3

If Buddhists themselves cannot agree on which scriptural writings or traditions for practice are actually true statements from the Buddha, how can Buddhism as a system claim any truth?

The above question raised due to there are many articles discussing, or discrediting the authenticity of some Sutras/Suttas and doctrines. Since the Buddha never written down his teachings himself, how does the Buddhist scriptures transmit from the Buddha to us according to historical documentation, text, or evidence?

By saying "Buddhism as a system" I meant what is the original content of Buddhism through investigating the original scriptures' transmission history. In this way we can discern what teaching is included in the original content; and what is excluded even missing from the original content, i.e., outside the system.

Mishu 米殊
  • 2,299
  • 9
  • 17
Amna Rajpoot
  • 65
  • 3
  • By avoiding exclusive truth claims – user29568 Dec 08 '18 at 14:57
  • 1
    I think this question doesn't make sense -- firstly, because people may or not make "claims", whereas "systems" don't; and secondly, if it's so that Buddhists "cannot agree" then perhaps "Buddhism as a system" is not what you call "a system" -- or it's not one system, and you might ask instead what different Buddhists (different schools) decide for themselves about which scripture. – ChrisW Dec 08 '18 at 14:57
  • 2
    Possibly related: What teachings do all schools of Buddhism share? – ChrisW Dec 08 '18 at 15:00
  • 2
    if physicists themselves cannot agree on which scientific writings or traditions for experiment are actually true statements, how can physics as a system claim any truth? Because, like Buddhists, they verify through personal experience and discussion. – OyaMist Dec 08 '18 at 22:26
  • The scriptures teach the 'Dhamma" is visible in the here & now, is immediately effective, leads to peace and is verified by the wise for themselves. Therefore those teachings that lead to directly knowable real peace are the teachings of a Buddha. Its very easy of you have taken the actual Refuge in the Dhamma. If you ask most Buddhists, including on this chatsite: "What is the Refuge in the Dhamma?", they won't be able to tell you. For example, on this chatsite there are people encouraging other people to be "agnostic". This shows how most Buddhists have not taken the basic Refuge. . – Dhamma Dhatu Dec 09 '18 at 00:36
  • 3
    What an excellent question. I share your view that the dissent within Buddhism does it a lot of damage and also religion as a whole. But this is a can of worms. Nagarjuna attempted to address this problem but his work is rejected by many Buddhists. We can claim truth for the 'Buddhist system' but we have to deny the views of many Buddhists to do it. I'm not sure why Buddhists do not worry more about this.problem. –  Dec 09 '18 at 12:56
  • So Ānanda, be your own island, your own refuge, with no other refuge. Let the teaching be your island and your refuge, with no other refuge. --SN47.9 – OyaMist Dec 09 '18 at 15:20
  • Within in particular organized Buddhist sect they have agreed upon what is canon and what is not. All religions have sects which disagree with each other about what is canonical and what is not. A better question might be how best for you to evaluate these claims or how claims are evaluated within one recognizable tradition. – MatthewMartin Dec 10 '18 at 17:46
  • 2
    I share the view of @PeterJ that many genuine Buddhists who treated the teachings not merely an intellectual exercise, nor a subject to write scholastic thesis, but for a real belief also for practice, do worry about this problem. It is a good question asked, I edited it in response to ChrisW's comment to lift the [on hold] tag – Mishu 米殊 Dec 11 '18 at 06:51
  • 1
    @Mishu米殊 - I'd also like to see it taken off 'hold'. It's a question any sceptic is bound to ask. –  Dec 11 '18 at 09:59
  • @Mishu米殊Thank you for for trying to edit it. Should this question be reopened? – ChrisW Dec 12 '18 at 06:16
  • @PeterJ You could discuss that on Meta – ChrisW Dec 12 '18 at 06:17
  • How would an answer to this question look like? By historical accounts, are you then talking about the historical Buddhist Councils? –  Dec 12 '18 at 22:31

0 Answers0