Are Buddhist scriptures important and beneficial to Buddhism?

Answer 1

I like this question. Or, actually, my answer! They must be important, right? For the most part, sure, they are. But there are texts that some people would rather ignore, while others emphasize them. For example, in Thailand, a group called Santi Asoke doesn't pay much attention to the Abbidhama, which is the third of the books of the Tripitaka, or The Three Baskets. It's the third basket. It gives lots of very deep, sort of mystical philosophy, you might say. Not something that many people are going to understand very easily. This group in Thailand prefers to emphasize the more practical teachings; the teachings that seem most relevant to everyday life. But many many Thai Buddhists who practice sitting meditation give the Abbidhamma lots of significance. In Zen literature, you can fairly easily find references to monks of long ago who, before their enlightenment, cherished this or that sutra. But after their enlightenment, they would toss all of their books out saying books are useless. Troy. "Don't mistaken my finger pointing to the moon as the moon." or "The reflection of the moon in a cup of water is not the moon." by;Siddharta Gautama Shakyamuni Buddha. The Scriptures are only guides. The scriptures are nothing if you don't follow it. The scriptures are like road maps. Once you get to your destination, the map is useless. Unless of course you want to slide back to where you were before. If you will observe objectively, the ones who are defending their scriptures vigorously are those that came out short where the teachings are concerned. To parapharase the words of the great Zen master Tsung-mi: "If we just read Buddhist scripture without also trying to directly experience what he did, our realization will be no more than a matter of baseless faith. On the other had, if we take our experiences to be authoritative without comparing them with what the Buddha taught in the scriptures, then how can we be sure our experiences agree with those of the Buddha?" In sum, there is both the need to read Buddhist scriptures and to try to experince what the Buddha did long ago. the teachings, not the teacher.