More like a revision of an old favourite instead of
studying something new, gotta get it out of the mind once in a
while as well before something new can fit in imho..
"Kalama Sutta: To the Kalamas" (AN 3.65), translated from
the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (Legacy Edition),
30 November 2013,
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an03/an03.065.than.html
.
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One, on a
wandering tour among the Kosalans with a large community of
monks, arrived at Kesaputta, a town of the Kalamas. The
Kalamas of Kesaputta heard it said, "Gotama the contemplative — the
son of the Sakyans, having gone forth from the Sakyan clan — has
arrived at Kesaputta. And of that Master Gotama this fine
reputation has spread: 'He is indeed a Blessed One, worthy, &
rightly self-awakened, consummate in knowledge & conduct,
well-gone, a knower of the cosmos, an unexcelled trainer of those
persons ready to be tamed, teacher of human & divine beings,
awakened, blessed. He has made known — having realized it through
direct knowledge — this world with its devas, maras, & brahmas,
its generations with their contemplatives & brahmans, their
rulers & common people; has explained the Dhamma admirable in
the beginning, admirable in the middle, admirable in the end; has
expounded the holy life both in its particulars & in its
essence, entirely perfect, surpassingly pure. It is good to see
such a worthy one.'"
So the Kalamas of Kesaputta went to the Blessed One. On arrival,
some of them bowed down to him and sat to one side. Some of them
exchanged courteous greetings with him and, after an exchange of
friendly greetings & courtesies, sat to one side. Some of them
sat to one side having saluted him with their hands palm-to-palm
over their hearts. Some of them sat to one side having announced
their name & clan. Some of them sat to one side in silence.
As they sat there, the Kalamas of Kesaputta said to the Blessed
One, "Lord, there are some brahmans & contemplatives who come
to Kesaputta. They expound & glorify their own doctrines, but
as for the doctrines of others, they deprecate them, revile them,
show contempt for them, & disparage them. And then other
brahmans & contemplatives come to Kesaputta. They expound &
glorify their own doctrines, but as for the doctrines of others,
they deprecate them, revile them, show contempt for them, &
disparage them. They leave us absolutely uncertain & in doubt:
Which of these venerable brahmans & contemplatives are speaking
the truth, and which ones are lying?"
"Of course you are uncertain, Kalamas. Of course you are in
doubt. When there are reasons for doubt, uncertainty is born. So in
this case, Kalamas, don't go by reports, by legends, by traditions,
by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by
agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the
thought, 'This contemplative is our teacher.' When you know for
yourselves that, 'These qualities are unskillful; these qualities
are blameworthy; these qualities are criticized by the wise; these
qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to harm & to
suffering' — then you should abandon them.
"What do you
think, Kalamas? When greed arises in a person, does it
arise for welfare or for harm?"
"For harm, lord."
"And this greedy person, overcome by greed, his mind possessed
by greed, kills living beings, takes what is not given, goes after
another person's wife, tells lies, and induces others to do
likewise, all of which is for long-term harm & suffering."
"Yes, lord."
"Now, what do you think, Kalamas? When aversion arises in a
person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?"
"For harm, lord."
"And this aversive person, overcome by aversion, his mind
possessed by aversion, kills living beings, takes what is not
given, goes after another person's wife, tells lies, and induces
others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term harm &
suffering."
"Yes, lord."
"Now, what do you think, Kalamas? When delusion arises in a
person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?"
"For harm, lord."
"And this deluded person, overcome by delusion, his mind
possessed by delusion, kills living beings, takes what is not
given, goes after another person's wife, tells lies, and induces
others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term harm &
suffering."
"Yes, lord."
"So what do you think, Kalamas: Are these qualities skillful or
unskillful?"
"Unskillful, lord."
"Blameworthy or blameless?"
"Blameworthy, lord."
"Criticized by the wise or praised by the wise?"
"Criticized by the wise, lord."
"When adopted & carried out, do they lead to harm & to
suffering, or not?"
"When adopted & carried out, they lead to harm & to
suffering. That is how it appears to us."
"So, as I said, Kalamas: 'Don't go by reports, by legends, by
traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by
analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or
by the thought, "This contemplative is our teacher." When you know
for yourselves that, "These qualities are unskillful; these
qualities are blameworthy; these qualities are criticized by the
wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to harm
& to suffering" — then you should abandon them.' Thus was it
said. And in reference to this was it said.
"Now, Kalamas, don't go by reports, by legends, by traditions,
by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by
agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the
thought, 'This contemplative is our teacher.' When you know for
yourselves that, 'These qualities are skillful; these qualities are
blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these
qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to welfare & to
happiness' — then you should enter & remain in them.
"What do you think, Kalamas? When lack of greed arises in a
person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?"
"For welfare, lord."
"And this ungreedy person, not overcome by greed, his mind not
possessed by greed, doesn't kill living beings, take what is not
given, go after another person's wife, tell lies, or induce others
to do likewise, all of which is for long-term welfare &
happiness."
"Yes, lord."
"What do you think, Kalamas? When lack of aversion arises in a
person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?"
"For welfare, lord."
