– The Mahāyāna and its canon were not taught by the flesh and blood Śākyamuni. One could argue that they are the product of the sambhogakāya, which is a legitimate metaphysical view to hold, though such ideas are mystical and have no place in the secular academy which is effectively founded on a physicalist ontology. Both views are still valid. Secular scholarship deals with mundane developments and is inherently unable to speculate about transmundane forces at work behind historical developments. If we recognize this there will be minimal conflicts, though that being said Buddhists still need to recognize the historical development of their literature as revealed by secular scholarship. The mental and spiritual forces at work behind those developments are of course open to debate. – Vajrayāna arose from chaotic circumstances and its violent iconography reflects real life, not symbolic, violence that was ongoing in late Indian Buddhist history. This is at odds with the affectionate and non-violent ideals taught by contemporary traditions.- Canonical literature, even the Pāli, is all a later development and cannot be taken as the literal word of the Buddha. It is well-known that the teachings were put down in writing centuries after the Buddha’s death, yet the realities of textual evolution are often ignored. In other words, the Pāli canon as a whole reflects a well-developed Buddhism based on an earlier form.- The Vinaya literature is largely a later development and the idea of orthodox lineages is untenable when we consider the unrealistic premise of pure bhikṣus transmitting precepts every generation for twenty-five centuries. Moreover, the various Vinaya texts which are supposed to come from the Buddha’s time clearly reflect the concerns of land owning monastics, not homeless mendicants. All of this effectively calls into question the sacrosanct quality of Vinaya ordinations. In reality, such ordinations are simply social constructs, which while useful need to be recognized as a role in the community rather than an automatic elevation in spiritual attainment.

via Indrajala’s Contemplations: The Sting of Secular History.