[Buddha-l] Back to the core values? -- and origins

[Jackhat1 at aol.com]

In a message dated 5/29/2007 8:20:00 A.M. Central Daylight Time,  
curt at cola.iges.org writes:

As far  as the earliest known texts are concerned, isn't it true that 
there are  Mahayana texts that are just as early as the earliest Pali 
texts? Here I  am speaking of actual physical texts, ie, manuscripts. 
This would suggest  that there IS a possible parallel to the Gospel of  
Thomas.
==============
I think some of the scholars on this list could answer this better than I  
could. The question is whether any basic contradictions are found in what are  
considered the earliest known texts.
 
>>Another thing to consider is that when all the witnesses agree,  this 
doesn't necessarily mean they are telling the truth. It might mean they  
have cooked up the story among themselves. Consistency can be explained  
in more than one way. And even if the consistency is genuine, then it  
implies a lack of imagination as much as anything else - or, more  
seriously, a vigilant hostility to independent thinking.<<
 
If a group of senior monks agreed on what the Buddha said, imagination and  
independent thinking were not a factor.
 
Jack








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