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# Frequently-asked Questions
about Access to Insight

See also Frequently-asked Questions about Buddhism

- Finding your way around
  - I'm lost! How do I find my way around this website? (link to "Help")
  - What are some good starting places in this website? (link to "Getting Started")
  - What is Theravada Buddhism? (link to "What is Theravada Buddhism?")
  - Which suttas should I read? (link to "Befriending the Suttas")
  - How should I read the suttas? (link to "Befriending the Suttas")
  - What is that funny symbol (») I see next to some hyperlinks?
  - Where's the search engine?

- Background information about the website
  - What is Access to Insight?
  - How can I contact you?
  - If Access to Insight isn't run by an organization, why does its URL ends in ".org"?
  - Is Access to Insight affiliated in some way with the Insight Meditation Society?
  - How did Access to Insight start?
  - How do you decide which texts to include on the website?
  - Why don't you have translations of ALL the suttas from the Pali Canon?
  - Whom can we thank for making all these texts available?
  - Who translated the suttas on this website?
  - May I make a donation to support this project?

- Using the website
  - How can I download the entire website? (link to "Downloading the Entire Website")
  - How do I download and uncompress those pesky ZIP files? (link to "Downloading Files from Access to Insight")
  - I can't download files from your ftp server. What do I do?

- Copyright and related issues
  - Are Access to Insight's texts in the public domain?
  - Are these texts protected by copyright?
  - Are Access to Insight's texts governed by an "Open Source" or "GNU" copyright?
  - May I copy your pages onto my website?
  - May I reformat the texts from your website?
  - May I sell copies of materials from your website in order to raise money for a non-profit cause?
  - May I sell copies of materials from your website if I charge just enough to recover the costs of printing, etc.?
  - May I require people to pay for reproduction costs or postage?
  - May I ask people to make a "suggested donation" in exchange for copies of these texts?
  - May I include a short excerpt of a text from your website in a publication that I plan to sell?
  - How should I cite references to Access to Insight?
  - How should I cite references to the Handful of Leaves CD-ROM?

- Miscellaneous
  - Do you have any tips for website developers?

## Finding your way around

What is that funny symbol (») I see next to some hyperlinks?
  It's a reminder that, when you click on that link, you'll be sending e-mail or jumping off to another site on the Internet. (Handful of Leaves or "bulk download" users must first establish a connection to the Internet in order for these links to work.)

Where's the Search Engine?
  The search engine is only available in the online edition of this website. It is not available in this bulk download version.

## General questions about the website

What is Access to Insight?
  Access to Insight is an Internet website dedicated to providing accurate, reliable, and useful information concerning the practice and study of Theravada Buddhism, as it has been handed down to us through both the written word of the Pali Canon and the living example of the Sangha.

  Access to Insight is not an organization and is not affiliated with any institution. It is simply one person's website. Although I have studied the Buddha's teachings for many years as a lay follower, I have no academic degrees in either the Pali language or Buddhist Studies. In these pages I have therefore relied on the translations and interpretations of other respected scholars, teachers, and practitioners who have far more experience and wisdom than do I.

  The readings assembled here represent just a selection of the Buddha's teachings. These are the ones that, over the years, I've personally found to be helpful in deepening an understanding of Dhamma practice. This collection is not meant to be an exhaustive archive of Theravada Buddhist texts.

  I've tried to avoid injecting my own views and opinions into these web pages. Some biases, however, inevitably intrude, owing to the editorial choices I've made and the short introductory essays and blurbs I've written here and there to give some context to the material being presented. I sincerely hope that my biases do not in any way obscure the real meaning of the texts themselves.

  Everything available at Access to Insight is offered in full cooperation with the authors, translators, and publishers concerned, with the clear understanding that none of it is to be sold. Please help yourself to whatever you find useful. (For a detailed explanation of the copyright status of materials on the website, please read "Copyright and Related Issues.")

How can I contact you?
  I'm happy to receive your comments and queries, but please remember that Access to Insight isn't an organization and there are no staff here -- it's just me -- so it may take some time for me to respond.

  Before writing to me with your question, please first check the Frequently-asked Questions, the Help file, and the Indexes.

