AN 6.29 oral tradition, importance of memory, Buddha says you're foolish if you don't know the 6 topics from this sutta

Re: Forgetfulness in Buddhism

Post by frank k » Thu Jun 30, 2022 10:06 am
AN 6.29

Buddha calls udāyi a foolish man (mogha purisa) because he answered incorrectly when he asked him to list the 6 topics for recollections anus-sati-thāna

It's really built into the oral tradition that memory, recollection, thinking and investigating with vitakka and vicāra, are fundamental skills.

The modern way of learning really neglects those important basic skills. Even the most important dhamma are treated as disposable entertainment. in one ear, out the other, soon forgotten.

The Dhamma was meant to be memorized, recited frequently, thought about, many times a day, and applied.

AN 6.29 is one of the most important suttas, and I'd bet 999 out of 1000 buddhists couldn't tell me what it's about.


If the Buddha chastised udāyi for being foolish for not having memorized it, don't you think you guys should at least be able to have a short summary of the sutta memorized?

https://lucid24.org/an/an06/an06-0029/index.html