The Buddha's Contemporary Thinkers and their Philosophical Ideas

 

CONTEMPORARY THINKERS OF THE BUDDHA

            The Sāmaññaphala Sutt of the Dīgha Nikāya has enumerated six contemporary thinkers of Gautama Buddha. They are Purana Kassapa, Makkhali Gosāla, Ajita Kesakambalin, Pakudha Kaccāyana, Nigantha Nātaputta and Sanjaya Belatthiputta. Each of them was well-known in the country as the founder of a religious school with a large followings. According to the Sāmaññaphala Sutta of the Dīgha Nikāya, Ajātaśatru, the king of Magadha, consulted the six thinkers to ascertain their views. All of them explained and delineated their thoughts and views before the king of Magadha. Here, the views expressed by the six contemporary thinkers of the Buddha are as follows:

 

PURANA KASSAPA

            Purana Kassapa is the propounder of the doctrine of Akriyāvāda, that is to say, the doctrine of Non-Action. According to him, a man does not commit any sin through his action which is known as bad in the society, such as telling a lie, killing, adultery, theft, and so forth. Even if a man kills all the beings of the universe, he does not commit any sin. Similarly, if a man does good action, such as speaking truth, service to mankind, honesty, and so on, he does not earn any credit. This doctrine Akriyāvāda of Purana Kassapa is similar to that of Lokāyata of Cārvāka in several ways.

 

MAKKAHALI GOSĀLA

            Makkhali Gosāla is the founder of the doctrine of the Ājivika sect. This unorthodox sect was very popular and it practised nudity similar to the Jainas. The Ājivikas also got the royal patronage. According to the Barābara cave inscription, the great Maurayan king Piyadassi Aśoka gave the Barābara cave on the Kalatika Mountain to the Ājivikas.   

            According to Makkhali Gosāla, the samsāra is conditioned and determined to the smallest detail by Niyati, that is to say, destiny. The doctrine is also called Samsāra Visuddhi or the doctrine of getting purity only by passing through all sorts of existence. It is also termed as Daivavāda, that is to say, Fatalism. It means that the human effort is useless. Everything has a fixed period, and further samsāra has a fixed term through which every being has to pass.

 

AJITA KESAKAMBALIN

            Ajita Kesakambalin is the propounder of the doctrine of Ucchedavāda, that is to say, the doctrine of Annihilationism. According to this doctrine, the body consists of four elements; and again these elements are dissolved into the original body after passing away. He further states that there is not any existence of supra-mundane entity or personality having higher and super-natural powers. This doctrine does not believe in giving gifts, sacrifices, doing good or bad acts, and so on.

 

PUKUDHA KACCĀYANA

            Pakudha Kaccayana is the propounder of the doctrine of Satta Kāyavāda, that is to say, the doctrine of Seven Fold Ultimate. According to this doctrine, there are seven elements which are immutable and unchangeable, such as the earth, water, fire, air, happiness, sorrow and life, and further he states that the body is eventually dissolved into these seven eternal elements. B.M. Barua says that the doctrine is also known as the Ātma-Sasthavāda, that is to say, the doctrine of Soul as the sixth. 

 

NIGANTHA NĀTAPUTTA

            Nigantha Nātaputta is the propounder of the doctrine of Cāturyāma Samvara, that is to say, the doctrine of Four Fold Restraint. According to him, the Four Fold Restraint is:

(a) Restraint from the use of cold water as it possesses life.

(b) Restraint from all sins.

(c) Attainment of sinless stage due to restraint from all sins, and

(d) Round the clock involvement to restrain from all sins.

 

SANJAYA BELATTHIPUTTA

            Sanjaya Belatthiputta is the propounder of the doctrine of Viksepavāda, that is to say, the doctrine of distractration or diverting the mind from the Right Path. In the Sāmaññaphala Sutta of the Dīgha Nikāya, Sanjaya of the Belattha clan always declined to give unconditional answers to problems facing the human mind. According to B.M. Barua, Sanjaya Belatthiputta raised skepticism to a level of scientific doctrine, and thus prepared the way for a critical method of investigation in philosophy.

 

MIDDLE PATH OF GAUTAMA BUDDHA

             Having known the views and thoughts of the six sophistic teachers, that is to say, titthiyas, and at the same time the trends and philosophical speculations before the coming of Gautama Buddha to the scene, it would now be crystal clear why he felt to have a new faith which, without any delay, caught the imagination of people and was followed by millions and millions.

 References- 

1. This Paper is Written By the Prof. