Template:PaliCanonSamanaViews
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| The Views of Six Samana in the Pali Canon (based on the Sāmaññaphala Sutta1) |
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| Question: "Is it possible to point out the fruit of the contemplative life, visible in the here and now?"1 |
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| samaṇa | view (diṭṭhi) |
| Pūraṇa Kassapa |
Amoralism: denies 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 Kaccāyana |
Eternalism: Matter, pleasure, pain and the soul are eternal and do not interact. |
| Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta |
Restraint: be endowed with, cleansed by and suffused with the avoidance of all evil.2 |
| Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta |
Agnosticism: "I don't think so. I don't think in that way or otherwise. I don't think not or not not." |
| Notes: | 1. DN 2 (Thanissaro, 1997; Walshe, 1995, pp. 91-109). 2. DN-a (Ñāṇamoli & Bodhi, 1995, pp. 1258-59, n. 585). |
| Please Note: The information in this table is not meant to be historically objective; as its title and text identify, it is meant to convey the representation of these ascetic teachers in the Pali Canon, especially as represented in the Samannaphala Sutta. For a more NPOV description of an identified ascetic teacher, click on the identified teacher's name to read their specific Wikipedia article. |
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Template:PaliCanonSamanaViews summarizes the views (diṭṭhi) of non-Buddhist ascetics (samana) encountered in the Pali Canon, particularly as summarized in the Sāmaññaphala Sutta (DN 2). (Some are encountered elsewhere in the Pali Canon, such as in Upali Sutta [MN 56].)
For historians, Indian philosophers and practitioners of Buddhism, the importance of these views is twofold:
- The Buddha's views were expressed partly in response to these other teachers' views as well as to brahmanic views. (Gethin, 1998, pp. 9-13.)
- Speakers in the Pali Canon at times remind followers to avoid what they perceive to be "wrong views" (Pali: micchā-diṭṭhi) such as those expressed here. (See, for instance, the Brahmajala Sutta and Bhaskar, 1972.)
[edit] Table's references
This table includes two end notes which reference the following sources:
- Ñāṇamoli, Bhikkhu (trans.) and Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed.) (2001). The Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya. Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-072-X.
- Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997). Samaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Contemplative Life (DN 2). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.02.0.than.html.
- Walshe, Maurice O'Connell (trans.) (1995). The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Dīgha Nikāya. Somerville: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-103-3.
In the second end note, the notation "DN-a" refers to the Digha Nikaya's commentary (atthakatha), also known as the Sumangalavilasini. While Ñāṇamoli & Bodhi allude to this commentary, it and the related sub-commentary (tika) can actually be found in Bodhi (2004), pp. 91-2.
[edit] Other references
- Bhaskar, Bhagchandra Jain (1972). Jainism in Buddhist Literature. Alok Prakashan: Nagpur. Available on-line at http://jainfriends.tripod.com/books/jiblcontents.html.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2004). The Discourse on the Fruits of Recluseship: The Sāmaññaphala Sutta and its Commentaries. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society. ISBN 255-24-0045-7.
- Gethin, Rupert (1998). The Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-289223-1.
