Sutta · AN 3.65
Know for Yourselves
Kālāma Sutta
Translated by RidgeClub 1 min read
“Alañhi vo, kālāmā, kaṅkhituṃ alaṃ vicikicchituṃ. Kaṅkhanīyeva pana vo ṭhāne vicikicchā uppannā.
“It is fitting for you to be uncertain, Kālāmas, fitting for you to doubt. Doubt has arisen in you about something that is uncertain.
Etha tumhe, kālāmā, mā anussavena, mā paramparāya, mā itikirāya, mā piṭakasampadānena, mā takkahetu, mā nayahetu, mā ākāraparivitakkena, mā diṭṭhinijjhānakkhantiyā, mā bhabbarūpatāya, mā samaṇo no garūti.
Come, Kālāmas: don’t go by what has been handed down, by lineage, by hearsay, or by a collection of scriptures; don’t go by logic, by inference, by thinking things through, or by agreeing with a view after pondering it; don’t go by a speaker’s seeming ability, or by the thought, ‘This contemplative is our teacher.’
Yadā tumhe, kālāmā, attanāva jāneyyātha — ‘ime dhammā akusalā, ime dhammā sāvajjā, ime dhammā viññugarahitā, ime dhammā samattā samādinnā ahitāya dukkhāya saṃvattantī’ti, atha tumhe, kālāmā, pajaheyyātha.
When you know for yourselves, ‘These things are unskilful; these things are blameworthy; these things are criticized by the wise; taken up and carried through, these things lead to harm and suffering,’ then you should give them up.
Yadā tumhe, kālāmā, attanāva jāneyyātha — ‘ime dhammā kusalā, ime dhammā anavajjā, ime dhammā viññuppasatthā, ime dhammā samattā samādinnā hitāya sukhāya saṃvattantī’ti, atha tumhe, kālāmā, upasampajja vihareyyātha.”
When you know for yourselves, ‘These things are skilful; these things are blameless; these things are praised by the wise; taken up and carried through, these things lead to welfare and happiness,’ then you should take them up and live by them.”