Kalama Sutta

'Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it

Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many

Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books

Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders

Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations

But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good benefit of one and all, accept it and live up to it.'