BSTC 6079 Early Buddhism

Lecture Notes 2-I

The Middle Theory

G.A. Somaratne
Centre of Buddhist Studies
The University of Hong Kong
2021-22
You will learn
• How does eternalism give rise to self-mortification?

• How does annihilationism give rise to self-indulgence?

• How does the 'middle doctrine' (Dependent Co-arising) give rise to

the ‘middle path’ (= the Noble Eightfold Path)?

• In what sense is early Buddhism an exclusive system of thought?

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Ideological Milieu in early India

Buddha’s
teaching

Annihilationism Eternalism (sassata-

(uccheda-vāda) vāda)

Skepticis
m
(saṁsaya-
vāda)

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 Annihilationism
Eternalism
/ Nihilism

Soul = metaphysical Soul = physical

Nihilism
The soul and the body The soul and the
body = one reality
= two realities
(DN Sutta 2)
The soul survives Nothing survives

No other world.
There is next life No next life
No spontaneously born beings.
No results of good and bad
actions.

Self-mortification Self-indulgence

Actions do not have results.

No point in giving to others.
Doctrine of No path to purity.
Doctrine of
negation, a nihilistic
affirmation
view No Enlightened Beings.
(atthika-vāda)
(natthika-vāda). No cessation of suffering.

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Brāhmaṇism and Śramaṇism:
The two main religious movements of early India
Brāhmaṇism
• The continuation of the Vedic thought
of the Aryans who invaded India
• Represented theism, monism and
orthodoxy
• Priests, the brāhmaṇas (brahmins)
• Advocated a home life; prescribed a
homeless life only after retirement
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Śramaṇism
• The continuation of the non-Vedic
thought of the indigenous people of India
• Represented non-theism, pluralism, and
heterodoxy
• Ascetics, the samaṇas
• Advocated a lifelong homeless life
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Monism of the Upaniṣads, the philosophical texts of Brāhmaṇism
• Ātman (individual soul) and Brahman (universal soul) = one reality (Ātman is indeed Brahman)
• Brahman is the truth of all things; the truth in the truth; the doer of all things; the original soul;
Brahman is Ātman in the heart

• Ātman is infinite and infinitesimal (extremely small), smaller than a grain of rice or wheat or a
poppy seed but is greater than the earth, skies and heaven (Chāndogya II, 14, 3).

• The true knowledge is the realization of this oneness: Ātman is Brahman; gaining this realization
is liberation (mokṣa).

• “If such Ātman is seen, heard, and recognized, all things are known.”
• “Ātman is immanent dominator, is immortal and controls all the existing things from their inside”
(Bṛhad III 17,15).

• “It is that which sees and is not seen, hears and is not heard, thinks and is not thought, recognizes
and is not recognized” (Bṛhad III 7, 23).

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 Upaniṣadic Oneness as depicted in a dialogue
• A conversation between the sage Uddālaka Āruṇi and his
son/disciple Śvetaketu:
• “Fetch me a fig from the banyan tree over there.” “Here it is,
venerable sir.”
• “Cut it open.” “Yes, venerable sir.”
• “What do you see inside?” “These tiny seeds, venerable sir.”
• “Cut open one of them, my son.” “Yes, venerable sir.”
• “What do you see there?” “Nothing at all, venerable sir.”
• “My son, that which you cannot see is the subtle essence of the
tree, and it is from that very essence that this huge banyan tree
grows … In that subtle essence is the being of everything that
exists. That is the Real. That is the Self. Tat tvam asi – that thou
art, Śvetaketu.” [Chāndogya Upaniṣad]
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The samaṇas
Renouncers, ascetics, wanderers

Property-less, celibates

Rejected Brāhmaṇism: the Vedas, Vedic rituals, sacrifices; class and caste system

Held different views; for example, on the Karma idea:

Jains: All actions have karmic results; the past karma could be cancelled by ascetic
practice
Ājīvikas: All actions have karmic results; the past karma could not be cancelled by any
ascetic practice
Buddhists: Only intentional actions have results; the past karmic consequences could be
cancelled by the present practice

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The Buddha rejects three sectarian views, saying
they result in inaction or non-doing (akiriya) [AN.I.173
(3.61)].

Strict determinism All experience is caused by

(pubbekata-hetu-vāda)
Creationism
(Issara-nimmāṇa-vāda)
Indeterminism
(ahetu-appaccaya-vāda)
past actions
All experience is caused by
God’s creative activity
All experience occurs without a
cause or condition

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The Views of Six Samaṇa teachers
• Pūraṇa Kassapa Amoralism He denied any reward or punishment for
either good or bad deeds
• Makkhali Gosāla Fatalism ‘We are powerless; suffering is pre-
destined’
• Ajita Kesakambalī Materialism ‘With death, all is annihilated’

