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Working with sutras

JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
edited May 2011 in Buddhism Basics
Do we respond to quotes from the sutras as if they were definitive truth, in the way that some Christians interpret the Bible?

Or would take we take that quote as a hint, something to play with and investigate, not as a final statement?

Comments

  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    edited May 2011
    How can we take them as the final statement if a) people say we can't be sure they're the Buddha's words and b) there are so many different interpretations, in some cases? Anyway, everyone says the Buddha said to test (though he didn't say it in the Kalama Sutra, haha). So it's something to investigate. You've seen what happens when people take it similarly to how some Christians take the Bible. Pages of wasted forum space, and strained feelings.
  • riverflowriverflow Veteran
    The Buddhadharma depends on realisation, not on an ability to parrot words, or to even understand them from a strictly intellectual point of view.

    To do otherwise would be to cling to the proverbial raft and not even bother to cross the river! All the doctrines of Buddhism are skillful means, not an end in themselves. To get hung up on ideological correctness (as if there really were a one-shoe-fits-all approach to Buddhism) is just more clinging, more dukkha, and just the same ol' samsara.

    This isn't to say that the sutras and various doctrines don't have their place-- but they have a specific function within the Buddhadharma.

    At least, that is my own current understanding of the matter.
  • taiyakitaiyaki Veteran
    the words point to truth, they themselves are not truth. so we examine the words and see if they relate with our experience. if not why? then we examine why it doesn't relate.

    it all comes down to the individuals experience and willingness to examine his/her life. thus the words work for some and don't work for others.
  • mrdude1228mrdude1228
    You'll note many suttas begin with the phrase "Thus have I heard," which relates back to the fact the Canon was originally an oral transmission. So, even IF you believed the Buddha were infallible, following the suttas as definitive truth would mean you also believe the ordinary(-ish) people who committed the teachings to memory also had perfect recollection. And unlike Christianity, I... don't know of any implications that the Buddha's followers were divinely chosen to transmit the message.

    Anyways. Look up the West's beloved Kalama Sutta for background on not taking things on faith. See the Vimamsaka Sutta for info on the thoroughness on which you should choose your teachers -- largely applicable to verifying texts as well. Yes, I am referring you to suttas to answer your question on the validity of suttas.
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