The Kālāma Discourse

Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa. Homage to the Buddha, the Blessed, Noble, and Fully Self-Awakened One.

So this evening we were going to look at the Kālāma Discourse, the one that concerns the Buddha's visit to Kesaputta. It looks like this was his first visit because when he gets there, the Kālāmas are all confused and bewildered because teachers have been saying that they've got the answer and everybody else is wrong. It's the usual thing of "I'm right and everybody else is wrong." "There are some monks and brahmins, Venerable Sir, who visit Kesaputta. They expound and explain their own doctrine. The doctrines of others they despise, revile, and pull to pieces. Venerable Sir, there is doubt, there is uncertainty in us concerning them. Which of these venerable monks and brahmins spoke the truth, and which falsehood?"

Now, we don't really realise what the problem is until we get towards the end of the discourse. To make this more plain to us, what they're concerned with is the fact that they are worried about kamma and rebirth. Remember, in those days that was a given for the vast majority. There were materialists who thought you disappeared when you died, but most believed that there was a rebirth, and there was confusion as to what actually caused you to get a rebirth in one of the realms. So you could be born in the violent realm of the angry gods, or the hungry ghost realm, always longing but never satisfied. You could be born as a dull-minded animal, a chattel on somebody's farm. You could, of course, end up being a denizen of hell, which is constant pain and suffering.

Just as an aside, this sort of existential fear was expressed by the Greeks as fate, by which they meant that these gods they believed in were just doing whatever they wanted to do, no matter what happened to human beings. So they would lose their personal agency in this chaotic world of earthquakes and big storms and so on. In the medieval period, the horror was of course to go to hell, and the Catholic Church softened it by creating a purgatory, so that only those who were really, really naughty ended up in eternal hell, and the rest could go to purgatory for a while, be cleansed, and then shoot off to heaven. And of course today, because if you are an annihilist, if you're a scientific materialist, you're looking into nothingness. This is explored especially by the philosopher Nietzsche and then Heidegger, and what Nietzsche talked about was the abyss. He obviously came close to what it means to become nothing at all, to die, finish, which is the death of self. There's another very famous philosopher called Nishitani, who had studied with people like Heidegger, and then went through his Zen practice and realised that this abyss was actually the loss of the self. And that once you leaped over that, you found what we would call anattā.

Okay, so back to the Kālāmas. Now, he doesn't fall—the Buddha doesn't fall into the trap of trying to convince them. This is the point. He rather tries to give them ways and means by which they can find out for themselves whether something is true or not. He gives them a method by which they can find a way out of their doubt, out of their confusion. First of all, he tells them what they should not do, then what they should do, and finally how to develop further qualities that would lead to a happy realm and a happy life here and now.

So this is where he makes this very famous statement, which is often understood to be a declaration of "believe what you want," freedom of belief, but it's not. It's a freedom to investigate, a freedom to question. "It is proper for you, Kālāmas, to doubt, to be uncertain. Uncertainty has arisen in you about what is doubtful. Come, Kālāmas, do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing." I mean, consider how Trump lies and lies and lies and then somebody actually believes him. "Nor upon tradition, nor upon rumour"—rumour would be, social media, stuff coming through social media. "Nor upon a scripture, nor upon surmise"—just an opinion, a guess, but you don't have the proper evidence. And that means that sometimes you don't have to come to a conclusion. "Nor upon an axiom"—just because something is universally accepted doesn't mean it's true. "Nor upon specious reasoning"—clever, clever, clever reasoning that confuses you. "Nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered on"—this is what we get with information silos. "Nor upon another's seeming ability, nor upon a consideration, 'This monk is our teacher,' Kālāmas." In other words, even somebody whom you really, really trust, whatever they say, you still have to question. "And then you would know for yourselves," he said. "These things are immoral, these things are blameable, these things are censured by the wise, undertaken and observed these things lead to harm and to ill—so abandon them."

So in other words, completely against anything like blind faith. Again, he's not asking them to dismiss all teaching. He's asking them to be pragmatic, to have a hands-on investigation. Obviously he'd be very much against the postmodern idea that every opinion is equally true, that you create your own reality, and all that—being selective about what you can and what you can't believe. And that's as though the spiritual path is some sort of smorgasbord and you can take what you want. And of course, Western Buddhists often tend to do that. They'll accept some of what's in the scriptures, but not all of it, such as rebirth.

