A 16 Year Cycle of Readings for the Way of the Scholar Sage

This Cycle of Readings is a course I developed for contemplatively reading the Buddhist Discourses. It arose from my own considerations on how to study the Discourses while living the life of a busy layperson, a non-monastic who doesn't have hours a day to spend on such study.

I observed that people who are interested in finance will spend some time every day reading the financial section of the paper. People who like sports will spend some time reading the sports page of the paper. I determined that such reading lasted about 20 to 40 minutes on a daily basis.

Applying this pattern, if someone has a deep interest in the Dharma, and they spend 20 to 40 minutes every day reading the Discourses (the Sutras and Suttas), how long would it take to read them, and what would be a good course of study. I figured it would work out to about 100 to 300 pages per month, leaning towards the 100 per month. Using this as a basis I developed the 16 year course of study.

16 years may seem like a long time; but it's not a matter of finishing or graduating. The person interested in sports doesn't put a time limit on their engagement with the sports page. Similarly for those interested in finance. The process is that over time, as one studies, one becomes more familiar with the Discourses, their message, their implications, etc.

By reading about sports every day someone can become knowledgeable about that subject. By reading about finance every day one can become knowledgeable about finance. Similarly, by contemplatively reading the Buddhist Discourses the world of the Dharma becomes familiar, one's understanding deepens.

I refer to this as "The Way of the Scholar Sage." It is not just reading to accumulate information. The reading itself becomes a form of meditation and practice; in this way it differs from the analogies to finance and sports I gave above.

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