Regarding Scriptures

This is what Buddhadharma (the guy who brought "Zen" Buddhism to China from India in the 1100s) said about his path:

A special transmission outside the scriptures,

Not founded upon words and letters By pointing directly to [one's] mind,

It lets one see into [one's own true] nature and [thus] attain Buddhahood.

-Buddhadharma-

This is what I believe Jesus did with parables, and also why I believe that he never, ever, interpreted his parables for anyone. I believe that Marcion’s Gospel is fairly accurate in it’s portrayal of Jesus when it recounts him as saying:

The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is announced as good tidings, and every man forces into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, even as the law and the prophets [have passed away], than one tittle of my words to fail.

This too I believe was in line with the path of the desert fathers. Here are some quotes that seem to support the idea:

"One of the monks, called Serapion, sold his book of the Gospels and gave the money to those who were hungry, saying: I have sold the book which told me to sell all that I had and give to the poor."

….

TWO brethren went to an elder who lived alone in Scete. And the first one said: Father, I have learned all of the Old and New Testaments by heart. The elder said to him: You have filled the air with words. The other one said: I have copied out the Old and New Testaments and have them in my cell. And to this one the elder replied: You have filled your window* with parchment. But do you not know Him who said: The kingdom of God is not in words, but in power? And again, Not those who hear the Law will be justified before God but those who carry it out. They asked him, therefore, what was the way of salvation, and he said to them: The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and humility with patience.

*Note: the “window” of the heart.

….

A CERTAIN Philosopher asked St. Anthony: Father, how can you be so happy when you are deprived of the consolation of books? Anthony replied: My book, O philosopher, is the nature of created things, and any time I want to read the words of God, the book is before me.

Any mature person will know that these statements do not nullify the “scriptures”. Scriptures are stepping stones to the farther shore, but they do not go the whole way, they take you out to the deep water while teaching you how to swim or build an ark, if you get out to the middle of what the Sikhs call the “Terrifying World Ocean” and have not become a swimmer, or built/entered an ark, you either turn back or create/adopt artificial stepping stones in the hope that these will carry you across without learning how to either swim, or build and enter an ark. This is why people falsely refer to the “rock” of the scriptures. They believe that they can “arrive” on that further shore by following the scriptures. This is a falsehood and a regression towards immaturity.

I once heard a pastor from the bygone “Vineyard” church movement preach “The scriptures are the menu, it helps you to order, but if you try to eat the menu, it will not turn out well."

I’d say he was onto something there.