Thank you, pathfinder. I am quoting Dr. Lal’s post on the thread that Jittananto started:
The sutta doesn’t say not to teach Dhamma; it just says to avoid useless debates.
The English translation is good. There are no “deep concepts” here, and it is straightforward.
“Bhikkhus, don’t get into arguments, such as:
“You don’t understand this teaching and training. I understand this teaching and training. What, you understand this teaching and training? You’re practicing wrong. I’m practicing right. I stay on topic, you don’t. You said last what you should have said first. You said first what you should have said last. What you’ve thought so much about has been disproved. Your doctrine is refuted. Go on, save your doctrine! You’re trapped; get yourself out of this—if you can!”
- Those types of “debates” are the ones to avoid.
- Just saying, “Your argument is wrong. Mine is correct,” etc., is not beneficial. You only need to present your arguments with evidence from the Tipitaka. There is no need to engage in debates.
Such attitude can cause us to lose compassion towards those that don’t agree with our views. I will also add that we need to keep a humble attitude. Most of us are at most a Sotapanna which is only the beginning of the noble path.
