How to verify the authenticity of Buddhist sutras?

Letter No. 137 to disciples: How to verify the authenticity of Buddhist sutras?
Dear disciples,
Recently, there has been the comment from Chanh Dung who advised that I should study Theravada sutras (Theravada school). In addition, a few disciples who have encountered the Dharma do not understand how to verify the authenticity of Buddhist sutras, so they asked for my clarification on this issue. Relying on the wisdom of Guru Rinpoche (the guru), Hayagriva (the yidam), and Vajravarahi (the dakini), I make some verification.
cang day xay tuong
The main worker asked: “Done? (Straight?)” The other answered: “Done”
I remembered when I was young, there are two masons who built the fence, they strung a rope from the top of this column to the other, they saw until a line of rope straight to two sides, his main worker asked: “Done? (Straight?)” The other answered: “Done”. The word “Done” in this case means “straight”, straight from top to bottom, from left to right, from side to side. I kept wondering the meaning of “done” and now I understood it. I asked the disciple named Mat Thanh who is a bricklayers about the meaning of “done(straight)”, he did not still understand what it meant. Turning out, the word “done (straight)” appeared at the age of the 60s in the 20th century, today, it no longer existed.
Sutra_book
The word of “sutra” translated from Chinese.
The word of “sutra” translated from Chinese. Sutra literally means a rope or thread that straightly holds things together and more metaphorically refers to the consistency from beginning to end of what was taught from Buddhist teachings. And, what is the consistency? Because of not clarifying what “sutras” means, many scholars and Buddhists attaching in words (letters) and sectarianism believe that Theravada sutras contain the actual substance of the historical teachings of the Buddha while Mahayana sutras or Vajrayana are Buddhist apocrypha. From that understanding, the meaning of sutras is only relied on the words. But words do not reflect the real essence of the dharma teaching. In Buddhism, sutras usually beginning with the phrase “Thus I have heard” is considered as the authentic Buddhist sutra, whereas “Brahma-Net Sutra”, “Mahàmegha-sùtra”, “The Ullambana Sutra”, “the sutra about the Deep Kindness of Parents and the Difficulty in Repaying it” originating from China with the same phrase are considered as Buddhist apocrypha by scholars (Is The Ullambana Sutra authentic or inauthentic: Misconception? on the site of chanhtuduy.com). Therefore, we confirmed that the real meaning of Buddhist sutras is only verified under Buddhist perspective or through Buddhist lens which is consistent (straight from the top to the bottom, from the beginning to the end). This lens illuminates harmful bacteria being cleverly disguised which destroy the real meaning of Buddhist sutras, resulting in harm to the Buddhist practitioners’ spiritual destiny for the benefit of certain groups turning the inauthentic sutras into authentic ones.
Dear disciples,
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So, what is Buddhist lens?
So, what is Buddhist lens? When Buddha was living, he foresaw there would be many scholars creating the Buddhist apocrypha for the sake of the selfhood and the sectarianism. He made the following principles:
Definition of sutra: Sutra is the teachings written by the enlightened ones (Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, Saints, enlightened scholars). The teachings not from other above enlightened ones (such as: God, Asura, Human, Animal, Preta) are not sutras.
Evaluation criteria: Sutras called authentic ones which rely on the Buddhist principles as follows:
1, Three principal aspects of the enlightened path: Renunciation, Bodhicitta and Emptiness
2, Four Dharma Seals are the four characteristics which reflect true Buddhist teaching. It is said that if a teaching contains the Four Dharma Seals then it can be considered Buddha Dharma although the Dharma Seals were all introduced after Gautama Buddha died.
Four Dharma Seal includes: (1) All phenomena are empty, (2) All stained emotions are painful, (3) All compounded things are impermanent, (4) Nirvana is true peace. It can be considered (1) and (2) as Emptiness, (3) as Renunciation ; and (4) as Bodhicitta.
The Four Seals are as follows:
* All phenomena are empty: All phenomena are non-self, mutual dependence and no permanency.
* All stained emotions are painful: All conditioned phenomena and experiences are unsatisfactory
* All compounded things are impermanent: all dharma and their functions are impermanent in nature. Everything is a result of the convergence of the seed and the maturing conditions. Converging conditions are ever changing, too – no permanency.
* Nirvana is true peace: Nirvana is the ultimate tranquility. Nirvana is beyond all terms of duality and relativity. It is therefore beyond our conceptions of good and evil, right and wrong, existence and non-existence.
