Buddha's message to those who doubt (audio)

Wisdom Quarterly based on Ven. Soma Thera translation, Kalama Sutta (AN 3.65)

(DhammaCity) Kalama Sutra, readings from the Pali Canon by Sangharakshita.

Message to the Kalamas

1. Thus have I heard. Once the Buddha, while wandering in the country with a large community of monastic disciples, entered a town called Kesaputta. The Kalamas inhabiting Kesaputta said:

• "Reverend Gautama, the monk, the son of the Sakyans, while wandering in the Kosala country, has entered Kesaputta. This good repute has spread about him: 'Indeed, the Blessed One is consummate, fully enlightened, endowed with knowledge and practice, sublime, knower of the worlds, peerless, guide for those to be tamed, teacher of divine and human beings, which he himself has gained through direct knowledge.

The Buddha with a large number of monastics addresses the people of Kesaputta, India.

• He sets forth the Dharma, which good in the beginning, good in the middle, good in the end, possessed of meaning in letter and spirit, and complete in everything. And he proclaims the high life [direct path to enlightenment, brahmacarya] that is perfectly pure. Seeing such consummate ones is good indeed.'"

Asking for Guidance

3. The Kalamas in Kesaputta sitting respectfully to one side said to the Buddha:

"There are some ascetics and brahmins, venerable sir, who visit Kesaputta. They expound and explain only their own doctrines. The doctrines of others they despise, revile, and pull to pieces.

"Some other ascetics and brahmins, venerable sir, come to Kesaputta. They expound and explain only their own doctrines. The doctrines of others they despise, revile, and pull to pieces.

"Venerable sir, there is doubt, there is uncertainty in us concerning them. Which of these reverend ascetics and brahmins spoke the truth and which falsehood?"

Criterion for Rejection

4. "It is proper for you, Kalamas, to doubt, to be uncertain. Uncertainty has arisen in you about what is doubtful. Come, Kalamas. Do not go upon:

• what has been acquired by repeated hearing
• nor upon tradition
• nor upon rumor
• nor upon what is scripture
• nor upon surmise
• nor upon axiom
• nor upon specious reasoning
• nor upon bias toward a notion that has been pondered
  
• nor upon another's seeming ability
• nor upon the consideration, 'The ascetic is our teacher.'

"But, Kalamas, when you yourselves know":

• 'These things are bad these things are blameworthy
• these things are censured by the wise
• when undertaken and observed, these things lead to harm and ill,' abandon them.

Greed, Hate, and Delusion

5. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does greed appear in a person for one's benefit or harm?"

"For harm, venerable sir."

"Kalamas, being given to greed, and being overwhelmed and mentally vanquished by greed, this person takes life, steals, engages in sexual misconduct, tells lies, and prompts another to do likewise. Will that be long for harm and ill?"

"Yes, venerable sir."

6. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does hate appear...?"

7. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does delusion appear...?"

8. "What do you think, Kalamas? Are these things profitable or unprofitable?"

"Unprofitable, venerable sir."

"Blameworthy or not blameworthy?"

"Blameworthy, venerable sir."

"Censured or praised by the wise?"

"Censured, venerable sir."

"When undertaken and observed, do these things lead to harm and ill or not? Or how does it strike you?"

"When undertaken and observed, these things lead to harm and ill. Thus it strikes us here."

9. "Therefore, Kalamas, was it said: 'Come Kalamas. Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing, nor upon tradition, nor upon rumor... But when you yourselves know: 'These things are unprofitable; these things are blameworthy; these things are censured by the wise; when undertaken and observed, these things lead to harm and ill," abandon them.'

(Rainbowschaos/Flickr)

Criterion for Acceptance
10. "Come, Kalamas. Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing, nor upon tradition, nor upon rumor... But, Kalamas, when you yourselves know: 'These things are profitable; these things are praiseworthy; these things are lauded by the wise; when undertaken and observed, these things lead to benefit and happiness,' enter on and abide in them.

Absence of greed, hate, and delusion
11. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does the absence of greed appear in a person for benefit or harm?"

"For benefit, venerable sir."

"Kalamas, not being given to greed, and not being overwhelmed or mentally vanquished by greed, one does not take life, does not steal, does not engage in sexual misconduct, does not tell lies, and does not prompt others to do likewise. Will that be long for one's benefit and happiness?"

"Yes, venerable sir."

12. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does the absence of hate appear in a person for benefit or harm?"

"For benefit, venerable sir."...

13. "What do you think, Kalamas? Does the absence of delusion appear in a man for his benefit or harm?"...

14. "What do you think, Kalamas? Are these things profitable or unprofitable?"

"Profitable, venerable sir."...

