I stopped after three years (‘06-‘09) because it had become an endurance contest. I’d made it through the DN, MN , SN, and most of the AN when I realized that I was not penetrating the meaning beyond a certain point, and that all I was trying to do was finish. It was a dead end. Like I said in another related thread, I was able to pick it back up when I was reading for the meaning, when I had a reason to explore - whether it be to gather an array of descriptions of a particular word or phrase or theme or to learn about a particular figure. That was how I generated the energy to read feverishly again.
I was able to chronicle this style of reading during the year I curated the Study Group on DW, and what I grew to understand was that a sutta will open up as we grow familiar with the themes that extend across the Canon, and when those themes apply to us in some way. It is inevitable that our initial reading will contribute to inspiration and to building a historical framework, but it must extend beyond that. Literally, it needs to extend right through our being so that we begin find ourselves in these rich descriptions of suffering and freedom from it.
Finding the urgency to press for that meaning is essential, and I think it is really easy to keep the suttas at arms length under the premise of being responsible - with the notion that it is important to gather complete information before proceeding. However, this is the exact approach that keeps us from being shaken by the deep and sometimes overwhelming descriptions, and it is that very self-honesty that is required in order for a sutta to begin to mean more than just an inspiring story from 2500 years ago. Without being struck by the sense that the suttas are talking about something urgent and more important than anything else, a person is reading for some other reason, and that reason will only hold up for so long before person simply cannot sustain their interest and stops reading.
I’m still a Puthujjana, and I often struggle with the Panca-Nivarana. At times, they can overwhelm me and distract me. However, I will strive to bounce back with Sati-sampajanna, supported by the contemplation of Samvegacitta. I will re- read it again and again, hoping that my lapses will decrease over time.
IMHO
It’s essential to make this practice a habit—doing it repeatedly until it becomes an automatic part of my character, one that strives to learn the Dhamma.
One should read and study the Dhamma (Tipitaka-Pali), and I find SuttaCentral to be an excellent resource. We need to learn, investigate, contemplate, and put it into practice, repeating this process continuously.
This is the best investment one can make in this lifetime. After all, we are still wandering in samsara, and we have no idea how long we will continue this journey. Therefore, it’s always wise to prepare for good karma (Punna-Kusala) through Dana, Sila, Samadhi, and Panna.
Reading the suttas is a valuable way to develop Panna.
Some monastic looks very monastic in their robe but they do not teach the Buddha’s Teachings. In fact, they taught us to develop vedana/tanha/ etc. deeper.
I can’t get enough of reading the suttas, I’m like an addict. I’ve read through all them, twice already, and currently on a break period. I just want to take time and dive deeper into certain topics via essays, guides, and books like the vimuttimagga and visudhimagga, and to boost my own practice. Will certainly resume reading once I’ve finished with my bucket list, and this third read will be even more deep, intense, and interesting, as I’ve noticed that Bhante Sujato has added so many new notes and tooltips to the suttas.
I find it all extremely and mindlessly repetitive. So one gets easily tired.
I’ve toyed with the idea of creating a version of the tripitaka with all repetitions removed so one can actually get to the essence of the teaching without the verbosity.
Recently I rewrote the MN1 (1321 words in the Pali original) verbatim in Sanskrit with all repetitions removed and was able to shrink it 200 words without omitting any meaningful non-repetitive content and still keeping it readable.
I don’t do much sutta reading per se as I find the writing quite awkward. But I do love a good online sutta class. Mostly by the three B’s, Brahm, Brahmali and Sujato
Also been doing some not chanting but sutta recitation in the car lately and planning on finally installing the Digital Pali Dictionary for some word analysis. I think any way to internalize the teachings is good.
The answer lies in utility in my opinion. When the suttas are introduced in written form (text), they are useful in understanding the relationship between the first two senses (the eye & the ear) and maññanā (imaginings) by applying them to explain phenomena. Once the utility is exhausted, no more reason to read them.
