Writing The Dhamma

ThailandTom

Today I have been writing down sections of Buddhist related books that I feel are important to keep in mind with regards to the Dhamma. I realised whilst I was writing these paragrahps down that even though I had read these passages before at least once (a lot of the time more than once), the words were sinking in and hitting the spot if you will. There is something about writing these teachings down rather than merely reading them that helps the concepts hit home easier. I think maybe it is because it takes more time and therefore you have more time to reflect on the words you are writing. Has anybody on NB had experiences with writing teachings down and learning this way?

federica

I've never done that, but sometimes, something I read *a while back* resonates with me on a different level of understanding the *Nth* time round. Not necessarily in a deeper way, just from a slightly different angle....
I love it when that happens.

Lee82

This is common academic study technique. There are two parts to your memory, short term and long term. The idea of study is to transfer knowledge in to your long-term memory using various techniques. If you read something once you will soon forget it, if you write it down it is better printed in your memory, if you read it allowed, speak it, that is another way to encourage your brain to remember what you are reading. To transfer knowledge to your long-term memory will take repeated reading and/or writing and/or speaking over a period of perhaps two weeks to a month. Once it is in your mind the frequency at which you will need to re-read the information will be much less for you to retain the knowledge.

ThailandTom

Lee82 said:

This is common academic study technique. There are two parts to your memory, short term and long term. The idea of study is to transfer knowledge in to your long-term memory using various techniques. If you read something once you will soon forget it, if you write it down it is better printed in your memory, if you read it allowed, speak it, that is another way to encourage your brain to remember what you are reading. To transfer knowledge to your long-term memory will take repeated reading and/or writing and/or speaking over a period of perhaps two weeks to a month. Once it is in your mind the frequency at which you will need to re-read the information will be much less for you to retain the knowledge.

That makes sense, it would also explain a good reason to chant mantras and what not. But I think I am going to keep picking out sections that are really quite useful or relevant to me at that moment in time and right them down in my notebook. I have never been much of a chanter

federica

Does that mean I can reach enlightenment quicker if I write all the suttas down?

lamaramadingdong

I'm on book 5 of Buddhist quotes that I write down that resonate with me.

Bunks

I wrote a lot of stuff down when I first started practising. Once the teachings started to seep into my heart (as opposed to just being intellectual) I let that go.......it's nice to go back and read some of the things I wrote down though.

ThailandTom

I started writing some things down like the precepts and stuff maybe 4 years ago, but only recently have I been writing sheer paragraphs, thousands of words in total so far I assume. Of course you need to take the words from the page into everyday life and use them, but I have found the act of writing teachings down lets them have more of an influence or impact to me. Like Lee82 said it helps them to be stored in the long term memory.

tmottes

I found this to be the case for me in college. If I would listen to the lecture and take notes, I didn't need to review the notes: I would just remember. If I just listened to the lecture and I didn't take notes: I might as well not have listened.

Also, the other day I was transposing an audio clip by writing it down, I found I understood it in a more meaningful way than before writing it down.

ThailandTom

I have forgotten now and I am sure it differs with each tradition and sangha, but monks/nuns in training do a fair bit of studying if I am not wrong? I remember now in the movie 'Spring Summer Autum Winter' where the guy who has been learning from his teachings most of his life returns after killing his partner for cheating. The Teacher makes him carve out a section of a sutra on the decking outside the floating temple they live in and then paint in the carved wood. It takes him all day and night, the police catch up with him half way through but the teacher inisists they wait for him to finish the carving and painting before they arrest him. I may have to watch that movie again soon, I have not for a long long time now and it is why I became interested in Buddhism in the first place.

jessie70

tmottes said:

I found this to be the case for me in college. If I would listen to the lecture and take notes, I didn't need to review the notes: I would just remember. If I just listened to the lecture and I didn't take notes: I might as well not have listened.

Also, the other day I was transposing an audio clip by writing it down, I found I understood it in a more meaningful way than before writing it down.

That was my experience in college. Except for calculus, physics, or chemistry or those courses which had "problem sets"... any course that consisted mainly of ideas, that didn't involve solutions, I could just sit and take notes.
It's an interesting question, though... where one's own spiritual studies lies on that spectrum? How are we "tested?"
Koans are kind of like problem sets!

tmottes

@ThailandTom That was a good movie. Yes, I remember thinking that if it that was happening in the west they would have arrested the old monk for interfering in police business.

jessie70 said:

That was my experience in college. Except for calculus, physics, or chemistry or those courses which had "problem sets"... any course that consisted mainly of ideas, that didn't involve solutions, I could just sit and take notes.
It's an interesting question, though... where one's own spiritual studies lies on that spectrum? How are we "tested?"
Koans are kind of like problem sets!

In some sense, I guess spiritual studies have tests in real life; but, I wouldn't call life a big test.

coz

yes i also find that when i write down what i am reading is finds a nice spot
in my mind plus its always a easy referance to look back on
namaste
Coz

karasti

The neat thing is, you tend to remember a lot more of anything you teach others. Any time someone here, or in "real life" poses a question about Buddhism or any other topic I am learning at the time, and I have to explain it to them, I retain and understand it far better than if I had just read, or wrote or spoke it. Finding your own words to express things you have heard or read is difficult, and once you can find the words to do it, you understand what you think you know, much better. We had a sign in one of my classrooms that said something like "You retain 10% of what you read, 50% of what you write and 90% of what you teach others." Of course not everyone learns the same, and some people learn better from one form of information uptake than others.

If it helps you retain and gain understanding, then great! I have written a few of the more important things (important to me) and put them in a folder. I also have printed off a few things and printed them in a poster form and hung them around the house as reminders.

Songhill

ThailandTom: That is a nice way to accumulate merit (punya). You might even consider the odd Chinese practice of using your blood to copy a Sutra (just kidding).

Blood writing: http://goo.gl/4N2Lm

zombiegirl

I have a large blank book where I write things that really resonate with me. I have a very visual type of memory, so for me it's always been that if I don't write something down... I'm not likely to remember it... but if I do, I'm not likely to have to look at it to remember it because the act of writing is enough.

But having said that, I do peruse it from time to time.

ThailandTom

@zombiegirl yea I have a pretty visual memory as well, so it helps a lot to write things down and then go back to them. Also as @Karasti stated, actually telling others about teachings as seemed to help me remember things a lot more recently. I guess if we all share ideas and teachings on forums such as this it will benefit everyone.

@Songhill blood writing is a bit extreme lol, that reminds me of a picture I found on facebook. Perfectly shows the misconception of love many people seem to have, how they confuse it with attachment. Here it is.