ez reader: sensible paragraph formatting standard for digital books

👑☸ → EBpedia📚 → EZ Reader    

Why doesn't everyone do it the 'ez way'?

Back in the days of the printing press,
you cut down trees,
made paper,
printed text on paper.

So to save on costs,
you tried to jam as much ink and word count
into a single page as you possibly can.

Newsflash.

Most people don't read things on physical paper anymore.
On digital ink, you won't waste trees and physical paper
by arranging your digital text in an organized, readable manner.

Demoonstration with real world example AN ^10.3.
What's easier to read, and re-read as a reference looking for something particular:

Sujato's version:

“Mendicants, an unethical person, who lacks ethics, has destroyed a vital condition for having no regrets. When there are regrets, one who has regrets has destroyed a vital condition for joy. When there is no joy, one who lacks joy has destroyed a vital condition for rapture. When there is no rapture, one who lacks rapture has destroyed a vital condition for tranquility. When there is no tranquility, one who lacks tranquility has destroyed a vital condition for bliss. When there is no bliss, one who lacks bliss has destroyed a vital condition for right immersion. When there is no right immersion, one who lacks right immersion has destroyed a vital condition for true knowledge and vision. When there is no true knowledge and vision, one who lacks true knowledge and vision has destroyed a vital condition for disillusionment and dispassion. When there is no disillusionment and dispassion, one who lacks disillusionment and dispassion has destroyed a vital condition for knowledge and vision of freedom.

Or Frank's EZ-reader formatting?

1) “monks, an unethical person, who lacks ethics, has destroyed a vital condition for having no regrets.
2) When there are regrets, one who has regrets has destroyed a vital condition for joy.
3) When there is no joy, one who lacks joy has destroyed a vital condition for rapture.
4) When there is no rapture, one who lacks rapture has destroyed a vital condition for pacification.
5) When there is no pacification, one who lacks pacification has destroyed a vital condition for pleasure.
6) When there is no pleasure, one who lacks pleasure has destroyed a vital condition for right undistractible-lucidity.
7) When there is no right undistractible-lucidity, one who lacks right undistractible-lucidity has destroyed a vital condition for true knowledge and vision.
8) When there is no true knowledge and vision, one who lacks true knowledge and vision has destroyed a vital condition for disenchantment and dispassion.
9) When there is no disenchantment and dispassion, one who lacks disenchantment and dispassion
10) has destroyed a vital condition for knowledge and vision of freedom.

Free yourself!

Write digital text in an organized, easy to read manner.

Your readers will thank you.
You’ll thank yourself.
Your editors will thank you for the much easier job of proof reading and catching other kinds of logical errors.

Bonus tip

Don’t be afraid of numbering lists.
It’s not like you’re going to win a literary award or nobel prize just because you jam words in a huge paragraph in a prosey manner.
Your readers will thank you for presenting information in an easy to digest way.
Sutta and Dhamma book readers care about nirvana and easy to consult references.
They don’t appreciate outdated unreadable formatting styles for obsolete printing press technology.


☸ Lucid 24.org 🐘🐾‍

Related

also see: 🔗📚 free Dhamma book makers, please make EPUB versions: PDF's are a horrendous nuisance to read

Forum discussion

https://www.reddit.com/r/theravada/comments/103arvr/comment/j2zjd64/?context=3
AlexCoventry·18 hr. ago


The main thing I would want in a revised format is more anchors so I can link to the specific relevant text.




level 2

lucid24-frankkOP·just now



great point. all my newer sutta translations and long articles have massive amounts of anchors.

