Continuing from previously,

“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.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an03/an03.065.than.html

So far, we have examined the 3 negativities of minds (Namely, Greed, Aversion, and Delusion) and how such negativities should be rejected. Therefore, when a preacher preaches ideologies or spreads messages that are based on these negativities; We ought to reject them and not let them take root in our hearts and minds.

As demonstrated by the Q&A between Buddha and the Kalama, the criteria by which we examine the preacher and his messages, are as follows

1. Is the preacher engaged in wrongful actions, speech, and thoughts? For example, does he/she engage in violence or encourage others to engage in violence or rejoices whenever others engage in violence (ie. induces others to do so) If the answer is yes, then it should be rejected.
2. Does he/she engage in stealing or encourage others to steal or rejoice whenever others steal? If yes, it should be rejected.
3. Does he/she engage in sexual misconduct or encourage others to do likewise or rejoice whenever others do so? If yes, it should be rejected.
4. Does he/she engage in lying and unskilful speech or encourage others to do so or rejoice whenever others do so? If yes, it should be rejected.
5. Does the preacher teach greed, aversion, or ignorance (wrong knowledge or delusional messages)? If so, it should be rejected. If yes, it should be rejected.
6. Is the preacher influenced by greed, aversion, and ignorance? If yes, it should be rejected.
7. Will the preacher’s message encourage greed, aversion, and ignorance in us? If yes, it should be rejected.
8. Will his/her teachings bring welfare or harm? If it brings harm, it should be rejected.

Then the Buddha summarised his points again as follows.

“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.

If we look at the above, it demonstrated a certain degree of diligence on our part, We need to have the right effort to constantly be guarded against bad messages from entering our minds and hearts. More amazingly, the above message can also be described as a lion’s roar. This is a poetic praise given to Buddha’s teachings. This is because it is courageous and brave?

Why?

Because when Buddha preached thus, He is also setting a standard for which Buddha and His monks will be judged accordingly by the laity!

According to the verse, we are not even supposed to believe something our teacher teaches simply because we acknowledge him or her to be our teacher, Instead, we need to analyse, think, contemplate and form our own conclusion.

As we can see here, this message is completely different from most religions or cults. In Buddhism, we are taught to refrain from blind faith or blind obedience. Isn’t that refreshing for once?

May all be well and happy.