[Buddha-l] Re: Diversions, distractions and off-topic discussions

[L.S. Cousins]

Joy Vriens comments:

>>  From AN X69 Kathavatthu Sutta (Topics of Conversation)
>>
>>"It isn't right, monks, that sons of good families, on having gone 
>>forth out of faith from home to the homeless life, should get 
>>engaged in such topics of conversation, i.e., conversation about 
>>kings, robbers, & ministers of state... talk of whether things 
>>exist or not.
>>
>>"There are these ten topics of [proper] conversation. Which ten? 
>>Talk on modesty, on contentment, on seclusion, on non-entanglement, 
>>on arousing persistence, on virtue, on concentration, on 
>>discernment, on release, and on the knowledge & vision of release. 
>>These are the ten topics of conversation. If you were to engage 
>>repeatedly in these ten topics of conversation, you would outshine 
>>even the sun & moon, so mighty, so powerful -- to say nothing of 
>>the wanderers of other sects."
>
>The last sentence is very ironic and therefore very funny. It pulls 
>away the rug on which the whole argument is standing IMO.  "...to 
>say nothing of the wanderers of other sects".

True but note that it is precisely the last phrase which is missing 
in the alternative version found in the adjacent sutta.

Also, it actually says:
"... your splendour (teja) would outshine even that of the sun & 
moon, so mighty, so powerful -- to say nothing of that of wanderers 
of other sects".
It is far from obvious what this actually means.

To me the argument presented here is very clear. If I am doing a lot 
of meditation, I can see that discussions of the first kind are 
mostly based on defilements. If one engages in them (except sometimes 
for teaching purposes), you have a lot of extra work to do when you 
go back to meditate. Conversely topics of the second kind become more 
interesting and can further meditation.

But I have no idea how you convince people of this, if they have not 
experienced it or have forgotten their past experience of that.

Lance Cousins