Asking QuestionsPañhapucchāsutta

There Venerable Sāriputta addressed the mendicants: … “Whoever asks a question of another, does so for one or other of these five reasons.Tatra kho āyasmā sāriputto bhikkhū āmantesi …pe… “yo hi koci, āvuso, paraṁ pañhaṁ pucchati, sabbo so pañcahi ṭhānehi, etesaṁ vā aññatarena. What five?Katamehi pañcahi? Someone asks a question of another from stupidity and folly. Or they ask from corrupt wishes, being of wishful temperament. Or they ask in order to disparage. Or they ask wanting to understand. Or they ask with the thought,Mandattā momūhattā paraṁ pañhaṁ pucchati, pāpiccho icchāpakato paraṁ pañhaṁ pucchati, paribhavaṁ paraṁ pañhaṁ pucchati, aññātukāmo paraṁ pañhaṁ pucchati, atha vā panevaṁcitto paraṁ pañhaṁ pucchati: ‘If they correctly answer the question I ask it’s good. If not, I’ll correctly answer it for them.’‘sace me pañhaṁ puṭṭho sammadeva byākarissati iccetaṁ kusalaṁ, no ce me pañhaṁ puṭṭho sammadeva byākarissati ahamassa sammadeva byākarissāmī’ti. Whoever asks a question of another, does so for one or other of these five reasons.Yo hi koci, āvuso, paraṁ pañhaṁ pucchati, sabbo so imehi pañcahi ṭhānehi, etesaṁ vā aññatarena. As for myself, I ask with the thought,Ahaṁ kho panāvuso, evaṁcitto paraṁ pañhaṁ pucchāmi: ‘If they correctly answer the question I ask it’s good. If not, I’ll correctly answer it for them.’”‘sace me pañhaṁ puṭṭho sammadeva byākarissati iccetaṁ kusalaṁ, no ce me pañhaṁ puṭṭho sammadeva byākarissati, ahamassa sammadeva byākarissāmī’”ti.