The Buddha's antidote for misinformation

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We have greater access to information than ever, but not all is reliable. Who should we trust? The Buddha’s ten criteria for countering misinformation can help.

We live in an age in which actual misinformation farms exist. However, the problem of untrustworthy information is not new. The difficulty of sorting out signal from noise goes back at least 2,500 years to the Buddha’s time.

Frustrated and confused by the conflicting messages they received from wandering spiritual teachers, a group of residents approached the Buddha for advice.

He gave a sermon known today as the Kalama Sutta, in which he offered ten criteria to assess the quality of information. He encouraged people not to accept a message simply because of repeated hearing, tradition, or even because they respected the monk, among other reasons.

His advice stands the test of time. In essence, we should maintain a healthy skepticism. We should pause, doubt, and investigate everything we hear with an open mind.

Check out the full transcript here:
https://projectindra.org/apotheosis-podcast/episode-48-the-buddhas-antidote-for-misinformation