For example, MN 125

https://lucid24.org/mn/main/mn125/index.html#tophead

125 – MN 125 Danta-bhūmi: tamed levels

(2022 SP-FLUENT translation by frankk‍ derived from B. Sujato‍ ) 2018/12

 MN ¹²⁵ – MN 125 Danta-bhūmi: tamed levels
    MN ^125.1 - (prince J. doesn’t think that teaching can lead to ekagga citta)
        MN ^125.1.1 - (simile of well trained elephants)
        MN ^125.1.2 - (simile of standing on mountain seeing clearly)
    MN ^125.2 - (simile of training wild elephant)
        MN ^125.2.1 - (simile: new monk has 5kg desire ordains → elephant still desires pleasures of being wild in forest)
        MN ^125.2.2 - (simile: 4sp satipaṭṭhāna nonstop,to subdue thoughts of household and delight in Dharma thoughts → elephant tied to post to keep it from returning to forest, and grow to like men and fortress)
        MN ^125.2.3 - (simile: 4sp satipaṭṭhāna again without kama = first jhāna → elephant trained to like and follow commands for good war elephant)
        MN ^125.2.4 - (note grass, water, firewood is simile for first jhāna from AN 7.67 )
        MN ^125.2.5 - (simile: monk developing 2nd through 4th jhāna → elephant tied up so it can’t move while training to be imperturbable to simulated weapons and battle stress)
        MN ^125.2.6 - (simile: successful monk with imperturbable 4th jhāna withstands cold, heat, mosquitoes → elephant in live battle struck by spears, swords, arrows)
MN ^125.3 - (Buddha the wild elephant trainer: monk ↔ elephant)
    MN ^125.3.1 - (renounce, shave head, work on sīla)
        MN ^125.3.1.1 - (simile: new monk has 5kg desire ordains → elephant still desires pleasures of being wild in forest)
        MN ^125.3.1.2 - (in the same way as elephant coming out into open, repeat section previously with monk ordaining )
    MN ^125.3.4 - (guard sense doors)
    MN ^125.3.5 - (moderation in eating)
    MN ^125.3.6 - (wakefulness)
    MN ^125.3.7 - (S&S: sati & sampajāno)
    MN ^125.3.8 - (5niv hindrance removal)
    MN ^125.3.9 - (4sp satipaṭṭhāna nonstop, like elephant tethered to post)
        MN ^125.3.9.1 - (simile: 4sp satipaṭṭhāna nonstop,to subdue thoughts of household and delight in Dharma thoughts → elephant tied to post to keep it from returning to forest, and grow to like men and fortress)
        MN ^125.3.9.2 - (in the same way as elephant tied to post, repeat section previously with monk doing 4sp )
    MN ^125.3.10 - (do 4sp with no kāma-vitakka/thoughts of sensuality = first jhāna)
        MN ^125.3.10.1 - (simile: 4sp satipaṭṭhāna again without kama = first jhāna → elephant trained to like and follow commands for good war elephant)
        MN ^125.3.10.2 - (note grass, water, firewood is simile for first jhāna from AN 7.67 )
        MN ^125.3.10.3 - (in the same way, repeat what monk does before elephant simile )
    MN ^125.3.11 - (skip 1st jhāna, go directly to 2nd jhāna, since the previous stage of satipaṭṭhāna was first jhāna!)
        MN ^125.3.11.1 - (simile: monk developing 2nd through 4th jhāna → elephant tied up so it can’t move while training to be imperturbable to simulated weapons and battle stress)
        MN ^125.3.11.2 - (in the same way, repeat what monk does before elephant simile )
    MN ^125.3.12 - (imperturbability/āneñjappatte, the dynamic form of 4th jhāna)
MN ^125.4 - (Three higer knowledges, 3 vedas being redefined by Buddha)
    MN ^125.4.1 - (#4 of 6: higher knowledge of reviewing past lives)
    MN ^125.4.2 - (#5 of 6: higher knowledge of divine eye sees kamma and rebirth of beings)
    MN ^125.4.3 - (#6 of 6: higher knowledge of destruction of āsavas, i.e. arahant)
    MN ^125.5 - (mark of sammā samādhi is khamo/patient endurance of any unpleasant experience)
        MN ^125.5.1 - (simile: successful monk with imperturbable 4th jhāna withstands cold, heat, mosquitoes → elephant in live battle struck by spears, swords, arrows)
        MN ^125.5.2 - (in the same way, repeat what monk does before elephant simile )