ABSTRACT
Inexpensive online conferences may gradually replace the costly and time-consuming international ventures that are currently the staple product of scholarly exchange. The gist of the conversation revolved around the presumably wishful thinking of a group of young scholars imagining a future time when computers could be programmed with the entire grammar and lexicon of the Sanskrit, Pali, Chinese, Tibetan, and Japanese languages, and then instantly deliver impeccably accurate, totally spontaneous, and completely cross-referenced translations of Buddhist texts. The conference was entitled Buddhism and Human Rights, and consisted of ten papers posted on the JBE site, along with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Dalai Lama's statement on Human Rights and Universal Responsibility. While online discussions of articles and free downloads of all journal materials have become routine, a new cottage industry in e-publishing awaits the most industrious e-journal entrepreneurs.
