Where is this quote sourced from?

Q & A
1

“Just as one would examine gold through burning, cutting, and rubbing so should monks and scholars examine my words. Only thus should they be accepted, but not merely out of respect for me.”

I quote from Is Buddhism the Most Science-Friendly Religion? - Scientific American Blog Network

He mentions pali canon but I don’t know where in pali canon it is

Thanks

2

A google search for parts of the phrase leads to this post:

It is given as from the Ghanavyuha Sutra.

Similat question was asked on Reddit 8 years ago:

4 Likes
3

I am not sure, which sūtra this quote is taken from, but this is quoted in Śāntarakṣita’s Tattvasaṅgraha and Kamalaśīla’s commentary Tattvasaṅgrahapañjikā, as Buddhavacana.

tāpācchedācca nikaṣāt suvarṇamiva paṇḍitaiḥ /
parīkṣya bhikṣavo grāhyaṁ madvaco na tu gauravāt //
~ Tattvasaṅgraha (3587) ; Tattvasaṅgrahapañjikā (v.1-6)

Transl. : ‘O Bhikṣus, my words should be accepted by the wise, not out of regard for me, but after due investigation,—just as gold is accepted as true only after heating, cutting and rubbing’.

The same idea appears also at Tattvasaṅgraha (3343)

tāpācchedānnikaṣādvā kaladhautamivāmalam /
parīkṣyamāṇaṁ yannaiva vikriyāṁ pratipadyate //

Transl. : [The words of Buddha] are free from impurities, like gold tested by ‘heating’, ‘cutting’ and ‘touching’; and, like the gold, they do not undergo any change in the process of testing and investigation.

Kamalaśīla’s comm. on this śloka, which explains (3587) too, is as follows

ata eva “viśuddhasuvarṇavat parīkṣya grāhyabhetadvicakṣaṇeḥ” iti bhagavatoktam : ityetat śucayannāha- tāpādityādi / yathākaladhautaṁ suvarṇam amalaṁ sarvadoṣarahitaṁ parīkṣyamāṇaṁ tāpādibhir na vikriyāṁ pratipadyate tathā bhagavadvacoratnaṁ pratyakṣeṇa tāpasadr̥śena vastubalapravr̥ttānumānena nikaṣaprakhyeṇāgamāpekṣānumānāpi chedadr̥ṣṭāntasūcitena na vikriyate // ataḥ prekṣāpūrvakāriṇa evambhūtādevāgamāt pravr̥ttiryuktā nānyat ityabhiprāyaḥ //

Transl. : Just as gold, which is free from all impurities, pure, when tested by ‘Heating’, etc., does not undergo any change,—so also the jewel-like words of the Blessed Lord,—when tested—(a) by ‘Perception’, which is like ‘Heating’—(b) by ‘Inference’ based on the capacity of things, which is like ‘Touching—and (c) by Inference based on the Reliable Word, which is like ‘cutting’,—do not undergo any change. It is thus only right that the activity of intelligent men should proceed on the basis of such Reliable Word only,—not of any other. This is the purport of the Test.

1 Like
4

Obviously there are other philosophies compatible with science.

Great mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan certainly was not stupid. But even subtler would consider, getting seduced in to figuring out the mysteries of Maya a hindrance.

5

Hi, I came across this post after searching on Google about this topic. I tried to break down the Sanskrit that you have kindly typed out based on the critical edition and got stumped. I checked the edition then saw there are mistakes in your transliteration. This should be correct:

ata eva “viśuddhasuvarṇavat parīkṣya grāhyametadvicakṣaṇaiḥ” iti bhagavatoktam : ityetat sūcayannāha—tāpādityādi | yathā kaladhautam suvarṇam, amalam sarvadoṣarahitaṃ parīkṣyamāṇaṃ tāpādibhirna vikriyāṃ pratipadyate, tathā bhagavadcacoratnaṃ pratyakṣeṇa tāpasadṛśena vastubalapravṛttānumānena, nikaṣaprakhyeṇāgamāpekṣānumānenāpi chedadṛṣṭāntasūcitena na vikriyate | ataḥ prekṣāpūrvakāriṇa evambhūtādevāgamāt pravṛttiryuktā, nānyata ityabhiprāyaḥ ||

I hope this helps someone else who finds themselves reading this.

3 Likes
6

Hi Clappermon,

Welcome to the D&D forum! We hope you enjoy the various resources, FAQs, and previous threads. You can use the search function for topics and keywords you are interested in. Forum guidelines are here: Forum Guidelines. May some of these resources be of assistance along the path.

If you have any questions or need further clarification regarding anything, feel free to contact the moderators by including @moderators in your post or a PM.

Regards,
trusolo (on behalf of the moderators)

1 Like
7

Thank you very much for the corrections.:pray: I did make some mistakes in the transliteration of Kamalaśīla’s comm., and I am really sorry about that. Unfortunately, I am not able to edit that message anymore.