The Kesamutti Sutta, popularly known in the West as the Kālāma Sutta, is a discourse of the Buddha contained in the Aṅguttara Nikaya (3.65) of the Tipiṭaka. It is often cited by those of the Theravada and Mahayana traditions alike as the Buddha's "charter of free inquiry." The Kesamutti Sutta is often incorrectly used for advocating prudence by the use of sound logical reasoning arguments for inquiries in the practice that relates to the discipline of seeking truth, wisdom and knowledge whether it is religious or not. However, a plain reading of the text clearly states that one should not determine the validity of tradition based "by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, 'This contemplative is our teacher.'" While nothing in the text limits one from employing their own reasoning, the Buddha instructs not to make a decision based alone on it. Instead, the Buddha teaches that one can determine the validity of a tradition if "These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to welfare & to happiness' — then you should enter & remain in them." The misunderstanding of this sutta has become popular in part by reliance on a fake quote attributed to the Buddha and this sutta that includes "when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it," which is in part the opposite of what the sutta actually states. Premise The sutta starts off by describing how the Buddha passes through the village of Kesaputta and is greeted by its inhabitants, a clan called the Kalamas. They ask for his advice: they say that many wandering holy men and ascetics pass through, expounding their teachings and criticizing the teachings of others. So whose teachings should they follow? He delivers in response a sermon that serves as an entry point to the Dhamma, the Buddhist teachings for those unconvinced by mere spectacular revelation. Discerning Religious Teachings The Buddha proceeds to list the criteria by which any sensible person can decide which teachings to accept as true. Do not blindly believe religious teachings, he tells the Kalamas, just because they are claimed to be true, or even through the application of various