15. "Therefore, Kalamas, was it said: 'Come Kalamas. Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing, nor upon tradition, nor upon rumor...' But, Kalamas, when you yourselves know: 'These things are profitable; these things are not praiseworthy; these things are lauded by the wise; when undertaken and observed, these things lead to benefit and happiness," enter on and abide in them.'

The Four Divine Abidings
16. "Kalamas, the disciple of the Noble Ones practices in this way [the four Brahma Viharas or Exalted Dwellings]. Devoid of coveting (greed), devoid of ill will (hate), devoid of confusion (delusion) -- but mindful and clearly comprehending -- dwells pervading with thoughts of loving-kindness

• one quarter [of the world, the cosmos]
• likewise the second
• likewise the third
• likewise the fourth
• so above, below, and across
• one dwells having pervaded all living beings everywhere in the entire world (cosmos) with thoughts of loving-kindness that is free of hate or malice, grown great, exalted, immeasurable (boundless, universal).

"One dwells having pervaded with thoughts of compassion, one quarter, likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth, so above, below, and across; one dwells having pervaded all living beings everywhere in the entire world with thoughts of compassion that is free of hate or malice, grown great, exalted, immeasurable.

"One lives having pervaded with thoughts of gladness, one quarter....

"One lives having pervaded with thoughts of equanimity, one quarter....

The Four Solaces
17. "Kalamas, the disciple of the Noble Ones practices in this way. With such a hate-free mind, such a malice-free mind, such an undefiled mind, such a purified mind is one who finds four solaces here and now.

"'Suppose there is a hereafter [existence to come beyond this life] and there is a fruit, result, of deeds done well or ill [karma]. Then it is possible that at the dissolution of the body after death, I shall arise in better worlds, which are possessed of states of bliss.' This is the first solace found by such a person.

"'Suppose there is no hereafter [no rebirth] and there is no fruit, no result, of deeds done well or ill [no karma]. Yet in this world, here and now, free from hatred, free from malice, safe, sound, and happy, I keep myself.' This is the second solace.

"'Suppose harmful (results) befall the doer of harm. I, however, think of doing no harm to anyone. Then, how can ill (results) affect me?' This is the third solace.

"'Suppose harmful (results) do not befall one who harms others. Then I see myself purified in any case.' This is the fourth solace.

"Kalamas, the disciple of the Noble Ones who has such a hate-free mind, such a malice-free mind, such an undefiled mind, such a purified mind is one who finds, here and now, these four solaces."

The Kalamas' Reaction
"So it is, Blessed One! So it is, Sublime One! Venerable sir, the disciple of the Noble Ones who has such a hate-free mind, such a malice-free mind, such an undefiled mind, such a purified mind finds, here and now, these four solaces!

"Marvelous, venerable sir! Marvelous, venerable sir! Venerable sir, it is as if a person were to turn upward what had been overturned, or to uncover what was concealed, or to point the way to one who was lost, or to carry a lamp into the darkness, thinking: 'Those who have eyes will now be able to see.'

"So has the Dharma been set forth in many ways by the Blessed One. Venerable sir, we go to the Blessed One for guidance, to this Dharma for guidance, and to the Sangha [order of accomplished practitioners] for guidance.

"Venerable sir, may the Blessed One regard us as lay followers who have gone for guidance from this day forward."

• A Look at the Kalama Sutta (Bhikkhu Bodhi)
• The Right to Ask Questions (Larry Rosenberg)

Fake Buddha quotes on Web (video)

Wisdom Quarterly

Hilarious satire from collegehumor.com's "Facebook Quote Buddha" is good humor, not so Tricycle and others' fake Buddha quotes.

There is an issue that pervades the Internet -- misquotes attributed simply to "Buddha." (And we don't mean sensational humor or satire).

Oddly, many of these are usually misinterpretations of America's favorite Buddhist discourse, the Kalama Sutra.

This is odd because it is exactly the "Message to the Kalamas" (AN 3.65) that suggests how to distinguish Dharma from non-Dharma, what would be good to accept as truth and what would be better rejected.

• When a great publication is the bad source of quotes (shoddy fact checking from Tricycle Magazine)

The Kalama discourse is an invitation to open inquiry. But abbreviations say it means "Think whatever you want," "Believe no one and nothing," or "It's all good!" Homer Simpson may think it's all good, but the Buddha had much more enlightened advice on dealing with what circulates as "truth."

The only way to be sure if the historical Buddha, the "Sage of the Shakyas," said something is to look for the mark of legitimacy then check that citation against the texts.* In parentheses there should be a citation that refers to sutra's collection and location as in "AN 3.65," which means Anguttara Nikaya, "Numerical Discourse Collection" and its exact "address" within that collection of sacred texts.

