Quote of the Day: Critical Thinking, 2500 Years Ago

“Now look you, Kalamas.

Be ye not misled by report or tradition or hearsay.

Be not misled by proficiency in the collections [pitakas],
      nor by mere logic or inference,
      nor after consider­ing reasons,
      nor after reflection on and approval of some theory,
      nor because it fits becoming,
      nor out of respect for a recluse (who holds it).

But if at any time ye know of yourselves:

These things are profit­able,
      they are blameless,
      they are praised by the intelligent:
these things, when performed and undertaken, conduce to profit and happiness,

— then, Kalamas, do ye, having under­ taken them, abide therein.”
Source: Buddha, as translated in “Book of the Gradual Sayings Vol I (Anguttara Nikaya) (or More-Numbered Suttas)“, Pali Text Society, Oxford University Press, 1932. Page 171.

Notes:

  • “Pitakas” are “baskets”, or collections, of the Buddha’s works.
  • Kalamas were people from the town of Kesaputta, where Buddha visited during his journey among the Kosalans.
  • “Profitable” implies some positive benefit, not necessarily a financial one.

Thanks for Reading!

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