Maybe it is because the way I learn Buddhism differs from most traditional Buddhists, I think my view on Buddhist texts is drastically different than most Buddhists. I thought I share my view on Buddhist Texts in case anyone finds it of any interest. But these views are based on my current understanding, and I will modify these views as I progress in my understand of Buddhism.
也許是因為我學習佛學的背景跟傳統佛教徒不一樣，
我對佛經的看法可能也跟傳統佛教徒有所不同。
說不定有人對我的看法有興趣。
但是這些觀點是根據我目前對佛學的了解，
我的想法也會跟自身佛學的成長而改變。
1. Buddhist Texts are not always correct.
佛經不一定都是對的。
The people who wrote and translate Buddhist Texts may not have sufficient understanding and experience of the content of Buddhism. So the Buddhist Texts that we read today may not be completely valid. Within the same Text, there maybe exist both correct and incorrect contents. This is not to say that all Buddhist Texts have problems, some may not have any issue at all.
It takes sufficient level of empirical understanding of Buddhism and logical thinking to be
able to separate them.
寫佛經跟翻譯佛經的人，不一定對佛學有足夠的了解跟體會，
所以寫出來的佛經不一定都完全正確。同一本佛經裡頭可能有正確的文字，但也會有不理想的內容。不過，也不是說全部的佛經都有問題，有些有，有些沒有。要分別好跟不好的內容需要對佛法有足夠的了解跟體會，還需要具備邏輯思考能力。
2. Some contents of Buddhists Texts uses Socratic style method to show a concept. Some present Buddhism world view and concepts, and some are accounts of personal experiences. Real teaching of methods are few and far in between and are often cryptic.
有些佛經的內容，會用類似蘇格拉底反詰法來表現一個概念。
有些介紹佛學的世界觀和概念。有些傳達個人經驗。真正的法門，可以說寥寥無幾、也非常難懂。
3. So it is rather pointless to obsess over every single words in Buddhist Texts for us novices. These texts are there for you to validate your own understanding and experiences, not to argue with each other about what they mean.
因此，我覺得一位剛開始修行的人沒有理由去鑽佛經裡的每一字、每一句。這些經文是要讓您驗證自己的理解和經驗，不是用來做無意義、無謂的辯論。
The problem with Buddhist Texts as a textbook is that they present an answer to a very complex problem without very much derivation, because much of the derivation occurs within oneself and is difficult to explain with words.
用佛經作為教材有一個大問題。佛經給您一個非常複雜問題的答案，但沒有跟您很詳細解釋達到那個答案的方法。因為大部分的方法都在自我裡面尋找，很難用字表達。
Reading Buddhist Texts sometime feels like reading a treatise on Quantum Mechanics without understanding any the complex mathematics behind it. I might know all the words used in the treatise, but I don't necessary know what the words meant in the context. So I end up knowing cool concepts like "quantum entanglement", but I don't really know what it really meant in our lives and how to apply it. I end up having the knowledge, but not the understanding. So why obsess over the words when I don't understand it. I should go learn the math first.
有時候，我讀佛經的感覺跟我在讀一本量子力學的論文是一樣的。我可能認得所有的字，但我不知道這些字在量子力學有什麼意思。因為我完全不了解量子力學的數學。讀完之後，我或許會知道像“量子糾纏”這樣一個聽起來很酷的概念， 但我不知道這個概念在生活中代表什麼意思以及如何應用它。讀這樣的書給我一些知識，可是我無法理解及應用這些知識。所以為什麼我需要被一些我不明白的字和知識給纏住呢？
我應該先學數學。
Therefore, our method give you some simple and basic knowledge, and some home works to help you get some personal empirical experiences with some concepts in Buddhism first. When you have a basic feel of the concepts, then we can work on the next step.
同樣的道理，我們在這裡所說的法門先給您一些基本知識跟功課，希望能幫助您有所體悟。當您有了 體會，就會有能力去做下一步。
Buddha and his disciples have put together a collection of texts that told us the Truth, what it looks and feels like. When you reach a new level of understanding, you will resonate with new and different parts of Buddhist Texts.
佛陀和他的弟子集合這些經文來告訴全世界他們所觀的真相。
當您在佛學中獲得嶄新的體會，對某一部分的佛經產生共鳴，
到時您就會知道自己的程度在哪裡了。
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