Does Anyone Have Any Novel Ideas About How To Read The Suttas.

[garro]

I have been a bit neglectful recently in regards to reading the suttas.

In the past I have tried working my way through the 'access to insight' website.

I have also used the random sutta option.

I now want to get back to regulary reading them again.

Any suggestions?

Do you read them regulary?

[Grover]

Here is a funny sutta, start from the beginning, "Conversations with the Gods"

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn....html#bigbrahma

I dont read the suttas regularily, but find the long and middle discourses the most readable. I also find the monastic handbook by Thanissaro Bhikkhu a good read.

Edited September 23, 2007 by Grover

[jumnien]

The middle path is not difficult for he who has no preferences. Just pick one and go!

[chownah]

I have no particular reading schedule. I read up on whatever strikes my interest and my interest is stimulated by regularly reading and posting at a Buddhist forum. The discussion often turns to some issue that interests me and usually Sutta references get posted and if they don't you can usually get some by asking someone to post a reference.

Also:

Buddhist Dictionary

Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines,

by MahaThera Nyanatiloka

http://what-buddha-said.net/library/Buddhi...dex_dict.n2.htm

is a great resource because it not only gives definitions of Pali terms it also gives some Sutta references where these terms are used in key concepts and gives a discussion. I think that this dictionary is highly regarded by most Theravada Buddhists. This reference is especially good for when you are reading a discussion on a forum (or in a book or website) and you don't understand some Pali word used you can find its meaning and some context to help understand it.....sometimes you can even find information that someone has overlooked or misenterpreted and bring this information into the discussion...a great reference and a great way to find Sutta references for various concepts and ideas.

Chownah

[Grover]

nice link chownah, it is a great resource.

[garro]

Thanks for the link

[cm das]

I used to have a routine of reading one sutta from the Majjhima Nikaya every morning with a cup of tea or coffee. I let that habit trail off for a while but recently got around to finishing that collection. Nowadays I'm working with shorter texts, and usually before going to bed. I don't always stick to Buddhist texts but I often turn to the Dhammapada & Sutta Nipata for short but substantial doses of dhamma. Last week I began Sarah Shaw's translation of the Jatakas. Though they might not exactly count as suttas in a strict sense, I think the Jatakas are a good choice for those of us living in Thailand. Besides their dhamma content (on a pretty basic level) they're a key part of folk culture. And they're fun to read.

Anyway, to return to the original point, for me it's good to get into a daily routine. It can be just a few minutes or longer, depending on your time & energy. But I find that setting that discipline is valuable for me. And of course that applies to any kind of study or development. Good luck.

[garro]

I used to have a routine of reading one sutta from the Majjhima Nikaya every morning with a cup of tea or coffee. I let that habit trail off for a while but recently got around to finishing that collection. Nowadays I'm working with shorter texts, and usually before going to bed. I don't always stick to Buddhist texts but I often turn to the Dhammapada & Sutta Nipata for short but substantial doses of dhamma. Last week I began Sarah Shaw's translation of the Jatakas. Though they might not exactly count as suttas in a strict sense, I think the Jatakas are a good choice for those of us living in Thailand. Besides their dhamma content (on a pretty basic level) they're a key part of folk culture. And they're fun to read.

Anyway, to return to the original point, for me it's good to get into a daily routine. It can be just a few minutes or longer, depending on your time & energy. But I find that setting that discipline is valuable for me. And of course that applies to any kind of study or development. Good luck.

What a coincidence. I had already decided to begin reading the Jatakas tonight. I have 'A garland of birth stories' by N.M. Higgins.

[cm das]

That's great Garro. I'm sure you'll enjoy the Jatakamala. In a previous incarnation as a grad student in the states I read selections of that text in Sanskrit. Actually, 'story literature' like this was what I wanted to focus on before I got sidetracked into epigraphy & then old Gandhari manuscripts... which subsequently led to academic burnout. It's only this year that my interest in Sanskrit & Pali has been revived. Now I just have to find that time & discipline...

[Brucenkhamen]

I can't say I've ever really felt the need or desire to read the scriptures.

The style of writing and the culture the scriptures are aimed at make them hard work to read I find.

It's not as if they are the "Word of God" like they are in other religions, it's not as if I need to get to the source to understand the true doctrine or anything like that.

The Buddhist path is about finding out the truth for yourself, not reading what somebody wrote about the Buddha 2500 years ago. So your reading habit should support that, what you read should inspire you to practice, should broaden your horizens and help you see things differently.

I find the dhamma talks and books of contemporary western teachers inspire me in this way, so that's what I read. Sometimes they quote from scriptures and that's good as then they'll bring to life the stories and relate them to todays context, not something I can easily do myself reading them cold turkey.

Ajahn Chah, for example, encouraged people to practice first and study later, that way you are more likely to approach practice with an open mind.

That's just me though, if the scriptures nourish you in the way I describe then that's great.