Chapter 6

THE BUDDHA’S METHODOLOGY OF TEACHING

1 THE TEACHING METHOD OF THE BUDDHA

We have so far dealt with the reasons for which the Buddha delivered his sermons. Now
it may be worthwhile to examine some of his teaching techniques by which he could
make his teachings available within the grasp of the listeners. To the Buddha, all human
weal and woe depend on knowledge and ignorance; ignorance is the ultimate root of all
evil, and the sole power, which can strike at the root of this evil, is knowledge.
Deliverance is, therefore, above all, knowledge; and the preaching of deliverance, in any
forms, is but the expression of this knowledge, which means the unfolding of a series of
abstract notions and propositions. It is for this, that before delivering a discourse, the
Buddha tried to form an idea of the learning of the persons by putting to them questions
on religious matters or answering the questions that he allowed them to put by himself.
In this way, he used to select a subject most suited to the occasion and agreeable to the
persons making-up the audience and delivered a discourse on that topic Explanations,
examples, similes, parables, fables very often drawn from experience of the daily life
were interspersed with his speeches along with pithy verses to make his arguments
sweet and effective.

In the previous part a detail survey is done regarding the general principles of
teaching a lesson, planning a lesson, organizing teaching material and preparing a lesson
to be introduced to a class. Both psychologists and philosophers are of opinion that
there should be some special methods of teaching and that teachers are required to
master them. Now we will examine in some detail the conceptual frame of a method and
its application to teaching in the light of some early Buddhist texts.

In its precise sense the methods are a part of the teaching process. Indeed, they
are a special way of telling the students of communicating to them a certain body of
knowledge. Since learning is a self-discovery, it is the teacher‟s role to use as many
different methods as are necessary to lead the students to new acquirements.
Sometimes, the art of presentation may assume the form of a lecture, a discussion, a
conversation, a dialogue, a series of questions and answers, a step-by-step analysis or a
riddle similar to a crossword puzzle. Whatever may be the method, the teacher is not
expected to be confined to it alone. Neither is he expected to be a prisoner himself to the
method. The fact is that a method of instruction is only a means to an end and never an
end in itself; if must be flexible, adaptable and creative. It must also be an intelligent
device marked by apprehensible devices and comments, stimulating discussions,
intellectual arguments and penetrating explanations.

From a Buddhist standpoint, teaching methods are not what are created on
purpose; rather they are evolved on their own depending upon teacher‟s mode of
communication. It is a fact that teaching methods are different ways of communication.
Indeed, it is the way of communication that eventually shapes itself into a distinct
method. This is true of many different methods of teaching reflected in early Buddhist
texts. The Buddha never structured them on purpose but they took their particular shape
basically based upon the Buddha‟s way of delivery. We will soon see that each method
of delivery is fine admixture of many features peculiar to one or several of several of
such unconscious trends. In fact, the Buddha was more concerned with the substance
and its clear comprehension than with its rigid format. However, the principles
underlying those methods held out a stimulating guidance to put even the modem
teacher on the right track.

The Buddha used several patterns of exposition. According to existing

evidence, lecturing or a talk in the form of a sermon was one. He utilized this method of
communication for his maiden sermon at Benares. However, the textual evidence
proves beyond any doubt that the Buddha made use of this way of delivery but
sparingly. One notices also several other methods tang up their distinct shapes
according to the mode of his presentation. Sometimes, he used to present a lesson in the
form of a narrative, a dialogue, a puzzle of a stimulating discussion. Not less often did
he resort to use either the step-by-step method or the question and answer method. More
often than not, it is markedly noticeable that the salient features of several methods are
combined in single lesson. This dexterity helped him avoid his audience from being

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bored. On the other hand, changing the attention of his audience for long hours with no
sign of boredom. Let us examine a few examples of these methods with a view to
grasping their application in modem classroom situations.

The use of lecture-type delivery to present a lesson was restricted to the

minimum. Truly, this method of teaching as in most others has its credit as well as debit
points. It is really useful only in certain teaching situations when a body of new
knowledge is required to be communicated to a group of students for the first time. In a
situation of be this nature, There is neither room for discussion nor occasion to rouse
new intellectual horizons through the medium of either questions or comments. Strictly
speaking it is a case of reporting to an eager audience the results of a new discovery
hatched out over a long period of painful experimentation. The best case in point is the
Buddha‟s maiden lesson delivered to the group of five disciples at Benares barely two
months since His enlightenment.1

This lesson (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta) contains all the typical features

of self-graded lecture. It is closely packed with apt reasoning and brilliant imagery. It
has a beginning, middle and an end and a complete well-balanced internal structure.
Surely, the lesson appealed to the logical minds although the results were not hundred
percent successful. Only one out of those five pupils2 could comprehend it is full.

The internal structure of this lesson was centered on four cardinal concepts -
namely (i) Two extremes (dve-antā), (ii) The middle Path (Majjhimāpaṭipadā), (iii) The
noble truths (cattāriariyasaccāni) and (iv), the noble path (Ariyamaggo).3

Unlike the more fortunate modem teacher, the Buddha had neither audio-visual
aids nor writing material to prepare notes of lessons. He did not have even a black board
to illustrate his points. Seated under a tree in open air, the Buddha had to teach a group
of unwilling students who but little respect towards him. Thus, his teaching kit consisted
of His deep knowledge of the subject, penetrative intellectual ability, a logical mind,
wonderful self-confidence and enormous compassion towards humanity

The internal structure of his maiden lesson remains an incomparable monument

to prove not only his peerless memory power but also his unfathomable intellectual
capacity for organized mental activities. In his mind, he had so well organized such a

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difficult lesson centered upon only four large concepts as referred to above. The lesson
glided forth in its most logical from the Buddha‟s lips spell-binding his audience with
ever-increasing interest. There is still other internal evidence to count as to why his
maiden lecture proved so successful.

Now and again, he used to change his pattern of delivery resorting to the most
effective methods of communication. For instance, it was customary for him to
introduce a large concept straightaway as in a formal lecture.4 Then he gradually moved
on to the business of analyzing it using the most appropriate method. In this case, he
made use of step-by-step method of analysis. Let us see how effectively he used this
method to explain such a wide concept.

 The addiction to sense-pleasure is law – Kāmesu-kāmasukhallikānuyogohīno.

 The addiction to sense-pleasure is common – Kāmesu-
kāmasukhallikānuyogogammo.
 The addiction to sense-pleasure is ordinary –
Kāmesukāmasukhallikānuyogopothujjaniko.
 The addiction to sense-pleasure is ignoble – Kāmesu-
kāmasukhallikānuyogoanariyo.
 The addiction to sense-pleasure is profitless –
Kāmesukāmasukhallikānuyogoanatthasamhito.5

The Buddha adopted the same method of analysis to explain the other major
parallel concepts, i.e., Attakilamathānuyogo, the addiction to severe bodily torment.
This method was more cryptic but the effect was enormous.

 The addiction to self-torment is painful – Attakilamathānuyogodukkho.

 The addiction to self-torment is ignoble – Attakilamathānuyogoanariyo.
 The addiction to self-torment is profitless –
Attakilamathānuyogoanatthasamhito.6

Sometimes, a lecture is seen interspersed with some apt questions. However,

there is no room for students either to question or comment. Their role is to listen and
comprehend what underlies each concept. Internal evidence makes it abundantly clear
that lecturing as a method of teaching was used by the Buddha very rarely. That too was

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only when he had to introduce a body of new concepts unknown arid unheard before. In
a lesson of that nature, there was hardly any practical need for students to question their
teacher. Instead, their silence stood them in good stead to comprehend an uninterrupted
flow of thoughts in its compactness. Usually in a lecture, it was customary for the
Buddha to pose a few enlightening questions relevant to the subject under discussion
and provide the answer himself so as to drive home a point. This pattern of analysis
facilitated learning much more readily and more effectively. His maiden sermon
provides the best model to illustrate this point. The Buddha was indeed quick to grasp
the most appropriate context in which to interject an apt self-explanatory question.

 “What, monks, is this Middle Course fully awakened by the Truth-Finder?”7

It is indeed interesting to note the manner in which abstract concepts, is made

simple adding more meaning gradually to the major subject under discussion.

In a lecture, it is essential to define each new term as it comes up, for the
purpose of clarity. What follows is an inspiring example for such a definition.

 “This Middle Path makes for vision, makes for knowledge. Leads to inner-
peace, super-knowledge, to awakening and to Nibbāna.”8

Sometimes, a concept stands as a center of a cluster of other concepts that adds

new dimensions to the major one. In a sermon, it is necessary to introduce all such
minor concepts in their logical order. To fulfill such an onerous academic responsibility,
a teacher should, above all, have an exceptionally strong memory power. Besides, he
should possess an infallible logical mind. Such a great teacher is the Buddha. We cannot
find a better example than the most resourceful analysis of the Noble Path itself.

It is this Aryan Eight-fold way itself, that is to say: right view, right thought,
right speech, right action, right mode of living, right endeavour, right mindfulness and
right concentration.9

A lecture in the hands of the Buddha sometimes takes the form of an in

inspiring narrative. There are many examples to show how effective teaching could turn
out when the material is presented in a narrative form. The following is an excerpt from

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the discourse on the Aryan quest, which the Buddha related to his disciples. This is one
of the best examples of a lecture in the form of a narrative.

“Then I, Monks, after a time, being young, my hair coal black, possessed of radiant
youth, in prime of my life, although my unwilling elders including my father wept and
wailed, having cut off my hair and beard, having put on yellow robes went forth home
into homelessness. I, having gone forth thus, a quester for whatever is good, searching
for incomparable, matchless path to peace, approached Ālāra, the Kalāma, and having
approached, I spoke thus to Ālāra, the Kalāma.

I, revered Kalāma, want to fare the Brahma-faring in the Dhamma and discipline. Let
the Venerable One proceed with this Dhamma through which an intelligent man
having soon realized super knowledge for himself, being his own teacher, may enter
on and abide in it.”10

A lecture turned into a narrative contains several interesting features. First,

these is an attentive audience but none of them speaks a word. Rather they are silent,
listening to the teacher. Here in this case, the Buddha did all the talking as in a
monologue while those five disciples kept listening to him with undivided attention. In
order to drive home a specific point, the Buddha himself posed some relevant questions.
Also he himself offered the most analytical answers to them. In this manner, the mode
of explanation took the form of an interesting solo-monologue. This pattern of analysis
and expression had their dramatic effect on the audience, in leading them gradually to
the goal of true knowledge. Venerable Kondañña before all others grasped the message
in full and became the first ever Stream-Winner (Sotāpanna).

The narrative method proved most effective to kindle flashes of interest when
analyzing a subtle subject involving many abstract concepts. Even to introduce some
heavy facts of historical and anthropological significance, the narrative method appears
to have been most effective. The origins and the development as well as decline and
decadence of Brahmanical culture can be most effectively traced to a group of
Brahmins in a narrative passages from Brāhmanadhammika Sutta, suggest how best the
narrative method can be used for teaching a loaded lesson even to a mixed group of
followers.

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 The Buddha taught for forty-five years since his enlightenment. As we noted
earlier, he taught people belonging to different walks of life. He, therefore, had to use a
great variety of teaching devices to make his efforts success. These various approaches
are portrayed in his early lessons and utterances. They can be taken for granted as living
examples of a system of teaching evolved over a long period of time. It is not out of to
examine a few of those methods mainly with a view to revealing their pragmatic
importance to present day teachers.

In this medley of Buddha‟s teaching devices the Dialogue Method stands out
unique. First, it appears to be quite uncommon amongst modem methods of teaching,
although its effectiveness can hardly be ignored. Second, there is a consensus of opinion
among educationists that the Dialogue Method is of „Platonic‟ origin. Nonetheless,
many early Buddhist textual references lead us to think that its origin is safely traceable
to Buddhist sources. Third, the Dialogue Method is said to have given rise to a
particular pattern of teaching as well as preaching, especially popular among the
Bikkhus in Sri Lanka. It is generally known as YugāsanaDhammadesanā or a sermon by
a pair of monks. The peculiar characteristics of this particular form of expression or
exposition is that one Bhikkhu recites a line or a verse from the texts, the other monk
interprets the content of it in simple language in detail. The other peculiarity associated
with this mode of preaching is that both the text and its interpretation are communicated
in a melodious rhythmical verse from.

Of the many examples scattered over in the Pāli Canon, Dhaniya Sutta
provides the best model for the reader to have a glimpse into the content and the
implications of the Dialogue Method. Its format is constructed in such a way as to
awaken interest and experience in the student at two distinct levels of perception, i.e.,
secular and transcendental.

In Buddhist sources the dialogue method is seen used in a variety of ways as a

device for teaching. Its effectiveness lies in its adaptability to many different teaching
situations. More precisely stated, the Dialogue Method can be used as an effective way
of training the students in the art of creative conversation. In it, there is more for speech
practice than in most other methods. Does not it hold out promise or perhaps even
intelligent guidance to modem language teachers? Could not modern media men draw
on it?
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 The textual reference suggests that it was the dialogue method that was much
sought after when discussing points of controversy and matters leading to hair-splitting
debates. As a peerless liberal, the Buddha was always ready to listen to the views of his
opponents. For this purpose the dialogue method was the best form of communication.
It afforded both parties the best opportunity for shared experience in an intellectual
discussion. More often than not, in an intellectually enriching encounter, not only did
the Buddha allow his adversary to initiate the discussion, but also talk as much as he
would desire, however, keeping to the postulated premise. The dialogue between the
Buddha and Brāhmin Assalāyana is one of the masterpieces one can ever find in any
literature. The Dialogue centered on the age-old debate on the superiority of the
Brahmin caste.

It is mentioned above that the dialogue method is noted for its flexibility and
adaptability to suit varying situations. In order to avert boredom and monotony, the
greatest snag to any intellectual repast, it was customary for the participants to center
their discussion on an inspiring proposition. The Dialogue Method of teaching is
extraordinarily stimulating, inspiring and intellectually rewarding. Even without
crowding a lesson with a great deal of audio-visual aids, a clever teacher finds it
surprisingly easier to keep up students‟ motivation at a higher pitch.

The trend of reasoning characteristic of a dialogue moved on in different

frontiers of knowledge forcing the opponent complies with what is true. Indeed a good
teacher is a midwife who delivers a thought. In fact, the human mind is full of
intellectual and moral potential but it needs plodding to achieve desirable fruits.

Plato lived in Athens about a century later than the Buddha (500 B.C.,). he too
was noted for using dialogues as an effective device for teaching philosophy. He had
written not less than twenty-six dialogues and each of them is used to communicate a
body of knowledge on how to live a good life. One may perhaps notice the striking
similarity between the Buddhist and the Platonic dialogues.

In the Buddhist view, the teacher is a creator of new frontiers of knowledge, a

discoverer of unknown paths of knowledge and a revealer of the unrevealed
knowledge.11 Thus it is suggestive that teaching is a process of guiding the students to
discover for themselves the treasurers of new knowledge. It is wonderful as an

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experience akin to the discovery of a hidden treasure. Perhaps it may be even more. For,
there is hardly any other thing that is as thrilling as that of self-discovered knowledge.
Legend has it that Archimedes discovered the principle of buoyancy when he noted
water spilling over the sides of his bath as he entered it in order to have a dip. It is said
that the moment he saw it he cried out „Eureka‟ – I discovered it – in joy and started
running into a street naked.

Indeed every method of teaching must therefore be a key that opens the doors
to a new World of knowledge and experience. In this aspect, the Buddha‟s methods of
teaching are supreme for their specific goal is self-discovery of knowledge. Variety and
vividness implicit in his approaches kept the disciples spurred on in search of new
knowledge and experience. The record had it that the Buddha applied the Discovery
Method with remarkable success even to those students who were condemned by indept
teachers as incapable of any leaning. The story of Culapanthaka is an interesting
instance in this .case. The Buddha admonished the frustrated Culapanthaka to keep
rubbing a piece of white cloth while uttering these words; „I remove dust‟. Before long,
the boy noticed the visible change in the piece of cloth. So he discovered the truth foe
himself and reached the dizzy heights of self-realization. Finally it sounds wonderful the
way Bahiya Darucmya, the wandering ascetic was guided to experience what is real.
The Buddha was going from house to house along the street of Savatthi for alms-food.
Bahiya Darucreiya met the Buddha finished his meal. He kept on insisting the Buddha
to preach to him while walking behind.

The Blessed One know what was in store for Darucmya. While walking along
the street. The Buddha taught him the proper method of regarding all sense experience,
as experiences and not more. Even as he listened, Bahiya became an Arahant and the
Buddha left him. A properly motivated student needs but little guidance from a teacher.
Indeed, much that is individually rewarding stems from one‟s own diligent efforts.

Thus, it is abundantly clear that learning means self-discovery of knowledge.

Discovering knowledge in other words in similar to an act of unearthing a hidden
treasure. Both need guidance and unflagging motivation, dedication and responsibility
to bear desirable results.

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 The incomparable teacher that he was, the Buddha had a repertoire of effective
devices to help his disciples discover true knowledge. He took individual personality
traits into serious consideration when leading his disciples to the goal of self-discovery.
His methods of self-discovery are many and varied according to the early Buddhist
texts.

Any discovery worth its name has resulted from human curiosity. Curiosity is a
certain tendency to explore, to investigate or to seek knowledge. Curiosity is regarded
by some psychologists as one of the primary drives along with sex, hunger, thirst, etc.12
experiments have amply revealed13 that learning takes place more effectively only when
the students are properly motivated. By motivation we mean channeling human
behavior towards a specific goal. The mind, it is said, remains motivated on a target for
some length of time only when it is energized by curiosity. The methods of teaching
therefore, need be adopted to tap this psychological nature to its best use. The Buddha
had several devices to help his disciple to discover knowledge. Let us examine a few of
them in some detail.

