The Kalama Sutta

The Buddha’s Charter of Free Inquiry

My talk tonight is about The Kalama Sutta which is sometimes referred to as the “Buddha’s charter of free inquiry.”

It is contained in the Anguttara Nikaya of the Tipitaka.

The sutta describes how the Buddha meets the Kalama tribe, and they say that they meet many holy men and teachers who all have differing teachings, and they are confused about which teaching to follow.

He gives ten reasons that he does not recommend you use to choose and justify a teaching:

He says that you should not follow teachings just because they are traditional, appear in a holy book, appear to be provable by philosophical reasoning, or because they are enunciated by your teacher, or an expert.

Instead, the Buddha gives four positive criteria for accepting a teaching. He says you should only accept a teaching when you know for yourselves that:

1. These things are skilful (kusala)
2. These things are blameless (anavajja)
3. These things are praised by the wise (viññū-pasatthā)
4. These things, when undertaken and observed, lead to benefit and happiness

This third criterion – “praised by the wise” – is crucial and often overlooked when this sutta is quoted. It serves as an important counterbalance to pure individual inquiry. The Buddha is saying that while we should test things for ourselves, we should also consider whether our conclusions align with those who have gone further along the path than we have.

As the translator Thanissaro Bhikkhu notes, this sutta “actually says something much more rigorous” than simply following one’s own sense of right and wrong. Any view or belief must be tested by the results it yields when put into practice; and – to guard against the possibility of any bias or limitations in one’s understanding of those results – they must further be checked against the experience of people who are wise.

This is profoundly practical advice. We all have blind spots. We can convince ourselves that something is working for us when actually it may be reinforcing unhelpful patterns. The wise – those with more experience and deeper insight – can often see what we cannot see in ourselves.

I think this is particularly relevant to us as Westerners. We often emphasise individual autonomy and direct experience – which are indeed important – but we can sometimes forget the value of spiritual friendship and the guidance of those further along the path. The Buddha is asking us to hold both: trust your direct experience AND check it against the wisdom of those who have travelled this road before you.

This also helps explain why sangha – spiritual community – is one of the Three Jewels. We don’t practise in isolation. The wise ones in our community help us see more clearly, challenge our assumptions, and support our growth. This isn’t blind obedience to authority; it’s intelligent recognition that we benefit from perspectives beyond our own.

It contrasts particularly with Christianity which states that you must believe everything written in the Bible because it is the word of God. This is an anathema to anyone brought up to question their deepest convictions.

I feel that in our culture, we have a spiritual void, because we used to have Christianity, and now we have a consumer society. The reason for this is because we have questioning rational minds, and cannot just believe the Bible, even though part of us does have a yearning for spiritual experience.

We need a spiritual path that is founded on scientific and empirical principles – but also one that honours the accumulated wisdom of those who have gone before us. And in this sutta, the Buddha reveals that his path is indeed founded on both: direct experience AND the guidance of the wise.

The Buddha again hinted at this as he was dying, when he exhorted his disciples to be “lamps unto yourselves” and “look not for a refuge in anyone besides yourselves.” Yet even here, the context is important: he was speaking to disciples who had been trained by him for years, who had developed wisdom through practice and through spiritual friendship with him and with each other.

Elsewhere he says “As the wise test gold by burning, cutting and rubbing it on a piece of touchstone, so are you to accept my words after examining them and not merely out of regard for me.” Note that even here, the testing is done “as the wise” do it – there’s still a nod to learning from those with expertise.

It is this more than anything that differentiates Buddhism from the other religions. There are many common themes of positivity, prayer, meditation and visualisation, but with this sutta, the Buddha is encouraging us to think for ourselves whilst also remaining open to the guidance of those wiser than ourselves. It’s not blind faith, nor is it pure individualism – it’s a middle way between the two.

One of the reasons he says we should not use is that the teaching appears in scripture. This is ironic, because his words have now themselves become part of Buddhist scripture. But in this process, it reminds us of the spirit with which we should approach the rest of Buddhist scripture – not with blind acceptance, but with intelligent inquiry combined with respect for the wisdom it contains.

He also recommends that we do not believe things just because an expert or even one’s own teacher recommends it. A teacher can help to challenge us, inspire us, open us up to new ideas, support us, and help us grow. But they are still human, and therefore fallible. And if we just blindly accept what they say is true we are shutting down our critical faculty. The key is to remain open to their guidance whilst maintaining our own discernment – listening carefully to the wise, whilst ultimately testing things for ourselves.

Another reason which he says should not be used is philosophical reasoning. I would agree with this, as I think philosophy can often become very abstract and removed from reality. When it does this, it can often verge on becoming meaningless and arbitrary.

You can see this happening in the 18th century with David Hume and the movement in Western philosophy that is interestingly known as the “Age of Enlightenment.” And you can see echoes of it with Friedrich Nietzsche, and after him the logical positivist movement. This is yet another area where the Buddha was far ahead of his time.

He recommends a much more verifiable and rational approach. By its nature, it cannot be totally scientific, replicable and objective as it is based on introspection. That is why we are ultimately left to make our own decisions – whilst being wise enough to consider the experience of those who have walked this path before us.

Another virtue of this approach is that people really own the ideas that they have learned themselves from direct experience. This is far more valuable than an idea that is learned parrot fashion. Yet when our experience is enriched by the wisdom of others, it becomes even more valuable still.

I personally was blown away when I heard that the Buddha said this so long ago, and it is one of the reasons why I follow the Buddhist path rather than some other religion.

Christianity and Islam spread not only by the threat of violence in this life, but also by the threat of eternal damnation if people did not convert and follow them. In other words they are based on fear, and being trained to follow and believe the priest class without question.

It is of course true that all religions contain their share of wise people and fools. My point is that Buddhism is founded on sound empirical principles, balanced with respect for accumulated wisdom – and nowhere is this more apparent than the Kalama Sutta.