As opposed to the majority of religions and philosophies Buddhism does not seek to give answers to the Great Questions directly to those who seek them. To some, this may be disapointing, but to those bent toward Buddhism the challange of discovering the universal Truths for one's self is quite invigorating. Knowing that the answers lie within, and not out in the words or books of other men and women [ finish me later ]
The following is taken from Dr. Alan Sponberg's class: Introduction to Buddhism. See the bottom of the "author/credits" page for a link to his site.
The Kalamans were beset by a seemingly modern problem: ethical pluralism, or multicultural relativism.
How is one to find a source of meaningfulness in life, a source of ethical guidance, when confronted with a welter of competing ideologies and view points?
Buddha’s Reply:
“Yes, Kalamans, it is proper that you have doubt, that you have perplexity, for a doubt has arisen in a matter which is doubtful.”
"Do not be misled by [or “satisfied with”] reports, or tradition, or hearsay. Be not misled by the authority of religious texts, nor by mere logic or inference, nor by considering appearances, nor by the delight in speculative opinions, nor by what appears possible, nor by the idea: 'this is (the words of) our teacher.'
"But, O Kalamans, when
you know for yourselves that certain things are unskillful, and wrong,
and bad, then give them up. . . and when you know for yourselves that
certain things are skillful and good, then accept them and follow them."
Whatever gives rise to greed (lust), hatred and delusion:
That is unskillful, unwholesome, unprofitable.
Whatever gives rise to the absence of greed, hatred and delusion
That is skillful, wholesome, profitable.
From the "Buddhism is..." page (7 May, 2005):
Next, is the idea that Buddhism is somehow exploratory. This is not a unique aspect of Buddhism, of course, as one of my favorite philosophers, Socrates, has famously decreed much the same: "the unexamined life is not worth living" (see Plato's Apology). And again, historically, we can see many Buddhists who do not explore much at all. But the fourth great truth of Buddhism is the path to the cessation of suffering. Some may think that the term path implies blindly following the steps of the person in front of you, but this is emphatically not the case in Buddhism. It is very important in Buddhism that you don't accept things unless verifying them logically (I see smoke on the mountain; I know that smoke is the result of fire; I infer that there is a fire on the mountain) or directly (my pain, for instance is something I accept as real). In fact, the cause of ignorance is our taking things to exist or be real, which are not. We look at the 'book' in front of us and think there must be some kind of 'bookness' underneath the paper and ink there, but with some thought, some mental exploration, we come to realize that the 'book' really is nothing more than the paper and ink plus our mental attribution of 'book'. See Thich Nhat Hahn's "The Heart of Understanding" for a very good meditation/exploration on this idea.
See the full "Buddhism is..." essay.