Very often, the conceptual frame of lesson took the form of a puzzle
(gūlhapañho). The lesson, modeled as a riddle, has the power to rouse more curiosity in
pupils since it is a strong drive. Thus, the disciples become inclined to look beyond the
literary meaning of what is presented. The constant practice of looking beyond makes
the mind sharper. It also increases the power of reasoning. We notice in Buddhist texts,
lessons modeled in the form of propositions containing clear-cut puzzles. Sometimes a
puzzle in used to summarize several big concepts of doctrinal importance.

“Tangles within, tangles without,

Mankind is tangled in tangles
Pray, Gotama tell us
Who disentangles these tangles?
A wise man sets himself up in virtue,
Develops concentration and wisdom,
Becoming an ardent and sagacious monk,
He disentangles these tangles.
He who removes
Thirst, anger and ignorance.
Arahant, the cankerless on,
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 Disentangles these tangles.”14

In this lesson presented as a puzzle, the emphasis is laid on a single concept

namely „Jaṭā‟. Literally „Jaṭā‟ means knots, hence it depicts the idea of problems. More
precisely, problems of mankind, man‟s problems, big and small all stem from his own
craving (taṇha) or desire. It ensnares him as in a net. The commentary defines „Jaṭā‟ as
a net of craving15 into which he falls himself both within and without. In other words,
man, becomes greedy of not only forms, feelings, perceptions, mental activities and
ideas, but also thirsts after what belongs to others. In this way, whole mankind is
entangled in tangles. In more precise terms, man‟s problems, ideological, cultural and
economic stem from the watershed of his own covetousness (taṇhā). The lesson
gradually directs the disciple‟s mind to discover his own remedy. Crush out desire by
intelligent behavior, there can hardly be any problem for mankind.

Teaching to discover by means of puzzles is not a device quite familiar to

western pedagogies. In fact, it is something peculiar to the eastern literary heritage.
More precisely, the use of puzzles as lesson modules‟ appears to have been one of the
commonest in the Buddha‟s art of teaching. First, it proved an effective method of
drawing attention to a lesson. Second, it enthused the disciples to learn even a dull
lesson without any sign of boredom. Third, it made learning a joyous experience.

„The puzzle lesson modules‟ are sometimes constructed as a series of

questions. Each such question contained a great deal of matter to explain the knotty
problems of man and his life on earth. Most of these lesson modules were set out in
such a way to drive home matters of pragmatic importance. Moreover, they were most
effective in holding the disciples would have been useful memory aids to the earnest
students of spiritual quest. Indeed, retention of what has been learnt was one of the
essential characteristics of ancient Indian Education.

„The puzzle module‟ appears to have been an effective tool of analysis for
revealing hidden meanings of „even popular concepts‟. Sometimes, this process of
analysis centers round a single wide concept. The aim had been to dig out what was
really known. Even the concepts impregnated with philosophical ideas are seen in the
puzzle-type of lesson modules.

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 The art of using the puzzle model lesson appeared to have been very common
even during the post-canonical period. Of the many examples, one might come across,
those scattered in the Dhammapadaṭṭhakathā are stimulating. It may be intellectually
rewarding to have them all pooled, in a single treatise. It is not possible to do so here.
Lest us, however, glance over at least one example to realize how effective teaching
aids they are.

The story of the Weaver‟s daughter is a interesting case. She was on her way to
her father‟s workshop located in the town let called „Alavi‟. The fact that she had been
for sometimes a devoted student of Buddhism, made her listen to the Buddha for a short
while on the way. The dialogue that ensued between the Buddha and the Weaver‟s
daughter turned out to be a masterpiece of effective teaching. It sounded a great puzzle
to many in the assembly. The girl however, proofed her mettle by answering them all
with remarkable success.

“The Master: “Whence did you come, young girl?”

The Weaver‟s daughter: “Venerable Sir, I don‟t know.”
The Master: “Where will you go, young girl?”
The Weaver‟s daughter: “I don‟t know it either, Venerable Sir.”
The Master: “Don‟t you know?”
The Weaver‟s daughter: “I know it, Sir.”
The Master: “Do you know?”
The Weaver‟s daughter: “I don‟t know it, Venerable Sir.”16”

The record has it that the assembly turned a little suspicious about what ensued
between the two. The analysis, however, proved that those questions centered on deep
philosophical points of much pragmatic value. What is implicit in those questions are
brought out below:

 “Step i: “Where were you until you were born her?”

 Step ii: “Where will you be born after death?”
 Step iii: “Venerable Sir, I know I will die one day.”
 Step iv: “Venerable Sir, I know I will die one day, yet I know not when?”17”

It is also noteworthy that there is a great deal of lesson modules constructed

with thought provoking similes. These lesson out-lines are mostly found in early

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Buddhist texts. Evidently, the use of similes of many different kinds to expound subtle
points of Dhamma had been a popular device in Indian Education. More particularly the
Buddha had used plenty of similes more flexibly. This endorses the Buddha‟s peerless
competence as a great teacher. In fact, this was not surprising because the Buddha was
in constant dialogue with nature and man. He shared his experience with nature and
man as long as his life lasted since his enlightenment. It was this deep empathy that
mingled spontaneously with his utterances. His way of teaching turned into a great art
because of his deep sensitivity with nature, man and his nurture.

Lastly it can be said that in propagating his religion, the Buddha adopted
various methodological approach for teaching and learning. Which may be summarized
as follows:

1. 1 The Gradual Teaching Method

One of the features of the Buddha‟s teaching is that it is a course of gradual learning,
gradual training, and gradual improvement. He pointed out that profound knowledge
(truth) does not come to man straightaway, but it comes by a gradual training, a gradual
doing, and a gradual course.18 “Pahārāda, just as the mighty ocean slopes away
gradually, falls away gradually, shelves away gradually, with no abruptness like a
precipice; even so in this discipline of Dhamma there is a gradual training, a gradual
practice, a gradual mode of progress, with no abruptness, such as a penetration of
gnosis.19 From this point of view, he has suggested the solution that anyone who wants
to search for truth should firstly examine the master to ascertain whether or not he is
worthy to be in association with. If after examining he knows that the master is
deserving of being worthy then he should take count of him. This method consists of the
following steps:20

(1) examination,
(2) faith,
(3) drawing close,
(4) sitting down nearby,
(5) lending ear,
(6) hearing dhamma,
(7) remembering dhamma,

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 (8) testing the meaning of things,
(9) approval of things,
(10) desire,
(11) effort,
(12) weighing,
(13) striving.

According to the Buddha, the thirteen steps of free inquiry are absolutely
necessary for the realization of truth and each step is of much service in the attainment
of the other.21 As a result, most of his teachings were presented in a graduated form.

There is no doubt that this method of teaching was completely essential for
those who were for the first time in touch with his doctrine. Often the Buddha‟s
preaching was successful in making converts. To those who were in secular state, he
habitually gave his teaching, which consists of mentioning first such readily
comprehensible matters as the almsgiving, ethical rules, heavenly worlds, and the
insecurity of sense-pleasures. “When the Blessed One saw that the mind of such and
such person was prepared, impressible, free from obstacles, elated, and believing, then
he preached what is the principal doctrine of the Buddhas, namely, Suffering, the Cause
of suffering, the Cessation of suffering, the Path.” In so many cases as we could witness
in the Pāli texts, this pedagogical method of teaching proved an immediate success with
those who for the first time listened to his teachings.

While in the case of the laity, the social and family moral instructions were
given in a graduated order, in the case of monks the same method was applied but to
lighten and promote the threefold training: the higher morals (adhi-sīla), the higher
mind (adhi-citta), and the higher insight (adhi-paññā).

Brāhmana, even as a skilled trainer of horses, having taken on a beautiful

thoroughbred, first of all gets it used to the training in respect of wearing the bit, then
gets it used to further training, even so, brahman, the Tathāgata, having taken on a man
to be tamed, first of all disciplines him thus. Come you, monk, be of moral habit, live
controlled by the control of the Obligations, endowed with right behavior and pasture,
seeing peril in the slightest faults and, undertaking them, training yourself in the rules of
training. As soon, Brāhmana, as the monks is of moral habit, controlled by the control

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of the Obligations, endowed with right behavior and pasture I seeing peril in the
slightest faults and undertaking them trains himself in the rules of training, the
Tathāgata disciplines him further, saying: Come you monk, be guarded as to the doors
of the sense-organs.22

Mahāassapurasutta of the Majjhima Nikāya provides us with a full list

referring to his formal programmer of training monks according to the tamed stages, as
follows:23

i. The training of oneself in higher morality or the practice of Sīla:

 A way of life endowed with modesty and fear of blame.

 Purification of body, speech and thought.
 Purification of livelihood.
 Protecting the sense-organs from the invasion of the external objects.
 Moderation in eating.
 Intention on vigilance by cleansing the mind from obstructive mental objects.
 Mindfulness and clear consciousness in actions.

ii. The training of oneself in higher thought or the exercise of Samādhi

 Choice of a quiet and comfortable place for the practice of meditation.

 Getting rid of five hindrances, coverty, ill-will, sloth and torpor, restlessness
and worry, doubt, which are impurities of mind and weakening to intuitive
wisdom.
 Entering on and abiding in the first meditation (pathamajjhāna) by giving up
pleasures of the senses and unskilled states of mind.
 Entering on and abiding in the second meditation (dutiyajjhāna) by allaying
initial and discursive thought.
 Entering on and abiding in the third meditation (tatiyajjhāna) by fading out of
rapture and dwelling with equanimity.
 Entering on and abiding in the fourth meditation (cattuthajjhāna) by getting rid
of anguish and joy and by going down former pleasures and sorrow.

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 iii. The training of oneself in higher insight or the development of Paññā

 Directing mind to the knowledge of one's former habitations.

 Directing mind to the knowledge of other beings‟ arising and passing away.
 Directing mind to the knowledge of the Four Noble Truths and of the complete
destruction of cankers (āsavas).

For imparting instruction to beginners, the Buddha, utilizing a psychological

principal was very careful to take into consideration their particular background and
peach to profound, detailed principles of the subject all at once as that would keep them
away. It was the more elementary doctrine that was imparted to them at first. Those who
intended to follow his teachings were urged to accept at first the tenets of practices that
were suitable to their aptitudes, tendencies and interests, and then more profound
doctrines were placed before them by stages. In this its rewards awaiting those lead a
life of earthly purpose here below; and as soon as he knew that his hearers were fit to
something deeper and higher, he proceeded to instruct him in the higher doctrine the
Four Noble Truths, and so forth.24

Even in teaching the Four Noble Truths, he proceeded in stages, from the
concrete to the abstract principle, from effect to cause, i.e. from the phenomenal
element suffering as the obvious, to its causes, its cessation and the ways leading to
cessation. This approach shows the Buddha‟s attitude: “I do not maintain that
attainment of profound knowledge comes straightway; on the contrary, it comes gradual
learning, practice and progressive operation.”25

1. 2 The Adaptation Teaching Method

The present situation and circumstance where also used by the Buddha to impart ideals
to people. In order to gain over the hearers or the opponents to his view point Buddha
made use of a style which T.W. Rhys Davids characterized as „pouring the new wine
into the old bottles‟.26

This consists in the Buddha‟s giving a new meaning to words that were already
current. He adapted traditional ideas and practices and adjusted his sermons to such
temperaments of his hearers, a method that came to be known as „upāya-kosallaya‟, i.e.,

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the skilful policy (expedient means) of converting people27 by which is meant that the
Buddha possessed as one of his intellectual faculties the ability to comprehend the
dispositions or tendencies of his fellow men (nānādhimuttikathā).28 Here he claimed to
know „Brahma-God‟ and also preached „the path leading to companionship with
„Brahma-God‟, by cultivating „Brahamavihāradhamma‟, i.e. the four virtues of
Excellent Abiding.29 To mention another example, he also gave a brahmin the
instruction in the „ritualistic tenet‟ of washing away the sin. Instead of going into the
river and washing it away by bathing, the latter was advised to take a bath in spiritual
culture by harming no living being, etc.30

1. 3 The Concise and Detailed Teaching Method

Another traditional form of his imparting the dhamma was that of brief and detailed
teaching. Frequently, the Master preached the Dhamma in full but sometimes he gave his
instructions in brief. Occasionally, he merely mentioned a certain matter in summary and
then one of his chief disciples elaborated it. There are among the Pāli texts some discourses
that were lectured in this form.31 Let us take the case of theUddesavibhangasutta recorded
in the Majjhima Nikāya. In this discourse, the Buddha appeared in the first episode of the
dialogue as an inspirer with his brief teachings on spiritual advances and in the last as a
master of the judgment on the exegetic skill of the disciple who correctly elaborated his
short words, while the middle episode of the discourse was undertaken by Venerable
Mahākaccāna. There were some reasons for which the Master could decide on his teaching
in this way. Firstly, his education was given to various types of monk-disciples. Buddhist
sacred texts formally distinguish two kinds of monks, the learners (sekhā) and the masters
(asekhā). The former implies the monks whose learning has not yet completed, while the
latter pertains to the monks who have reached the ultimate goal of Buddhist education. Of
the two, his teaching of course was vitally given to the former.32 Thus, the difference of the
knowledge concerning Dhamma between the two categories of monk was the reason of his
diverse instructions. As to the asekhā or arahantas his exhortation could be given in
summary, but as to the sekhā his teaching required detailed elucidation. Again, among the
monks who were learners, there were different levels of insight. Some of them were
completely inexperienced monks or novices; others could attain the insight of the
sotapannā, of the sakadagāmi, or of the anāgāmi. The Pāli textual documents refer to some
monks who after having lived in community for a time and fully taken possession of the

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fundamental teachings of the Master determined to shape their lives in solitude for spiritual
striving. Traditionally, prior to their departure, these monks came to the Buddha and
requested him to exhort them. “Well for me, lord, if the exalted One would teach me a
doctrine in a few words, so that hearing the doctrine of the Exalted One I might dwell
solitary, secluded, zealous, ardent and aspiring.” It is reported in the texts that these monks
– perhaps the anāgāmi – after having heard the brief words of the Master, after having
dwelt solitary, secluded, zealous, ardent and aspiring, in no long time attained the final goal
of the righteous life.33 From this, it can be said that the anāgāmi were well – versed in the
Buddhadhamma and therefore his instructions to them could be simpler than that to the
sakadagāmī or to the sotapannā. Besides, this method of brief teaching can be understood
as his preparation for the lasting aim of education. The propagation of Dhamma for the
welfare and happiness of human beings is the meritorious task of all Buddhist monks. By
bringing up the main points of a question and letting his eminent disciples clear them up, he
in fact gave them the opportunities to sermonize so that they could be able to proclaim
themselves in the domain of teaching.

By the expression „illustrative approach‟ is meant the use of analogy, simile,

parallel (upama), the use of fable and story drawn from ordinary life, in the Buddha‟s
speeches along with beautiful verses in order to make them sweet,, effective and attractive.
It is often said in the text: „I will give you an analogy, for by means of analogy some people
of intelligence understand the meaning of what is said‟34 and „a simile is employed in order
to make the sense of a teacher clear.‟35

Thus, to teach the meaning of the „Middle Way‟ (Majjhimāpatipadā) to Venerable

Sona Kolivisa who was an expert in playing the lute in his earlier life Buddha made use of
the analogy of playing the lute and observed that „only when lute‟ strings were neither
overstrung nor overtaxed, it was tuneful and plays. Similarly, The analogy of „lust, hatred
and delusion (rāga, dosa, moha) with flames (aggi) was used to instruct the three brothers
Jatilas, who, as the Buddha beforehand, believed in „the First worship‟. He stated:
“Everything is in flames; the eye, etc. are all in fiery flames. By the fiery flames of lust, of
hatred, of delusion by which all are kindled, produce and kindle the further fires of birth.36
Here and there in the Pāli Canon, especially in the Jātakas, the Buddha reported to teach his
disciples by the use of fables and stories, and he added at that of every instruction the moral
the fable illustrated.

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 1. 4 The Illustration as a Teaching Method

We now come to another method of teaching, which C. A. F.Rhys Davids considered as

a very prominent feature in the Suttas,37 the method parable and simile use. The
Buddha‟s work of preaching connects closely with the living facts and events drawn
from life. “The operation of man as well as the life of nature are the fields of
observation, with which the similes for spiritual life and effort, for deliverance, and the
company of the delivered, deal.”38 According to H. W. Schumann, the Buddha‟s images
reflects the subtropical world. “More than eight hundred similes have been counted in
the Pāli Canon, drawn from all spheres of Indian life and from nature. We see the
goldsmith at work, and the ivory-carver, the arrow- maker and the potter; the butcher
cuts up the cow, the merchant manipulates the scales slightly to his advantage – there
was no occupation he did not draw on for a parable. He likewise drew images from
nature: the lion and the elephant; the nervous greed of the monkey, the gracious shyness
of the gazelle, the cunning of the crocodile - all these are referred to as well as the world
of plants: lotus and banyan, mango and palm.39

It is seen that whereas the analytical method which uses terms to interpret
terms and which becomes very marked in the Abhidhamma Piṭaka seems to be
appropriate only for those who have been „skilled in the Dhamma‟, the method of
preaching illustrated by parable and simile serves the purpose of majority. Aecordmg to
G. C. Pande, this method fits in with the non-learned character of much of his audience
the inspired and original character of his message and the state of literary development
in his time.40 Indeed, remarks Rhys Davids, the method of teaching of the Buddha
includes also attracting the attention of his audience and convincing it by
parables. A parable is certainly not an argumentation, but the mind and even the
intellect is more effectively influenced by a parable than a thousand arguments. The
Buddha was well versed in the art of dressing his talks with number of parables and his
disciples followed him in this regard.41

The above observation of the former president of the Pāli Text Society is
utterly sensible in the case of the Pāli literature in general and especially in that of the
Pāli Sutta Piṭaka in particular. For their originality, the parables used in the Pāli suttas
show their original creativeness in comparison with those that are automatically applied
in the Milindapañha, one of the Pāli post-canonical works. The abundance of the
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parables and metaphors found in the suttas together with the concrete occasions on
which they were put to use prove the inventiveness of the Master and his first disciples
in the field of teaching. According to Richard F. Gombrich, the Buddha had a simple,
urgent message to convey, and was ingenious in finding ever new terms and analogies
by which to convey it. Therefore, the suttas are full of his inventiveness.42 Whenever it
was possible, the Buddha applied his common knowledge to popular talks so that it
could make the listeners grasp his ideas. The making use of the mass language and
concept to communicate religious thoughts was the typical in his way of teaching. Of
whom he was talking to as well as of which language and concept he should use in his
conversations the Buddha was clearly conscious. He is said to have used thus words to
talk to Kasibhāradvāja, the Brāhmana farmer he met in the rice-tield:

Faith is the seed, and the rain the discipline. Insight for me is plough fitted with
yoke, my pole is conscience and sense-mind the tie, and mindfulness my ploughshare
and my goad. Such is the ploughing that is ploughed by me. The fruit it bears is food
ambrosial. Whoso ploughing hath accomplished, he from suffering and from sorrow is
set free.43

To him who is in secular state, the figure of house is so familiar and dear that
nobody makes up his mind to its dilapidated situation. It is in this sense that the parable
of house was brought out to illustrate his teaching about the advantage of mind
safeguard.

