From time to time I receive chastisements from people who tell me that the Buddha wouldn’t care about being misquoted. How they know this, of course, is a mystery. Perhaps they have psychic powers that allow them to communicate with the dead. They certainly don’t seem to get their knowledge from the Buddhist scriptures, where one of the few things that really seemed to annoy the Buddha (besides noisy monks) was having words put into his mouth.
Here’s a very short sutta that was passed on to me by Eddie Badilla Vindas, a.k.a Karma Gyurme Gyamtso:
“Monks, these two slander the Tathāgata [a synonym for "Buddha"]. Which two? He who explains what was not said or spoken by the Tathagata as said or spoken by the Tathagata. And he who explains what was said or spoken by the Tathagata as not said or spoken by the Tathagata. These are two who slander the Tathagata.”
Woodward (Gradual Sayings, Volume I, page 54) translates this same passage as:
Monks, these two misrepresent the Tathāgata. What two?
He who proclaims, as utterances on the Tathāgata, what he never said or uttered, and he who denies what was said or uttered by the Tathāgata. These are the two.
And in case you’re interested, here it is in Pali:
Dveme bhikkhave tathāgataṃ abbhācikkhanti. Katame dve ? Yo ca abhāsitaṃ alapitaṃ tathāgatena bhāsitaṃ lapitaṃ tathāgatenāti dīpeti, yo ca bhāsitaṃ lapitaṃ tathāgatena abhāsitaṃ alapitaṃ tathāgatenāti dīpeti. Ime kho bhikkhave dve tathāgataṃ abbhācikkhantīti.
In other words, according to the scriptures, the Buddha really, really didn’t like Fake Buddha Quotes.
Great work, just for the people to know, I took the translation from the website “Access to insight: readings in Theravāda Buddhism”, a translation of the Ābhāṣita Sūtta (Aṅguttaranikāya 2.23) made by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
I think the Brahmajāla Sutta is relevant. It’s not exactly about “quotations” but it’s in the same line of country… the Buddha tells his monks to dispassionately correct those who misrepresent him, his teachings, or the community of his followers. Not only are they to refute inaccurate criticisms, but equally they are only to accept praise when it is factually accurate.
“Monks, if anyone should speak in disparagement of me, of the Dhamma, or of the Sangha, you should not be angry, resentful or upset on that account. If you were to be angry or displeased at such disparagement, that would only be a hindrance to you. For if others disparage me, the Dhamma or the Sangha, and you were angry or displeased, can you recognize whether what they say is right or not?”
“No, Lord”
“If others disparage me, the Dhamma or the Sangha, then you must explain what is incorrect as being incorrect, saying: ‘That is incorrect, that is false, that is not our way, that is not found among us.’
“But, monks, if others should speak in praise of me, of the Dhamma or of the Sangha, you should not on that account be pleased, happy or elated. If you were to be pleased, happy or elated at such praise, that would be a hindrance to you. If others praise me, the Dhamma or the Sangha, you should acknowledge that truth of what is true, saying: ‘That is correct, that is right, that is our way, that is found among us.’”
Brahmajāla Sutta. (DN1)
Those reminders are always useful. Thanks.