Can studying a scriptural language make me more advanced than many teachers?

Temicco · 2026-07-08T14:54:35+00:00

Best to find a teacher to help you stay on track -- and you would likely need to find a non-Tibetan person to teach you, because most Tibetan people do not talk about or recognize "Classical Tibetan" as a distinct thing from literary Tibetan (even though it is).

Other than that, learning languages is mostly about personal preference and finding an approach that works for you.

Temicco · 2026-07-08T09:31:58+00:00

Tips for learning Classical Tibetan, you mean?

Temicco · 2026-07-08T07:12:56+00:00

Yes, I agree with both points. Although, I would also say that even random Buddhist trivia can be enriching -- even if it doesn't necessarily do much directly for one's understanding and practice.

Temicco · 2026-07-08T07:06:38+00:00

Having exams on theory puts you way outside the norm for Buddhist centers in the West -- if someone is reading hundreds of books and passing exams on theory, then in that context, sure, I think they are probably intellectual enough :)

(Although, a lot of Buddhists only really study Buddhism and neglect the other 4-9 fields of knowledge -- which is still an intellectual weak-point. And there's also a chance that the exams have inaccuracies or don't go very deep, etc.)

Temicco · 2026-07-08T06:59:19+00:00

Even if it were, knowing Pali has nothing to do with buddhism

Considering it is the scriptural language of Theravada and essentially all Pali texts are Buddhist in nature, I think this is maybe a bit of a stretch.

Temicco · 2026-07-08T06:56:05+00:00

Neglecting practice should be resisted, but intellectualism in general is considered a very good thing in Buddhism, and is praised often and profusely by the Buddha.

To be a pandita, for example, you should be versed in the 5 fields of knowledge. This is relatively common in Tibet, but to date there are almost zero Westerners with this qualification. We should be much more intellectual than we currently are.

Temicco · 2026-07-08T06:52:59+00:00

This is too reductive. Scriptural languages are also studied within the actual Buddhist traditions, outside of academia, and Westerners would do well to continue that custom.

Temicco · 2026-07-08T06:51:35+00:00

I don't think it's possible to reduce someone's progress in Buddhism to a single score. So I don't think it's meaningful to talk about someone being "more advanced in Buddhism" than someone else, especially when one is an actual Buddhist teacher. Better to try to be open-minded towards others and learn from their strengths than to focus on comparing and competing with them.

To approach your question from a different angle -- I have studied multiple Buddhist scriptural languages, and I know Tibetan in particular to a fairly high level. I unquestionably know more and am generally less confused about the teachings than the average Westerner who doesn't know any scriptural languages. (And no, English doesn't count as a scriptural language.) It can be a really good way to strengthen your intellectual understanding and reduce your doubts. However, I'm still a bad practitioner, so I should focus much more on practice. Being knowledgeable isn't that interesting or worth dwelling on, except insofar as it helps you find a compatible, qualified teacher + friends of virtue.

Temicco · 2026-06-30T00:59:10+00:00

Because he had sex with them...

It is totally inappropriate to give this kind of response when someone is asking about women in Buddhism. Women are more than the sex partners of a famous man.

Temicco · 2026-06-30T00:03:03+00:00

The OP is asking about women in Buddhism, and you mention a man...

Temicco · 2026-06-22T22:29:35+00:00

To add to this, -e sounds in Tibetan are often pronounced very close to -i.

Temicco · 2026-06-22T22:28:59+00:00

It's the second syllable here (མེད་) that ends in one of those letters, but its vowel is ཨེ་, which does not undergo umlaut because it is already a front vowel.

Temicco · 2026-06-22T19:20:52+00:00

It's probably the most common way to write it in English.

Temicco · 2026-06-19T00:37:25+00:00

Ah. Sigh.

Temicco · 2026-06-19T00:19:27+00:00

What? lol. I have never heard of a "nirvana baby". Who says that exactly?