I think having a smaller text to work with interspersed with what you are working on in the AN is a good idea. Then if repetition is a real issue you can space it out a bit at least.
Since people may be making new years resolutions about reading more suttas, maybe bringing up the topic of why we aren’t in the first place would be useful.
When I started reading suttas, I approached it like reading the Christian Bible. In that tradition, there’s this “thing” about reading the entire Bible (over a year, for example).
After a few years, I decided this approach wasn’t at all useful for me. I switched to selecting certain sections of suttas with a guide of some sort – Bhikkhu Bodhi’s Pāḷi reader was the first one because I was also interested in learning pāli.
Then, I zoomed out again and realized I was missing out on the Minor Discourses.
Oh, I’m all over the place.
But I find just staying engaged with the suttas for a few minutes a day can keep me in touch during busy times. It’s much easier during quiet times without any demands on my schedule.
It seems that because the suttas were given in a spoken language, sometimes for me, reading changes the ‘cadence’ maybe…? When I hear the suttas I am much more engaged.
Hearing them, you can perceive the rhythm, which makes the repetition a bit more pleasing. I feel like sometimes, when I’m reading, my mind will skip some of the repetitive sections, then I feel like I’m missing some of the meaning. Meaning may not be exactly the right word…more like sense, or ‘ness, or feeling…I don’t know the right word.
I think one common reason people stop reading suttas is that they start turning it into a task instead of a practice. It begins to feel like they must understand every line perfectly or take notes and that pressure slowly removes the natural interest. Over time the reading feels heavy instead of calm so they step away without fully noticing why.
This may sound odd, but sometimes it gets a bit too much! I am not sure how to properly put it into words, but some suttas (and the related literature) have profound realizations upon profound realizations, especially for those previously not exposed to such writings in any serious capacity. Sometimes I feel like I can’t turn to the next page, because there may be something there that could be momentarily awe-striking, or that I may not be ready to hear it.
This, of course, somewhat jokingly. But the first time I seriously started looking into Buddhism, it was very destabilizing, like everything got turned on its head (or, more appropriately, got turned back the correct way ). When I first heard about anattā, I thought, “wait, am I not real?!”
But I am very much real, and turns out anattā did not mean I was about to physically collapse and disassociate into the aggregates and lose the sense of reality – thankfully
I think, perhaps controversially, sometimes taking some time off suttas completely is also healthy and useful, so perhaps that’s a factor as well.
If we think about it, people in the suttas aren’t busy reading suttas. They’re travelling, engaging with each other, debating, talking, practicing and so on. So in a way they’re practising what we are reading.
Even when it’s recited, it’s often a communal event, verbal, sonic, somatic — quite a different experience than reading words on a screen all alone.
In practically every engagement in life, taking a time off helps refresh the muscles, memories, reset things so you can start fresh again. So, I think it’s unavoidable that people have “burnouts” at times, to take a healthy distance from reading, words, and to engage with life with the guidance of dhamma.
With that said, I’m not a dhamma teacher at all, so just take it from someone who observes their own experience.
That’s very relatable.
There’s a saying that “The worth of a poem is measured by the silence that ensues.” I think that applies to Dhamma / Philosophy and such as well.
We eat for so little time of the day and spend so much time digesting. It’s not surprising if that’s the case with dhamma as well. As Ajahn Sujato once said “A little bit of dhamma, a LOT of time meditating…”
After hearing from them ( monastic, / layperson),after attending Dhammatalk, Dhamma discussion, Retreat etc.
I am not sure how to properly put it into words, but some suttas (and the related literature) have profound realizations upon profound realizations, especially for those previously not exposed to such writings in any serious capacity. Sometimes I feel like I can’t turn to the next page, because there may be something there that could be momentarily awe-striking, or that I may not be ready to hear it.
). When I first heard about anattā, I thought, “wait, am I not real?!”
