Is Knowledge the Vehicle?
You can study Buddhism at all levels at academies practically anywhere in the world. Here are a few places where you can study Buddhism:
* Universities
* Temples
* Buddhist institutes
* Personal tuition from dedicated laymen and bhikkus
* The Web
* Books
Trawl the Internet. See how many million of hits you get! Not that all would lead you to places of study. In the modern world, one has to accept certain things...
What is your preferred language of learning? If you look up to the Web, I would say, English is the medium. At other places of learning, you may have a choice of language.
It may not be so - you may be expected to learn a language. Most likely it would be Pali. Pali is an international language, in the sense that the language is practiced in the local script. In Sri Lanka, the Pali language is scripted in Sinhala, while in Thailand, it is Thai.
For the English educated intellectuals, English seems to be the preferred language. While I do not wish to call myself an intellectual, though I have had my entire education through university etc. etc., my preferred language is Sinhala.
The reason is, Sinhala is the closest living relative of Pali. Buddha's mother tongue was Magadha. We tend to equate it with Pali. Indeed the Teachings were carried down over the centuries in Pali; also scripted in Pali in the first instance. The closeness of Sinhala to Pali makes it the ideal basis for presenting concepts expressed in Pali.
Buddhism is the soul of Sinhala, the culture is Buddhist. Buddhism is ingrained in Sinhala culture. We face life through Buddhist eyes right from birth.
So, what better language than Sinhala to grasp complex concepts of Buddhism.
That is my opinion.
English, though the accepted medium of communication of the intelligentsia, suffers from its distance to Pali, when it comes to presenting Buddhist concepts. Buddhist concepts are "strange" to the Western world. So, one is obliged to acquire concepts through other people's eyes "tainted" as it were, by their understanding and interpretation.
Pali or Sinhala or English? (What language do you prefer?)
Buddha approached people who had the mental capacity to grasp the Dhamma, and used metaphors, similes, examples, stories , or whatever, to suit the person, or the occasion, that could trigger the right/correct/necessary/relevant thought process leading to realisation of The Truth.
A literal application of those vehicles, is perhaps not the way in the present world.
The question is, what metaphors, similes, examples, stories , are suited for the present generations.
It is not a case for rejecting the original symbolism outright in preference to a sort of a "modernisation". Even the original symbolisms make real sense, if one were to spend time and analyse them deep enough.
Acquire knowledge by whatever method you will, is that alone the guaranteed path to Nibbana?