THE ASIAN CLASSICS INPUT PROJECT INC Information

Founded in 1988 with a grant from the David and Lucile Packard foundation, The Asian Classics Input Project is dedicated to locating, cataloging, digitally preserving, and freely distributing rare and precious collections of Tibetan and Sanskrit manuscripts. These surviving texts hold the philosophical, cultural, and religious heritage of Asian traditions dating back more than 2500 years. ACIP strives to digitally preserve these invaluable manuscripts, which hold the great ideas of Indo-Tibetan civilization as well as the Yoga and Ayurveda traditions of ancient India because we believe that authentic ancient wisdom should be available to scholars, translators, and practitioners throughout the world, free of charge. Our work is accomplished in several stages. First, we search the globe for surviving manuscript collections. We then catalogue their contents at various centers located mostly in Asia, where the books are carefully preserved as digital images and/or searchable e-text. These centers are staffed primarily by people who have come from the very regions where these great books were written and produced, hundreds if not thousands of years ago. Many are refugees from areas where economic or political strife threaten these great books and, sadly, even the freedom to teach, study, or own them. ACIP helps not only to preserve these rich cultural traditions, but provides these extraordinary people with an opportunity to learn new skills for supporting themselves and their families. Since its inception in 1988, ACIP has amassed a veritable treasure trove of digitized Tibetan and Sanskrit literature, with more than two million pages digitally preserved and tens of thousands of pages of searchable e-books and catalogs distributed to the public free of charge.