Why and Why Not to Question/Inquire

“…what is the benefit that Master Gotama lives for? … the Tathagata lives for the benefit and fruit of true knowledge and liberation.”

SN 46.6: Kuṇḍaliya —Translation by Bhikkhu Bodhi

A few reasons — some simple, some setting a very high bar — I’ve noticed in myself and others on perhaps why to inquire, and mostly why not to inquire and ask questions:

• First and foremost obviously, zero harming
• Not for denigration; to invalidate and/or say something is being done wrong
• Not to challenge anyone’s knowledge
• Not to discredit anyone or anything
• Not to challenge authority
• Not to promote one viewpoint over another
• Not to upset the (surrounding) status quo and certainly not to divide
• Not to test
• Not for domination
• Not for control
• Not for distraction
• Not for delay
• Not to mislead or misguide
• Not to disrupt
• Not for uneasiness
• Not to enact any agendas, known, unknown, or otherwise (other than valid reasons to inquire/question)
• Not for grandstanding, gaining favor, merit, credit, or brownie points
• Not to impress
• Not to destroy
• Not to uphold
• Not to rebuild or reconstruct (from a place of loss or defeat)
• Not for any specific changes
• Not to prove who’s right and who’s wrong from a place of righteousness
• Not for the requirement to receive an answer
• Not for any unskillful, unwise, unwholesome reasons associated with modern day schooling systems aka educational institutions
• Not to nitpick and get lost in the weeds
• Not to leave others behind
• Not to patronize and/or speak down to anybody
• Not to dumb down oneself for a better chance to be under/overstood
• Not to ask one thing but mean another
• Not to personally prove oneself
• Not to suggest preferences or desired outcomes without clearly stating them
• Not to ask because one can
• Not to be seen and/or heard (in order to be heard and/or seen)
• Not for mere curiosity

Perhaps inquire, assess and question with intent to lead toward true knowledge, liberation and the (long-term) well-being of all