Editorial Guidelines

Editorial guidelines for the Rigpa Shedra Wiki

1. Articles

1.1. Titles

Texts

• Wherever possible, the page title should be in English, using the standard Rigpa translation. Wherever there is not a standard Rigpa translation, it is fine to use the most common translation and it can be revised later, if necessary.

Masters/Teachers

• The page title should be the full name, rather than a nickname. (For example, Khenpo Ngawang Palzang, rather than Khenpo Ngaga or Khenpo Ngakchung).
• Where possible, avoid using honorific titles in the page title: they can appear in the article itself. So, for example, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche rather than Kyabjé Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

1.2. Indicating Sanskrit and Tibetan Terms

Indicate equivalent Sanskrit or Tibetan terms in parentheses, placing Skt., Tib. or Wyl. before the word itself. Sanskrit, Tibetan and Wylie terms should be in italics. The Sanskrit term in parentheses can have diacritics, but avoid the use of diacritics in the main article. The Tibetan font listing is first, then the Tibetan pronunciation string. Wyl. is a link unlike the other term shortcuts as the reader might not know about Wylie encoding. Only the first Wyl. entry will have the link (standard Mediawiki style to only add a link to the first entry.)

The order to cite is Sanskrit first, Tibetan second (first Tibetan script, then phoneticization) and Wylie third.

For example:

• The bell (Skt. ghaṇṭa; Tib. དྲིལ་བུ་, drilbu, Wyl. dril bu) symbolizes the feminine principle.
• Hope and fear are the mechanism of samsara (Skt. saṃsāra; Tib. འཁོར་བ་, khorwa, Wyl. 'khor ba) that perpetuate suffering.

1.3. Article Structure

All articles should follow this structure of headings after the definition and general explanation:

• Subdivisions
• Alternative Translations
• Notes
• Oral Teachings Given to the Rigpa Sangha
• Further Reading
• Internal Links
• External links

1.4. Citing Sources (Footnotes and Endnotes)

When using superscript numbering to indicate endnotes or footnotes, place the number after, not before a comma or full stop.

At the first occurrence of a publication source, specify in this order: Author, Title (Location: Publisher, Date), Chapter Reference (optional), Section Reference (optional), Page Number.

Examples: Dudjom Rinpoche, Perfect Conduct (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1996), 97.

Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying (rev. and upd. edn., HarperSanFrancisco and London: Rider, 2002), Chapter Five, 'A Delicate Balance', 76-77.

If there are extra elements to add, here is an augmented order to follow: Author, Title, Editor, Compiler or Translator, Edition if not the first, Volumes, Volume number, Series Title and Volume Number within series (City: Publisher, Date), Page Number.

Example: Kamalashila, Stages of Meditation, quoted in the Lam Rim Chenmo, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, trans. The Lam Rim Chenmo Translation Committee, volume 1 (Ithaca: Snow Lion, 2004), 45.

An example of citing a subsequent edition of a publication is: A Guide to the Practice of Ngöndro, (2nd edn., Rigpa, November 2006).

Note: abbreviations for ‘edition’—edn.—and ‘translated by’—trans.—are used in the above examples. ‘Revised’ becomes ‘rev., and ‘updated’ becomes ‘upd.’. ‘Ed.’ is the abbreviation for ‘editor’.

For subsequent occurrences of the same text, only specify: Author, Title, Page Number.

For heavily cited texts, only specify the Title .

For consecutive footnotes citing the same text, ‘ibid.’ is used instead of repeating the title.

For more detailed examples see: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html

And, see a sample paper at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/11/

2. Categories

Please look at existing categories before creating new ones! Category names should have Title Case.

Internal Links

• Rigpa Phonetic Guidelines
• Pronunciation of Sanskrit words