• Pakudha Eternalism ‘Matter, pleasure, pain and the soul are

Kaccāyana eternal and do not interact’
• Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta Restraint ‘Be endowed with, cleansed by and
suffused with the avoidance of all evil’
• Sañjaya Agnosticism/ skeptics doubted views of both eternalism
Belaṭṭhaputta Skepticism and annihilationism
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 Questions subjected to Skepticism
• (1) “Is there a world?”
• (2) “Is there no world beyond?”
• (3) “Is it that there both is and is
not a world beyond?”
• (4) “Is it that there neither is nor is
not a world beyond?”
• (5) “Are there beings who have
taken rebirth?”
• (6) “Are there no beings who have
taken rebirth?”
• (7) “Is it that there both are and
are not beings who have taken
rebirth?”
• (8) “Is it that there neither are nor
are not beings who have taken
rebirth?”
• (9) “Is there fruit and result of
good and bad actions?”
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• (10) “Is there no fruit and result of
good and bad actions?”
• (11) “Is it that there both are and
are not fruit and result of good
and bad actions?”
• (12) “Is it that there neither are
nor are not fruit and result of
good and bad actions?”
• (13) “Does the Tathāgata exist
after death?”
• (14) “Does the Tathāgata not exist
after death?”
• (15) “Does the Tathāgata both
exist and not exist after death?”
• (16) “Does the Tathāgata neither
exist nor not exist after death?”
G.A. Somaratne, Early Buddhism, CBS-HKU
“If you ask me the
question: “Is there a
world beyond?” If I
thought that there
was a world beyond, I
would declare to you
“There is a world
beyond.”
But I do not say “It is
this way,” nor “It is
that way,” nor “It is
otherwise.” I do not
say “It is not so,” nor
do I say “It is not not
so.”
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Emergence of Buddhism

Both the eternalists and the “without entering either of the two
annihilationists are soul-theorists extremes” (ubho ante anupagamma)

Buddha teaches

One craves for continuity of this present One craves for discontinuity of this
mode of life (bhava-taṇhā), when life is present mode of life (vibhava-taṇhā),
pleasurable, and clings to a belief in when life is unpleasurable, and clings to a
eternalism (bhava-diṭṭhi) belief in annihilationism (vibhava-diṭṭhi)

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Bhava-diṭṭhi and vibhava-dṭṭhi
“Monks, there are these two views:
• the view of ‘self’-continuity • the view of ‘self’-discontinuity.

• Those samaṇas (recluses) or • Those samaṇas or brāhmaṇas

brāhmaṇas (priests) who rely on, who rely on, adopt, accept the
adopt, accept the view of ‘self’- view of ‘self’-discontinuity are
continuity are opposed to the opposed to the view of ‘self’-
view of ‘self’-discontinuity. continuity.” [MN I 65 (11.6)].

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Middle Doctrine and Middle Way

The Buddha teaches: The ultimate

Eternalists seek the happiness is to be achieved by
ultimate happiness in ending the subjective configurations
freeing the soul from the (craving, clinging and ignorance)
body, by way of self- that configure suffering, by
mortification, giving pain to practicing the middle path grounded
the body on right view (sammā-diṭṭhi)

Annihilationists prescribe a joyful life

here and now, by way of self-
indulgence, giving pleasure to the
body

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G.A. Somaratne, Early Buddhism, CBS-HKU
 Right View (SN 12.15: Kaccānagotta Sutta)

• “Venerable sir, it is said, ‘right view, right view.’ In what way is

there right view?”

• “This world, Kaccāna, for the most part, depends upon a duality:
‘there is’ (affirmation) (atthitā) and ‘there is not’ (negation)
(natthitā).

• For one who sees the arising of the world as it really is with
correct wisdom, ‘there is not’ in regard to the world does not
occur.

• For one who sees the cessation of the world as it really is with
correct wisdom, ‘there is’ in regard to the world does not occur.
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 Right view (Kaccānagotta Sutta)

• “This world, Kaccāna, is for the most part fettered by

engaging, clinging, and adherence;

• and this individual [with right view] does not engage or

cling to or resolve that engaging and clinging, that mental
resolving, adherence and tendency: ‘my self.’

• It is just suffering that arises, suffering that ceases—about

this he does not hesitate or doubt; his knowledge is not
dependent on others. Thus far … there is right view.”

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 Middle Doctrine (Kaccānagotta Sutta)
• “‘Everything exists’: Kaccāna, this is one extreme. ‘Everything does
not exist’: this is the second extreme.

• Without veering towards either of these extremes, the Tathāgata

teaches the Dhamma by the middle:
• ‘With ignorance as condition, configurations come to be; with
configurations as condition, consciousness…. Such is the origin of this
whole mass of suffering.

• But with the complete fading away and cessation of ignorance comes
cessation of configurations; with the cessation of configurations, cessation
of consciousness …. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering.”

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 Middle Path (SN 56.11: Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta)
• “Monks, these two extremes should not be followed by one who
has gone forth into homelessness. What two?
• The pursuit of the indulgence in sensual pleasures, which is low, vulgar, the
way of the worldlings, ignoble, unbeneficial;

• And the pursuit of self-mortification, which is painful, ignoble, unbeneficial.

• Without veering towards either of these extremes, the Tathāgata

has awakened to the middle way, which gives rise to vision, which
gives rise to knowledge, which leads to peace, to direct knowledge,
to enlightenment, to Nibbāna.

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 Middle way (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta)
• “And what, monks, is that middle way awakened to by the
Tathāgata, which gives rise to vision, which gives rise […] to
Nibbāna?

• It is this Noble Eightfold Path:

• that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right
livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.

• This, monks, is that middle way awakened to by the Tathāgata,

which gives rise to vision, which gives rise […] to Nibbāna.

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 Summary
• The Buddha’s teaching arose as an exclusive system of thought and
practice.

• Its philosophical thought is viewed as the middle doctrine for it

explains things as they really are, without falling into either
eternalism or annihilationism.

• Its praxis is viewed as the middle path for it avoids the two extreme
practices of self-mortification and self-indulgence.

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