Householder, just as when a peaked house is unthatched the peak is not

protected, the roof-beams are not protected, the wall is not protected. The peak, roof-
beams and wall are saturated, they are rotten. Just so when thought is unguarded, bodily
action also is unguarded, speech and mental actions also are unguarded. In him whose
bodily action, speech and mental action are unguarded they are saturated with lust.
When these are thus saturated with lust they are rotten. When they are rotten one's death
is not auspicious, one has no happy ending. But, householder, when thought is guarded,
bodily action is guarded... Just as when a peaked house is well thatched, the peak, roof-
beams and wall are protected, they are not saturated, they are not rotten; even so, when
thought is guarded, bodily action is also guarded, speech and mental actions also are
guarded. In him whose bodily action, speech and mental actions are guarded they are

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not saturated with lust. When that is so they are not rotten. When they are not rotten
one's death is auspicious, he has a happy ending.44

In his discussions with persons of upper class, the utilized parables and similes
show his skill in the art of expression. When asked by Prince Abhaya whether the
Tathāgata had already arranged answers to give in case somebody would approach him
and ask him about this or that matter, the Buddha gave his reply in this way:

What do you thing about this, Prince? Are you skilled in the various parts of a
chariot? – Yes, Lord, I am skilled in the various parts of a parts of a chariot. – What do
you thing about this, Prince? If those who a proached you should ask thus: „What is the
name of this particular part of the chariot? Would you have already reflected on this in
your mind, thinking: „If those who approached me should ask thus, then I will answer
them thus,‟ or would the answer occur to you immediately? – Because, Lord, I am
renowned charioteer, skilled in the various parts of a chariot, all the particular parts of a
chariot are fully known to me, so the answer would occur to me immediately. – Even
so, Prince, because of his full penetration of the constitution of dhamma
(dhammadhātu) the answer occurs to the Tathāgata immediately, if those who are
learned nobles, learned brahmans and learned householders and learned recluses
approach the Tathāgata and ask him a question.45

Sometimes, the Buddha said this to monks: I shall show you, monks, a parable
by which many a wise man may perceive the meaning of what is being said. Just as,
monks, the peasant who hopes for good harvests must plough his fields first, then sow
the seed and then irrigate. He has no power or authority to say: the grain shall swell to
day, tomorrow it shall germinate, next day it shall ripen, but he must wait until the
proper time comes and brings growth and ripeness of his corn. Even so, the monk who
searches for deliverance must train himself in the higher morality, in the higher thought,
in the higher insight. He has no power to say: today or tomorrow or the day following
shall my mind be released from impurities, but he must wait until his time comes for
deliverance to be vouchsafed to him.46

For the determined realization of Nibbāna of any ariyan disciple who makes
his right effort on the way to it, this simile is employed:

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 Brethren, do you see yonder great log being carried down Ganges stream? –
Yes, Lord. – Now, brethren, if the log does not ground on this bank or the further bank,
does not sink in mid-stream, does not stick fast on a shoal, does not fall into human or
non-human hands, is not caught in a whirlpool, does not rot inwardly, that log, brethren,
will float down to ocean, will slide down to ocean, will tend towards ocean. And why?
Because, brethren, Ganges‟ stream floats down to ocean, slides down to ocean, tends
towards ocean. In like manner, brethren, if ye do not ground on this shore or that shore,
if ye sink not in mid-stream, if ye stick not fast on a shoal, if ye fall not into hands
human or non-human, if ye be not caught in a whirlpool, if ye rot not inwardly, then,
brethren, ye shall float down to Nibbāna. Ye shall slide down to Nibbāna, ye shall tend
towards Nibbāna. And why? Because, brethren, perfect view floats, slides, tends
towards Nibbāna.

This bank, brethren, is a name for the sixfold personal sense-sphere. That bank,
is a name for the eternal sixfold sense-sphere. „Sinking in mid-stream,‟ is a name for the
lure and lust. „Being caught by humans,‟ is a name for the monk who rejoices with,
sorrows with, takes pleasure with, suffers with, and makes a link with all manner of
business of a householder who lives in society. „Being caught by non-humans,‟ is a
name for the monk who lives the righteous life with the wish to be reborn in the
company of some class of heavenly beings. „Being caught in a whirlpool,‟ is a name for
the pleasure of the five senses. „Rotting inwardly,‟ is a name for the monk who is
immoral, an evil-doer, impure, of suspicious behaviour, of covert deeds.47

Not only to help listeners to comprehend what the Master wanted to him at but
also to recall them to his instructions in necessary cases this method was used, as the
Buddha said: “You, monks, by understanding the Parable of the Raft, should get rid
even of right mental objects, all the more of wrong ones.” The purpose of Buddha‟s
preaching is to awaken man to the sense of impermanence, suffering, and selflessness of
his existence and of the world so that he can by cutting off his craving for and
attachment to conditioned things released. For this, he sometimes advised his disciples
to meditate on the momentariness and insubstantiality of the pañcakkhandhā and of the
whole phenomenal world by looking upon them as a certain natural phenomenon, for
instance, as a lump of foam, a bubble on the water, or a mirage. 48 The typical feature of
his method of teaching is that he illustrated his doctrine with numerous figures and

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events drawn form human life and form the natural world so that everybody could
recognize through the operations of the world around the essences of his teaching. Thus,
a householder while thinking of the security of his house may understand the
importance of the Buddha‟s teaching on the control of mind, and a monk may be aware
of the transient and temporary nature of his life and of the whole world when he looks a
river flowing or a leaf falling. As reported in the Theregāthā and Therīgāthā, there were
some Buddhist monks and nuns who reached their final goal – Arahanthood on account
of being aroused by the incidental events to which the Buddha‟s parables have referred.
This shows that the Buddha‟s parables and similes provided a lot of lively meditative
subjects on which everybody depending on his own faculty and inclination could
contemplate for his spiritual progress.

The analytical approach of teaching is one of the most important characteristics

in the earlier texts. This is especially the case when the doctrine was meant for more
intelligent hearers of followers. The entire teaching of the Buddha is described as one
which is of a critical outlook, to be verified and realized by the intelligent, who
represents for the Buddha the impartial critic at the place of intellectual common
sense.49 As a matter of fact, almost the whole dialogue of Buddha could possibly be
included in this style of teaching. The Buddha himself claimed to be an analyst
(vibhajjavāda): when he was asked for his explanation the truth of the proposition: The
householder is accomplishing the right path monk is not accomplishing the right path:
he answered the one could not make absolute assertion as to truth or falsity of some
propositions, but one should analytically examine the nature of the subject of the
discussions proposition in question means that, if both the householder and the monk
were guilty of wrong conduct, then they are to be blamed, but if both of them conducts
themselves rightly, they are to be praised.50 The Buddha analytically reasoned those
who, being dialectically minded, came to discuss and debate with him. This shows his
approach of teaching in what Oldenberg called „Socratic fashion.‟51

According to the Buddha, a teacher who is possessed of the four analytical

powers be not at a loss as regards both the meaning and the letter or theory of what he
teaches.52 The refers to the teacher‟s capacity for the analysis of meanings (attha)
reason or conditions (dhamma), of educational medium (nirutti), and of intellectual
mastership (or, rather, presence of mind, self-confidence - pātibhāna): that is, he is

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capable of grasping the „analysis of meaning‟, specifically and according to the latter to
explain the lesson in various ways, to teach it, expound it, lay it down, open it, classify
it and make it clear, and the same with the rest.53

Occasionally, inserted into his dialogue was a fable that makes the content of
his talk on Dhamma more interesting. According to H. Oldenberg, the Buddhist
mendicant monks were sufficiently Indian to have an abundant share of the old Indian
delight in romance. Sometimes the sacred writings make the Buddha tell his disciples a
fable of animals, sometimes a history of strange occurrences, and all kinds of human
actions, thoughtful or amusing… at the end of every history came, as is fitting, a
moral.54 The Buddha is said to have told the BrāhmanaKūtadanta the following legend
when this Brāhmana goes to him for advice about the modes of ritual to be performed at
the sacrifice:

Brāhmana, one upon a time there was a king called Mahāvijita. He was rich, of
great wealth and resources, with an abundance of gold and sliver of possessions and
requisites, of money and money‟s worth, with a full treasury and granary. And when
King Mahāvijita as musing in private the thought came to him: „I have acquired
extensive wealth in human terms, I occupy a wide extent of land which I have
conquered. Suppose now I were to make a great sacrifice which would be to my benefit
and happiness for a long time?‟ And calling his minister-chaplain, he told him his
thought.

The chaplain replied: „Your Majesty‟s country is beset by thieves, it is ravaged,

villages and towns are being destroyed, and the countryside is infested with brigands. If
Your Majesty were to tax this region, that would be the wrong thing to do. Suppose
Your Majesty were to think: „I will get rid of this plague of robbers by executions and
imprisonment, or by confiscation, threats and banishment,‟ the plague would not be
properly ended. Those who survived would later harm Your Majesty‟s realm. However,
with this plan you can completely eliminate the plague. To those in the kingdom who
are engaged in cultivating crops and raising cattale, let Your Majesty distribute grain
and and fodder; to those in trade, give capital; to those in government service assign
proper living wages. Then those people, being intent on their own occupations, will not
harm the kingdom. Your Majesty‟s revenues will be great, the land will be tranquil and

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not beset by thieves, and the people, with joy in their hearts, will play with their
children, and will dwell in open houses.55

Certainly, this teaching method of fable use, much of which is not found in the
Master‟s way of expression, was often applied by the later Buddhist monks because,
according to M. Wintemitz,56 it was an important means of propaganda which can
penetrate deep into the folk along with Buddhism. It is certain that this method of
teaching opened the way for the origin and growth of the Jātakas, which are mostly of
later creations but can serve to some extent the purpose of conducting moral behaviour
of the masses.

1. 5 The Question and Answer as a Technique of Teaching

Based on the spirit of truth-safeguardness (saccānurakkhana), i.e., just showing one‟s

own viewpoint and not condemning the other‟s belief, the Buddha‟s dialogues were
sometimes carried on in question-answer form. By this means, he made his doctrine
known to the people, who wanted to sound his new-fashioned thoughts. It is natural that
the advent of the Buddha and the glory rapidly won by him in the field of thought drew
the attention of the contemporary intellectual circles. The Pāli Canon narrates that so
many the coexistent learned Brāhmanas and recluses were converted after having made
the careful consideration of Gotama‟s philosophical dispositions through their
questioned conversations with him. In such discussions the Buddha often questioned or
was questioned.

Thus is related to us the conversation of the Buddha with Kāpaṭhika, 57 a well-

educated Brāhmana youth who together with a crowded company led by the
BrāhmanaCankī went to see Gotama the Buddha when he was on his tour through
Kosala coming to a halt at Opasāda. In this dialogue, the Brāhmana youth Kāpaṭhika
discussed with the Buddha about the Brāhmanas‟ view on truth based on the Vedic
tradition, asserting that only what is stated in the Vedas is the truth, all else is falsehood.
The Buddha asked Kāpaṭhika whether there is any one, among the Brāhmanas, the
Brāhmana teachers, the authors of the Vedas, who claims that he personally knows and
sees: „This alone is truth, anything else is false.‟ Kāpaṭhika was frank and said: „No‟.
Then the Buddha came to the conclusion that the statement of the Brāhmanas about
truth is entirely groundless. It is like a string of blind men holding on to one another,

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neither does the foremost one see, nor does the hindmost one see. Finally, he showed
his view by saying that preserving a truth is not enough for an intelligent man inevitably
to come to the conclusion: „This alone is the truth, all else is falsehood.‟ The
conversation goes on with questions put to the Buddha by Kāpaṭhika relating to the
preservation of, the awakening to, and the attainment of truth of which his answers
given in turn made Kāpaṭhika very pleased and finally converted.

Another conversation,58 carried on between the Buddha and Kassapa, the

unclothed recluse, deals with his standpoint about the causally middle way:

Master Gotama, is suffering wrought by one‟s self? – Not so verily, Kassapa.

What then, Master Gotama, is one's suffering wrought by another? – Not so

verily, Kassapa.

What then, Master Gotama, is suffering wrought by one‟s self and by another?
– Not so verily, Kassapa.

What the, Master Gotama, has the suffering which is wrought neither by
myself nor by another, befallen me by chance? – Not so verily, Kassapa.

What then, Master Gotama, is suffering non-existent? – Nay, Kasspa, suffering

is not non-existent; suffering is.

Then Master Gotama neither knows nor sees suffering. – Nay, Kassapa, I am
not one who knows not suffering nor sees it. I am one who knows suffering, Kassapa, I
am one who sees suffering.

How now, Master Gotama? To all my questions you have said „not so verily.‟
You have both affirmed that suffering is, and that you know and see it. Declare then to
me, Master, Exalted One, the nature of suffering. Teach me, Master, Exalted One, the
nature of suffering.

One and the same person both acts and experiences the result – this, Kassapa,
you called at first „suffering self-wrought,‟ amounts to the Externalist theory. One acts,
another experiences the Kassapa, which to one smitten by the feeling occurs as
„suffering caused by another,‟ amounts to the Annihilationist theory. To you, Kassapa,
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the Tathāgata, not approaching either extreme, teaches the Norm by a middle way: –
conditioned by ignorance activities come to pass, conditioned by activities
consciousness; thus arise name-and-shape, sense, contact, feeling, craving, grasping,
becoming, birth, decay-and-death, grief, suffering... But from the utter fading away and
ceasing of ignorance, activities and the rest, comes the ceasing of activities,
consciousness and the rest. Even such is the ceasing of this entire mass of ill.

Of the sermons addressed to monks, representative for this pattern of

indoctrination was the Mahāpuṇṇamasutta found in the Majjhima Nikāya. Constructed
in form of question and answer this sutta involves a series of Buddhist notions and
propositions typifying the Buddha‟s view on man (pañcakkhandhā). It begins with the
appeal put to him by an unidentified monk:

I, revered sir, would ask the Lord about a particular matter if the Lord grants
me the opportunity to set forth a question. – Well, monk, ask what you desire.

The monk: “Are there not, revered sir, these five groups of grasping, that is to
say, the group of grasping after material shape, that of grasping after feeling, that of
grasping after perception, that of grasping after the habitual tendencies, that of
grasping after consciousness?”

The Buddha: “These, monk, are the five groups of grasping, that is to say, the
group of grasping after material shape...that of grasping after consciousness.”

The monk: “But what, revered sir, is the root of the five groups of grasping?”

The Buddha: “These five groups of grasping, monk, have desire to root.”

The monk: “Are just these five groups of grasping the whole of grasping,
revered sir? Or is there grasping apart from these five groups of grasping?”

The Buddha: “Indeed, monk, these five groups of grasping are not the ole of
grasping are not the whole of grasping, and yet there is no grasping apart from the five
groups gasping- Whatever, monk, is attachment to and desire for the five ups of
grasping, then that is grasping.”

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 The monk: “Might it be, revered sir, that there is diversity in the attachment to
and desire for the five groups of grasping?”

The Buddha: “It might be, monk.”

The monk: “But to what extent, revered sir, is there a group-designation for
the groups?”

The Buddha: “Whatever, monk, is material shape, past, future or present,

internal or external, gross or subtle, mean or excellent, far or near, this is the group of
material shape. Whatever is feeling...Whatever is perception...Whatever are the
habitual tendencies...Whatever is consciousness, past, future or present... far or near,
this is the groups of consciousness. To this extent, monk, is there a group-designation
for the groups.”

The monk: “What is the cause, revered sir, what is the reason enabling a
definition to be made of a group of material shape, to be made of a group of feeling, of
a group of perception, of a group of the activities, of a group of consciousness?”

The Buddha: “The four great elements, monk, are the cause, the four great
elements are the reason enabling a definition to be made of the group of material shape.
Sensory impingement is the cause, sensory impingement is the reason enabling a
definition to be made of the group of feeling...the group of perception...the group of the
activities. Name- and-shape is the cause, name-and-shape is the reason enabling a
definition to be made of the group of consciousness.”

The monk: “But how, revered sir, is there wrong view as to own body?”

The Buddha: “Anyone, monk, regards material shape as self, or self as having
material shape, or material shape as in self, or self as in material shape. He regards
feeling as self...perception as self...the activities as self...consciousness as self...Thus,
monk, is there wrong view as to own body.”

