Sunday, September 16, 2018

study watch experience

I'm considering doing a self-study course of the Digha Nikaya. That book is like 1000 pages long, but as you can see is only a small part of the whole Tipitaka (oldest Buddhist teachings that have survived to the present) and doesn't include any of the latter sutras like the Lotus, Heart, Platform, or Diamond sutras. Whew! I'm working to strike a balance between practicing every day and also studying, and there's obviously a whole lot to study.

When I took a course on vipassana meditation by S.N. Goenka, he described three types of knowledge in a metaphor involving a restaurant. He said there's the first type of knowledge that comes from reading the menu and deciding what sounds good. There's the second type of knowledge that comes from sitting in the restaurant watching everyone eat their food and seeing how good it looks, imagining how good it must taste, etc. Finally, there's the third type of knowledge that comes from receiving your food and eating a good meal yourself. These knowledges are study, hanging out with good/strong practitioners and teachers, and the practice of meditation. A good practice ought to ideally have some components of all three types of knowledge, all in balance.

I know myself, and I have a strong tendency to over-emphasize the intellectual "study" side of an activity rather than the praxis of something. (note to self: write a future post about this in relation to activism, theory v praxis debates, education, etc).

I'm wondering if it might be in my best interest to commit to study no more than I meditate! At the moment I'm averaging about an hour a day... I think that would be a reasonable study limit. I'm sure once I start classes in October any non-vital reading will take a backseat.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

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