So now the test for rebirth. And this was generally accepted at the time. Remember, there were the Jains and other sects who understood that there was some connection between your ethical behaviour and where you took rebirth. So he asks them: "Come, when you yourselves know these things are bad, these things are blameable, these things are censured by the wise, undertaken and observed these things lead to harm and ill—abandon them." And of course, he says the opposite for what is good.

And then he continues this sort of Socratic dialogue. "What do you think, Kālāmas? Does greed manifest in someone for their benefit or harm?" "For their harm, Venerable Sir." "Kālāmas, being given to greed, being overwhelmed and vanquished mentally by greed, such a person takes life, steals, commits adultery, and tells lies, and they prompt others to do so likewise. Will that not eventually be harmful and damaging for them?" "Yes, Venerable Sir." And of course he says the same for hatred and delusion.

And then he asks: "What do you think? Are these things good or bad?" "Bad, Venerable Sir." "Blameable or not blameable?" "Blameable, Venerable Sir." "Censured or praised by the wise?" "Censured, Venerable Sir." "Undertaken and observed, do these things lead to harm and ill, or not? How does it strike you?" "Undertaken and observed, these things lead to harm and ill. That's clear to us." And of course the same is true for what is beneficial, the opposite.

And he simply uses the negative to point to what is positive. "What do you think, Kālāmas? Does absence of greed manifest in someone for their benefit or harm?" "For their benefit, Venerable Sir." And so he goes on through hatred and delusion.

So then, having got them to that stage, he opens up to a practice of mettā. "The disciples of the Noble Ones, Kālāmas, who in this way is devoid of coveting, devoid of ill will, undeluded, clearly comprehending and mindful, dwells pervading one quarter with the thought of love, likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth. So above and below and across, he dwells encompassing all sentient beings everywhere in the entire cosmos with the abundant, exalted, boundless thought of love that is free of hatred and malice." And then of course he says the same for compassion, joy, and equanimity or peacefulness.

So here he's now given them a way in which they can develop a good heart, so that upon death they can presume to be born into a happy realm. Their fundamental problem, of course, is kamma and rebirth. And here he gives them, rather cleverly I think, four consolations or assurances, and he covers every angle.

"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 a heavenly world which is possessed of the state of bliss." So if kamma is correct and there is fruit, then upon death I'll end up in a heavenly realm. This, he says, is your first consolation, your first assurance.

"Supposing there is no hereafter and there's 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." You will find this to be your second consolation and assurance. So even if there isn't any rebirth, it's good to do it anyway.

"Now suppose evil results befall an evil doer. I, however, don't think of doing harm to anyone. Then how can ill affect me who has done no harm, any harmful deed?" You will find this to be your third consolation and assurance. So even if there isn't a consequence to evil doing, at least in your own heart you're in a good state, you're in a beautiful mental state.

And finally, "Supposing evil results do not befall an evil doer, then I see myself purified in any case." You will find this to be your fourth consolation and assurance.

So what's the teaching? Well, the basic line is the inner happiness of moral integrity surpasses those momentary, superficial pleasures gained through delusion, hatred, and ill will.

So his approach, you can see, really shows us what a skilful teacher the Buddha was. These people are not ready for the Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths. They've come to him, they've told him about their confusion, and the last thing they want is for somebody to come along and say, "No, no, that's all rubbish. Listen to me, I know the truth." So he gives them this way of investigating themselves, and this inspires them so much that they take refuge in the Buddha. So one can presume that either later in the day, after he's taken a meal—because that's when he would normally arrive, on alms round in the morning, after the meal, and he'd been refreshed and had a rest—he would then talk about the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, now that he's got their confidence.

So you can see the structure of this discourse: from confusion through investigation, ethical discernment, inner transformation. This brings about confidence, and ultimately, when the Buddha tells them about the Four Noble Truths and the path, and of course vipassanā, they will reach—they will have realised the truth.

So I hope my words have been of some assistance, that they have not caused any confusion, and that by your commitment to your practice and careful questioning of anything you hear, you will be liberated from all suffering, sooner rather than later.