The monk: “But how, revered sir, is there not wrong view as to own body?”

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 The Buddha: “Anybody, monk, does not regard material shape as self...feeling
as self...perception as self...the activities self...consciousness as self. Thus, monk, is
there not wrong view as to own body.”

The monk: “And what, revered sir, is the satisfaction in material shape feeling,
perception, the activities, consciousness, what is the peril, what is the escape from
them?”

The Buddha: “Monk, whatever happiness and bliss arise on account of

material shape, this constitutes the satisfaction in material shape Whatever
impermanence, suffering, liability to change are in material shape, this constitutes the
peril in material shape. Whatever the control of attachment to and desire for material
shape, the getting rid of the attachment and desire, this constitutes the escape from
material shape. So also it is with feeling, perception, the activities and consciousness.”

The monk: “But, revered sir, for a man knowing what, seeing what, are there
no latent conceits that ‟I am the doer, mine is the doer' in regard to this consciousness-
informed body and all the phenomena external to it?”

The Buddha: “Whatever, monk, is material shape, past, future or present,

internal or external, gross or subtle, mean or excellent, far or near, he, thinking all of
this material shape as „This is not mine, this am I not, this is not myself,‟ sees it thus as
it really is by means of perfect wisdom. (So also with regard to feeling, perception, the
activities and consciousness). Monk, for a man knowing thus, seeing thus, there are no
latent conceits that „I am the doer, mine is the doer‟ in regard to this consciousness-
informed body.”

It can be seen from the context that this method of teaching helped monks so
much in grasping the essence of his doctrine, which is by nature a series abstract
concepts and approaches. In a system of education placing stress on knowledge as the
first and last means to freedom like Buddhism, all Buddhist efforts must be made firstly
to grasp the basic concepts and idea which are much seen in the Master‟s teachings.
Then on the basis of this perception or right view (sammādiṭṭhi) comes the putting into
practical use of Dhamma until the releasing knowledge (vijjāvimutti) through discipline
is finally accomplished.

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 The Buddha did not want anybody to accept his teachings without one‟s critical
experimentation. Since it is generally regarded as „pragmatism‟ and „rationalism‟ the
sense of „utilitarian pragmatism‟,59 canonical Buddhism is a verifiable system of
philosophy experimentally discovered by the Buddha in the light of both failure and
success in his experimental quest for the truth,60 which is synthesized on scientific
principles regardless of past traditions: observation of actual life, experimenting
asceticism, final deduction of a way to end ills, seeking the knowledge of nature, the
knowledge which may be characterized as scientific on account of its basic verification,
etc.61 The Buddha showed the disciples the example, by having the various methods
practiced by various systems prevalent in his time.62 There is his success in achieving
enlightenment is not considered to be a mysterious single but an achievement through
the development of natural faculties. Even knowledge of salvation is achieved only as
one of the Experimentalists,63 i.e., those who have a personal knowledge of truth
through their own experience. He closed his discourses to the Kalamas,64 and Bhaddiya,
the Licchavi,65 with the remark that one should accept a doctrine as only when one had
experimentally realized by oneself its practical validity. Let intelligent person come to
me, sincere, honest and straightforward: I shall instruct him in the doctrine so the on my
instruction he could practice by himself in such a way before long he would himself
know and himself realize...66

The Buddha did not want his own statements easily accepted on his authority
not easily rejected but he rather demanded that they should be tested and worked on the
light of one‟s own experience, otherwise such statement would be fruitless. Like a
beautiful flower the possesse color, but lacks perfume, so well-spoken words are
fruitless to him who fi not work them out: the Buddha suggested: “on the other hand,
well-spoken words are fruitful to him who sincerely practices them, like beautiful
flower that possesses both color and perfume.”67 When asked to the extent one attained
truth, he replied; “there is an attainment of the truth on the gradually following,
developing, practicing and experiencing the doctrine themselves”68 practicing, trying
and experimenting with it, they may come to rest through their experience here and now
the truth.69

“Monks, what should be done by the Teacher for his disciples,

Seeking their good, out of compassion, that has been done by,

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 Me for you... concentrate on it and be not careless; do not, Reproach yourself
afterwards. This is our command to you.”70

When GanakaMaggallāna put a question to him: “Sir, what is the cause and
reason why, though Nibbāna does exist, and even though you exist as adviser, some of
the disciples on being exhorted and instructed thus by you, attain the goal, Nibbāna,
some do not,”71 the Buddha replied: “...What can I do, bramin, in this matter? (One
must be always remembered that) a Tathāgata (only) shows the way.”72

But in due course of time the Buddhist education was institutionalized and we
get the description about the method of teaching as it was prevalent during the visits of
Chinese travelers at the glorious days of Nālandā. I-Tsing73 say that the pupil, after
attending to the service of his teacher, reads a portion of scripture and reflects on what
he has learnt. He acquires new knowledge day by day, and searches into old subjects
month after month, without losing a minute. In speaking of the method of learning he
refers to Panini‟s Sutras and other grammatical works which he says had to be learnt by
heart. Apparently some preliminary study was often done before entering Nālandā, for
he says that „after studying grammar, etc. under instructors, they pass two or three years
at Nālandā, or in the country of Valabhī. Grammar seems to have been the foundation of
all other studies and to have received great attention.

„Grammatical science‟, he says, is called in Sanskrit. Śabdavidyā, one of five

Vidyās. The five Vidyās are: (1) Śbdavidyā, grammar and lexicography; (2)
Śilpasthānavidyā, arts; (3) Chikitsāvidyā, medicine; (4) Hetuvidyā, logic; and (5)
Adhyātmavidyā, science of the universal soul, or philosophy. The name for the general
secular literature of India is Vyākarana (i.e. Grammar), of which there are about five
works, similar to the Five classics of the Divine Land (China). These five he enumerates
as follows:

(1) The Siddha – composition for beginners... Children learn this book when they
are six years old, and finish it in six months.
(2) The Sūtra is the foundation of all grammatical science... It contains a thousand
ślokas and is the work or Pānini... Children begin to learn the Sūtra when they
are eight years old, and can repeat it in eight months‟ time.
(3) The book of Dhātu (verbal roots).

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 (4) The book on the three Khilas (or „pieces of waste-land) viz. Ashṭadhātu,
Manda, and Uṇādi. (The first deals with cases and conjunctions, and the others
with the formation of words from root and suffix or suffixes)... Boys begin to
learn the book on the three Khilas when they are ten years old, and understand
them thoroughly after three years‟ diligent study.
(5) The Vṛitti-Sūtra (Kāśikāvṛitti). This is a commentary on the foregoing Sūtra
(i.e. PāniniSūtra)...Boys of fifteen being to study this commentary, and
understand it after five years.

There thus seems to have been a long course of grammatical study of the
Sanskrit language, beginning when a boy was six years of age and lasting till he was
twenty, which was a preliminary to the study of higher subjects. With regard to this
further study I-Tsing says:74 After having studied this commentary, students begin to
learn composition in prose and verse and devote themselves to logic (hetuvidyā) and
metaphysic (abhidharmakośa). In learning the Nyāyā-dvāratarka-śāstra (introduction to
logic), they rightly draw inferences (anumāna) and by studying the Jātakamala (stories
of Buddha in previous births) their powers of comprehension increase. Thus instructed
by their teachers, and instructing others, they pass two of three years. Finally in
presence of eminent and accomplished men assemble in crowds, discuss possible and
impossible doctrines, and after having been assured of the excellence of their opinions
by wise men, become far-famed for their wisdom.

It is apparently in connection with this higher course that he maintains certain

other books which were studied, namely:

(1) The Chūrni (i.e. the Mahābhāshya, or Great Commentary of Pātanjali on

Pānini‟sSūtras).
(2) The BhartṛihariŚāstra treats of principles of human life as well as of
grammatical science.
(3) The Vākya discourse - a treatise on the Inference supported by the authority of
the sacred teaching, and on inductive argument.
(4) The Pei-na (perhaps Beda or Veda), which was a work on philosophy.

This valuable picture of Buddhist learning and education in the monasteries at

the time of I-Tsing‟s visit shows a great amount of intellectual activity going on. The

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method seems to have been chiefly oral, and he frequently insists that these various
treatises must be learned by heart. I-Tsing has a passage in which he says,75 „There are
two traditional ways in India of attaining to intellectual power;

(1) Committing to memory;

(2) The alphabet fixed one‟s idea.

By this way, after a practice of ten days or a month, a student feels his thought
rise like a fountain, and can commit to memory whatever he has once heard. He also
mentions76 the composition of poems as one of the occupations of the residents at the
monasteries. Great attention seems to have been given at Nālandā to the practice of
singing or chanting.

After the visits of these Chinese pilgrims we have scanty evidence as to the
course and method of teaching of Buddhist education in India.

1. 6 The Analytical Teaching Method

The practice that made the Buddha well-known as a dialectician who surpassed his
contemporaries in argument was his application of the analytical method of reasoning in
all his dialogues and controversies. The Buddhadhamma as preserved in Pāli Canon is
the product of wisdom, which originates from his teachings to his disciples and his
discussions with the coexisting Brāhmanas and recluses. The method of rationalization
used in all of his conversations is obviously analytical. The Buddha himself claimed to
be an analyst and not a dogmatist who gives categorical statements.77

What is meant by this claim is clear from the context.78 The Buddha is asked
for his opinion as to the truth of two propositions: „The householder succeeds in
attaining what is right, just and good; the monk does not succeed in attaining what is
right, just and good.‟ The Buddha says that one cannot make a categorical assertion as
to the truth or falsity of propositions of this son. If, in the case of the first proposition,
the subject has the quality of bad conduct, then the proposition is false, but if the subject
has the opposite quanlity, i.e., of good, conduct, the proposition is true. Similar is his
view that one cannot ever definitely that a certain occupation result in small fruit just
because it is done with duties, small administration, and small problems or it yields

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great fruit for the reason that it is done with great duties, great administration, and great
problems.

“There is, brahman youth, an occupation where there is a great deal to do: many
duties, a large administration, great problems – which if failed is of small fruit, if
success is of great fruit. There is, Brāhmana youth, an occupation where there is not a
great deal to do: few duties, a small administration, small problems – which if failed is
of small fruit, if success is of great fruit.”79

Thus, it seems that there are certain proposition of which it is not possible to
say whether they are true or false, without clearing up ambiguities and making
qualifications and the Buddha was an analyst in so far as he analyzed such proposition
and made the requisite qualifications without asserting that they were expressly true or
false.

No doubt, this logically analytical attitude in all his teachings and arguments
conquered the conservative minds of the Brāhmanas, who believing in the theory of
birth-based castes claimed to be of an absolutely supreme position in society. According
to the Buddha, there is no reason for which one can assert positively that a Brāhmana is
superior to others simply because he was born in a Brāhmana family.

I, Brāhmana, do not speak of „better‟ because of birth in a high-class family.

But, Brāhmana, I do not speak of „worse‟ because of birth in a high-class family. For,
as to this, someone from a high-class family makes onslaught on creature, takes what
has not been given, wrong enjoys pleasures of the senses, and is a liar, of slanderous
speech, of harsh speech, a gossip, covetous, malevolent in mind, of wrong view.
Therefore, I do not speak of „better‟ because of birth in high-class family. But, as to
this, Brāhmana, someone from a high-class family may refrain from onslaught on
creature, from taking what has not been given, from wrong enjoying sense-pleasures,
from lying, from slanderous speech, from harsh speech, from gossiping, and be not
covetous, not malevolent in mind, of right view. Therefore, I do not speak of worse
because of birth in a high-class family.80

To the Buddha, everybody is capable of becoming a perfected one, so he is

worthy of best regard in respect of conduct and wisdom. His theoretical point in the
debate is that like a khattiya, a vessa, and a sudda, if a Brāhmana were immoral in the

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activities of body, speech and mind he would suffer a bad destiny, but if he were moral
he would enjoy a happy life.81 The Buddha asserted that the value of a human being lies
in the fact of his kamma and not in his birth in a particular caste.

In his teaching to monks the best example of this logical attitude can be found
in the Brahmajālasutta of the Dīgha Nikāya where the Buddha advised monks not to get
angry or delighted when others denigrate or applause the Triple Gem otherwise they
would not be able to judge the truth in their statements. They should, on the other hand,
analyze their statements critically and comment in this manner. “For this or that reason,
this is not the fact, that is not so, such a thing does not exist among us, is not in us” or
“For this or that reason this is the fact.”

For the Buddha, an event or phenomenon may be relatively skilful (kusala) or

unskillful (akusala) and therefore the minute examination of the duplicity of a fact is
indispensable to ascertain what ought to and ought not to do. In the Sevitabba-
asevitabbasutta, a series of Buddhist concepts and proposition was laid open in the light
of his logical view to show their double meaning and to make known to his disciples
what they should and should not follow. Here the accepted standard as clarified by
Sāriputta in the context is thus: If a certain practice is followed and unskilled states of
mind grow much, skilled states of mind decrease, such a practice is not to be followed.
Oppositely, if a certain practice is followed and unskilled states of mind decrease,
skilled states of mind grow much, that practice is to be followed. Sāriputta is said to
have commented thus on the concept about the arising of thought:

What kind of arising of thought, revered sir, does a man follow that unskilled
states of mind grow much in him, skilled states of mind decrease? As to this, revered
sir, someone is covetous and lives with his thought given over to covetousness; he is
malevolent and lives with his thought given over to malevolence; he is harmful and
lives with his thought given over to harmfulness. If this kind of arising of thought is
followed, revered sir, unskilled states of mind grows much, skilled states of mind
decrease. And what kind of arising of thought, revered sir, does a man follow that
unskilled states of mind decrease in him, skilled states of mind grow much? As to this,
revered sir, someone is not covetous and does not live with his thought given over to
covetousness; he is not malevolent… he is not harmful and does not live with his

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thought given over to harmfulness. If this kind of arising of thought is followed, revered
sir, unskilled states of mind decrease, skilled states of mind grow much.82

From this, it can be said that the Buddhadhamma is followed because it

encourages the wholesome against the unwholesome and the teaching of the Buddha in
this sense means the breaking down into parts and clearing up of the Buddhist concept
or proposition concerned. There are a number of suttas, which are called vibhangas in
this sense, e.g. Cūlakammavibhangasutta, Mahākammavibhangasutta, Salāyatam-
vibhangasutta, Araṇavibhangasutta, Dhātuvibhangasutta, Saccāvibhangasutta,
Dkkhiṇavibhanga. It is also in the sense that the second book of the Buddhadhamma
Piṭaka is called a „Vibhanga‟, as is evident from the contents.

The term vi + bhaj is used in the Pāli Canon to denote „a detailed

classification, exposition or explanation‟ of a brief statement or title. The brief statement
is called an uddesawhich has to be analyzed and explained in detail. Such a detailed
analysis and explanation is called a vibhanga as opposed to its uddesa. Here, we may
take the case of the Mahākammavibhangasutta recorded in the Majjhima Nikāya and
see the importance of this method of his teaching. In this sutta, the monk Samiddhi gave
a categorical reply to the question of the wandering ascetic Potalīputta. Which
according to the Buddha ought to have been replied after analysis. The question referred
to is „having performed a volitional act (sañcetanika-kamma) with one‟s body, speech
or mind, what does he experience? Samiddhi replied this explicitly saying, „he
experiences suffering having performed a volitional act with his body, speech or mind.‟
In the Buddha‟s teaching, Potaliputta‟s question is originally about feelings and
therefore the answer should have been analytically given according to each case thus:

If one has intentionally done a deed by body, speech or thought for

experiencing pleasure, he experiences pleasure. If he has intentionally done a deed by
body, speech or thought for experiencing pain, he experiences pain. If he has
intentionally done a deed by body, speech or thought for experiencing neither pain nor
pleasure, he experiences neither pain nor pleasure.83

The sutta goes on with the Master's elaborate analysis of the concept of kamma
that brings to light the Buddhist outlook on deed (kamma) in its proper perspective.
Four types of person standing for four kinds of kamma and their fruits (vipāka) are

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respectively brought out here for analysis. The first type of person is endowed with ten
evil deeds (killing, steals, sexual, misconduct, lying, slanderous speech, harsh speech,
gossiping, hatred, and wrong view) and falls into a bad bourn after dying. The second is
endowed with ten evil deeds and arises in a good bourn after dying. The third refrains
from ten evil deeds and arises m a good bourn after dying. The fourth refrains from ten
evil deeds and falls into a bad bourn after dying. Looking at the above-mentioned four
types of person, we see that the first and the third present little intellectual difficulty and
anybody can assent to them. They merely refer to two familiar aspects of an action and
its results as commonly accepted by almost religions. Our intellectual resistance begins
only with the rest two cases, the second and the fourth, which allude to the operation of
kamma of which we cannot do better than quote the Buddha‟s words:

“Ānanda, whatever individual there is who makes onslaught on creature I takes what
has not been given... is of false view and who, at the breaking up of the body after
dying arises in a good bourn, a heaven world - either a lovely deed to be experienced
as happiness was done by him earlier, or a lovely deed to be experienced as happiness
was done by him later, or at the time of dying a right view was adopted and firmly
held by him; because of this, at the breaking up of the body after dying he arises in a
good bourn, a heaven world. Ānanda, whatever individual there is who is refrained
from making onslaught on creature, is refrained from taking what has been given...is
of right view and who, at the breaking up of the body after dying, arises in the
sorrowful ways, a bad bourn, the Downfall Niraya Hell – either an evil deed to be
experienced as anguish was done by him earlier, or an evil deed to be experienced as
anguish was done by him later, or at the time of dying a false view was adopted and
few was adopted and firmly held by him; because of this, on the breaking up of the
body after dying he arise in sorrowful ways, a bad bourn, the Downfall, Niraya
Hell.”84

The analysis shows that kamma is a quite subtle question which sometimes
goes beyond our conventional knowledge.85 It also shows that the Buddhist view on
kamma is very dynamic and psychological, different from that of some contemporary,
recluses and Brāhmanas.86 Traditionally, Buddhism believes that one can enjoy a
favorable rebirth if his mind inclines to and takes in a right view (sammādiṭṭhi) even just
some minutes before passing away. Thus, while encouraging everybody to cultivate
meritorious deeds for blessedness of the present life and that to come Buddhism shows

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its wisdom and open-handedness when asserting that a short turn to right view taken
could assure a good regeneration in some case.