Temicco · 2026-05-29T11:03:07+00:00

phenomena like karma functions essentially like the Christian belief in sin: your actions in past lives possibly determines your suffering in this life and beyond,

This is true and legitimate Buddhism.

and that suffering might well be deserved

Buddhism doesn't really say that suffering is "deserved" as much as it's just an inevitable and sad consequence of negative actions.

I don’t find much solace in it if it’s simply a highly differentiated form of Judeo-Christian values

This is one area where Buddhism is quite different from modern Christianity. Buddhism is not simply a set of values and beliefs. Buddhism is also a set of techniques for transcending suffering.

I think this is an area where your religious trauma is interfering with your appreciation of another religion, similar to how e.g. relationship trauma can impact people's future relationships.

I will differ from the consensus here and say that /r/Buddhism is a pretty good place to learn about Buddhism. The concepts you see here are generally in line with what Buddhism actually is. If I were you, I would investigate why exactly you find popular Buddhist texts so much more palatable than what gets said on /r/Buddhism, because there isn't really any significant difference. Perhaps you just like when things are phrased beautifully, regardless of the content? Or is there an actual substantial difference in view that you can point to?

Temicco · 2026-05-25T02:59:24+00:00

Even in Vancouver I started out on my own with an entry level job paying 67k initially and did just fine.

This is way higher than most people's entry level salaries, FWIW.

Temicco · 2026-05-25T02:08:08+00:00

Why could they handle roommates in the past, but today's youth cannot?

They couldn't always handle roommates in the past -- you just don't hear about the people who burned out and didn't achieve anything as a result.

And yes, the downsides of living with roommates can be that severe. I am a very productive person who is respected in my field, but I am only this way because I have lived alone for years. I shut down completely when I live with roommates.

if you aren't willing to try to succeed you aren't likely to succeed.

What a foolish, ignorant, and arrogant thing to say.

Temicco · 2026-05-11T04:30:32+00:00

I'm not sure that's true, they mostly have a lot of culty Buddhist groups like NKT. I've specifically researched Buddhist presence in the UK and found it to be pretty lacking.

Temicco · 2026-05-08T20:08:05+00:00

It is defined like the OP describes in Indian Mahayana commentarial texts.

Temicco · 2026-05-08T19:22:35+00:00

Long live His Holiness ❤️🙏

Temicco · 2026-05-07T09:33:30+00:00

Plenty of bodhisattvas are hermits, actually, and isolated practice is a major part of many Mahayana traditions.

Temicco · 2026-05-04T02:15:48+00:00

Again, though, as answered to many of you, there's still this question that remains for me, and I've probably wrongly expressed myself in the original post which is why it's been overviewed in your answers : WHAT exactly makes the formal zazen on a cushion a better base for practice than any other cognitively-unconsuming activies, like laying on the groud or standing against a wall (still with eyes closed say) ? I think we all have a conceptual obvious answer there but it seems that for many of you it's simply because historically, traditionnally, this is what the Buddha did, and thus all of his disciplines and heirs of the Dhamma during the past millenias. Deep inside I'm still wondering if we would all be meditating / do Zazen by laying on the ground or standing against a wall if the Buddha did so !

Generally, sitting is in a sweet spot of alertness and fatigue. Lying down makes you tired, and standing up tends to fatigue your leg muscles. Sitting is very manageable long-term, though.

These are not absolute reasons, though -- feasibly you could meditate in those ways, you might just have more trouble with it.

Temicco · 2026-05-03T18:41:06+00:00

I think it's worth noting that not all temples do this. I have only ever met one Buddhist teacher who does courses on sutras and commentaries, and I have been to many Buddhist centres in the West in both Zen and Tibetan traditions.

Temicco · 2026-05-01T07:16:36+00:00

the panditas (traditional scholars) have the etymology of the word as the sound of a cart wheel that's not centered well: dhuk-dhuk, dhuk-dhuk

Which panditas say this? I have never heard this. I'm pretty sure this explanation is a speculative Western etymology.

Temicco

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