Is the Dharma beyond logic?

After I posted my article on the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, one Buddhist reader replied with the following quote from the Pali Canon:

This principle I have discovered is deep, hard to see, hard to understand, peaceful, sublime, beyond[!!!!!!!] the scope of logic, subtle, comprehensible to the astute.

The exclamation marks were added by this reader. He wanted to emphasize his belief that the Dharma is beyond logic. Apparently, he found something to support his position. This is not an isolated incident. Many Buddhists would love to find an excuse to go “beyond logic.” That seems to be a good justification to open the door to woo-woo and other superstitions. After all, the Pali Canon has plenty of mention of devas, ghosts, psychic powers, and other matters which are anathema to the modern mind.

The quote here is taken from Bhikkhu Sujato’s translation of SN 6.1:

This principle I have discovered is deep, hard to see, hard to understand, peaceful, sublime, beyond the scope of logic, subtle, comprehensible to the astute. But people like attachment, they love it and enjoy it.

I have two comments. First, “beyond logic” does not mean anti-logic or irrational. Most philosophers, scientists, and even logicians would admit that there are limitations to our current understanding of logic. In…