The Buddha’s message was an invitation to all to join a universal brotherhood and sisterhood to work in strength and harmony for the welfare and happiness of mankind. He had no chosen people, and he did not regard himself as a chosen person either . . . The Buddha was impartial even regarding his own teachings. Advising his followers to regard the teachings as a raft that must be used merely to cross the river, he urged them to use their own minds and intelligence to discern the truth. On one occasion a group of young people called the Kalamas approached him and complained that they were confused because each teacher they went to claimed that he alone had the truth while everyone else was a fake or a liar. They asked the Buddha to teach them how to recognize a true religion. His reply has often been described by impartial thinkers as the Charter of Religious Freedom: Now, Kalamas, do not go by hearsay, nor by what is handed down by others, nor by what people say, or by what is stated on the authority of your traditional teachings. Do not go by reasoning, nor by inferring, nor by argument, nor from reflection on and approval of an opinion, nor out of respect, thinking that you must agree with a recluse. But, Kalamas, when you know of yourselves that these teachings are not good, they are blameworthy, they are condemned by the wise, that these teachings, when followed up and put into practice, lead to loss and suffering, then reject them.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 02:53:38 +0000
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