Editorial Guidelines

Buddhist teachings carry real weight for the people who study and practice them. These guidelines describe the standards we try to hold ourselves to when researching, writing and publishing content on this site.

Preference for Reliable Sources

Where a page discusses a specific event, teaching, or figure, we aim to base it on reputable sources — canonical texts, established translations, and well-regarded scholarship — rather than unverified secondhand summaries. Where the historical record is genuinely uncertain, we try to say so rather than present a single account as settled fact.

Distinguishing Canonical Material, Story and Commentary

We try to keep four kinds of content clearly distinct from one another:

• Canonical material — passages, verses, or teachings drawn from the Buddhist scriptures (the Tipiṭaka, including texts such as the Dhammapada).
• Traditional stories — Jātaka tales and other stories passed down through the Buddhist tradition, which may exist in more than one version across different sources.
• Scholarly or traditional interpretation — commentary and explanation that has developed around a teaching or story over time.
• Way to Enlightenment's own content — our original explanations, modern-life reflections, and any original parables or adaptations we write ourselves.

Original adaptations or illustrative parables written for this site are labeled as such, so they are never mistaken for a traditional or canonical source.

Source Attribution

Where reasonably possible, we note where a teaching, verse, or story comes from — for example, a named sutta, a text within the Tipiṭaka, or "traditional story, source uncertain" where that is genuinely the case. We do not fabricate citations, sources, or quotations.

Translation & Provenance

Pāli and other canonical-language source text is treated as the original; any English (or other language) rendering of it is treated as a translation, not as an interchangeable equivalent. Where a translation is used, we aim to note where it came from — for instance, whether it reflects an established published edition or our own careful paraphrase — and we do not present a paraphrase as if it were a direct, word-for-word quotation.

Treatment of Pāli & Canonical Texts

We take particular care with Pāli source material and canonical citations, since small errors here can misrepresent a text. Canonical passages are only presented once genuinely verified against a reliable source; until then, a section of the site may describe the structure of the canon (for example, its major divisions) without yet including specific source text or translation.

AI-Assisted Content

Some drafting, editing, or research assistance on this site may involve AI tools. AI assistance is never treated as a historical, canonical, or scriptural source in itself — any factual or canonical claim is expected to trace back to a real, checkable source, not to an AI system's output alone.

Respect for Different Traditions

Buddhism includes multiple traditions and schools of thought that do not always agree on every point of interpretation. We try to present teachings in a way that respects this diversity, rather than asserting that one tradition's reading is the single correct one, except where sources broadly agree.

Corrections & Updates

We welcome corrections. If a reader identifies a factual, translation, sourcing, or attribution error, we review it and update the relevant page where the correction is warranted. You can report an issue via our Contact page.