  To contact me (John Bullitt):

  > by e-mail: » metta@world.std.com
  > on the Web: » http://www.accesstoinsight.org
  > by post:

  > > John Bullitt
  > > Access to Insight
  > > PO Box 153
  > > Lincoln, MA 01773 USA

If Access to Insight isn't run by an organization, why does its URL ends in ".org"?
  After years of piggy-backing the website on my personal Internet account, in the fall of 1999 I discovered that I could cut the website's operating expenses in half by registering a domain name and moving the website to a faster host computer that's better suited to large websites such as this one. (A rare case of "pay less and get more.") But how to choose a domain name? A name ending in .com seemed inappropriate since I'm not selling anything, while one ending in .net seemed inappropriate since the website isn't part of any network. This left .org, which, to most people, suggests a non-commercial entity. I guess that's me. Maybe someday we'll have more high-level domains to choose from (.disorg or .notcom would be nice). But for now, Access to Insight will happily continue muddling along, a square peg in a web of round holes.

Is Access to Insight affiliated in some way with the Insight Meditation Society?
  No.

How did Access to Insight start?
  In early 1993, with the help of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, I set up in my basement a computer bulletin board service (BBS) to explore the question: can networked computers be genuinely useful as a support for students and practitioners of Buddhism? Originally dubbed "BCBS OnLine," the BBS soon joined DharmaNet's international network of dialup Buddhist BBS's and adopted the name "Access to Insight". Shortly thereafter, DharmaNet's Dharma Book Transcription Project began, under whose auspices about a hundred high-quality books on Buddhism were transcribed to computer through the dedicated efforts of an international team of volunteer transcribers and proofreaders. These books were soon distributed via DharmaNet to scores of BBS's around the world. In 1994 I installed a dialup Internet e-mail connection that allowed anyone on the Internet to retrieve these books via an e-mail file server. This proved to be a popular service. By late 1994 the BBS -- now independent of BCBS -- spent far more of its time serving file requests from around the world via the Internet than in handling the requests of local callers. Internet users from far and wide were coming to depend on Access to Insight's now rickety and overworked '386 computer as their link to information -- both the timely and the timeless -- about Buddhism. In March 1995 this website was born; six months later I closed down the BBS for good.

  Today Access to Insight continues to grow: what began in 1993 as a modest collection of two or three suttas and a handful of articles has blossomed into a library of over 700 suttas and several hundred articles and books. With the release of the Handful of Leaves CD-ROM in 1998 and 1999, these texts are now reaching an even wider audience and being further redistributed around the world in print and electronic media.

How do you decide which texts to include on the website?
  One overarching principle has guided my choice of what to include in these pages, and what to leave out: a conviction that the teachings found in the Pali Canon are just as relevant today as when they were first put into practice 2,600 years ago. Despite all the obvious material advances in the human world since the Buddha's time, the Four Noble Truths appear to be as vital today as ever: suffering and stress still pervade our lives; the cause still appears to be craving in all its insidious manifestations; and there is no reason to suspect that the Noble Eightfold Path is any less effective today at bringing an end to all that suffering and stress. Unlike many popular writers on Buddhism today, I find little in the Canon that cries out for "modernization" or reform to suit the unique demands of modern times. I believe that the Buddha's teachings of Awakening are concerned with fundamental principles of human nature that transcend any social, cultural, or political agendas. One teacher has summed it up well: "The West has far more to learn from Theravada, than does Theravada from the West."

  The emphasis here is on practice. For the most part I've selected books, articles, and sutta translations that I've found helpful to develop a personal understanding of the Buddha's teachings, rather than texts that tend to fuel intellectual debates on abstract philosophical concepts.

  Beyond these basic principles, it all comes down to a matter of personal taste. For example, I have found the teachings from the Thai forest traditions invaluable, so they are heavily represented here. Likewise, you won't find any texts from the Abhidhamma here, simply because I haven't found the Abhidhamma -- as fascinating as it certainly is -- to be particularly helpful to meditation practice.

  See also: Why don't you have translations of ALL the suttas from the Pali Canon?

Why don't you have translations of ALL the suttas from the Pali Canon?
  This website aims to be selective rather than comprehensive. My goal has never been to publish translations of every single one of the Tipitaka's 10,000-plus suttas. What you see here is a selection of suttas that meet three criteria: (1) they are, in my opinion, good translations; (2) I have personally found them useful; and (3) their copyright holders have provided them for free distribution.

  There are many other fine translations of important suttas available in print today, and I encourage you to support their continued publication by purchasing copies. Someday, perhaps, these publishers will choose to make those translations available free of charge on websites such as this one. Until that day comes, however, we must learn to make do with what we have.

  See also: How do you decide which texts to include on the website? and What's wrong with selling Dhamma books?

