33. The less, the better

“Even if you’ve read the whole Canon and can remember lots of teachings; even if you can explain them in poignant ways, with lots of people to respect you; even if you build a lot of monastery buildings, or can explain inconstancy, stress, and not-self in the most detailed fashion—if you‘re still heedless, you haven’t tasted the flavor of the teachings in any way at all, for those other things are all external. The purposes they serve are all external: as a benefit to society, a benefit to other people, a benefit to posterity, or a symbol of the religion. The only thing that serves your own true purpose is release from suffering.