Does he who is enlightened impart his teachings spontaneously or is he prepared in advance?

[Johan]

I ask this, because I saw someone conveying the teachings of the enlightened one, compiling it beforehand, and some conveying it directly. I thought both were good things, but a perception arose in me.

That, I will not deliver any lectures until I see and experience the real truth for myself. Because I realized that I couldn’t use the right words to express the real truth, moreover I had never seen the real truth firsthand. Can this perception of mine be called selfishness or wisdom?

[mikenz66]

This is what the Buddha says in MN58:

“Sir, there are clever aristocrats, brahmins, householders, or ascetics who come to see you with a question already planned. Do you think beforehand that if they ask you like this, you’ll answer like that, or does the answer just appear to you on the spot?”

“Well then, prince, I’ll ask you about this in return, and you can answer as you like. What do you think, prince? Are you skilled in the various parts of a chariot?”

“I am, sir.”

“What do you think, prince? When they come to you and ask: ‘What’s the name of this chariot part?’ Do you think beforehand that if they ask you like this, you’ll answer like that, or does the answer appear to you on the spot?”

“Sir, I’m well-known as a charioteer skilled in a chariot’s parts. All the parts are well-known to me. The answer just appears to me on the spot.”

“In the same way, when clever aristocrats, brahmins, householders, or ascetics come to see me with a question already planned, the answer just appears to me on the spot. Why is that? Because the Realized One has clearly comprehended the principle of the teachings, so that the answer just appears to him on the spot.”

Of course, it’s a high bar to be so skilled as to be able to present difficult concepts without thinking it out in advance…

[knigarian]

Liberation and ability to express it in words are two different things, they go together in the Buddha, but I think he is rather an exception. Also knowledge about certain things which can be taught doesn’t depend on awakening directly, like for example knowledge of past lifes, or require additional factors like learning and so Ven Ananda despite being only sekha was a better Dhamma teacher than many arahats.