[Buddha-l] Re: Where does authority for "true" Buddhism come from?

[Jim Peavler]

On Jan 25, 2006, at 4:58 PM, Benito Carral wrote:

> On Wednesday, January 25, 2006, Jim Peavler wrote:
>
>> Please consider the following ideas.
>
>    I doubt very much that the Buddha has given you such
> authority,  but I think that it's fine if you decide to
> reject rebirth or anything else. You are free to decide
> your  own  way and, contrarily to what Richard seems to
> think, I don't have any problem about that.
>

I do not think Richard does not think that rebirth, etc. are part of  
early Buddhism. I think he has started with the Noble Truths and  
developed a process to try to follow them to the best that a modern  
person, after what science has done to the supernatural, can do to  
follow the path outlined by the Buddha, who was not informed about  
what we now understand pretty well about how the universe works.

Follow the path, follow the precepts, to reduce dukkha. Belief, not  
possible for many of us to maintain, does not have anything to do  
with it. That which must be believed with no evidence other than a  
written authority, no matter how old or how authoritative, cannot be  
part of the equation for people like me.

You on the other hand, have the ability and the need to believe in  
the literal texts that you consider authoritative. There is no way we  
can meet halfway. Hence the importance of my kind not condemning your  
kind as a bunch of fundamental literalists who are full of nonsense,  
and of your kind not condemning my kind as a bunch of revisionists  
who are just making your religion comfortable for ourselves.




Jim Peavler

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little
temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

     -- Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), reply of the Pennsylvania
     Assembly to the Governor, November 11, 1755