Buddhism has been around for thousands of years now, and most people have continued to practice as their teachers have taught them, regardless of whether it's right or wrong. That's stupid. They simply follow the example of their forebears.
The Buddha didn't encourage this sort of thing. He wanted us to do things with reason. For example, at one time when he was teaching the monks, he asked Venerable Sariputta, "Sariputta, do you believe this teaching? Venerable Sariputta replied, "I don't yet believe it." The Buddha praised his answer: "Very good, Sariputta. A wise person doesn't believe too readily. He looks into things, into their causes and conditions, and sees their true nature before believing or disbelieving."
But most teachers these days would say, "What?!!! You don't believe me? Get out of here!" Most people are afraid of their teachers. Whatever their teachers do they just blindly follow. The Buddha taught us to adhere to the truth. Listen to the teaching and then consider it intelligently -- inquire into it.
No comments:
Post a Comment