- What is "A Handful of Leaves"?
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* * * The CD is out of print and no longer available. * * *
A Handful of Leaves is a free CD-ROM containing a selection of texts with teachings from Theravada Buddhism, taken from the pages of the Access to Insight website. Included on the disk are:
- Over 700 English translations of suttas from the Pali Canon
- Indexes to help you retrieve particular suttas by title and subject, and sutta passages by subject, proper names, and similes
- Transcribed Dhamma talks and essays by contemporary Theravada Dhamma teachers and many of the great forest masters (50+ titles)
- Dhamma books from the Buddhist Publication Society and other sources (over 100 titles)
- Indexes to help you retrieve books, talks, and articles by title, author, and subject
- The Path to Freedom, a self-guided tour of the Buddha's teachings
- Study guides -- anthologies of readings on selected topics for individual or group study
- Much more...
Of the materials on the CD you may:
- view them on your computer screen and print them out for your personal use or to share with your friends;
- copy them to other computer media (floppy disks, CDs, websites, etc.) and redistribute them, provided that you offer them free of charge;
- (in many cases) reprint them for free distribution.
A Handful of Leaves is a complete self-contained website that you can navigate using the web browser of your choice. No software is provided on the disk. You do not need to be connected to the Internet in order to use it. The disk is offered in a hybrid format that runs on both Windows and Macintosh (System 7 or newer) computers.
A Handful of Leaves is currently out of print.
- How can I get a copy of the CD-ROM?
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* * * The CD is out of print and no longer available. * * *
If you or anyone you know already owns a copy of the CD, you are welcome to make copies of the CD and give them away to others.
As an alternative, you may download a copy of the entire Access to Insight website at any time.
- Why don't you accept e-mail requests for the CD?
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* * * The CD is out of print and no longer available. * * *
There are several reasons:
- If you're willing to take the time to write a letter or postcard, then I know you're genuinely interested in the CD. If the CD were available simply at the click of a button, I'm sure a lot of copies would go to waste.
- Copies of the CD are always in limited supply. I like to give everyone -- whether on the Internet or off -- an equal chance at receiving a copy.
- The "hard copy" of your request simplifies my record-keeping and provides a convenient place for me to keep track of the progress of your order: I rubber-stamp it with the date received and the date mailed, and I can easily attach to it any follow-up correspondence (from you or the post office) .
- Can you send some CDs on my behalf to someone else?
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* * * The CD is out of print and no longer available. * * *
I prefer to mail CDs directly to people who specifically request them, rather than to "third parties." If you'd like to give some CDs as gifts to your friends, just let me know how many extra copies you'd like and I'll happily send them along to you. If you plan to give away lots of copies, you might consider making your own copies of the CD, which you are welcome to do (see "May I make more copies of the CD?," below).
- What happens to my name and address when I order a CD?
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* * * The CD is out of print and no longer available. * * *
I do not keep a computerized mailing list, and I will not share your address with anyone. When I receive your request, all I do is copy your mailing address (by hand) to the mailing envelope. This is a very low-tech operation.
- I'm having trouble using the CD. What do I do?
- First, read the "Readme" file that is on the CD. Did you follow the instructions carefully? If that doesn't help, see the list of known bugs. If you're still having trouble, please feel free to contact me.
A few Windows users have lately been having trouble getting started with the CD. Apparently, I could have made the instructions on the CD jacket a little clearer. So, to clarify, here's what you need to do:
- Insert the disk into your CD drive.
- Double-click on the "My Computer" icon on your desktop. A window titled "My Computer" should open up.
- Double-click on the CD icon (it should be labeled "Leaves"). A window named "Leaves" should open up.
- Double-click on the file named "Start" in that window (not the "Start" button in the lower left corner of your screen!). Your web browser should now start up and bring you to the first page of "A Handful of Leaves".
- What does the title refer to?
- See SN LVI.31.
- What kind of computer do I need to use the CD?
- The CD is in a hybrid format that runs on both Macintosh (System 7 or newer) and Windows (3.1, 95, 98, or NT) computers.
- Can I update my copy of "A Handful of Leaves" to match the Access to Insight website more closely?
- I no longer provide downloadable updates for the CD. You can, however, download an up-to-date copy of the entire Access to Insight website at any time.
- May I make more copies of the CD?
- Yes -- provided that you give them away free of charge. They are not to be sold at any price. You are welcome to repackage the CD as you please (i.e., make a new sleeve, use different artwork for the disk surface, etc.), as long as you still call it "A Handful of Leaves" and you don't alter the data on the disk itself.
If you're planning to distribute a large quantity of CDs (say, more than a half-dozen or so), please put your address -- not mine or Access to Insight's -- on the cover sleeve as the address to which people should write for additional copies.
On a more technical side, if you're planning to make copies of the CD, you should be aware that the CD contains two complete filesystems: one that's visible only to Macintosh users and one that's visible only to PC (Windows, etc.) users. Depending on the software you use to duplicate the CD, you may or may not be able to copy the "invisible" portion of the disk. If possible, please duplicate the complete hybrid CD. But if you're unable to do so, and can only make a PC version or a Mac version, that's OK.
- What's the difference between versions 1.0 and 2.0?
- Version 2.0 is similar to version 1.0, but contains over 100 newly translated suttas (including the complete text of the Itivuttaka), several dozen new books and articles, a new collection of "Study Guides," improved navigational aids, and hundreds of minor corrections and improvements that should make the CD even easier to use.