Kalama Sutta
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 & priests, 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 priests & 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 priests
& 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 priests & 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.