Finally, this method of teaching is absolutely needed in a system of education

laying emphasis on personal emancipation like Buddhism. The Buddha‟s teaching is
taught for the purpose of removing individual problems, say, that which bind the
individual to suffering such as craving, clinging, wrong view, etc. His work of
preaching can be compared to that of the physician, who is capable of making a correct
diagnosis of a disease and therefore can suggest the most effective medicine. Each
disease has different symptoms that should be analyzed and clarified so that it is
possible for the patient to grasp the way of how to take care. Like the personally
medicinal prescriptions that are made out for the concrete diseases, the Buddha‟s
teachings are made out for the concrete applications. In the Bahuvedaniyasutta, the
Buddha told Ānanda that he teaches Dhamma according to each classification
(pariyāya).87 This means that his teachings are said the particular practices and therefore
ought to be understood in the concrete contexts. We can get exact idea of such teaching
through his analysis of the nine states of meditation (jhāna). We cite first of all from the
Majjhima Nikāya the Buddha‟s words about the nine states of musing and then put them
in the analysis are made in the Aṇguttara Nikāya.

“Udāyin, a monk, aloof from pleasures of the senses… enters and abides in the first
meditation… which is rapturous and joyful. I, Udāyin, say, this is not enough. I say,
Get rid of it, I say, transcend it. And what, Udāyin, is its transcending? As to this,
Udāyin, a monk, by allaying initial and discursive thought… enters and abides in the
second meditation. This is its transcending. But I, Udāyin, again say. This is not
enough, I say, Get rid of it, I say, Transcend it. And what is its transcending? As to
this, Udāyin, a monk, by fading out of rapture... enters and abides in the third
meditation. This is its transcending. But I, Udāyin, again say, this is not enough, I say,
Get rid of it, I say, Transcend it. And what is its transcending? As to this, Udāyin, a
monk, by getting rid of happiness... enters and abides in the fourth meditation. This is
its transcending. But I, Udāyin, again say, this is not enough, I say, Get rid of it, I say,
Transcend it. And what is its transcending? As to this, Udāyin, a monk, by wholly
transcending perception of material shapes, by going down of perception due to
sensory impressions, by not attending to perception of variety, thinking: Ether is
unending, enters and abides in the plane of infinite ether. This is its transcending. But
I, Udāyin, again say, this is not enough, I say, Get rid of it, I say, Transcend it. And

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 what is its transcending? As to this, Udāyin, a monk, by wholly transcending the plane
of infinite ether, thinking, Consciousness is unending, enters and abides in the plane of
infinite consciousness. This is its transcending. But I, Udāyin, again say, this is not
enough, I say, Get rid of it, I say, Transcend it. And what is its transcending? As to
this, Udāyin, a monk, by wholly transcending the plane of infinite consciousness
thinking, there is not anything, enters and abides in the plane of nothingness. This is
its transcending. But I, Udāyin, again say, this is not enough, I say, Get rid of it, I say,
Transcend it. And what is its transcending? As to this, Udāyin, a monk, by wholly
transcending the plane of nothing, enters and abides in the plane of neither-perception
nor non-perception. This is its transcending. But I, Udāyin, again say, This is not
enough, I say, Get rid of it, I say, Transcend it. And what is its transcending? As to
this, Udāyin, a monk, by wholly transcending the plane of neither-perception nor non-
perception, enters and abides in the stopping of perception and feeling. This is its
transcending. It is for this that I, Udāyin, speak of even the getting rid of the plane of
neither-perception nor non-perception.”88

Taking a cue from the above-quoted teachings in reference with the analysis
given in the Aṇguttara Nikāya we see that what is encouraged to grasp in the first step is
advised to give up in the next and this ought to be examined in concrete uses. Often, the
first musing (paṭhamajjhāna) is described in the Pāli texts as the best method against
sensual desires. It is followed by divorcing from pleasures of the senses and evil mental
objects and by developing initial and discursive thought. Thus, we can say that initial
and discursive thought is the effective instrumentality to cope with sensual desires and
therefore, it is encouraged in case the effort is made for the first musing. Suppose that
now the attempt is made for the second musing (dutiyajjhāna), then this initial and
discursive thought has to be done away with, and in this ease, the analysis given in the
Aṇguttara Nikāya verifies that the initial and discursive thought is a disease or a noose
which should be overcome.89 This analysis goes on to point out to us that the idea of
zest (pīti) becomes a fetter in case the third musing (tatiyajjhāna) is pursued, the
perception of happiness (sukkha) becomes a fetter in the case of the fourth musing
(cattuthajjhāna) and so forth.90 It is thus implied that a certain teaching may be
necessary and relevant in one case but it may become entirely unneeded and sometimes
as an obstacle in another and the analysis adopted here consists in bringing to light the
meaning of different teachings which are emphatically given to and put into particular
applications.

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 We get the same impression when we look with care at his teaching on the
discipline of higher mind (adhicittamanuyutta). In the Aṇguttara Nikāya the Buddha
says that there are three means – concentration (samādhi), energy (paggaha), and
equanimity (upekhā) – to deal with mind of which one should know how to make use
punctually.

“If, monks, a monk who is given to developing the higher consciousness gives
exclusive (ekantaṁ) attention to the characteristic of concentration, it is probable that
his mind will be liable to indolence. Should he give exclusive attention to the
characteristic of energetic application, it is probable that his mind will be liable to
distraction. Should he give exclusive attention to the characteristic of equanimity, it is
probable that his mind will not be perfectly poised for the destruction of the impurities
(āsavas). But if he pays attention to these three characteristics from time to time, then
his mind becomes pliable, workable, radiant, not stubborn, but perfectly poised for the
destruction of the āsavas.”91

It is clear from the context that there are different means to deal with mind, the
application of which requires a proper understanding as to when and where they need to
be used. This accounts for the fact that a lot of different methods of training suggested
for different uses are found in early Buddhism but not all of them are needed for a
certain application. No every dose of medicament is useful for a disease through various
dosages of medicine can be found in the chest of the great physician. What is food for
one may be poison for another.

In addition, this analysis clarified the fact that the Dhamma is just a means to
truth Nibbāna. The Buddha in the Alagaddūpamasutta advised monks to well grasp
what he had taught. They should consider his doctrine as a raft, which is put to use for
crossing over and not for retaining. For the of their spiritual progress, monks are
exhorted to set their minds free from attachment not only to false mental objects
(adhamma) but also to right mental ones (Dhamma).92 We understand that the teaching
of the Buddha is given for knocking over craving (taṇha) and grasping (upādāna). The
spiritual progress of a Buddhist is marked by the fact that he is able to penetrate more
deeply into things until he wins the ultimate goal of emancipation or nibbāna without
having any tie therein. Sāriputta said thus to his friend, Anuruddha, who had told him
that he was able to see with his deva-sight the thousand-fold world-system, his energy

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was strenuous and unshakable, mindfulness was set up, body was calmed, mind was
one- pointed, yet for that his heart was not released from the āsavas without grasping:

“Well, Anuruddha, as to your statement about seeing the thousand-fold world-system,

that is just your conceit. As to your statement about being strenuous and unshakable
and so forth, that is just arrogance. As to your statement about your heart not being
released from āsavas, that is just worrying. It would be well for the venerable
Anuruddha if he were to abandon these three conditions, if he were not to think about
them, but were to focus his mind on the deathless element.”93

It is believed in early Buddhism that nibbāna is the final goal of a Buddhist

endeavours, for the sake of which all the other triumphs won on the way ought to be
disgraced. To achieve nibbāna is to know how to use the meaning of nibbāna and not to
catch hold of and be content with the means to it. From this point of view, it is evident
that the method of analysis applied in the early Buddhist texts serves as a sharp weapon
against the idea of attachment (upādāna), which is primarily born of craving for and
ignorance of things (dhammas). The purpose of the Buddha‟s preaching is to give birth
to wisdom (paññā), which becomes more cultivated through the technique ofinsight
(vipassanā) and which is capable of seeing all things they really are. It is this wisdom
(paññā) which is able to cope with craving (taṇhā) and ignorance (avijjā), the roots of all
misery. We can see the importance of this method through the Master‟s comment on
man. The Buddha is said to have argued like this to show his first disciples the selfless
nature (anattā)in fall the five aggregates (pañcakkhandhā):

“Body, brethem, is not the self. If body, brethern, were the self, the body would not be
involved in sickness, and one could say of body: Thus let my body be. Thus let my
body not be. But, brethern, inasmuch as body is not the self, that is why body is
involved in sickness, and one cannot say of body: Thus let my body be; thus let my
body not be, and so with feeling, perception, activities, consciousness.”94

In the same context, the argument has been carried further:

“Now what think ye, brrethern. Is body permanent or impermanent?

Impermanent, Lord.
What is impermanent is that weal or woe?
Woe, Lord.

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 Then what is impermanent, woeful, unstable by nature, is it fitting to regard it thus:
this is mine; I am this; this is the self of me?
Surely not, Lord. So also is it with other khandhā.
So seeing, brethren, then concludes the Buddha, the well-taught Ariyan disciple feels
disgust tor body, feels disgust foe feeling, for perception, for the activities, teels
disgust for consciousness. So feeling disgust he is repelled; being repelled, he is
freed.”95

The penetrating meditation on the pancakkhandha resulting in cutting off

craving for and attachment to them is one of the distinguished themes of Buddhist
education. It is with such a wise contemplation that one can arrive at the profound
insight into things and finally can set him free from the idea of desire (taṇhā) and
attachment (upādāna) which arises on account of ignorance (avijjā) and which leads to
misery (dukkhā). It is certain that the insubstantiality of things does not present itself as
a self-evident fact unless one awakened by the Buddha‟s teaching intends to make it
clear. As a matter of course, our habit of self-thought prevents us from contacting with
things as they really are. We are educated from boyhood not to see things as they are but
to see them in a contrary sense. Our self-love, fear, and desire to protect the personality
from ideas that threaten its integrity keep us out of the idea of a wise examination to see
what the true nature of our life is. The Buddha‟s teaching does not support such a
weakly attitude, but aims at making man courageous by showing him the method of
how to realize the truth of his being. His ratiocination of the pañcakkhandhā as brought
up above substantiates with the certainty that man known as pancakkhandha is
impermanent (anicca), sorrowful (dukkhā) and wirhout self (anattā). This analytical
teaching awakens man to the sense ol life. It calls wisdom in him. The fact that when
human life is seen to be nothing but an empty and ever-changing phenomenon all the
illusory idea of self, “I,” “mine” and “myself,” which has persisted as an age-old habit
in human thought will be course conquered.

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 1. 7 Other methods

The Buddha also adopted special methods for imparting special training to individual
disciples. His way of education was that of individualized education. His aim was to
help everybody be conscious of the present difficulties and to show him the way of how
to overcome. He recommended examination and introspection to Rāhula since he was
lacking in self-control. Angulimāla was exhorted to develop his compassionate heart
and practise forbearance in order to overcome his former wicked deeds. Nandā and
Kimbila were recalled to meditate much on the impurity and peril of body because these
two noble and good-looking princes were proud of their own appearance and harboured
thoughts of love. In the same way, he admonished such bhikkhunīs as Khemā,
SundarīNandā, AbhirūpaNandā to forsake their proud-hearted attitude towards beauty.
Even to the laity, the Buddha gave individual advice either to initiate them on the path
of Dhamma or to help them overcome some weakness. Pasenadi, the king of Kosala,
was advised to exercise moderation in eating so as to get good health and longevity.
Anāthapindika, the rich merchant of Kosala, taught how to deal reasonably with his
lawful income so as to make him and many others benefit. Visākkhā, the virtuous and
open-handed lady of Kosala, was advised to reflect upon the merits of Buddha,
Dhamma, Saṁgha, virtues, heavenly beings and practise eight precepts of Uposatha so
as to get blessedness in this life and hereafter. All this shows the practicality and
universality of his teachings that lay a lot of emphasis on individual improvement and
emancipation and which is therefore given in accord with the faculty and inclination of
each individual. We shall deliberate on this matter in the following chapter.

2 THE PRAGMATIC ASPECT OF THE BUDDHA’S TEACHINGS

In the preceding chapter, we took up some of the Buddha‟s teachings that particularly
delivered to individual monks, nuns, and lay people in accordance with their faculties
and inclinations. In continuation with the previous chapter, we hope to throw some light
on some of the methods suggested by him for the training of his disciples. The
Buddha‟s teaching is but the way out of suffering and is taught for the purpose of
individual emancipation. Its practicality lies in the fact that it is imparted not to give
prominence to a purely intellectual thought but to provide the individual with a means
to cope with the difficulties of his existence and to work out his deliverance by personal
effort. The Buddha, conscious of the importance of human life, was not concerned with
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philosophical theses but with methods or ways to deal with the problem of suffering. He
reminded the monks at Kosambi that not all kinds of knowledge are helpful and needed
for the aim of overcoming suffering.96 In his parlance,97 what can one do with such
subject matters as the world is eternal or it is not, the world is finite or it is not, and so
forth when his own life is attacked by old age, sickness and death?

Consequently, it was not a further knowledge of the origin and nature of the
universe and all of its secrets, but how to live and act with the here-and-now is what the
Buddha was really concerned about. To him, human life is short-lived and full of misery
enough for man to be aware of it and to do something about it.

“I tell you, sir, I make known to you, sir, old age and death come rolling in upon you,
sir! Since old age and death are rolling in upon you, sir, what is there that you can
do?” – “Since old age and death, lord, are rolling in upon me, what else can I do save
to live righteously and justly, and to work good and meritorious deeds?”98

This small conversation between the Master and king Pasenadi reflected the
essence of the pragmatic nature of Buddhist thought. It sounds very simple but very
realistic. From this, we can say with some truth that Buddhist thought tends in the
direction of what we call pragmatism. The value of a thought is to be judged not by the
thought itself but by what we can do with it and by the quality of the life that results
from it. It seems that innumerable misunderstandings would have been avoided if one
had understood that the statements of the Buddha are not meant to be propositions about
the nature of reality, but advice on how to act, statements about modes of behaviour,
and experiences connected with them. The Buddha never expressed a thought without
showing the way to it and he condensed his fundamental teachings into such a concise
system that every thinking man can follow and verify them with his acquirable wisdom.

Of whatever teachings you can assure yourself that they conduce to dispassion
and not to passion, to detachment and not to bondage, to decrease of worldly gains and
not to increase of them, to frugality and not to covetousness, to content and not to
discontent, to solitude and not to company, to energy and not to sluggishness, to delight
in good and not to delight in evil, of such teachings you may with certainty affirm: This
is the Dhamma, This is the Vinaya, This is the Master‟s Message.99

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 Since the Buddha‟s instructions were given not only to monks and nuns but
also to laymen and laywomen, numerous different methods of practice could be found
in the whole of his teachings. In the context of this chapter, we propose to examine
some of the following methods.

2. 1 The Method of Thought Orientation

This implies the guidance of one‟s thought in such a way that it operates in accordance
with skilled states of mind (dhamma). In the Sevibba-asevibbasutta of the Majjhima
Nikāya the Buddha has referred to the arising of thought of two kinds, one is to be
followed and the other is not to be followed. Commenting on this statement100 Sāriputta
says that one should follow what kind of the arising of thought which is not in
association with coverting, malevolence, harming and which when followed unskilled
states of mind decrease, skilled states of mind grow much. By contrast, it should not be
followed. In other words, to put this training into practical use, one should develop
thoughts of non-coveting, non-malevolence, non-harming and should stop thoughts
connected with coveting, malevolence, harming.

In the first two verses of the Dhammapada the Buddha said:

“All that we are, is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on and made up
of our thinking. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, sorrow follows him (as a
consequence) even as the wheel follows the foot of the drawer. If he speaks or acts
with a pure thought, happiness follows him (in consequence) like a shadow that never
leaves him.”

This teaching clearly indicates that any result that a man is receiving, whether
it is good or bad, has come originally from his thought. It originates from his thought
that man does his deeds and then reaps fruits as a result. From this point of view, the
Buddha considered the orientation of thought as absolutely necessary for that of man‟s
activities. In his words, the arising of thought is very helpful in regard to skilled states
of mind, not to speak of gesture and speech that are in conformity with it.101 Fully
presented in the Sallekhasutta of the Majjhima Nikāya this method is given to the monk
Cunda. TheBuddha tells Cunda that:

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 “Others may be harmful; we, as to this, will not be harmful. Others may be those who
make onslaught on creatures; we, as to this, will be those who are restrained from
making onslaught on creatures.”102

A list of 44 subjects is enumerated in this context for practice, namely: 1.

