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In this following context, how should I take the phrase 'doubtful revelation'? Does it mean teaching or information?

And what does the verbal phrase 'found on' mean? Does it mean 'stem from'?

Morality in Buddhism is not founded on any doubtful revelation nor is it the ingenious invention of an exceptional mind, but it is a rational and practical code based on verifiable facts and individual experience.

Source: Buddhism in a Nutshell

P. 24 By Nadara thera

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    Founded on means based on, like a house is based on its foundation.
    – Yosef Baskin
    Commented Aug 22, 2023 at 12:50

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This isn't a stock phrase.

The author is claiming that revelation is unreliable. Presumably, the claim is that revelation - where God speaks directly to a prophet - can always be doubted, because we only have the prophet's word that he spoke directly to God. Rather, says the author, you should rely on your own experience, which is where (he claims) Buddhism is derived from.

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    The author is claiming that Buddhism is not founded on any (specific) revelation, not that all 'revelation' is unreliable.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Aug 22, 2023 at 12:35
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    I definitely disagree. You can't make a claim about a specific thing without, well, specifying it. Here the author is saying that whatever the revelation might be, it would be unreliable. Which must be a claim about the nature of revelation itself.
    – Daniel Roseman
    Commented Aug 22, 2023 at 12:53
  • It's pretty clear even from this quote that the author wants to contrast revelation against reasoning based on facts and experience. This contrasts Buddhism with religions based on revelation such as Islam (entirely the revelation to Mohammed), and Christianity and Judaism which have a strong element of revelation. If the author had wanted to establish that Buddhist revelation was reliable and Islamic revelation was not reliable, they would not have expressed themselves that way, and would instead have tried to contrast reliable and unreliable revelations.
    – Stuart F
    Commented Aug 22, 2023 at 13:15
  • +1. "This answer wasn't based on any dubious urban legend but on the information available in authoritative treatises by respected scholars and the reporting of widely respected journalists." That sentence doesn't imply that some urban legends are dubious while others to be taken as factual.
    – TimR
    Commented Aug 22, 2023 at 14:35
  • @DanielRoseman Hi! I upvoted your good answer! I left you a comment on other question and I still wait your reply!
    – Marios Athanasiou
    Commented Nov 4, 2023 at 12:17

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