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 there is in the book.

Fortunately, there are books that we can return to and benefit from, the rest of our lives. For example, Buddhist sutras and commentaries. In fact, the more we read these books, the more we benefit from them.

We need not hurriedly turn the page to find out what happens next. We already know. Knowing what lies ahead, our mind can be at ease. As the very familiarity of the words calms us, our increasingly peaceful mind can more deeply absorb the embedded wisdom in what we are reading. We linger contemplatively on a particularly moving passage. Another passage, we view in a formerly unseen light.

As we take in the Buddhist book at progressively more sublime, subtle and meaningful levels, repeatedly reading it transforms what was once a leisure activity into a meditative practice.

Amituofo.

— Our Daily Practice, Venerable Wuling