• Buddha? Who is "Buddha"? In Mahayana Buddhism and Hinduism the name refers to countless bodhisattvas and deities. In Theravada and for careful readers, the title refers to the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, and to a very limited number (28) of historical buddhas he named and one future buddha he described (Maitreya). Those buddhas ("Supremely Enlightened Ones") are revered every month in Theravada temples, where each has a name and the aeons they lived and made known the path to freedom, the timeless Dharma that is always there to be rediscovered by anyone who develops the Ten Perfections (paramitas, reduced in Mahayana to six, just as the 31 Planes of Existence the historical Buddha outlined were reduced to six) with the intention of liberating others.

*NOTE: Just because it has a reference or citation and is in the texts, that does not mean the Buddha said it. Often translations are poor and only looking at the original language will do. But even then, even if it is handed down and accepted, that still does not mean the historical Buddha said it. Does it agree with teachings or is it at odds with them, does it conduce to wisdom, compassion, and liberation? Buddhism is not for faith and belief, but rather for practice and realization. Most Mahayana literature was not uttered by the historical Buddha -- and it often does not claim to be. But most readers assume it is, and it does not help matters that much of it misleadingly begins, "Thus have I heard."

Punk Rock made me a Buddhist (video)

P. MacPherson, D. Seven, A. Wells, CC Liu (Wisdom Quarterly)

A Japanese punk scene across the sea later created cyberpunk masterpieces that focused on punks and freaks of all kinds (cinemastrikesback.com).

LOS ANGELES - Punk rock made me a Buddhist. A few hot spots in America (Boston, NYC, SF) gave rise to the American version of "punk," now devolved into pop-punk and bubblegum rock.

But it was once a rebellious act -- something that would get you arrested, beaten in Hollywood by riot police (LAPD/OCPD Gone Wild with a license to assault, jail, beat, and even shoot).

OC police now engage in brutality as bad as that of their brothers in blue next door -- killing for sport. RIP Kelly Thomas of Fullerton (abclocal.go.com).

I always thought police hated punk rock. But it seems what they hate are kids, freedom, rebellion, youthful exuberance.

Police/paramilitary troops (many back from active duty in the military killing freely in Afghanistan and Iraq) stand stiffly wielding sticks, covering their badges, deploying all sorts of "toys" -- Tasers, concussion grenades, choke holds, mace, tear gas, non-metal projectiles (that cause serious injury and death while claiming to be nonlethal, but lethality completely depends on how they are used), horses, military assault rifles, shotguns, revolvers, mace, and secret stuff (using microwaves and infiltrating provocateurs).

What's it to do with Buddhism? Like the liberating Dharma itself, punk goes against the stream. I didn't join Noah Levine in his movement. I didn't wait for Keanu Reeves to make a movie about it. And I was no Brad Warner fan, nor even a student of "Zen," except as articulated by Alan Watts on KPFK, the city's only free speech radio outlet. Their were genius front men like Jello Biafra, the person with the most integrity, to be inspired by. There were the Buddha's own words to go by, particularly the Kalama Sutra.

Steven Blush has documented what the music was really like at the time:

American Hardcore: Steven Blush Interview

Siran Babayan (Feb. 3, 2011, Live in L.A.)

"Hardcore is a Complete, Legitimate California-born Music Form"
In his 2001 compendium, American Hardcore: A Tribal History, New York writer and former promoter Steven Blush all but dispensed with your dad's glamorized spit-scabs-and-safety-pin punk, instead focusing on hundreds of DIY, anarchic hardcore bands from the scene's peak between 1980 and 1986, proving that this was one genre of rock that wasn't fun and games, especially when the crowd is trying to light the singer on fire.

While Blush interviewed the music's usual suspects, including the Dead Kennedys, Misfits and Bad Brains, a substantial amount the book is not surprisingly dedicated to SoCal, from Hollywood to Orange County to the South Bay of Black Flag and SST.

Or, as Blush rightly identified, where "American hardcore was born..." (Bad Brains singer H.R.'s interview in the accompanying 2006 Sony Pictures Classics documentary took place at Griffith Park with a quinceanera in the background).

For the book's second edition, which includes more interviews, flyers, and a new chapter, Blush hosts a readings/discussion at Book Soup today, with Keith Morris (Black Flag, Circle Jerks), Tony Cadena (Adolescents), Lisa Fancher (Frontier Records), and photographer Edward Colver. Before he left the frigid cold for sunshine, we caught up with the author and talked local pride:

• How did the book come about?
  

I started in the mid-'90s when the punk revival had happened with Green Day, Offspring, and Rancid. Everybody was talking about hardcore, but it had never really been documented. There was never any written lore other than fanzines, and some great ones, like Flipside in the L.A. area and Maximumrocknroll in San Francisco, notably. More