Popular Edition Line Header

In the CBETA electronic Buddhist canon, the line header information preceding each line of text in the Popular Edition is as follows:

In the Taishō Tripiṭaka, the format is: T xx n yyyy o p zzzz a ll

The detailed breakdown is as follows:

• T: Indicates a Taishō text; for other collections, please refer to Collection Notation.

• xx: Indicates the volume number, consisting of two or three digits.

• n: Constant; indicates that the text number follows.

• yyyy: A four-digit number indicating the text or catalog entry number.

In the Jiaxing Canon published by Shinwenfeng (新文豐), there is a Primary Canon (正藏) and a Supplementary Canon (續藏). Thus, text numbers beginning with “A” belong to the Primary Canon, while those beginning with “B” belong to the Supplementary Canon, followed by three digits.

• o: Uppercase letters (A, B, etc.) indicate variant editions with the same text number recorded in the Taishō Tripiṭaka; lowercase letters (a, b, etc.) indicate variant editions with the same text number not recorded in the Taishō Tripiṭaka. If there is no variant edition record, an underscore (_) is used.

  However, in the Manji Zokuzōkyō (卍續藏 Xuzangjing), designations such as “No. yyyy-A” and “No. yyyy-1” serve a different function than text numbers in the Taishō Tripiṭaka. Paratextual elements—such as prefaces, introductory notes, accounts of origin, postscripts, and colophons—are appended with Roman letters (A, B, C, etc.) following the text number. When multiple works are compiled together, or several writings form a single volume, sequential numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) are appended after the text number (cf. “Manji Zokuzōkyō, Editorial Guidelines, item 3”). Consequently, line header information in the Xuzangjing does not include indicators for variant editions.

• p: Constant, indicates that the page number follows.

• zzzz: A four-digit number indicating the page number.

Some works feature prefaces or postscripts at the beginning or end with independent page numbering. To distinguish these from main-text pagination, an alphabetic prefix followed by three digits is added to indicate page numbers in distinct sections.

• a: Indicates the column (register), that is, “a” for the top column, “b” for the middle column, and “c” for the bottom column. Certain texts with special layouts may exceed three columns.

• ll: A two-digit number indicating the line number within that column.

  For example: T10n0279_p0001a01 indicates line 1 of the top column on page 1 of Text No. 0279 in volume 10 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka.

Detailed example: Lines 2 through 12 of the bottom column (c02–c12) on page 2 (p0002) of Text No. 0001 (n0001_) in volume 1 (T01) of the Taishō Tripiṭaka.

T01n0001_p0002c02║頌曰
T01n0001_p0002c03║　毘婆尸名觀　　智慧不可量
T01n0001_p0002c04║　遍見無所畏　　三會弟子眾
T01n0001_p0002c05║　尸棄光無動　　能滅諸結使
T01n0001_p0002c06║　無量大威德　　無能測量者
T01n0001_p0002c07║　彼佛亦三會　　弟子普共集
T01n0001_p0002c08║　毘舍婆斷結　　大仙人要集
T01n0001_p0002c09║　名聞於諸方　　妙法大名稱
T01n0001_p0002c10║　二會弟子眾　　普演深奧義
T01n0001_p0002c11║　拘樓孫一會　　哀愍療諸苦
T01n0001_p0002c12║　導師化眾生　　一會弟子眾

Concise Edition Line Header

In the Concise Edition, metadata such as page, column, and line numbers is retained before each paragraph.

For example:

No. 1

長阿含經序

長安釋僧肇述

[0001a05]

夫宗極絕於稱謂。賢聖以之沖默。玄旨非言不傳。釋迦所以致教。是以如來出世。大教有三。約身口。則防之以禁律。明善惡。則導之以契經。演幽微。則辨之以法相。然則三藏之作也。本於殊應。會之有宗。則異途同趣矣。

[0001a10]

禁律。律藏也。四分十誦。法相。阿毗曇藏也。四分五誦。契經。四阿含藏也。增一阿含四分八誦。中阿含四分五誦。雜阿含四分十誦。此長阿含四分四誦。合三十經以為一部。

[0001a05] indicates page 1, top column, line 5.