Ma`rifat Adyan

This article investigates the patterns and approaches employed or devised by Buddhist interpreters to ascertain the definitive intent of their master. Unlike the orthodox Theravādins, who rejected any attempt at interpreting the Buddha's words, Mahāyāna Buddhists, arguing that the Buddha taught according to the capacity of his audience, divided Buddhist literature into two categories: texts bearing definitive meaning and those with interpretable meanings. The primary research question concerns the methodological criteria for establishing standards of correct interpretation and preventing interpreters from falling into arbitrary interpretation. The results of the study indicate that, on the one hand, the theoretical framework for monks in Buddhism regarding the interpretation of texts was the discovery of the "author's intent"; and on the other hand, the criteria for the validity of subsequent interpretations were considered to be the "consensus" of the great masters and wise followers, as well as their conformity with the interpretations of the predecessors, which represents a "normative" view of interpretation. The research data were collected using library resources and analyzed through an analytical-interpretive method. Its aim developmental. Initially, the explicit guidelines for the correct understanding of the Buddha's sermons in the Pali Canon were studied, and then reference was made to the efforts of great Mahāyāna figures such as Nāgārjuna and Candrakīrti, and later, Tsongkhapa in Tibetan Buddhism.