Question: Is it alright to ‘revise’ or ‘edit’ a scripture taught by the Buddha or another Buddhist enlightened being?
Answer: ‘Revision’ should never be done ‘on behalf’ of the enlightened. For example, if you have written a book, and someone changes its contents without your permission, surely, you will no longer consider it to be written by you.
Any teaching originally taught by the Buddha, if altered by a non-Buddha, is likewise no longer a teaching by the Buddha. Especially if there is only one version of that particular teaching, any revised version of it cannot be considered his teaching at all.
If changes made are ‘little’, why should they be done at all? if changes made are great, all the more should they not be done, for who is more qualified than the Buddha, to be deemed ‘more’ suitable to make such drastic changes?
There might be different unenlightened interpretations about what a teaching means, but this does not mean it should be rewritten in the name of the enlightened. Never impersonate or misrepresent to possibly slander anyone.