3, Four reliance principles—the four trusts of Dharma—four basic principles for thorough understanding Buddhism:
* Relying on the Dharma, not on the people who expound it—trust in the Law, not in men—relying in on the teaching, not merely on any persons (relying on the teaching and not on the person who teaches it).
* Relying on the meaning, not just on the words—trust in truth, not in words (letters). Relying on the true meaning or spirit of Dharma statement in sutra, not merely on the words of the statement (relying on the meaning of the teaching and not on the expression). Buddha’s teachings demonstrated examples of not attaching to the words being used because there are many case that the sutras were counterfeited in words called Buddhist apocryphal.
* Rely on the complete teaching, not on the partial teaching—Rely on the sutras that lead us to enlightenment, not on those that do not. Trust in sutras containing ultimate truth, not incomplete one. Relying on the sutras that give ultimate teachings, not on those which preach expedient teachings resulting in rebirth of Human, God, Asura, Animal and Preta.
* Rely on the wisdom, not on the conscious and perception—trust in wisdom growing out of eternal truth and not in illusory knowledge. Relying on intuitive wisdom, not on intellectual or normal understanding. Wisdom is the pure knowledge to attain the enlightenment. Conscious is the worldly perception causing the bad seeds and conditions for the cycle of rebirths and deaths. Thus, understanding the authenticity of Buddhist sutras should base on wisdom, does not rely on your feeling and your subjectivity to praise or defame.
4, Conclusion: Relying on Buddhist evaluation criteria, you can verify which Buddhist sutras are authentic, which Buddhist sutras are counterfeited, not relying on the name of Theravada sutras, Mahayana sutras or Vajrayana to identify which Buddhist sutras are true or untrue.
Dear disciples,
kinh dien
Buddhist scriptures always teaches us the enlightened path as Buddhist’s saying that water in ubiquitous sea is always salty
It is said that the Buddhist discourses considering as rain pouring down, small or big trees all get the benefits without the bias, so they are sure that The Ullambana Sutra with humanistic significance, and richness in piety should not bethought as untrue Buddhist text. It is careless argument because the real meaning of Buddhist scriptures always teaches us the enlightened path as Buddhist’s saying that water in ubiquitous sea is always salty, all Buddhist’s teachings only help all sentient beings attain the ultimate liberation, or as the Buddha said: “I teach you the path to liberation. Know that liberation itself depends on you“(Mahaparinibbana Sutta). Liberation is free from the cycle of deaths and rebirths. So Buddhist sutras donot accept thedharma practice to be reborn as human, god or asura. If anyhappening is for the practitioner is not diligent efforts in the proper Dharma, or betray the Buddha’s teachings before his death.
Hành giả Phật giáo là từ bỏ toàn bộ sự chấp thủ đó để hướng tới giác ngộ tối thượngFrom the reference viewpoint, I believe that you all rely on these evaluation criteria (the holy teachings) to identify and distinguish which sutras are true or untrue. Do not confuse the residue with gold. Do not consider the residue as gold.
Also, I want to send a message to the reader named Chanh Dung that many sentences of my nearly 600 articles havebeen quoted from Theravada sutras , but I have never thought that which sutras are from Theravada, or fromMahayana or from Vajrayana. I just specify this is the Buddhist sutra with dialectical criteria to make the assertion.In addition, originating from the Buddha’s time when therewere no scripts (letters), he just preached dharma by oral, then where is the original text while ensuring by the scripts? Theravada scriptures were also written after about 200 years from the death of the Buddha, so which criteria can weverify the original sutras without relying on “the Four Seals”, “Four reliance principles” and “Three principal aspects of the enlightened path”? So only relying onBuddhist schools to assess the nature of Buddhist orthodoxymakes no sense. If the teachings in Buddhism are prove to have practical, beneficial results to attain the true peace and happiness, then the teachings are authentically Buddhist sutra. As Buddhists, what Buddha taught to get the ultimate liberation, we obey his teachings, do not cling to Buddhist schools that cause the conflict in Sangha, and the attachment to sectarianism.
Dear disciples,
I have had some words about verifying the authenticity of Buddhist sutras, in front of the holy body of our Yidam, I pray:
To you, Guru Rinpoche, I pray: please lead my mind stream to Buddhist Dharma
To you, all enlightened ones, I pray: please don’t let me enter into the lower pagan.
To you, compassionate Guru and others, please inspire me with your blessings
Phuoc Thanh Village on September 1st 2015
Thinley – Nguyen Thanh
Translated by Mat Dieu Hang
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