an.2.47 Aṅguttara Nikāya (Numbered Discourses)
47
“There are, mendicants, these two assemblies.
What two?
An assembly educated in fancy talk, not in questioning, and an assembly educated in questioning, not in fancy talk.
And what is an assembly educated in fancy talk, not in questioning?
It is an assembly where, when discourses spoken by the Realized One—deep, profound, transcendent, dealing with emptiness—are being recited the mendicants do not want to listen. They don’t pay attention or apply their minds to understand them, nor do they think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing.
But when discourses composed by poets—poetry, with fancy words and phrases, composed by outsiders or spoken by disciples—are being recited the mendicants do want to listen. They pay attention and apply their minds to understand them, and they think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing. But when they’ve learned those teachings they don’t question or examine each other, saying:
‘Why does it say this? What does that mean?’
So they don’t clarify what is unclear, or reveal what is obscure, or dispel doubt regarding the many doubtful matters.
This is called an assembly educated in fancy talk, not in questioning.
And what is an assembly educated in questioning, not in fancy talk?
It is an assembly where, when discourses composed by poets—poetry, with fancy words and phrases, composed by outsiders or spoken by disciples—are being recited the mendicants do not want to listen. They don’t pay attention or apply their minds to understand them, nor do they think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing.
But when discourses spoken by the Realized One—deep, profound, transcendent, dealing with emptiness—are being recited the mendicants do want to listen. They pay attention and apply their minds to understand them, and they think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing.
And when they’ve learned those teachings they question and examine each other, saying:
‘Why does it say this? What does that mean?’
So they clarify what is unclear, reveal what is obscure, and dispel doubt regarding the many doubtful matters.
This is called an assembly educated in questioning, not in fancy talk.
These are the two assemblies.
The better of these two assemblies is the assembly educated in questioning, not in fancy talk.”
“There are, mendicants, these two assemblies.
What two?
An assembly educated in fancy talk, not in questioning, and an assembly educated in questioning, not in fancy talk.
And what is an assembly educated in fancy talk, not in questioning?
It is an assembly where, when discourses spoken by the Realized One—deep, profound, transcendent, dealing with emptiness—are being recited the mendicants do not want to listen. They don’t pay attention or apply their minds to understand them, nor do they think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing.
But when discourses composed by poets—poetry, with fancy words and phrases, composed by outsiders or spoken by disciples—are being recited the mendicants do want to listen. They pay attention and apply their minds to understand them, and they think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing. But when they’ve learned those teachings they don’t question or examine each other, saying:
‘Why does it say this? What does that mean?’
So they don’t clarify what is unclear, or reveal what is obscure, or dispel doubt regarding the many doubtful matters.
This is called an assembly educated in fancy talk, not in questioning.
And what is an assembly educated in questioning, not in fancy talk?
It is an assembly where, when discourses composed by poets—poetry, with fancy words and phrases, composed by outsiders or spoken by disciples—are being recited the mendicants do not want to listen. They don’t pay attention or apply their minds to understand them, nor do they think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing.
But when discourses spoken by the Realized One—deep, profound, transcendent, dealing with emptiness—are being recited the mendicants do want to listen. They pay attention and apply their minds to understand them, and they think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing.
And when they’ve learned those teachings they question and examine each other, saying:
‘Why does it say this? What does that mean?’
So they clarify what is unclear, reveal what is obscure, and dispel doubt regarding the many doubtful matters.
This is called an assembly educated in questioning, not in fancy talk.
These are the two assemblies.
The better of these two assemblies is the assembly educated in questioning, not in fancy talk.”