Possibly the sutta most often quoted for the wrong reasons is the Kalama sutta. It is used by Buddhists to justify their individual beliefs or scepticism of some tenets of the Dhamma. They neglect the fact that the Kalama sutta was preached by the Buddha to a group of people who had not taken refuge in the Buddha and were asking for advice on how to select a teacher.
In contrast, for those who have taken refuge, for Buddhists, the Buddha emphasised Saddha ( faith, confidence or conviction). Saddha is the first of the 5 panca-indriyas. It does not mean we accept teachings blindly but seek to understand what is taught. In the closing paragraph of the Kitagiri sutta, the Buddha says.
"For a disciple who has conviction in the Teacher's message & lives to penetrate it, what accords with the Dhamma is this: 'The Blessed One is the Teacher, I am a disciple. He is the one who knows, not I.'
For a disciple who has conviction in the Teacher's message & lives to penetrate it, the Teacher's message is healing & nourishing.
For a disciple who has conviction in the Teacher's message & lives to penetrate it, what accords with the Dhamma is this: 'Gladly would I let the flesh & blood in my body dry up, leaving just the skin, tendons, & bones, but if I have not attained what can be reached through human firmness, human persistence, human striving, there will be no relaxing my persistence.'
For a disciple who has conviction in the Teacher's message & lives to penetrate it, one of two fruits can be expected: either gnosis here & now, or — if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance — non-return."
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