August 17, 2024 at 9:20 pm
#51453
Participant
Yes, I did! To summarise the points relevant for this discussion:
Tipiṭaka – The Uniqueness of Buddha Dhamma
- The uniqueness of the dhamma
- This I agree, if it is unique, it is less likely to be made up by someone or groups of people
Pāli Canon Is Self-Contained but Requires Detailed Explanation
- Reliability of oral and written transmission
- This I do not doubt. However that still does not prove that the first version of the tipitaka to be factually and historically true, it only means that the tipitaka we have now is very close to the tipitaka they first drafted
Introduction – A Scientific Approach to Buddha Dhamma
- Using Buddha Dhamma as a working hypothesis and theory to explain reality and see if it is true
- Yes, this is what we have been doing to prove point 2, whether the words of the Buddha are true
I first came upon this line of thinking when I did a search and did not find strong evidence pointing to the first arahant council, there is also skepticism among scholars whether it happened (Buddhist councils).
What we have now do not strongly point to whether the contents of the tipitaka are factual or not, eg some would argue if they are made up or exaggerated, especially the mythical phenomenons, eg talking to devas, pretas. Some would also argue if they were made up. Of course, if we were to take the assumption that they were written by arahants, then they should no have lied as well when creating the tipitaka.
I would also understand that such factual information would be hard to come by, then we will have to use our own logical reasoning to think and see for ourseleves whether the teachings are true or not.