For folks who haven’t seen it yet, SuttaFriends.org is now ready for the public.
This is a website targeted at Buddhists who want to connect with the suttas in simple language with support for learning. There are currently 6 books completely translated (Dhammapada, Itivuttaka, Vimana Vatthu, Peta Vatthu, Theragatha, and Therigatha) with more translations being added all the time.
The translations themselves are based on translations by Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnanananda Thero. The goal is to one day have a complete translation of the first four nikayas and the first 9 books of the fifth.
One distinctive feature of the site is the complete translation of the Vimāna Vatthu and Petavatthu. The Vv has several suttas that only have slight variations so it may seem a bit more repetitive. If you are new to the two books, you may want to start with the Pv as it has much more variation.
The UI is geared around discovery, with an emphasis on curated tags. As more material is added there will be more ways for users to interact with content.
For those kind souls who like to point out errors, each sutta includes a custom link to make it easy to support. You can also feel free to give feedback in this thread, but for typos, that link is the most helpful way.
If you want to keep up to date on new translations added, there is a link at the bottom of the page to sign up for the newsletter. And of course there is a Facebook page.
Much gratitude to Bhante @sujato. His translations of the first four nikayas are the starting point for the new translations that appear on the site. Also gratitude to all those here who have offered suggestions.
I haven’t really been involved with any of the newer translations. But it has been really interesting to focus on the user interface and experience. And it has given me a great appreciation for all the difficult design decisions that have to be made. And the coding things that would seem simple but are not.
I just had a look at the translation of Ud 1.6 on Sutta Friends.
The opening reads “This is how I have heard from the Blessed One”.
Do you think “This is how I have heard it from the Blessed One” would be a slight improvement?
@Gillian & @Leon, Thanks for the suggestion. I think the translator is still working out things like this, so I will pass them on. Do you think that just saying “how” makes it seem too much like a method of hearing (like, How did you hear the news? Over the phone.)
So a quick update. We have added some more texts. But the most interesting thing is an experimental feature to ask a question at the bottom of the sutta. This is done via email. We aren’t sure how useful this will be to people, but it may help us improve the information on the site. You can see it at the bottom of every sutta page.
