerpt)

Translated from the Pali by Ann Q. Translator.
For free distribution only.

Alternate translations:

Originally published in A Really Good Book (Plainville: Small Books, 1999). Transcribed from the print edition by Sam D. Scribe and distributed by Access to Insight with the kind permission of Small Books.

Translator's Introduction

This is an introduction by the translator that contains several paragraphs of text. Notice that it starts with an <h3> heading.

If the introduction is a particularly long essay, consider putting it in a separate file, linked via the "See also" section at the end of this sutta. I've never had to do this, but it's good to keep in mind as a possibility.

A few words about the BBEdit includes:

If any of the header fields is unused, be sure to assign it to the null string. For example: #ALT_TRANS#="". If any variable is omitted from the header, badness happens: the variable's name — complete with surrounding # marks — will appear in the updated HTML.
The links in the navbar at the top left of this template page do not work because this file resides outside of the sutta files hierarchy.

Notice that this introduction is followed by an <hr>.

Translator's note: If the translator has just a short introductory comment (no more than a couple of paragraphs), call it a "Translator's note". The title ("Translator's note:") is bold inline text, not a full-fledged HTML heading.

Like the "Translator's Introduction," it is followed by an <hr>. Like the "Translator's Introduction," it is followed by an <hr>. Like the "Translator's Introduction," it is followed by an <hr>.

Thus have I heard. Now the sutta begins. Note that the font used for sutta text is different from the rest of this document. This is a useful paradigm: one can tell at a glance which text is ancient and canonical and which is modern commentary.

Section 1

"Notice the space surrounding the em dash — one space on each side. Ellipsis is always marked by three dots and a space (never four dots and never the … entity!), and no space before it... Notice, too, that the endnote at the end of this sentence comes after the punctuation."1

Section 2

Sub-section 2a

"Most suttas do not have labeled sections and subsections. For those that do, use <h4> and <h5>, as in this example."

"Now the speaker digresses into a bit of spoken verse. Notice that there is no closing quote mark at the end of this line:

The monologue continues
	— in pre-formatted text —
with spaces around the em-dashes.

Pre-formatted text 
	apparently can handle superscripts, 2
(please note the space before the note tag)
The last line of this speaker's speech
	does not end with a close quote.

[Speaker Two:]

And now Speaker Two has something
	to say.
Again, because it's in verse, 
we don't have to use quote marks.
Unless, of course, 
he's quoting someone else:
'In that case, enclose the quotation 
	in single quotes
to keep it clear who's who.'
And now his quote is done.

[Speaker One:]

And now we're back to Speaker One,
right where we began.
Again, his speech doesn't end with
	a quote
		mark.

"Speaker One continues now in prose. If Speaker One had finished speaking at the end of that verse and this paragraph had been spoken by, say, the Buddha, we would have introduced this paragraph with an inline [The Buddha:] to make things clear. Again, keep in mind that we still wouldn't have ended the verse with a close quote."

This sentence contains a comment.

Notes

1. Each note is enclosed in its own "note" division. The heading "Notes" is simply in bold; it's not a true HTML <h#> header. There is no colon after "Notes".

This note is named (anchored) "n-1". Its corresponding note tag (i.e., the number you click in the text that brings you to this note) is named "t-1".

2. This note is named "n-2". Its corresponding note tag is named "t-2".

While I have your attention down here, let's discuss the "See also" text, below. It is contained in its own "class=notes" division, and contains a list of semicolon-separated texts, beginning with suttas (which are given in canonical order) and followed by any non-canonical texts. There is no <hr> between these notes and the "See also" text.

See also: MN 18; SN XXIII.2; Wings to Awakening (Thanissaro Bhikkhu); Consciousnesses (Ajaan Lee).

Alternate Example

Sometimes the "Translator's note" is
		longer
			— or denser —
than the sutta itself.

In such cases
the note goes 
	after the sutta,
separated by a small 
		horizontal rule.

Translator's note

This long note accompanies the short sutta excerpt. It is better to put the note after the sutta itself, so as not to burden the reader with dense commentary before a few fleeting lines of poetry. Placement of the "Translator's note" is an editorial decision to be made on a case-by-case basis.

Notice the absence of a colon after "Translator's note." Because it's set off from the text that follows by being in bold, there's no need for a colon.