Friendship however in the context of that quote however is not referring to a "teacher"... rather a Kalyana-mitta, a spiritual friend. There is for example in the suttas, talk of samatha-experts helping out vipassana-novices and vice versa does have sutta support.
Metta,
Retro.
and what is a spiritual friend if not someone who helps us cultivate the noble eightfold path?
our relationships with others may at times be equal, and at other times be more of a student/teacher role. if we look at the first two teachers the Buddha had they went from teacher disciple to peers, and if they had been alive after his enlightenment back to student teacher.
He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form. John Stuart Mill
I am buddhist and i believed one buddhist must do personal cultivation. That is important. To follow the 5 precepts and 8 noble truths.
I am a man who is not well vserse in suttra at all but i like reading Buddha simple short quotes and great monks quotes, i will try to put in practicse.
I like those tudong monks trainning in North east thailand with AC Mun line down. They practise in mindfulness and mind awareness.
A group of buddhism friends then told me that by doing cultrivation alone is not enough. one must be well verse in suttra.
that also applies to two monk masters reply too. One told me to practise yet the other told me to read sutta...
My feels is : Are By knowing the suttra alone, is that important??
I am a man who only goes for practise and not theory.
anyway, i a begineer.
am i wrong??
by well verse in suttra but without praticsing, can one get enlighten?
hope to hear more views ya.
hahahahaha
sadhu sadhu sadhu.
Maybe, to put it another way, if you have a very busy week ahead and only time do do meditate ór to study, not both, what would you do? I would meditate, but I already read a lot to put in practice. Maybe for others it's different. If I have plenty of time I need to read to keep me motivated to go on the cushion.
So I'm not saying not to study, just asking: what would you do in that situation?
lppaefans wrote:
A group of buddhism friends then told me that by doing cultrivation alone is not enough. one must be well verse in suttra.
that also applies to two monk masters reply too. One told me to practise yet the other told me to read sutta...
My feels is : Are By knowing the suttra alone, is that important??
I am a man who only goes for practise and not theory.
anyway, i a begineer.
Ask yourself this question: Which foot is more important for walking? Your right foot or your left foot?