In our first class, we heard a discourse that the Buddha gave to a group of people who were confused, uncertain about which doctrine, of all that they had heard, was true. In this last class, the Buddha speaks to a group of brahmim priests, and to one precocious student in particular, who are in doubt whatsoever about the truth. The discourse illustrates the aphorism, which (according to a Google search) has been attributed to dozens of different people: “The opposite of faith is not doubt; the opposite of faith is certainty.”

In our text for Class 8, the Canki Sutta, the Buddha has to deal with a smartass kid. Not surprisingly, he does that with compassion, patience, and gentle firmness.