Harmfulness, and harmlessness. 2. Killing and not killing. 3. Taking what is not given and
not taking what is not given. 4. Misconduct in sexuality, non-misconduct in sexuality. 5.
Telling a lie and not telling a lie 6. Harsh speech and not using harsh speech. 7. Rough
speech and not telling rough speech. 8. Frivolous speech and not using frivolous speech. 9.
Coveting, and non-coveting. 10. Corrupted mind and purified mind. 11. Wrong view and
perfect view. 12. Wrong thought and perfect thought. 13. Wrong speech and perfect speech.
14. Wrong activity and perfect activity. 15. Wrong way of living and perfect way of living.
16. Wrong endeavour and perfect endeavour. 17. Wrong mindfulness and perfect
mindfulness. 18. Wrong concentration and perfect concentration. 19. Wrong knowledge and
perfect knowledge. 20. Wrong freedom and perfect freedom. 21. Being sloth and torpor and
being without sloth and torpor. 22. Puffed up and not being puffed up. 23. Doubt and being
crossed over doubt. 24. Being wrath and being without wrath. 25. Rancour, and non-
rancour. 26. Disparagement, and non-disparagement. 27. Spite, and non-spite. 28. Jealousy,
and non-jealousy. 29. Miserliness, and non-miserliness. 30. Treachery, and non-treachery.
31. Deceit, and non-deceit. 32. Stubbornness, and non-stubbornness. 33. Pride and non-
pride. 34. Difficulty of being spoken to and ease of being spoken to. 35. Friendship with
those who are not lovely and friendship with those who are lovely. 36. Laziness, and
diligence. 37. Unfaith, and faith. 38. Shamelessness and shame. 39. Carelessness, and care.
40. Little hearing and much hearing. 41. Non-energy, and energy. 42. Non-mindfulness, and
mindfulness. 43. Non-wisdom, and wisdom. 44. Seizing the temporal and grasping it
tightly, not seizing the temporal and not grasping it tightly.

Thus, one starts doing this exercise by making a decision in his mind not to accept
what is wrong, false, and harmful but to follow what is right, true, and useful. According to
the Buddha, when one ponders and reflects much on whatever his mind in consequence gets
a bias that way. If, therefore, as he commented in the Dvedhāvitakkasutta, one ponders and
reflects much on the thought of non-harming, he rejects the thought of harming; if he makes
much of the thought of non-harming, his mind inclines to the thought of non-harming.103
This explains the fact that when one makes a decision to follow what is good, his mind is
prone to doing what is good and forsaking what is bad. Such training is called the
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orientation of thought or thinking discipline in the teaching of early Buddhism; that is, a
Buddhist never accepts the arising of thoughts connected with sense-pleasures,
malevolence, harming but he tries his best to make thoughts of renunciation, non-
malevolence, non-harming arise. The fact that when thought is well conducted in a right
way, all the activities of man will be done in a right way and then happiness and peace will
come to him as a result. That is why the Buddha stated in the Aṇguttara Nikāya that if a
mind is well directed it will piece ignorance, draw knowledge, and realize Nibbāna.104
Concerning the practical advantage of this training, the author comes to observations as
follows:

The method is easy for everybody to follow. It is just a simple practice to conduct
one‟s thought in a right way. Repeatedly applied, this method will help to develop in man a
good habit of thinking which inclines all the time to righteousness and perfection. Such a
practice is the foundation of Buddhist ethics.

Since thought plays an important role in all the activities of man. Its orientation is
completely needed for human life. The method helps much in the conduct of man‟s
thought: it helps man to enhance his ability of right thinking and convinces him to accept
what is good but not what is bad. There is no doubt that the world will be peaceful, out of
the dark sphere of conflict and war when humanity is conducted by good thoughts instead
of evil ones.

From the view that thought leads the way of man‟s actions, the method can serve
as an effective solution for the building up of peace and the overcoming of crises. So far,
much has been discussed about war and pollution of the living environment but it seems
that for them no solution or approach has proved best. These two dreadful problems which
are threatening humankind‟s survival have desire for sensual pleasures as their deep-rooted
cause. Since war and pollution begin within man‟s mind, it is in the mind of man that they
must be solved. The Buddhist method of thought control aims at preventing man from
thoughts of sensual pleasures, malevolence and harming and promoting him to develop
thoughts associated with renunciation, non-malevolence and non-harming. Thus, the
problem of war and the pollution will be thoroughly solved if the method is put into
practical use. Aiming at the standstill of evils even in thought, the method is capable of
uprooting the motives and causes of deep-seated motives and causes of war as well as of
other dangers which begin within man‟s mind.
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 2. 2 The Method of Going by

This indicates the putting into practical use of the Buddha‟s teachings to do away with
evil and unskilled mental objects – the causes of trouble and suffering. The Buddha‟s
teaching stands for what is good and wholesome and is taught to cope with what is evil
and unwholesome. As to this, he expressed in the Dhammapada: “Let a man overcome
anger by love, let him overcome evil by good; let him overcome the greedy by liberality,
let him overcome the liar by truth.”105

The generality of this teaching is mentioned in the Sallekhasutta while its

particularity is scattered here and there in the Nikāyas. In the Sallekhasuta it is thus
said:

“Cunda, like an uneven road although there may be another even road for going by;
and, Cunda, like an uneven ford although there may be another even ford for going by;
even so, Cunda, there is non-harming for a harmful individual to go by; there is
restraint from onslaught on creatures for an individual to go by who makes onslaught
on creatures... there is not seizing the temporal, not grasping it tightly, letting it go
easily for the individual to go by who seizes the temporal, grasps it tightly, letting it go
of it with difficulty.”106

The previous list of the 44 righteous mental objects against the 44 evil mental
ones is given in this context for practice. The difference is that this chapter gives its
emphasis on the arising of thought the practice suggested here aims at going by. Thus, it
is seen from the context that by following and developing what is good, right and
perfect, what is evil, wrong and imperfect is overpowered. Such a practice is called the
method of „going by‟ or „transformation‟ in the teaching of early Buddhism, that is, the
application of a good mental object to overcome an evil mental one. In the Buddha s
point of view, hatred is never appeased by hatred but it is appeased only hy non-hatred.
This means that evil is never conquered by evil and therefore the best way to conquer
evil is but the attempt to cultivate good. From this view, he laid down a lot of different
practices, the purpose of which is to avoid evil and to develop goods. The following
applications are said to the laity:

The practice of alms giving or open-handedness as a way to overcome the

greedy and small-mindedness.

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 The practice of five precepts (restraint from killing, stealing, sexual
misconduct, telling a lie, intoxicating liquor) as a way to conquer such bad biases as
killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, telling a lie, and mistake.

The reflection on the merits of the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Samgha, virtues,
heavenly beings and the practice of eight precepts (the five cardinal precepts of a
householder with the addition of not eating at unreasonable times, not going to the
exhibitions of dancing and singing, not using high and wide couches) as a way to get a
joyful and calmed state of mind and to get rid of the impurities of mind.107

The practice of ten skills (restraint from onslaught on creatures, from taking
what is not given, sexual misconduct, laying speech, harsh speech, slanderous speech,
gossip, non-covetousness, non-wrath, wrong view) as a way to destroy ten unskills
(onslaught on creatures, taking what is not given sexual misconduct, laying speech,
harsh speech, slanderous speech, gossip, covetousness, wrath, wrong view).

The practice of the ariyan eightfold path (right view, right thought, right eech,
right action, right livelihood, right mindfulness, right, concentration) as a way to
demolish wrong view, wrong thought, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood,
wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, and wrong concentration.

The practice of the four foundations of mindfulness (meditations on body,

feelings, states of mind, mental objects) as a way to subdue the ways, aspirations,
distress, fretting and fever of the householder.108

The cultivation of loving-kindness (mettā), compassion (karuṇā), sympathetic

joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekhā) as a way to win over malevolence, harming,
dislike, and sensory reaction. To monks and nuns the following practices are given:

The observance of the rules of Pātimokkha to resist the conditions which cause
impurity (asavatthaniyadhamma).

The practice of keeping guard on the doors of senses to keep mind from
coveting, dejection, evil unskilled states of mind which might arise on account of the
contacts between the senses and their objects.

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 The practice of the moderation in eating to restrict the bodily desires.

The practice of being intent on vigilance to cleanse the mind from obstructive
mental objects.

The development of the five factors of jhāna (initial thought, discursive

thought, rupture, joy, one-pointedness of mind) to get rid of the five hindrances (desire
for sense-pleasure, malevolence, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry, doubt).109

The practice of the four foundations of mindfulness to do away w craving

(taṇhā) and grasping (upādāna).

The development of loving-kindness (mettā) to eliminate malice compassion

(karuṇā) to conquer harming, sympathetic joy (muditā) to win over dislike, equanimity
(upekhā) to overcome sensory reaction. The contemplation on the foul to get rid of
attachment, the reflection on the perception of impermanence to remove the conceit „I
am‟.110

The practice of paying attention to the characteristic of impurity to cope with

greed, to the heart‟s release by amity to deal with hatred, to the true nature of things to
win over ignorance.111

The cultivation of such limbs of enlightenment as mindfulness, Norm-

investigation, energy, zest to excite the mind that is in a sluggish state, such limbs as
tranquility, concentration, equanimity to calm the mind that is in an excited state.112

The practice of right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right
livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration, right knowledge, right
freedom to eradicate wrong view, wrong thought, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong
livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, wrong concentration, wrong knowledge,
wrong freedom.113

All the above teachings of the Buddha consist in providing different the
different solutions to the different stages of moral and spiritual development. The
Buddha was clearly conscious that human beings are of various faculties and
inclinations, each individual being has difficulties of his own. Hence, he proposed

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different practices so that everybody could make progress in following his teaching. The
above-given practices show the very basic steps of the moral and spiritual improvement
that everybody can expect to follow. It is seen that by not doing the evil and
unwholesome and by developing the good and wholesome, moral conduct and dignity
of the individual increase at the same time with his advance on the way out of suffering.
The more he makes effort on the way, the more his moral conduct and dignity increase
and his mind is cultured and peaceful. The Buddhist training aiming at conquering
dukkha or saṁsāra is a process of constant efforts to cope with unskilled states of mind
and to develop skilled states of mind. It is the way of self-discipline, self-development
and self-improvement. In brief, it is the way of morality and culture which is worthy of
a diligent consideration and striving for the aim of the perfection of man.

2. 3 The Method of Sense-organs Safeguard

This refers to keeping eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind out of the non-stop
invasion of the outside objects. In the Buddhist point of view, the contact of our sense
organs with their specific stimuli is an „occasion‟ for „covetous, dejected, evil and
unwholesome states to flow in over us, so long as we dwell unrestrained.‟ In other
words, greed, hatred and ignorance, the content of unskilled states of mind and also of
suffering are causally conditioned. They come into being depending on the six spheres
of contact. According to the Buddhist theory of paṭiccasamuppāda, when the sense-
organs come into contact with the external mental objects there arise feelings; from
feelings comes craving, from craving comes grasping, from grasping comes becoming,
from becoming comes birth, from birth come old age and death, sorrow, grief, suffering,
lamentation and despair. Thus, from the view that suffering comes into existence by
way of contact it is by means of control that it comes to an end. That is the meaning of
the method of senses protection as depicted in the Nikāyas.

Habitually, there exist in each individual being two psychological reactions or

tendencies towards the sensed objects: loving what is lovely and pleasant and hating
what is unlovely and unpleasant. Both inclinations, according to the Buddhist view,
have ignorance (avijjā) as their inmost cause. It is in ignorance of the dependent and
ever-changing nature of the senses and their objects that man falls in love with what is
agreeable and becomes angry at what is disagreeable and this makes him suffer.
Accounting for suffering which arises conditioned by contacts between the senses and
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their objects the Buddha says that114 when an average person has seen a material shape
through the eye, he feels attraction for agreeable material shapes, he feels repugnance
for disagreeable material shapes.

Possessed thus of compliance and antipathy, whatever feeling he feels –

pleasant or painful or neither painful nor pleasant – he delights in that feeling, welcomes
it and persists in cleaving to it. From delighting in that feeling of his, from welcoming
it, from persisting in cleaving to it, delight arises; whatever is delight amid those
feelings, that is grasping; conditioned by grasping is becoming; conditioned by
becoming is birth; conditioned by birth, old age and dying, grief, sorrow, suffering,
lamentation and despair come into being. Such is the arising of this entire mass of
anguish.115

At another place,116 he points out that because of eye and material shape visual
consciousness arises, the meeting of the three is sensory impingement; an experience
arises conditioned by sensory impingement that is pleasant or painful or neither painful
nor pleasant. He, being impinged on by pleasant feeling, delights, rejoices and persists
in cleaving to it; a tendency to attachment is latent in him. Being impinged on by a
painful feeling, he grieves, mourns, laments, beats his breast and falls into disillusion; a
tendency to repugnance is latent in him. Being impinged on by a feeling that is neither
painful nor pleasant, he does not comprehend the origin nor the going down nor the
satisfaction nor the peril of that feeling nor the escape from it as really is; a tendency to
ignorance is latent in him. In his conclusion, there will be no an end of suffering to him
who is not getting rid of the tendency to attachment to a pleasant feeling, not getting rid
of the tendency to repugnance for a painful feeling, not rooting out the tendency to
ignorance.

From what has been mentioned above, it can be said that suffering arises on
account of greed, hatred and ignorance, and the purpose of this method is to prevent
mind from greed, hatred and ignorance, which arise, conditioned by contact. This does
not means, as the Buddha told the brahman young Uttara, that one ought to close up all
his sense organs but it means that one ought to keep guard on the door of his senses, not
let them run willingly after their objects. In the Saṁyutta Nikāya he gave an account of
this method as follows:

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 “And how, brethren, does a brother keep guard on the door of the faculties?

Herein a brother, seeing an object with the eye, is not misled by its outer; view nor by
its lesser details. Since coveting and dejection, those evil, unprofitable states, might
overwhelm one who dwelt with the faculty of eye uncontrolled, he applies himself to
such control, sets a guard over the faculty of eye, attains control thereof. When he
hears a sound with the ear, or with the nose smells a scent, or with the tongue tastes a
savour, or with body contacts tangibles, when with mind he cognizes a mind-state, he
is not misled by their outer view not by their lesser details. But since coveting and
dejection... he sets a guard over the faculty of mind, attains control thereof.”117

The Indriyabhāvanāsutta of the Majjhima Nikāya gives a further explanation

of the method:

“And what, Ānanda, is the incomparable development of the sense-organs in the

discipline for an ariyan? As to this, Ānanda, when a monk has seen a material shape
with eye there arises what is liked, there arises what is disliked, there arises what is
both liked and disliked. He comprehends thus: „This that is liked is arising in me, this
that is disliked is arising, this that is both liked and disliked is arising, and this that
arises because it is constructed, is gross. But this is the real, this is the excellent, that is
to say equanimity.‟ So whether what is arising in him, is liked, disliked or both liked
and disliked, it is all the same stopped in him and equanimity remains. (He does the
same when he has heard a sound with the ear, smelt a smell with the nose, tasted a
flavour with the tongue, felt a touch with the body, cognized a mental state with the
mind.)”118

The above-quoted textual passages show that there are two main tasks to do by
those who carry out the Buddha‟s instructions for guarding sense organs. He must learn
to control his desire for sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental object. On the other
hand, he must learn to see as they really are the feelings that arise in dependence on the
contacts between the senses and their objects. It is undoubted that this exercise goes
against the habit of civilized society, which gives prominence to materialism and
sensualism. Therefore, unless there is an objective examination of the current situation
of the world and of human life, the solution seems hard to be accepted.

The fact that the eye searches for its delight in material shapes, the ear in
sounds, the nose in smells, the tongue in tastes, the body in touches, the mind in mental

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objects has unceasingly caused numerous troubles throughout the history of mankind. It
is the origin of what is known as „the whimsically teasing fate‟ of existence. In his
expression,119 the Buddha calls the arising of craving or desire owing to the contacts
between the senses and their objects the arising of the world or of suffering. This means
that the movement of the world and thus of suffering is that of ignorance, craving, and
grasping. In other words, it is the operation of the senses and their objects under the
influence of ignorance and craving that has given rise to the world known in Buddhism
as suffering. From this view, it is supposed that the principal and radical solutions to the
problems of man and of the world can be found. As it could be known, human desire for
sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and mental objects has given birth to the so-called
human civilization but it is this desire, which so far has been out of control, has become
a grim threat to the survival of all humankind. The contradiction of the modern
civilization lies in itself: in its inherently selfish intention and in the ways it has drawn
for men to get their egoistic ends. In spite of its dominant triumphs, it is hard to assume
that a civilization which gives prominence to self-centeredness and which operates in
such a way that stimulates the increase of sensual desires in man like ours can ensure a
continual and lasting development without bringing about confusions. As a result of this
trend, greedy and aggressive thoughts that spring from self-centeredness have paved the
way for all man-made evils. The more men are in search of satisfaction in sensual
pleasures the more the world falls into crises. Today it is firmly believed that greed or
sensual desire is the clue to war and to such global crises as the pollution of
environment, the exhaustion of natural resources, etc. Hence, the only way to escape
from all the situations is but the restraint of human desire. From this viewpoint, the
method of senses protection can be applied for the following reasons:

To cease war and endless crises that rise due to man‟s insatiable desire for
sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental object. Since war and global crises are born
of human desire for sensual pleasures, therefore the control of human desire is the best
way to stop war and to overcome crises.

To help man overcome spiritual crisis that comes from a lifestyle conducted by
materialism. The fact that when human life is governed by passion for sensual pleasures
man cannot help facing the unsatisfactory and wearied states which happen as the result
of a mind bound by limits of materialism.

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 To set man free from enslavement caused by his own desire for sight, sound,
smell, taste, touch, and mental objects. Since the Industrial Revolution, manufacturers
have been trying, by advertising, to condition the public into giving priority over all
other objectives to the maximum satisfaction of greed. The stimulation of human greed
by advertising industry is not only an activity of inviting crises but also a form of
human enslavement. The more man searches for his satisfaction in the sphere of
sensuality the more he becomes bound by what he has created.

