“Why should I re-read a Buddhist book 

when I know what happens?”

So many books today seem best suited to a mere single reading. This could well be due to our having learned all they had to tell us. Fortunately, there are other books, like Buddhist sutras and commentaries, which we can return to and benefit from for the rest of our lives. In fact, the more we read these books, the more we benefit from them. No longer do we need to hurriedly turn a book’s pages to find out “what happens.” We already know. Knowing what lies ahead, our mind can be at ease. As the very familiarity of the words calms us, our now peaceful mind can more deeply absorb the embedded wisdom in what we are reading, lingering contemplatively on a particularly moving passage, viewing another in a formerly unseen light. Thus, repeatedly reading our Buddhist book transforms what was once a leisure activity into a meditative practice as we take in the book at progressively more sublime, subtle, and meaningful levels.