Do You Need To Read?

[boppia]

I've just gotta say, the posters on this board posting about Buddhism seem to write quite long posts. Back the the time of the Buddha, I'd suspect that most people couldn't read anything so they probably just listened. Maybe they didn't have a written language back then. I just don't know. Did the Buddha even read? He probably just thought and hungry writers wrote what he said. Whatever the case, is it really necessary to spend so much time reading about Buddhism? Can't it be learned by living or just thinking? Please don't look down on me because I don't enjoy writing or reading. I just think that today there are thousands of people creating masses of stuff burying the simple message of the Buddha(whatever it was) Can we actually be better Buddhists in today's world than a person was 300 years ago?

Okay that was a messy post. Anyone got a short answer?

[chownah]

Buddha spoke and a group of his followers memorized what he said. It wasn't written down until hundreds of years later...I think it was hundreds of years.

The term "to be a Buddhist" means different things to different people...but I think that all would agree that you don't need to read to be a Buddhist.

As to "Can't it be learned by living or just thinking?": Living and thinking is the only way it can be learned. Here I'm assuming that the "it" that is being learned is the path toward nibbana or enlightenment or whatever it is you want to call it. For many people reading is part of living and it is a useful method for learning. If someone doesn't read then having someone explain it would work as well but it might be hard to find someone willing to do this who is also able to do this. If this question means, "can I just look at life without consulting a teacher and figure out the same insights that the Buddha figured out?", then I'd say that it is possible but seems highly unlikely.

As to comparing Buddhists of today to Buddhists of 300 years ago....I will have to put some interpretation on this to reply. I'll interpret this to mean, " are Buddhists today more morally correct than Buddhists were 300 years ago?". If this interpretatoin is correct (it very well may be wrong) then I would say that Buddhism does not have much to do with how moral people are. Morality is not central to Buddhist thought. I think that good Buddhist advice would be to not worry about what Buddhists did 300 years ago...better to use your energy to discover and follow the path today.

[bina]

i'd like to add:

i work with thai workers whom for the most part have third to six grade education at the most: at this moment i have a guy who spent 7 months as a monk (more than the usual three months)...

he learned orally thru repetition and the monks read to the boys/men... however, his continued 'education' in buddhism stopped he said, because he cant really read, and there is much more to learn from the various writings of monks from both past and present.... so the media (t.v./radio) is his access to listening to the sermons etc (in thailand there are sermons everyday on tv at certain hours).... when he has time .... as for me, the only access i have to anything buddhist is thru the internet or books since there are no other ways to learn buddhism in israel

and of course, chatting here with chownah, pandit, sabaijai et al....

clarify???

[Abandon]

boppia - yes

bina - There are quite a few meditation centres in Israel, and likely better teachers (for westerners) than you will find in Thailand. Also good retreat centres a short flight away in Europe. But it depends mostly on time I guess.

Some of the answers are long because *someone* cuts and pastes long sections from the net instead of just posting a link ...

I like to read about Buddhism, but mostly the suttas rather than later teachers. Keeps you keen, though there are better ways to keep keen, and none better than renunciation.

[Thomas_Merton]

I've just gotta say, the posters on this board posting about Buddhism seem to write quite long posts. Back the the time of the Buddha, I'd suspect that most people couldn't read anything so they probably just listened. Maybe they didn't have a written language back then. I just don't know. Did the Buddha even read? He probably just thought and hungry writers wrote what he said. Whatever the case, is it really necessary to spend so much time reading about Buddhism? Can't it be learned by living or just thinking? Please don't look down on me because I don't enjoy writing or reading. I just think that today there are thousands of people creating masses of stuff burying the simple message of the Buddha(whatever it was) Can we actually be better Buddhists in today's world than a person was 300 years ago?

Okay that was a messy post. Anyone got a short answer?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The short answer and the long answer is - NO.

Just look into the Buddah's face every day.

Edited November 5, 2005 by Thomas_Merton

[bina]

the buddhism centers are meditation centers belonging to one stream of thought or an other like the diamond way, and just retreats are not a viable thing at the moment...

a flight to europe only if u pay...

i prefer reading and thinking and discussing if i have a willing bunch of partners...

geez t.m. whats with the nationalistic thing??

btw for all concerned i found a good cite:

http://www.dhammathai.org/dhammapada/dhammapada.php

[Thomas_Merton]

geez t.m.  whats with the nationalistic thing??

btw for all concerned i found a good cite:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just keeping a few anti-s posters on their toes.

[boppia]

"i guess i thought life was supposed to be simple. it's simple yet so complex. a retarded boy could spend all his life playing with a rubics cube. what is the meaning of life? Buy the book! a book on emptiness? what's in it? i thought life itself is completion or success. What are you trying to succeed at? Aren't we born winners", said the rock.

[chownah]

"i guess i thought life was supposed to be simple. it's simple yet so complex. a retarded boy could spend all his life playing with a rubics cube. what is the meaning of life? Buy the book! a book on emptiness? what's in it? i thought life itself is completion or success. What are you trying to succeed at? Aren't we born winners", said the rock.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Since my last post in this thread I have been reading about Buddhism. In your first post you asked, ".....is it really necessary to spend so much time reading about Buddhism? Can't it be learned by living or just thinking? ....", and I think I've found the answer. It is reported that there have been people who have come to the full realization of the same thing that the Buddha was teaching, but they did it without learning of the Buddha or his teachings. There is even a word for it in Pali which is the language that the Buddhist scriptures were first recorded in. It is evidentally a rare occurance but has happened so be encouraged by this and keep up the search.

I could give you some short ideas about what the Buddha taught...but maybe you'd rather do it on your own.....sort of like a good movie...I wouldn't want to spoil the ending.