Let’s study together thru the conversation of the students who really need to know about “Buddhism”

Rob : Tim, the other day you talked about

          the Kalamas.  Who are they ?

Tim : Are you interested in them ?

Rob : Yes, I am.

Tim : They were wise men. 

          The commentary speaks of them

          as belonging to the warrior caste

          forming their clan in the Kesaputta

          district in India.  They were among

          intelligent men – the Brahmins.

          In India at that time, there were

          a lot of doctrines and religions.

Rob : Even today we are able to find

          a variety of religions in India.

Tim : That’s right. In the ancient times,

          each religious teacher tried to

          promote his own doctrines,

          while refuting and denying the

          validity of the doctrines of others.

Rob : What about the Buddha ?

Tim : He wasdifferent from the other

          teacher.  What the Buddha

          stressed was the nature of reality,

          or the Dhamma, not a view of it.

          He never destroyed others.

          But He frequently made criticisms

          because He saw something

          unwholesome in those teachings

          which led those who practiced

          them to suffering here, and

          to birth in states of woeful

          existence hereafter.

Rob : How did the Kalamas view the

          Buddha’s teachings ?

Tim : Well, having heard about the

          reputation of the Buddha when

          He was visiting the district of

          Kesaputta, the Kalamas went to

          venerate the Buddha.  They

          questioned there being so many

          different teachers who each

          claimed that their doctrine was

          true.  How they could know who

          was speaking the truth?

Rob : How did the Buddha respond ?

Tim : He offered them the ten criteria

          for evaluating religious beliefs

          as follows :

          Do not base religious beliefs on

          1. an authoritative tradition maintained by oral repetition

          2. an unbroken succession of teaching

          3. report of hearsay

          4. conformity with scriptures

          5. speculative, metaphysical theories

          6. a point of view

          7. reflecting on reasons

          8. the acceptance of a statement as true because it agrees with a theory of which is already convinced

          9. the grounds of competence of a person

          10. out of respect for a teacher.

          Rather, one should verify what

          one has heard in the light of one’s

          own experience.

Rob : What a wonderful method of

          teaching this is !

Tim : One should realize that the Buddha

          was in no way interested in making

          philosophical statements, nor in

          stating dogmas for people to

          believe.  In the Dhamma, method

          is conjoined with practice.

Thanks & regards: AJ S. Srisopa (Cr. All Dhamma teachers)