How important are the scriptures to Buddhists?

Buddhists do not consider the Tipitaka to be a divine, infallible revelation from a god, every word of which we must believe. Rather, it is a record of the teachings of a great man that offers explanations, advice, guidance and encouragement and which we should read thoughtfully and respectfully. Our aim should be to understand what the Tipitaka teaches, not just believe it and thus what the Buddha says should always be checked against our experience.