Buddhist scripture is not to be taken literally

Many Bible scholars have advised that the stories in the Bible should not be taken literally. Did Jesus literally turn water into wine? Did he actually walk on water? Was he born of a virgin? The list goes on and on.

It is the same with Buddhist scripture, and for the same reason. Ancient people liked to tell stories to achieve a certain purpose — religious, ideological, moral, promotional, etc. These stories are often not historical accounts. For example, in Buddhist scripture, there is a story about Buddha’s miraculous birth. According to this story, immediately after Gautama Buddha’s birth, he stood up, took seven steps north, and made this declaration:

“I am chief of the world,

Eldest in the world. This is the last birth.

There will be [henceforth for me] no more re-becoming.”

Two years ago, at a book talk by Robert Wright at the Chuang Yen Monastery, I asked Bhikkhu Bodhi how we should interpret this story. He told me that we should not take it as literally true.

Recently, it dawned on me that Buddha might have declared that specific people are “arahants” as a way of eulogizing their deaths and setting up good role models for others. It is probably not so different from the Church canonizing certain people as “saints.” Typically…