"And this unaversive person, not overcome by aversion, his mind
not possessed by aversion, doesn't kill living beings, take what is
not given, go after another person's wife, tell lies, or induce
others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term welfare &
happiness."
"Yes, lord."
"What do you think, Kalamas? When lack of delusion arises in a
person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?"
"For welfare, lord."
"And this undeluded person, not overcome by delusion, his mind
not possessed by delusion, doesn't kill living beings, take what is
not given, go after another person's wife, tell lies, or induce
others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term welfare &
happiness."
"Yes, lord."
"So what do you think, Kalamas: Are these qualities skillful or
unskillful?"
"Skillful, lord."
"Blameworthy or blameless?"
"Blameless, lord."
"Criticized by the wise or praised by the wise?"
"Praised by the wise, lord."
"When adopted & carried out, do they lead to welfare &
to happiness, or not?"
"When adopted & carried out, they lead to welfare & to
happiness. That is how it appears to us."
"So, as I said, Kalamas: 'Don't go by reports, by legends, by
traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by
analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or
by the thought, "This contemplative is our teacher." When you know
for yourselves that, "These qualities are skillful; these qualities
are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these
qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to welfare & to
happiness" — then you should enter & remain in them.' Thus was
it said. And in reference to this was it said.
"Now,
Kalamas, one who is a disciple of the noble ones — thus devoid of
greed, devoid of ill will, undeluded, alert, & resolute — keeps
pervading the first direction [the east] — as well as the second
direction, the third, & the fourth — with an awareness imbued
with good will. Thus he keeps pervading above, below, & all
around, everywhere & in every respect the all-encompassing
cosmos with an awareness imbued with good will: abundant,
expansive, immeasurable, free from hostility, free from ill
will.
"He keeps pervading the first direction — as well as the second
direction, the third, & the fourth — with an awareness imbued
with compassion. Thus he keeps pervading above, below, & all
around, everywhere & in every respect the all-encompassing
cosmos with an awareness imbued with compassion: abundant,
expansive, immeasurable, free from hostility, free from ill
will.
"He keeps pervading the first direction — as well as the second
direction, the third, & the fourth — with an awareness imbued
with appreciation. Thus he keeps pervading above, below, & all
around, everywhere & in every respect the all-encompassing
cosmos with an awareness imbued with appreciation: abundant,
expansive, immeasurable, free from hostility, free from ill
will.
"He keeps pervading the first direction — as well as the second
direction, the third, & the fourth — with an awareness imbued
with equanimity. Thus he keeps pervading above, below, & all
around, everywhere & in every respect the all-encompassing
cosmos with an awareness imbued with equanimity: abundant,
expansive, immeasurable, free from hostility, free from ill
will.
"Now,
Kalamas, one who is a disciple of the noble ones — his mind thus
free from hostility, free from ill will, undefiled, & pure —
acquires four assurances in the here-&-now:
"'If there is a world after death, if there is the fruit of
actions rightly & wrongly done, then this is the basis by
which, with the break-up of the body, after death, I will reappear
in a good destination, the heavenly world.' This is the first
assurance he acquires.
"'But if there is no world after death, if there is no fruit of
actions rightly & wrongly done, then here in the present life I
look after myself with ease — free from hostility, free from ill
will, free from trouble.' This is the second assurance he
acquires.
"'If evil is done through acting, still I have willed no evil
for anyone. Having done no evil action, from where will suffering
touch me?' This is the third assurance he acquires.
"'But if no evil is done through acting, then I can assume
myself pure in both respects.' This is the fourth assurance he
acquires.
"One who is a disciple of the noble ones — his mind thus free
from hostility, free from ill will, undefiled, & pure —
acquires these four assurances in the here-&-now."
"So it is, Blessed One. So it is, O One Well-gone. One who is a
disciple of the noble ones — his mind thus free from hostility,
free from ill will, undefiled, & pure — acquires four
assurances in the here-&-now:
"'If there is a world after death, if there is the fruit of
actions rightly & wrongly done, then this is the basis by
which, with the break-up of the body, after death, I will reappear
in a good destination, the heavenly world.' This is the first
assurance he acquires.
"'But if there is no world after death, if there is no fruit of
actions rightly & wrongly done, then here in the present life I
look after myself with ease — free from hostility, free from ill
will, free from trouble.' This is the second assurance he
acquires.
"'If evil is done through acting, still I have willed no evil
for anyone. Having done no evil action, from where will suffering
touch me?' This is the third assurance he acquires.
"'But if no evil is done through acting, then I can assume
myself pure in both ways.' This is the fourth assurance he
acquires.
"One who is a disciple of the noble ones — his mind thus free
from hostility, free from ill will, undefiled, & pure —
acquires these four assurances in the here-&-now.
"Magnificent, lord! Magnificent! Just
as if he were to place upright what was overturned, to reveal what
was hidden, to show the way to one who was lost, or to carry a lamp
into the dark so that those with eyes could see forms, in the same
way has the Blessed One — through many lines of reasoning — made
the Dhamma clear. We go to the Blessed One for refuge, to the
Dhamma, and to the Sangha of monks. May the Blessed One remember us
as lay followers who have gone to him for refuge, from this day
forward, for life."