Look Kalamas, it is not by recitation, not by tradition, nor by report, nor by scripture, nor by reason of philosophy, nor by reason of inference, nor by thinking ideas through, nor by favouring views, nor by other’ seeming capability, nor insofar as a particular ascetic is your teacher, but rather when you know for yourselves.
With these words, among his most famous, the Buddha threw down a gauntlet for authentic seekers of truth and well-being that we in modern times rarely have the courage to take up. In our global village embittered by conflict and manipulated for profit, we cling more to identities and care for each other less than ever. It is hard to imagine a time when we have needed this advice form the Buddha more than we do now.
Including a new, authoritative translation of the entire Kalama Sutta, and the original Pali for reciting, this detailed and wide-ranging commentary relates modern individual and social problems to the Buddha’s inquiry and includes trenchant re-appraisal of Christianity and Islam as well as modern ideologies such as free market capitalism, security mania and grievance culture, it presents detailed practical instructions on how to apply the powerful methods the Buddha suggests to rediscover the conscience which can guide us on an authentic and liberating path.
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