To prepare man for a way of life uul of the invasion of sense-pleasures. This
implies the putting into practical use of Buddhist mental training tor overcoming crises.
According to the Buddhist interpretation the checking of sense organs, say, the control
of one s desire for sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental object, is one of the
conditions essential for mind to enter on and abide in the states of jhāna where sense-
pleasures are replaced by rapture (pīti) and joy (sukha) bom of tranquillity (samatha).
Almost all the modern sociologists uphold the view that120 in spite of numerous troubles
that have been caused human desire cannot totally be extinguished but must be
overcome and transformed. This means that a certain solution to deal with human desire
ought to be found; but what is it? The Buddha pointed out with his personal experience
that one couldn‟t conquer his desire for sense-pleasures unless and until he himself has
experienced rapture and joy that arise in consequence of meditation. 121 This shows that
Buddhist meditation is capable of subduing sensual desires and that one can search for
other delights that surpass sense-pleasures. There are immediate and lasting
conveniences of searching from meditation mental joys instead of sensual pleasures.
Immediately, it helps in stopping crises born of sensual desires. Lastingly, it serves the
purpose of building up and improving a middle way of life, which shows its balanced
development between the material interest and the spiritual care. The fact that man has
unendingly fallen into crises it is because he has not known how to conduct his life in a
right way. He has given emphasis on materialism and sensualism but has ignored taking
care of spiritual life. In comparison with sense-pleasures, which are known as „the
happiness of sense-pleasures, the vile happiness, the happiness of an average person, the
unariyan happiness,‟ the Buddha calls blissful experiences born of meditation „the
happiness of renunciation, the happiness of aloofness, the happiness of tranquility, the
happiness of self-awakening.‟122 This account for the fact that delights born of mental
discipline are of peaceful and altruistic nature, whereas those of senses are of aggressive

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and selfish nature. Because of their characteristic, delights of meditation are known in
Buddhism as „the excellent, holy and fearless ones‟ while those of senses are considered
„lowly, unholy, and fearful.‟ From this view, it is supposed that the world will escape
from man-made disasters and human dignity will come to growth once Buddhist mental
training has become one of the objectives of human striving.

2. 4 The Method of Mental Cultivation

The Buddhist way of practice which shows its increasingly living and creative nature
and which truly enables man to cope with the difficulties of his existence is nothing else
but meditation or mental cultivation (bhāvanā). Buddhist training aims at overcoming
human troubles, which arise conditioned by sensual desires, and conquering saṁsāra,
which is bom of craving and ignorance, and both these goals can be won merely by
means of meditation. There are two forms of Buddhist meditation applicable to the
above mentioned aims. One is the development of mental concentration (samathta or
samādhi) resulting in the achievement of jhānas, both of rūpa, and of arūpa. This
practice, according to the Buddha, is capable of subduing sensual desires123 because it
brings the practitioner joyful and peaceful states of mind known in Buddhist term as
diṭṭhadhammasukhavihāra and samtavihāra.124 Another is named vippasanā, which has
body, feelings, the activities of mind and mental objects as its contemplative objects and
which result in the attainment of insight into the nature of things. This training is
capable of cutting off craving and grasping, leads the practitioner to the achievement of
knowledge (vijjā), to the complete liberation of mind, and to the realization of the
Ultimate Truth, Nibbāna. Because of its importance, the Buddha called meditation
(bhāvanā) the only way of the purification of beings, of overcoming sorrow and
anguish, winning the right path, and of realizing nibbāna.

Presented in detail in the Satipaṭṭhānasutta of the Majjhima Nikāya and in the

Mahāsatipaṭṭhānasutta of the Dīgha Nikāya, Buddhist meditation, which is essentially
based on mindfulness or awareness (sati), and attention or observation (anupassanā)
includes the following practices:

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 2. 4. 1 Contemplation of Body

The Buddha begins his exposition of the body with contemplation of the mindfulness of
breathing (anapanasati). Though not required as a starting point for meditation, in
actual practice mindfulness of breathing usually serves as the “root meditation subject”
(mulakammatthana), the foundation for the entire course of contemplation. It would be
a mistake, however, to consider this subject merely an exercise for neophytes. By itself
mindfulness of breathing can lead to all the stages of the path culminating in full
awakening. In fact it was this meditation subject that the Buddha used on the night of
his own enlightenment. He also reverted to it throughout the years during his solitary
retreats, and constantly recommended it to the monks, praising it as “peaceful and
sublime, an unadulterated blissful abiding, which banishes at once and stills evil
unwholesome thoughts as soon as they arise”.125

Mindfulness of breathing can function so effectively as a subject of meditation

because it works with a process that is always available to us, the process of respiration.
What it does to turn this process into a basis for meditation is simply to bring it into the
range of awareness by making the breath an object of observation. The meditation
requires no special intellectual sophistication, only awareness of the breath. One merely
breathes naturally through the nostrils keeping the breath in mind at the contact point
around the nostrils or upper lip, where the sensation of breath can be felt as the air
moves in and out. There should be no attempt to control the breath or to force it into
predetermined rhythms, only a mindful contemplation of the natural process of
breathing in and out. The awareness of breath cuts through the complexities of
discursive thinking, rescues us from pointless wandering in the labyrinth of vain
imaginings, and grounds us solidly in the present. For whenever we become aware of
breathing, really aware of it, we can be aware of it only in the present, never in the past
or the future.

The Buddha‟s exposition of mindfulness of breathing involves four basic steps.

The first two (which are not necessarily sequential) require that a long inhalation or
exhalation be noted as it occurs, and that a short inhalation or exhalation be noted as it
occurs. One simply observes the breath moving in and out, observing it as closely as
possible, and noting whether the breath is long or short. As mindfulness grows sharper,
the breath can be followed through the entire course of its movement, from the
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beginning of an inhalation through its intermediary stages to its end, then from the
beginning of an exhalation through its intermediary stages to its end. This third step is
called “clearly perceiving the entire (breath) body.” The fourth step, “calming the bodily
function,” involves a progressive quieting down of the breath and its associated bodily
functions until they become extremely fine and subtle. Beyond these four basic steps lie
more advanced practices which direct mindfulness of breathing towards deep
concentration and insight.

Another practice in the contemplation of the body, which extends meditation

outwards from the confines of a single fixed position, is mindfulness of the postures.
The body can assume four basic postures - walking, standing, sitting, and lying down -
and a variety of other positions marking the change from one posture to another.
Mindfulness of the postures focuses full attention on the body in whatever position it
assumes: when walking one is aware of walking, when standing one is aware of
standing, when sitting one is aware of sitting, when lying down one is aware of lying
down, when changing postures one is aware of changing postures. The contemplation of
the postures illuminates the impersonal nature of the body. It reveals that the body is not
a self or the belonging of a self, but merely a configuration of living matter subject to
the directing influence of volition.

The next exercise carries the extension of mindfulness a step further. This
exercise, called “mindfulness and clear comprehension” (satisampajanna), adds to the
bare awareness an element of understanding. When performing any action, one
performs it with full awareness or clear comprehension. Going and coming, looking
ahead and looking aside, bending and stretching, dressing, eating, drinking, urinating,
defecating, falling asleep, waking up, speaking, remaining silent - all become occasions
for the progress of meditation when done with clear comprehension. In the
commentaries clear comprehension is explained as fourfold:

(1) understanding the purpose of the action, i.e. recognizing its aim and
determining whether that aim accords with the Dhamma;
(2) understanding suitability, i.e. knowing the most efficient means to achieve
one‟s aim;
(3) understanding the range of meditation, i.e. keeping the mind constantly in a
meditative frame even when engaged in action; and
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 (4) understanding without delusion, i.e. seeing the action as an impersonal process
devoid of a controlling ego-entity. This last aspect will be explored more
thoroughly in the last chapter, on the development of wisdom.

The next two sections on mindfulness of the body present analytical

contemplations intended to expose the body‟s real nature. One of these is the meditation
on the body‟s unattractiveness, already touched on in connection with right effort; the
other, the analysis of the body into the four primary elements. The first, the meditation
on unattractiveness, is designed to counter infatuation with the body, especially in its
form of sexual desire. The Buddha teaches that the sexual drive is a manifestation of
craving, thus a cause of dukkha that has to be reduced and extricated as a precondition
for bringing dukkha to an end. The meditation aims at weakening sexual desire by
depriving the sexual urge of its cognitive underpinning, the perception of the body as
sensually alluring. Sensual desire rises and falls together with this perception. It springs
up because we view the body as attractive; it declines when this perception of beauty is
removed. The perception of bodily attractiveness in turn lasts only so long as the body
is looked at superficially, grasped in terms of selected impressions. To counter that
perception we have to refuse to stop with these impressions but proceed to inspect the
body at a deeper level, with a probing scrutiny grounded in dispassion.

Precisely this is what is undertaken in the meditation on unattractiveness,

which turns back the tide of sensuality by pulling away its perceptual prop. The
meditation takes one‟s own body as object, since for a neophyte to start off with the
body of another, especially a member of the opposite sex, might fail to accomplish the
desired result. Using visualization as an aid, one mentally dissects the body into its
components and investigates them one by one, bringing their repulsive nature to light.
The texts mention thirty-two parts: head-hairs, body-hairs, nails, teeth, skin, flesh,
sinews, bones, marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, diaphragm, spleen, lungs, large intestines,
small intestines, stomach contents, excrement, brain, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat,
fat, tears, grease, snot, spittle, synovial fluid, and urine. The repulsiveness of the parts
implies the same for the whole: the body seen close-up is truly unattractive; it‟s
beautiful appearance a mirage. But the aim of this meditation must not be
misapprehended. The aim is not to produce aversion and disgust but detachment, to
extinguish the fire of lust by removing its fuel.

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 The other analytical contemplation deals with the body in a different way. This
meditation, called the analysis into elements (dhatuvavatthana), sets out to counter our
innate tendency to identify with the body by exposing the body‟s essentially impersonal
nature. The means it employs, as its name indicates, is the mental dissection of the body
into the four primary elements, referred to by the archaic names earth, water, fire, and
air, but actually signifying the four principal behavioral modes of matter: solidity,
fluidity, heat, and oscillation. The solid element is seen most clearly in the body‟s solid
parts - the organs, tissues, and bones; the fluid element, in the bodily fluids; the heat
element, in the body‟s temperature; the oscillation element, in the respiratory process.
The break with the identification of the body as „I‟ or „myself‟ is effected by a widening
of perspective after the elements have come into view. Having analyzed the body into
the elements, one then considers that all four elements, the chief aspects of bodily
existence, are essentially identical with the chief aspects of external matter, with which
the body is in constant interchange. When one vividly realizes this through prolonged
meditation, one ceases to identify with the body, ceases to cling to it. One sees that the
body is nothing more than a particular configuration of changing material processes
which support a stream of changing mental processes. There is nothing here that can be
considered a truly existent self, nothing that can provide a substantial basis for the sense
of personal identity.

The last exercise in mindfulness of the body is a series of „cemetery

meditations,‟ contemplations of the body‟s disintegration after death, which may be
performed either imaginatively, with the aid of pictures, or through direct confrontation
with a corpse. By any of these means one obtains a clear mental image of a
decomposing body, then applies the process to one‟s own body, considering: “This
body, now so full of life, has the same nature and is subject to the same fate. It cannot
escape death, cannot escape disintegration, but must eventually die and decompose.”
Again, the purpose of this meditation should not be misunderstood. The aim is not to
indulge in a morbid fascination with death and corpses, but to sunder our egoistic
clinging to existence with contemplation sufficiently powerful to break its hold. The
clinging to existence subsists through the implicit assumption of permanence. In the
sight of a corpse we meet the teacher who proclaims unambiguously: „Everything
formed is impermanent.‟ Undoubtedly, this exercise aims at rejecting the self-infatuated

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attachment to body. Since any delight in, and attachment to body (rūpa), according to
the Buddha, conduces to misery.126

Reflection on the four elements constituting the basis of body: earth- element,
water-element, fire-element, and air-element. This indicates the cultivation of the regard
of wisdom or the intuitive insight into the nature of things. The meditator is advised to
meditate on the make-up of his body so as to see, as it really is, the conditioned,
transient and selfless nature of the body.

2. 4. 2 Contemplation of the feeling

This implies the awareness of feelings, physical or mental, their origination and
dissolution. The meditator starts doing this exercise by concentrating his mindfulness on
feeling of three kinds: pleasant, painful, and neither painful nor pleasant. He becomes
aware of feelings at the time when they arise, exist and disappear. He just observes
feelings, sees clearly their movement, but does not try to behave towards them. When
the meditator looks objectively at feelings and does not identify him with any of them
he sees them in their nature. By this means, he comprehends, as the Buddha has said127,
that pleasant, painful, or neither painful nor pleasant feeling, is impermanent,
compounded, generated by conditions, liable to destruction, decay, fading away,
stopping. Seeing it thus, he turns away from all feelings, be they pleasant, painful, or
neutral; he loses his greed for them, is freed from them, and has cognition of the fact
that he is freed from them. It is seen that this exercise is absolutely opposed to the
present dominant tendency of man; the search for strong feelings through material
shapes, sounds, smells, tastes, touches and mental objects. Therefore, it is not easy for
the modem man to follow this exercise unless he has been aware of the invalidity and
emptiness of sensualism, and the grave damages he causes to himself and to the living
environment on account of his greed for sensory pleasures.

2. 4. 3 Contemplation of the mind

This denotes the mindfulness of the activities of mind. Like the examination of feelings,
the practitioner of this exercise learns to watch various states of mind, of their
appearance and disappearance without making any judgment on them. By this means,
he becomes aware of:

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 (1) The mind with attachment or (2) the mind without attachment;
(3) The mind with hatred or (4) the mind without hatred;
(5) The mind with confusion or (6) the mind without confusion;
(7) The mind is contracted or (8) the mind is distracted;
(9) The mind has become great or (10) the mind has not become great;
(11) The mind with some other mental state superior to it or (12) the mind with no
other mental state superior to it;
(13) The mind is composed or (14) the mind is not composed;
(15) The mind is freed or (16) the mind is not freed.

According to the traditional explanation, when the meditator by means of

awareness examines his mind in its various states he sees clearly its conditioned and
impermanent nature. His mindfulness is then established precisely to the extent
necessary just for knowledge and remembrance and thus he dwells unattached to
anything in the world.

2. 4. 4 Contemplation of the mental objects:

This involves the following deliberations:

Deliberation of the five hindrances, sense-desire, ill-will, sloth and torpor,

restlessness and worry, and doubt, the states which are the impurities of mind and which
make insight forceless. The doer of this exercise is asked to mindfully examine whether
there exist or not in his mind the five polluted states, how they arise and destroy. The
aim of this practice is to become aware of the taints of mind and to feel dispassionate
for, and unattached to, them.

Deliberation of the five aggregates of grasping, material shape, feeling,

perception, activities, and consciousness, their origin and cessation. This exercise aims
at the cultivation of regard to the conditioned nature of personality or pancakkhandha. It
results in seeing as it really is the impermanent, sorrowful and selfless nature of the five
aggregates, leads to leaving the attachment to them.

Deliberation of the six internal-external sense bases. This implies the training
of awareness as to lustful fetters, which happen conditioned by contacts between the six
senses and their objects. It aims at the development of insight into the nature of things,
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which sees the characteristic of conditioned co-production, change and selflessness of
existing things. Much practiced, this exercise results in doing away with craving for,
and attachment to, every compound thing.

Deliberation of the seven factors of enlightenment (bojjhanga): mindfulness

(sati), investigation into things (dhammavicaya), energy (viriya), rapture (piti), serenity
(passaddhi), concentration (samadhi), and equanimity (upekha). This denotes the
examination as to whether or not the seven links in awakening are cultured. It is
traditionally believed that128 when bhavana is well practised it conduces to the growth
of such qualities as sati, dhammavicaya, viriya, pīti, passaddhi. samādhi, and upekkhā.
Then when the seven links are developed in accordance with aloofness, detachment,
cessation, and abandoning, they do bring about the realization of freedom through
knowledge (vijjavimutti).

Deliberation of the four ariyan truths: suffering, the origin of suffering, the
cessation of suffering, and the path leading to the cessation of suffering. This exercise
involves consideration on:

a) The painful nature of old age, sickness, death; the unsatisfactory states of not
getting what one desires, of being separated from what one loves, of being
lived together with what one dislikes. This aims at being conscious all the
unsatisfactory aspects of human life which are of the nature of pañcakkhandhā
and which exist as a result of craving for and attachment to pañcakkhandhā.
b) The origin of suffering which is thirst or craving. This implies the agitation of
suffering or troubles born of craving for sensual pleasures, craving for
existence, and craving for non-existence.
c) The extinction of suffering which means the putting out of craving for sensual
pleasures, craving for existence and craving for non-existence.
d) The way leading to the cessation of suffering. This indicates the putting into
practical use of the Ariyan Eightfold Path, right view, right thought, right
speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right
concentration, for the purpose of getting rid of suffering.

We have so far deliberated over some of the teachings of the Buddha as

recorded in the Nikāyas which aim at providing the very fundamental answers to the

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eternal problems of man: the aspiration for happiness and peace and the liberation from
suffering of old age and death. The Buddha as an awakened person was clearly
conscious of the nature of man and his aspirations. He understood that man in any age is
subject to suffering by the inescapable fact of his old age and death and hopes for
happiness and peace of mind. He also understood that craving for sense-pleasures and
ignorance are the root causes of all troubles and suffering. He was therefore concerned
about showing human beings the way (or ways) out of suffering.

