Verify it Your Own Self

The Buddha was very clear that no one should accept what he said just because he said it. This brilliant essay explores this point further. Buddhism appeals to people who do not like having someone tell them what to believe or what to do, and/or who have noticed how often the self styled religious authorities in the modern world have failed miserably and do not look very trustworthy.

As the essay at the link above points out, to get very far on the Buddhist path, one likely does need to have at least the preliminary faith that the Buddha accomplished something extraordinary that we might…