Whom can we thank for making all these texts available?
  My role in assembling Access to Insight has primarily been that of facilitator and librarian, helping to bring together under one virtual roof the fruits of the hard work of many people: authors, translators, publishers, transcribers, and proofreaders. The extraordinary generosity and commitment to the Dhamma demonstrated by these many contributors continues to amaze and inspire me. If you have found anything of value at Access to Insight please join me in thanking those who have made this website possible:

  - Bhikkhu Bodhi, President of the Buddhist Publication Society in Kandy, Sri Lanka, for allowing many of the BPS's publications (including its Wheel and Bodhi Leaves titles, among others) to be transcribed to computer and distributed on the Internet.

  - Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Ajaan Geoff), for kindly making available all his own books and articles, as well as his translations of teachings by many of the great Thai forest masters. Ajaan Geoff has also provided most of Access to Insight's sutta translations (over six hundred of them are his), and he continues to provide invaluable advice that helps to keep Access to Insight on-track.

  - The many volunteer transcribers and proofreaders who gave their time and energy under the auspices of DharmaNet's Dharma Book Transcription Project to make available so many fine Dhamma books: Mark Blackstad, Robert Bussewitz, Joe Crea, Tom Fitton, George Fowler, Myra I. Fox, Bradford Griffith, Philip L. Jones, Barry Kapke, Pat Lapensee, Gaston Losier, Jim McLaughlin, Steven McPeak, Raj Mendis, Sabine Miller, Bill Petrow, Maureen Riordan, Malcolm Rothman, Heath Row, Eileen Santer, Christopher Sessums, David Savage, Mahendra Siriwardene, Greg Smith, Chitra Weirich, and Jane Yudelman.

  - The hundreds of people who have offered helpful criticisms and suggestions over the years. A few of these people deserve special note for their outstanding contributions: Binh Anson, Jamie Avera, Jakub Bartovsky, Gabriel Bittar, Emily Bullitt, Chun Hoe Chow, Liew Chin Leag, Trevor Rhodes, Steve Russell, Andy Shaw, and Chandra Yenco.

  - Jane Yudelman, for her encouragement in 1992 that got Access to Insight off the ground in the first place, and for her continued advice and support that help this project continue to mature.

  Thank you all.

Who translated the suttas on this website?
  The sutta translations were made by many esteemed translators, including: Venerables Bhikkhu Bodhi, Acharya Buddharakkhita, Bhikkhu Khantipalo, Ñanamoli Thera, Ñanavara Thera, Narada Thera, Nyanaponika Thera, Soma Thera, Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Phra Ajaan Geoff), and Sister Vajira; I.B. Horner, John D. Ireland, K.R. Norman, and F.L. Woodward. Unless specifically indicated to the contrary, sutta and Vinaya translations are by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, who provided the vast majority of the translations offered on this website.

May I make a donation to support this project?
  I offer the Handful of Leaves CD-ROM and everything on this website as free gifts, with absolutely no strings attached, and I neither solicit nor expect donations of any kind to pay for them. If, however, you feel moved to make a donation to support this work, you are welcome to do so. You may make your check in US dollars payable to me and mail it to me at the Access to Insight address. Please note that I cannot accept checks payable to "Access to Insight" and you may not legally claim your gift as a tax-deductible charitable contribution. All donations are applied towards the operating expenses of the website and the costs of CD production and postage.

  If you prefer, you might consider making a donation to the Metta Forest Monastery (where Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Access to Insight's most prolific contributor, lives), or to the Buddhist Publication Society, which has provided scores of books and articles to this website:

  Metta Forest Monastery PO Box 1409 Valley Center, CA 92082 USA | Buddhist Publication Society 54, Sangharaja Mawatha PO Box 61 Kandy, Sri Lanka

  Both institutions are registered charities in their respective countries.

  Alternatively, you may simply make a donation to the charity of your choice. In the Buddha's words, "Give wherever the mind feels confidence" [SN III.24]

## Web (Access to Insight) issues

I can't download files from your ftp server. What do I do?
  First, double check the URL: the correct address for the ftp file area at Access to Insight is » ftp://ftp.accesstoinsight.org/Newbury/metta. If you can't establish a connection to that URL, then something is wrong somewhere. Sometimes my Internet service provider's (ISPs) ftp server gets a little clogged from heavy use, and sometimes the whole Internet gets clogged, causing ftp requests to simply evaporate into thin air. In either case, I suggest you just come back an hour or two later and try again. Are you able to connect with any other ftp servers? (Try » ftp://unix.hensa.ac.uk/ or » ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/, for example.) If you're unable to connect with any ftp servers on the Internet, then the problem is probably at your end: double-check that your ftp client software is configured correctly, or try using a different ISP.