The above-mentioned teachings of the Buddha which derive from his

enlightened vision of man and of the world show clearly a course of humane culture and
education. It is the way of thought conduct, of moral and spiritual development, of
senses discipline and of mental cultivation. It is the way of self-discipline, self-restraint
and self-culture, at the same time it is the way of serving others on the basis of
practicing non-harming, loving-kindness and compassion to them. In other worlds, it is
the way of morality and wisdom, which is based primarily on the knowledge of
dependent nature of things and which therefore gives emphasis on self-restraint and
self-control, non-harming, loving-kindness and compassion to life as a mode of right
behavior for the aim of man's perfection. Man in any age is inclined by nature to reach
self-perfection, so he needs right guidelines to think and act, to search for happiness and
peace and to share his experience and knowledge with others. The modem man, who is
on the wrong course, according to A. Peccei1, needs more than ever before proper
guidelines to correct fundamentally his way of thinking as well as his mode of behavior.
Erich Fromm has made profound comments upon the nature of cultural and spiritual
crisis of the modem man:

Man has followed rationalism to the point where rationalism has transformed
itself into utter irrationality. Since Descartes, man has increasingly split thought from
affect; thought alone is considered rational-affect, by its very nature, irrational; the
person I, has been split off into an intellect, which constitutes my-self, and which is to
control me as it is to control nature. Control by the intellect over nature, and the
production of more and more things, became the paramount aim of life. In this process
man has transformed himself into a thing, life has become subordinate to property, „to
be‟ is dominated by „to have.‟ Where the roots of Western culture, both Greek and
Hebrew, considered the aim of life the perfection of man, modern man is concerned

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with the perfection of things, and the knowledge of how to make them. He gave up the
illusion of a fatherly God as a parental helper, but he gave up also the true aims of all
great humanistic religions: overcoming the limitations an egotistical self, achieving
love, objectivity, and humility and respecting life so that the aim of life is living itself.
Hence, he is anxious, and desperate. He still pays lip service to the aims of happiness,
individualism, but he actually has no aim. Ask him what he is living for, what is the aim
of all his strivings and he will be embarrassed. Some may say they live for the family,
others, „to have fun,‟ still other, to make money, but in reality nobody knows what he is
living for; he has no goal, except the wish to escape insecurity and aloneness.129

On the basis of the above stated observation of Erich Fromm, it may be said
that there are two basically false tendencies from which all the complex problems of
man and world arise i.e., the tendency of separating man from the natural world and that
of pushing humanness into the background by giving priority to tangible benefits and
material considerations. Both of these inclinations, according to the Buddha, are the
causes of all disasters and misery because they are but ignorance (avijjā), the
misconception of the conditional nature of things, and craving (taṇhā), the search
through sense-organs for satisfaction in material shapes, sounds, smells, tastes, touches
and mental objects. As a result, the operation of the two wrong biases leads to the
operation of wrong thoughts and actions and thus leading to confusion and suffering.
The Buddha was clearly aware of the symbiotic principle of life, so his way of thinking
and action showed a profound and sensitive understanding of being of all kinds. He
never accepted an idea or action that causes harm to life. He had a respect for life, any
life, even the life of an insect and that of a plant. He made it a rule that no food should
be thrown on green vegetation or in water where there are small insects. All his
teachings were drawn from the profound understanding of life, which he characterized
in terms of paṭiccasamuppāda. According to this law, man and all other elements of the
universe are causally conditioned; they all are relative, dependent and cannot exist in
isolation from each other. This relationship is so close that it is said in Buddhism that
„this being, that becomes; this not being, that becomes not.‟ Because of the simplicity of
the world events, this knowledge was not emphasized in the past as it is done today, but
this knowledge has certainly opened the way for all the Buddhist modes of moral
thinking and behavior. “He who protects himself protects others; he who protects others
protects himself.”130 “Even as a bee gathers honey from a flower and departs without

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injuring the flower or its color or scent, so let a sage dwell in his village.”131 No idea or
action is encouraged in Buddhism to take advantage of others. All that a Buddhist must
do is to conquer his inner greed, hatred and delusion. From this point of view, it may be
said that Buddhist perception of moral and self-discipline are absolutely vital and
relevant in today‟s world which is tom by ruthless competition and violence. The
Buddha‟s teaching is but the way of the right and wise thinking people and an ideal
mode of moral and humane behavior. The Master has shown the way. Now it is for us to
tread the path.

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Notes and References

1
Saṁyutta Nikāya, V, 420ff.
2
Of the five students: (1) Kondañña, (2) Vappa, (3) Bhaddiya, (4) Mahānāma, (5) Assajit,
only Kondañña could pierce through the veil of ignorance.
3
Saṁyutta Nikāya, V, 420.
4
Dve me bhikkhaveantā – thereare two extremes. Here the large concept is „anatā‟, Saṁyutta
Nikāya, V, 420).
5
Ibid.,Yocāyamkāmesukāmasukhallikānuyogohīno, gammo, pothujjanikoanariyo,
anatthasamhito.
6
Ibid.,Yocāyamattakilamathānuyogodukkho, anariyo, anatthasamhito.
7
Ibid.,Katamā hi BhikkhavemajjhimāpaṭpapadāTathāgathenaabhisambuddhā.
8
Ibid.,Sābhikkhavemajjhimāpaṭpadācakkhukaranī-
ñānakaranīupasmānyaabhiññāyasambodhāyanibbānāyasamavattatīti.
9
Ibid.,Seyyathīdamsammādiṭṭhi, sammāsamkappo, sammāvācā, samākammanto, sammāājivo,
sammāvāymo, sammā sati, sammāsamādhi.
10
Majjhima Nikāya, Ariyapartyesana Sutta (26)
11
..anuppatinassamaggassauppādetā,
asañjātassamaggassasañjanetāanakkhātassamaggassaakkhātā (Saṁyutta Nikāya, I, 191.)
12
Chaplin, J.P.; Dictionary of Psychology; Op. Cit., p. 119.
13
Walter Mischel, Essentials of Psychology, Op. Cit., p. 385.
14
Antojaṭābahijaṭā – jaṭāyajaṭtāpajā,
Tam tamGotamapucchāmi – ko imam vijaṭayejaṭām.
Sīlepatiṭṭhāyanarosapañno - cittampaññañcabhāvayam.
Ātāpinipakobhikkhū – so imam vijaṭayejaṭām.
Yesamrāgocadosoca - avijjācavirājitā
Khināsavāarahanto – tesamvijaṭitājaṭā. (Saṁyutta Nikāya, I, 13).
15
Jaṭā ti taṇhāyajāliniyāadhivacanam;
Sāratthappakāsini; F.L.Woodward, Vol. I, P.T.S., p. 49.
16
DhammasaṇganīAṭṭhakathā, 142.
17
Dhammapada, 142
18
See I. B. Homer, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.II, p.154; 363.
19
E. M. Hare, The Book of the Gradual Sayings, VoI.IV, p. 138.
20
See I. B. Homer, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.II, p.362.
21
See I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings,Vol.II, p.363-65.
22
I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.II, pp.52-53; Vol. III, pp.180-
82.
23
See I. B. Homer, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.I, pp.325-34.
24
Cp.M.I, 379f.;Dīgha Nikāya, I, 148; Commentary of the Dhammapada, p. 4f.
344
25
Majjhima Nikāya, l, 479f; S, II, p. 28f; Aṇguttara Nikāya, I, p. 50f; see also above note.
26
Cp. Rhys Davids, DBI, p. 142.
27
Dīgha Nikāya, III, 220.
28
Majjhima Nikāya, I, 70f.
29
For more details, see Majjhima Nikāya, II, p.206ff
30
Majjhima Nikāya, I, p.39f
31
See the Anadabhaddekarattasutta, the Mahākaccānabhaddekarattasutta, and
Uddesavibhangasutta of the Majjhima Nikāya.
32
In the Ganakamoggallanasutta, the Buddha says that his teaching is tor those monks who are
learners, who perfection being not yet attained, dwell longing for the incomparable security
from the bonds, and conduces both to their abiding in ease here and now as well as to their
mindfulness and clear consciousness as to those monks who are perfected ones.
33
See F. L. Woodward, The Book of the Kindred Sayings, Vol.III, pp.32-34, 64-66.
34
Saṁyutta Nikāya, II, 114; Majjhima Nikāya, I, 148.
35
Majjhima Nikāya, I, 155, III, p.114.
36
Vin, I, 34f
37
See C. A. F. Rhys Davids, The Birth of Indian Psychology and its Development in Buddhism,
p.221; A Manual of Buddhism, p. 222.
38
H. Oldenberg, Buddha: His Life, His Doctrine. His Order, p. 191.
39
W. H. Schumann, The Historical Buddha, p.206.
40
G. C. Pande, Origins of Buddhism, p.32.
41
Rhys Davids, Early Buddhism, p.69.
42
Richard F. Gombrich, How Buddhism began, p.65.
43
C. A. F. Rhys Davids, The Book of the Kindred Sayings, Vol.I. pp.217-18.
44
F. L. Woodward, The Book of the Gradual Sayings, Vol. I, p.240.
45
See I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.II. pp.63-64.
46
See F. L. Woodward, The Book of the Gradual Sayings, Vol.I, p.219.
47
See F. L. Woodward, The Book of the Kindred Sayings, Vol. IV, pp.113-14.
48
See F. L. Woodward, The Book of the Kindred Sayings, Vol. III, pp. 118-20; The
Dhammapada, verse 170, says: “Look upon the world as a bubble; look upon it as a mirage.
Him who looks thus upon the world the king of death does not see.”
49
Cp.Dīgha Nikāya, I, 161ff; II, 290ff; Majjhima Nikāya, I, 400ff, 515f.;Aṇguttara Nikāya, II,
56.
50
Majjhima Nikāya, II, 197ff cd. The similar approach with the same context, Saṁyutta
Nikāya, I, 80f.
51
Majjhima Nikāya, I, 376ff.; 396ff; Dīgha Nikāya, I, 120ff.; Aṇguttara Nikāya, II, 190ff.
52
Aṇguttara Nikāya, II, 139.
53
Aṇguttara Nikāya, II, 160f; Cp. GS, II, 167.
54
See H. Oldenberg, Buddha: His Life, His Doctrine, His Order, p.193.
55
M. Walshe, The long Discourses of the Buddha, pp. 135-36
345
56
See M. Wintemitz, History of Indian Literature, Vol.II. p. 143.
57
See I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.II, pp.359-66.
58
See C. A. F. Rhys Davids, The Book off the Kindred Sayings, Vol.II, pp. 15-16.
59
See also A.C.Ewing, The Fundamental Question of Philosophy, p. 56; Valle Poussin,
Buddhism, p. 129; Radhakrishanan, Indian Philosophy, I; K.N.Javatilleke, Early Buddhist
Theory of knowledge, p. 357.
60
K.N.Javatilleke, Early Buddhist Theory of knowledge, p. 464.
61
A.K. Warder, Early Buddhism and Other contemporary System, Vol. 18, p. 57.
62
Cp.Majjhima Nikāya,.I, 77f.; 81, 167f., 241f
63
Majjhima Nikāya, II, 211f. This term is employed by Jayatilleke, op. cit., p. 172, 416.
64
Aṇguttara Nikāya, I, 189ff.
65
Aṇguttara Nikāya, II 190ff.
66
Majjhima Nikāya, II, 44; cp. The collection of the Middle. II. 238.
67
Commentary of the Dhammapada, I, 383
68
Majjhima Nikāya, II, 174; cp. The collection of the Middle, II, 363.
69
Majjhima Nikāya, II, 22; III, 8f.
70
Aṇguttara Nikāya, III, 87; cp. GS, III, 72
71
Majjhima Nikāya, III, 4.cp, The collection of the Middle, III, 53.
72
Majjhima Nikāya, III, 6.
73
I-Tsing, p.116
74
I-Tsing, pp.176ff
75
I-Tsing, pp.183.
76
I-Tsing, pp.154.
77
See I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.II, p.386.
78
See I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.II, pp.386-87.
79
I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.II. p. 378.
80
I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.II, pp.367-68.
81
See the Assalāyanasutta, the Madhurasutta of the Majjhima Nikāya.
82
I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.II, pp.98-99.
83
See I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol. III, p.256.
84
See I. B. Horne n The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol. III, pp.261-62.
85
In the Buddha‟s teaching, the fruit of action (kammaphala) is one of the four unthinkable
things, namely: the range of Buddhas (Buddhavisaya), the range of meditation, the fruit of
deed, and the World-speculation (loka-cinta). See F. L. Woodward, The Book of the Gradual
Sayings, pp.89-90.
86
See I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.III, pp.259-61.
87
See L B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol. II,p.66.
88
I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.II, pp.127-28.

346
89
See E. M. Hare, The Book of the Gradual Sayings, Vol. IV, pp.280-81, 295,296.
90
See E. M. Hare, The Book of the Gradual Sayings, Vol. IV, pp.280-81, 295,296.
91
F. L. Woodward, The Book of the Gradual Sayings, Vol.I, pp.235-36.
92
See I.B. Homer, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol. I, pp.l 73-74.
93
F. L. Woodward, The Book of the Gradual Sayings, Vol.I, pp.260-61.
94
See F. L. Woodward, The Book of the Kindred Sayings, Vol.III, p.59.
95
See F. L. Woodward, The Book of the Kindred Sayings, Vol. III, p.59-60.
96
See F. L. Woodward, The Book of the Kindred Sayings, Vol. V, p.370.
97
In his words to the monk Malunkyaputta the Buddha says that whether there is the view that
the world is eternal or not, an ending thing or not… there is birth, ageing, dying, grief‟
sorrow, suffering, lamentation and despair, the suppression of which he lays down here and
now. See I.B. Homer, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol. II, p. 100.
98
C. A. F. Rhys Davids, The Book of the Kindred Sayings, Vol.I, p. 126.
99
T. W. Rhys Davids & H. Oldenberg, Vinaya Texts, Part III, p.330.
100
See I. B. Homer, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.III, pp.98-99.
101
See I. B. Homer, The Collection of the Middle length Sayings, Vol.I, p.55.
102
See I. B. Homer, The Collection of the Middle length Sayings, Vol.I, p.55.
103
See I. B. Horner,The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.I, p.150.
104
F. L. Woodward,The Book of the Gradual Sayings, Vol.I, p.6.
105
The Dhammapada, verse 223.
106
I. B. Homer, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings,Vol.I, pp.55-56.
107
See F. H. Woodward, The Book of the Gradual Sayings, Vol.I, pp. 187-92.
108
See I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.III, p.182.
109
See I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.I, p.354;
BhikkhuNānamoli, The Path of Purification, p. 147.
110
See I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.II, pp.95-96.
111
See F. L. Woodward, The Book of the Gradual Sayings, Vol.I, p.182.
112
See F. L. Woodward, The Book of the Kindred Sayings, Vol.V, pp.96-97.
113
See I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.III, pp. 119-20.
114
See I. B. Homer, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.I. p.322.
115
See I. B. Homer, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.I. p.323.
116

117
F. L. Woodward, The Book of the Kindred Sayings, Vol.IV, pp. l10-11.
118
See I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.Ill, pp.347-49.
119
See F. L. Woodward, The Book of the Kindred Sayings, Vol.IV, p. 53.
120
J. Needle man, in “Religion for A New Generation”,p.9, expresses: “...the satisfaction ot
desire is not happiness. Because human desires are so multiform and contradictory, the
satisfaction of one is always at the expense of another. And even if it were possible to satisfy
ail our desires, it would still be a contradictory and chaotic satisfaction corresponding to the

347
 contradictory and chaotic condition of the desires themselves. Contradictory satisfaction is
what we call inner conflict, and the modem man experiences inner conflict as suffering.” F.
H. Bradley asserts that pleasures were a perishing series. This one comes, and the intense
self-feeling proclaims satisfaction. It is gone, and we are not satisfied. It was not that one,
then, but this one now; and this one now is gone. It was not that one, then, but another and
another; but another and another do not give us what we want. We are still left eager and
confident, till the flash of feeling dies down, and when that is gone nothing is left. We are
where we began, so far as getting happiness gone; and we have not found ourselves, and we
not satisfied. (See F. H. Bradley, Ethical Studies, p.96.) See also Arnold J. Toynbee
&Daisaku Ikeda, Man Himself Must Choose, pp. 308-16, dealing with desires.
121
See I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Voi.I, p.120; Vol.II, p. 184.
122
See I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.II, p.126.
123
In the Cūladukkhakhandhasutta of the Majjhima Nikāya the Buddha says that pleasures of
the senses are of little satisfaction, of much ill of much tribulation wherein is more peril. Yet
if this comes to be well seen as it really is, through perfect intuitive wisdom by an ariyan
disciple, but if he does not come to rapture and joy (of the first and second jhāna) apart from
pleasures of the senses, apart from unskilled states of mind, or to something better than that
(referring to the third and fourth jhāna), then he is not yet one unseduced by pleasures of the
senses. However, if he comes to rapture and joy apart from pleasures of the senses, apart
from unskilled states of mind, or to something better than that he is one who is not seduced
by pleasures of the senses. See I. B. Homer, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings,
Vol.I, p. 120.
124
The Sallekhasutta of the Majjhima Nikaya characterizes the four states of rupajjhana as
ditthadhammasukhavihara (abidings in ease here-now) and the four states of ariipajjhana as
santavihara (abidings that are peaceful). See I. B. Horner; The Collection of the Middle
Length Sayings, Vol. I, pp.52-53.
125
Majihima Nikāya, sutta 118
126
In the Mahā sunānāatasutta of the Majjhima Nikāya the Buddha states: “I. Ananda. do not
behold one material shape (rūpa = body) wherein is delight, wherein is content, but that from
its changing and becoming otherwise there will not arise grief, sorrow, suffering, lamentation
and despair.” See I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.III. p.154.
127
See I. B. Horner, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, Vol.II, p.179.
128
See I. B. Horner, The Collection oj the Middle Length Sayings, Vol. III, pp. 127-29.
129
See D. T. Suzuki, Erich Fromm, Richard De Martino, Zen Buddhism & Psychoanalysis, pp.79-
80.
130
See F. L. Woodward, The Book of the Kindred Sayings, Vol.V, p.149
131
The Dhammapada, verse 49.

348