Will there be an official SC beginner's reading guide?

[mikenz66]

@sujato

Thanks so much for the support, and you have touched upon a crucial issue. I have said many times that this is the hard problem in sutta study, or, more generally, in learning what the Buddha taught. It is not something that can be done all at once, nor is there a one-size-fits-all solution.

Yes, this case was interesting:

The varieties of religious reading experience

Interesting to see the various reactions to reading the suttas (here a negative one). I sort of assumed that most people would enjoy them once they managed to get to reading them and have their first experience with them… and then fall down the rabbit hole of studying them to solve this awesome jigsaw - so it’s a good reminder that it’s not the case. It’s also interesting and puzzling that Wisdompubs has published such a review… usually publishers only post good reader experiences!

It does seem a pity she picked up the MN and attempted to read just read straight through - a more graduated approach such as “In the Buddha’s Words” or “Buddhist Life/Buddhist Path” would be a much better starting point for most. Or Bhikkhu Bodhi’s excellent series of talks that groups the MN suttas according to the graduated approach.