## Copyright and related issues

Are Access to Insight's texts in the public domain?
  No. They are protected by copyright. See Are these texts protected by copyright?

Are these texts protected by copyright?
  Yes. You may copy and redistribute any texts from this website, provided that you abide by these two basic principles:
  1. You may not sell any texts copied or derived from this website.
  2. You may not alter the content of any texts copied or derived from this website. (You may, however, reformat them -- see below).

  The files on this website are made available to you thanks to the generosity of dozens of authors, translators, publishers, and transcribers, who contributed their efforts with the explicit understanding that their work would only be given away free of charge, as an expression of dana. You may download these files to your computer, print them out, read them, share them with your friends, copy them to your own website, translate them into other languages, and redistribute them electronically -- provided that you do not charge any money for them. They are not in the public domain. You may reformat the files as you please (see below), but you may not change their content without first obtaining permission from the author, translator, or publisher.

  Some texts contain additional copyright notices with specific additional rights and restrictions spelled out by the authors and publishers; please read and abide by these notices. If you reprint or republish any of these materials, please acknowledge the original author, translator, or publisher, as appropriate.

  If you have particular questions about the copyright status of anything offered here, please let me know.

Are Access to Insight's texts governed by an "Open Source" or "GNU" copyright?
  No. Access to Insight's texts do not conform with two key principles of most "open source" software licenses:
  - You may not sell anything that comes from this website. (Open source licenses allow you to sell software.)
  - You may not modify the content of any of the texts that come from this website. (Open source licenses allow you to modify software.) You may, however, reformat the texts in any way you like -- see below.

May I copy your pages onto my website?
  Yes, provided that you make them available free of charge. I also ask that you please post a simple notice somewhere on your website acknowledging that the materials came from here. Although I don't require it, as a service to your visitors you might also consider including a link to http://www.accesstoinsight.org, so that your visitors can easily get hold of the most up-to-date editions of these texts (I steadily receive corrections and revisions from translators, authors, and publishers). Finally, please make it clear to your visitors what material on your site comes from here and what comes from other sources.

May I reformat the texts from your website?
  Yes. As long as you don't alter the content, you may reformat pages to your heart's content. You may convert the files to Microsoft Word, PDF, or any other proprietary format. You may extract excerpts from any text, provided that you somehow indicate that they are excerpts. You may alter the "look" of the pages to match the style of your own website.

May I sell copies of materials from your website in order to raise money for a non-profit cause?
May I sell copies of materials from your website if I charge just enough to recover the costs of printing, etc.?
  No. The amount you charge is irrelevant: if you charge one penny or one thousand dollars, you're still selling. It doesn't matter if you're hoping to make a profit or not. What you do with the money you receive is irrelevant. These teachings are to be given away, not sold.

  See also: What's wrong with selling Dhamma books?

May I require people to pay for reproduction costs or postage?
  No. Requiring someone to pay for the cost of reproducing these texts (photocopying costs, cost of a floppy disk, etc.) or for shipping costs (packaging, postage, etc.) is equivalent to selling. If you were sending a birthday gift to a beloved family member, would you enclose a bill for the wrapping paper, ribbon, and postage? Of course not. A gift is a gift.

May I ask people to make a "suggested donation" in exchange for copies of these texts?
  Be very careful here. As long as you make it crystal clear that anyone may receive a copy free for the asking -- regardless of whether he or she makes a donation -- then that's fine. You should put no pressure -- subtle or otherwise -- on anyone to pay. These teachings are to be given away, not sold.

  See also: What's the relationship between "dana" and "fundraising"?

May I include a short excerpt of a text from your website in a publication that I plan to sell?
  You must first obtain permission from the author of that text. Please contact the author directly, or contact me for more info.

How should I cite references to Access to Insight?
  If you're writing a paper for a school or university, you should check with your instructor to see what citation standards you are expected to follow. Otherwise, you might consider this common format:

  > `URL: title, author or translator, document's revision date`

  You'll find the URL and revision date at the bottom of each page on the website. Some examples:

  > `http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/modern/thanissaro/refuge/: "Refuge: An Introduction to the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha," Thanissaro Bhikkhu, 7 May 1999.`

  > `http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/majjhima/mn007.html: "Vatthupama Sutta (MN 7)," Nyanaponika Thera, trans., 7 May 1999.`

  To cite the entire website, you might use something like this:

  > `"Access to Insight" (http://www.accesstoinsight.org), John Bullitt, ed., DATE.`

  where DATE is the revision date that appears at the bottom of the website's home page.

