Bob Schwartz

Whatever your area of study and learning—not just religion, but science, business, arts, etc.—there are those who you want to learn from and those who want to teach you. Sometimes individually, sometimes institutionally.

You may keep in mind two Buddhist principles that apply universally: skillful means and testing teachings.

Skillful or expedient means—known in Sanskrit as upaya—suggests that at any point in a life, under any particular circumstances, one method of learning may be appropriate for an individual, but at another point under different circumstances, another method may be more appropriate.

Buddha was also very specific about how an individual can choose methods and teachings. In a sutra attributed to Buddha, he recommended testing teachings, and not simply accepting teachings from any teacher—not even himself:

Don’t accept what you hear by report, and don’t accept mere tradition. Don’t jump to conclusions based on assumptions. Don’t accept a statement just because it is found in scriptures, or on the basis of general acceptance, or because it is what your teacher says. After examination, only believe and act upon what you yourself have tested and found reasonable.
—Kalama Sutta

© 2025 by Bob Schwartz