What did the Buddha teach about the age of practitioners?

[Wizard in the Forest]

We've all heard the stereotypes that with age comes wisdom, with age comes deterioration, with youth comes inexperience, with youth comes energy, both eventually lead to death.

What I want to know about is, while there's no question that we should respect our elders, I am having a perceptual trap that is bothering me. Do older people have more experience fundamentally than young people by the nature of their age in general or is it specific experience in doctrine and practice that makes a person more experienced? Since I began study and practice in the doctrine and the discipline much earlier and longer than some people who began later and have less experience, I feel fear to speak of what I know for fear of sounding conceited, arrogant, and dismissed as juvenile because they are still older than me. I know though there are people with little learning who do not profit from their learning, also some with less learning who do benefit from their learning. There's also those with great learning who do not profit from their learning, and also those of great learning who do reap the benefits from what they have learned. I don't deny this, but I want to know is age inherent experience or is practice?

What did the Buddha say?

[ground]

Not by means of slack endeavour,
Not by means of feeble effort,
Is this Nibbana to be achieved,
Release from all suffering.

This young man [by my side]
Is a supreme man indeed:
He carries about his final body,
Having conquered Mara and his mount.

SN, 21. Bhikkhusamyutta, 4 "The Newly Ordained Bhikkhu"

Kind regards

[Reductor]

Or...

260-261

A head of gray hairs
doesn't mean one's an elder.
Advanced in years,
one's called an old fool.

But one in whom there is
truth, restraint,
rectitude, gentleness,
self-control —
he's called an elder,
his impurities disgorged,
enlightened.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mikenz66]

What did the Buddha say?

He established the rule that seniority in the Sangha is based on years since ordination, not age. Hence, monks will ask each other: "How many rains?" to figure out their position in the pecking (paying respect ) order...


Mike

[salmon]

Since I began study and practice in the doctrine and the discipline much earlier and longer than some people who began later and have less experience, I feel fear to speak of what I know for fear of sounding conceited, arrogant, and dismissed as juvenile because they are still older than me.

Not from the Buddha, but just an opinion (if that is allowed). Regardless of how much one knows, we should maintain humility. When one speaks with humility and sincerity, one will not come across as conceited.

However, remember that no matter how much you study, you may still be wrong. There is a Chinese saying that "an elder has eaten more salt than you have eaten rice". Without knowing the full story, one tends to get the story wrong...and when one's EGO gets excited, thinking "I am right, he is wrong." then one's mindfulness drops and one will almost always, be wrong.

[bodom]

The Venerable Sariputta’s humility was as great as his patience. He was willing to receive correction from anyone, not only with submission but with gratitude. It is told in the commentary to the Devaputta Samyutta, Susima Sutta, that once, through a momentary negligence, a corner of the Elder’s under-robe was hanging down, and a seven-year-old novice, seeing this, pointed it out to him. The Venerable Sariputta stepped aside at once and arranged the garment in the proper equally-circular way. Then he stood before the novice with folded hands, saying, “Now it is correct, teacher!”

There is a reference to this incident in the Questions of Milinda, where these verses are ascribed to the Venerable Sariputta:

One who this very day, at the age of seven, has gone forth—
If he should me, I accept it with (bended) head.
At sight of him, I give him ardent zeal and regard.
With respect may I again and again set him in the teacher’s place!

http://www.bps.lk/olib/wh/wh090-u.html#T38" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Individual]

There's a sutta I remember where the Buddha says declining intelligence from senility can be overcome by concentration. Perhaps somebody can find it?