How should I cite references to the Handful of Leaves CD-ROM?
  If you're writing a paper for a school or university, you should check with your instructor to see what citation standards you are expected to follow. Otherwise, you might consider this common format:

  > `Disc title: Version, Date. "Article title," author or translator. Publisher.`

  Some examples:

  > `A Handful of Leaves: version 2.0, 1999. "Refuge: An Introduction to the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha," Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight.`

  > `A Handful of Leaves: version 2.0, 1999. "Vatthupama Sutta (MN 7)," Nyanaponika Thera, trans. Buddhist Publication Society/Access to Insight.`

## Miscellaneous

Do you have any tips for website developers?
  Like every other webmaster, I have opinions about what makes for a useful website. For the most part, the web seems to be bloated with all kinds of superficial fluff, as websites clamor to make themselves stand out from the others in a kind of global multimedia shouting match. To keep the noise level down on this website I've found it helpful to follow a few basic principles, which I summarize below. Perhaps you'll find some of them helpful, too.

  For details about how I maintain the website on the unix web server, see my Technical Notes. For some notes about my style choices for the website, see "The Elements of ATI Style".

  - Content first. Do you really need that fancy Java applet? Do you really need six different fonts, in four different colors, with animated GIFs, crawling marquees, background music, etc.? Just because something is technically possible, or just because everyone else is doing it, doesn't mean you should do it, too. Do you want to distract and befuddle your visitors, or help them focus? All too often, hi-tech glitz and gizmos are used to mask an underlying absence of real content.
  - No shrinkwrap. Don't use "splash screens" -- pages devoid of real content that simply say "Click here to enter my website" or the like.
  - No vanity stickers. ("This site rated Best of Web by TotallyWayCool.com," "This site has been visited 1,000,000 times," etc.). The fact that TotallyWayCool.com gives a site its seal of approval, or that a site receives 1,000,000 hits doesn't necessarily mean that that site is any good. Popularity is no measure of quality. "Best of" awards serve primarily as commercial advertisements for the issuing companies -- it's just like wearing a "Coca-Cola" T-shirt. Do you really want to buy into that? If you really must display your awards and counters, tuck them away in a separate page where people can choose to go to admire your trophy collection if they really want to.
  - Minimize graphics. Avoid heavy use of graphics. Keep in mind that most web-surfers do not have a high-speed Internet connection and many are visually-impaired. Unnecessary graphics equals bloat.
  - No imagemaps. Text-based navigational tools load faster and are usually easier to use. Think of imagemaps as just another kind of unnecessary graphic (see Minimize graphics).
  - No frames. The use of frames often makes it impossible to print or bookmark a given page. Frames add an unnecessary level of complexity and annoyance that many users find about as friendly as blinking text.
  - Avoid colored backgrounds and colored text. Purple text on a yellow background may look nifty to you, but to others it may be hideous or completely illegible. Not all computer monitors render colors the same way. Not everyone shares your visual aesthetic. One in twenty males has some form of color blindness. Design in black and white!
  - Check your links frequently for freshness. Avoid subjecting your visitors to the dreaded "404 Not Found" error by making sure that all your links -- whether to other pages within your site or to other websites -- work. Webmasters will forever rearrange their webpages. Websites will forever come and go. It's your responsibility to make sure that your links to other websites are up to date.
  - Rearrange your site with care. Don't just delete obsolete pages from your site. Instead, replace them with redirects that will send the user to another useful (and perhaps more stable) page on your site. Someone may have long ago bookmarked a page that you now consider obsolete, and you don't want to disappoint her with that annoying "404 Not Found" message.
  - Keep it simple. Make life easy for your visitors. Be clear. Be friendly. Fight web bloat.
  - Be skeptical of cute and pithy slogans like these.

  For some more refreshing opinions:

  - » Top Ten Mistakes in Website Design, by Jakob Nielsen.
  - » Top Ten New Mistakes of Website Design, by Jakob Nielsen.
  - » Top Fifteen Mistakes of First-time Web Design, by Holly M. Burns.
  - High Tech Heretic: Why Computers Don't Belong in the Classroom and Other Reflections by a Computer Contrarian, by Clifford Stoll (New York: Doubleday, 1999)

Revised: Wed 10 April 2002