Buddhism is not a "revealed" religion. A revealed religion is one based on teachings revealed to humankind by a God. Revealed religions tend to emphasize obedience to God's teachings and laws and belief in scriptures that contain God's words. In a revealed religion, the authority of God, as revealed in scripture and interpreted by religious institutions, is the arbiter of what is true.
Buddhism presents a greater challenge: We are the arbiters of what is true.
We see this clearly in the Kalama Sutta. The Kalama Sutta (or Sutra) is found in the oldest Buddhist scripture, the Tripitaka (in the Anguttara Nikaya, which is in the Sutra-pitaka).
Synopsis of the Kalama Sutta
The Buddha and several of his monks traveled through the Kosala country and entered entered a town of the Kalama people called Kesaputta. The Kamala people told the Buddha that many monks and brahmans had come to Kesaputta before him. Each of these religious men had expounded their own doctrines and reviled the doctrines of others. "Venerable sir," they asked the Buddha, "Which of these reverend monks and brahmans spoke the truth and which falsehood?"
Here the Buddha gave one of his most widely quoted teachings (Thanissaro Bhikkhu translation):
"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."
By the same token, "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."
By gently asking them questions, the Buddha guided the Kalamas to understand that teachings based in greed, hate and delusion are unskillful. Teachings absent of greed, hate and delusion are skillful. By applying these criteria, we can understand truth from falsehood.
The Four Exalted Dwellings and the Four Solaces
The next part of the sutta explains the Four Exalted Dwellings: amity, compassion, gladness and equanimity. Those who reside in these dwellings will receive the Four Solaces:
"The disciple of the Noble Ones, Kalamas, who has such a hate-free mind, such a malice-free mind, such an undefiled mind, and such a purified mind, is one by whom four solaces are found here and now.
"'Suppose there is a hereafter and there is a fruit, result, of deeds done well or ill. Then it is possible that at the dissolution of the body after death, I shall arise in the heavenly world, which is possessed of the state of bliss.' This is the first solace found by him.
"'Suppose there is no hereafter and there is no fruit, no result, of deeds done well or ill. Yet in this world, here and now, free from hatred, free from malice, safe and sound, and happy, I keep myself.' This is the second solace found by him.
"'Suppose evil (results) befall an evil-doer. I, however, think of doing evil to no one. Then, how can ill (results) affect me who do no evil deed?' This is the third solace found by him.
"'Suppose evil (results) do not befall an evil-doer. Then I see myself purified in any case.' This is the fourth solace found by him."
Bhikkhu Bodhi's Commentary
The Theravada scholar Bhikkhu Bodhi writes that this sutta is often misinterpreted. "Buddha has been made out to be a pragmatic empiricist who dismisses all doctrine and faith, and whose Dhamma is simply a freethinker's kit to truth which invites each one to accept and reject whatever he likes." Instead, the Buddha provides examples and a framework by which people can test teachings and judge their veracity.
