Ok, seriously my last response on this:
Your mind is attached to intellection and you’re using the suttas to feed that attachment. Directly seeing, for yourself, is superior to 10000 suttas, and the entire point of the Buddha’s teaching is that you can see for yourself. The suttas are only a guide to that.
I gave up trying to find answers through reading suttas and comparing views. It doesn’t interest me because it doesn’t lead to answers but only leads to getting stuck comparing views and anxiety about “the correct interpretation” and “authoritativeness.” All you’re doing here is feeding your clinging to finding “the right view.” The way out is to stop and just look directly for yourself, which is the perfection of right view. There is no higher view! Why does the stream-enterer have perfect faith? Because they have seen for themselves. And on this issue it’s far easier to see than stream-entry!
On this particular issue, I honestly don’t care (what you think) the suttas say. I honestly don’t care what any tradition says because it’s all just view comparing and interpretation and opinion. I have a “faith” that’s unshakeable because it’s not faith at all: it’s directly seeing. It’s seeing right now or any time I wish. It’s not even mystical, it’s not some great attainment or anything like that. It’s just looking. No sutta, no tradition, no man, woman, child, animal, sword, or hammer can break that.
You do not see, but only because you refuse to look. You’re here to find scholars and texts that confirm some intellectual view you have. I have no use for intellectual views, at least not in this way; only practice bears the fruit of seeing and intellectual views can only be a map, not the territory itself.
You’re treating scriptures the same way Christians do: to find some correct interpretation and thinking you’ll find lasting contentment with that answer. You won’t, and when it still gnaws at you you’ll have to quiet that voice of skepticism with zealotry or more scripture searching, which is what you’re doing.
The promise of the Buddha is you can see for yourself. That’s the best part about this path. You just have to look.