[OccabsLam]

If I remember right, the OP was not asking about how to practice Dhamma. He was talking about the credibility of later texts. Thus, the reply.

Hi again Deshy, I have had a look back at the discussion and hope I am not confusing the matter even more here - my point was that the best way to determine credibility is in how any teaching lines up with practice ... teachings which aren't directly verifiable are of limited value for me - interesting as they are, especially for dialogue and discussion.