pali lesson on memorization training technique, MN 136 building the matrix on the fly

 

(audio sutta links here)
MN 135 and MN 136, two great suttas explaining karma and fruit of karma

Check out MN 136. The audio recording I made is already peyyaal'd (elided, repetitions reduced). It's a 21minute recording (English). Fully expanded with no peyyaala, I'd guess it's 30+ minutes long, conversational speed. 

But check out my summary in the table of contents for MN 136. If you collapse the fully expanded matrix and compress it into just the essential heart of the sutta, there's probably only about 1-2 minute of data. 

In practice, as a reciter monk, that's probably the only part you'd memorize, that 1-2 minute of data, and then build the matrix on the fly and expand repetitions as much as you think the audience needs to hear. And also, as part of the exercise to memorize the sutta in the first place and then periodically refresh your memory to keep from forgetting it. I doubt the Buddha actually delivered suttas with all repetitions expanded out in live performances. More likely he spent time in his talks clarifying and commenting on the sutta with interesting but less important details that the Theras didn't feel justified being recorded into the repertoire. 

MN 136

• MN 136 Mahā-kamma-vibhaṅga
  • big [discourse on] – karma – analysis
  • (Buddha explains how monk should have answered question)
    • (Buddha calls non-buddhist understanding of karma foolish and incompetent )
• (Great Karma Analysis – 4 types of people in world)
  • (1. Does evil → goes to hell)
  • (2. Does evil → goes to heaven)
  • (3. Does good → goes to heaven)
  • (4. Does good → goes to hell)
  • (Buddha analyzes case 1)
    • (1.1 there is bad karma and result of bad karma )
    • (1.2 doing evil and wrong view → reborn in hell )
    • (1.3 everyone who does evil → reborn in hell: wrong)
    • (1.4 those who agree with me are right, everyone else is wrong)
    • (1.5 stubbornly insist this is the only truth, all other ideas are stupid)
  • (Buddha analyzes case 2)
  • (Buddha analyzes case 3)
  • (Buddha analyzes case 4)
  • (1. Doing evil → going to hell → must have done bad karma action)
  • (2. Doing evil → going to heaven → must have done good karma action)
  • (3. Doing good → going to heaven → must have done good karma action)
  • (4. Doing good → going to hell → must have done bad karma action)
  • (conclusion)