What I meant was that Batchelor's stated aim is to investigate the suttas in order to determine the "true teachings of the Buddha", not that I agreed with his conclusions. The point is that different people can use the same material and come to rather different conclusions.Ñāṇa wrote:I really don't think Batchelor is, Mike. How can one have a meaningful and coherent "sutta method" which fails to accept the validity of passages which are central to the description of the Buddha's awakening and passages which are common throughout the suttas? ...mikenz66 wrote:Stephen Batchelor is practising a "sutta method" just as much as you are, but you have (I think) come to rather different conclusions.
Mike