Great work @Gus!
2 Likes
That is awesome!
2 Likes
Fabulous work. Sadhu. I shall purchase from Lulu.
With metta and mudita,
Gillian
2 Likes
Wow, that is really incredible work, thanks so much. I am so amazed to see this constellation of talent drawn together through this forum. It is what I dreamed of—people taking the Dhamma, remixing and recombining it in creative ways. And here it is, in a form I never imagined.
32 Likes
It seems that Blurb will allow you to place book on their site for ordering without having to add a profit for the uploader.
I’m curious if you somehow warn people about the first sutta. I think for many, this might not be the best introduction. You might want to suggest that they start with the third set of ten as they have interesting similes and are more accessible.
4 Likes
I think the free downloadable book files will prove the best distribution form. People can read them on their tablets if they wish or they can have a local copy/print shop make a bound book if they prefer that (I know sure do). That way I can have sprial binding. You really can’t get a copy of Bodhi’s translations, for example, re-spiral-bound because of the margins. Copyshop can adjust for that in the printing of the file or you can use a wider gauge paper and also have room for notes.
I want spiral-bound Nikayas!! 
4 Likes
Thanks everyone! Some quick replies to various issues:
-
MN 1 is certainly rough going. Even MN 2 is only starting to make sense to me in some ways just recently. But I was very hesitant to add or remove anything at all; my initial plan didn’t even include an introduction! One possible response is just to mention the suttas I’ve found easiest to get into. Many of the rest through MN 10 are more oriented toward a beginner.
-
I agree on the free file distribution. It’s coming soon. The free files should allow you to create spiral-bound versions at lulu.com and probably at other places too.
-
I believe the issue with profit is resolved now. I’ll update on this thread when I’ve made more progress, including making the fixed-up version available for a free download or an at-cost paperback purchase.
9 Likes
Regarding the difficulty of MN 1, perhaps it would be an idea to include SuttaCentral’s difficulty icons for the Long and Middle Discourses. These are the icons in the top-right corner of each long and middle discourse.
They were created by Alena Artemova, and released under a “CC BY 3.0 US” license: suttacentral.net/licensing
In any case, fantastic work. I hope I’ll be able to buy a copy on Lulu.
5 Likes
I believe Lulu offers this option? Maybe we can ensure that they are offered in spiral and well as perfect binding.
3 Likes
Spiral-bound books are definitely available. I just didn’t know anyone wanted them. For study and note-taking, a spiral binding with wide margins may even be best.
7 Likes
Another update. The printing glitches ought to be fixed now.
Here’s the link where you can purchase a copy at cost:
PDFs of the cover and the interior are attached to this message for download. Those of you who would like a spiral bound version should probably start with the interior PDF, which should be compatible with lulu’s spiral binding option. I’m less sure about the cover for a spiral binding, but a little time with Photoshop or GIMP should fix any problems in that department.
23819889.pdf (1.2 MB)
23819889_cover.pdf (2.7 MB)
8 Likes
Sadhu Sadhu!
In future editions, you may want to consider removing the space between paragraphs. Usually the first line indent is enough.
Great work!
2 Likes
7 Likes
Hi Gus,
thank you so much for doing this! I love your introduction. 
1 Like
This is lovely.
If I may make a suggestion… should this be entitled the middle-length discourses though?
With metta
Si
1 Like
Hi Gus,
Thanks for the project! I wonder is it any future plan for other nikayas ?
I live in Indonesia, I could only download the pdf version. So I keep waiting for other nikayas PDF when they’re avialable.
Kent
general info - thebookpatch.com works as well. I’ve printed loads of PDFs into books there, and you can set up the sale to make no profit yourself for sure. I look forward to adding these to my library.
1 Like
I’m dealing with some unexpected stuff at the moment, so I can’t sit down and spend much time on this project for now. I will return to it in a week or so, most likely.
In the meantime, some more replies to various matters:
-
My plan is three titled book sets: The Longer Discourses of the Buddha (complete), The Middle Discourses of the Buddha (complete), and then Selected Shorter Discourses of the Buddha, because the shorter ones in most cases seem like the most repetitive, and many repetitive discourses in a row wouldn’t fit what most people expect when they pick up a book. I didn’t see much value to the word “Length” in the title, so I dropped it.
-
The spaces between paragraphs are an artifact of the HTML, but I’ve kept them on purpose. I’d considered making the margins much smaller to allow for notes (I love writing in my books), but spaces between paragraphs also serve that function, and they’re already in place, so they’ve stayed.
-
Please do port these files elsewhere to publish. I went to Lulu because I’ve published some other projects there before, mostly reprinting out-of-print public domain books that I’d wanted in paper form.
-
If anyone produces a spiral-bound version, I’d love to hear feedback about how it went and address any potential problems in that format.
5 Likes
As an aside, In terms of MN 1, I found the BPS booklet by Bhikkhu Bodhi on this and its commentries quite useful… BP210s
2 Likes