I was thinking the other day about some people I know that they seem to devour every dharma book they can get a hold on.

They go to conferences, meditation classes, festivals and meetings and they take pretty strong stances towards vegetarianism, Ayurveda, yoga and all flavors of Tibetan Buddhism.

They know by heart a lot of the dharma. They ever are experts on incense brands!

Some of them look down at people who are not like them. It's some sort of elite group.

They are so involved in Buddhism that I got to think of myself as a bad Buddhist for not keeping the pace on all that. Even if I wanted to be like them, I have a business to maintain, a career as a writer to pursue, a personal life to live and a lot of things to do!

Then while I was sitting it came to my mind that they are great Buddha-ologists. They're experts! They collect knowledge, but I'm not sure if they practice at all.

So I was thinking. What's better? To be a Buddhist or a Buddha-ologist?

IMHO I think I'll stick to just sit and practice and live by the Precepts. The expert part will come along as I get older.

Have you met people like this?