I’m relatively new to Buddhism, so please forgive me if I misunderstand or simplify certain things
I first encountered Theravada through the suttas, and only later became aware of the commentarial tradition (for example the works attributed to Buddhaghosa and later commentaries).
I have to admit that some of these interpretations raised questions for me, and at times I find it difficult to understand how certain commentarial interpretations relate to the suttas themselves.
From what I understand, it seems that in some Theravada contexts the commentaries are regarded as authoritative interpretations of the suttas, while in other contexts practitioners seem to approach them differently.
So my question is : how should a lay practitioner approach the commentaries in practice?
Is it generally expected to treat them as authoritative, or is it also acceptable to rely primarily or exclusively on the suttas themselves?
If there are teachers, lineages, or resources that discuss how to relate to the commentarial tradition, I would be grateful for recommendations.
Also, as I live in France and there are not many local communities nearby, I would be interested if anyone knows of good online sanghas
You find this essay on the main SuttaCentral site also in French translation; as well as, I believe, all the other essays on SuttaCentral. Please also note that SuttaCentral has a language setting, and the entire interface is translated into French. Click on the three vertical dots in the top right corner:
Somewhere between the two extremes of (1) seeing the commentaries as on the same level as words of the Buddha vs. (2) rejecting them completely. I take the “use what’s helpful, set aside what’s not” approach. Of the commentaries, I’ve only read the Visuddhimagga in English translation. There are a lot of useful and insightful teachings in there. There are also a lot of sections that are so abstruse and technical that I can’t understand them at all. I plan to reread it in the future.
If your approach to Dhamma is through intellectual investigation and you have enough faith to give up your ideas if you think that someone is wiser than you, than it is rather necessary to define what is trustworthy and what not. Since you have already admitted that at least some commentaries seem to you doubtful, there are Suttas, quite a lot of them, no need to study commentaries.
But the problem starts when we encounter Suttas which contradict our personal ideas. It is really difficult to maitain the attitude “I am wrong and Suttas are right “, despite the fact that theoretically we know that the attitude “My views are right, what contradicts them is wrong “ is precisely the attitude wich keeps us in samsara.
For some people initially, some suttas can be difficult to take in, not to mention, to integrate, and it can take time. Other suttas are inspiring and ring true quickly. It can be helpful not to try and force ourselves prematurely. In my experience, it all works gradually. Suttas that at first were difficult for me, now ring very true. And all Ajahns are really giving commentary when they teach, which is why they can vary so much in their approaches, so commentaries can certainly be helpful, or not.
That’s very true @anne And even one sutta which you do “understand” … your understanding will (hopefully!) grow as you do.
I’d say, focus on the suttas that speak to where you’re at and don’t be shy about setting aside the rest. They may be helpful for you later.
If possible, I’d recommend joining a Majjhimā Nikaya study group. The MN has a good balance of narrative and doctrinal, practical and philosophical suttas. And in a group you can discuss and interpret together more casually and responsively. Anyway, that’s what I found most helpful when starting my sutta journey.
To me, the traditional commentaries (by Buddhaghosa etc) are most helpful for Pāli readers and translators and for studying the history of Buddhist ideas. They’re more of a scholarly resource than a practical one.
For me, most of the times I take the commentaries very lightly and prefer to know what the Buddha said. That being said, I have found some of the things in the Vissudhimagga interesting/useful. Bhante Sujato did a course on the Visuddhimagga for Meditators a few year back. This might be interesting for you. However, I’d make sure that you have a good grounding in the Majjhima Nikaya and Samyutta Nikaya first. https://readingfaithfully.org/ has some great study guides for reading the suttas and setting study goals for these books.
I think it’s useful to know how Buddhists who lived closer than me in time and culture to the Buddha thought about the suttas. That’s essentially what the commentaries are afaik
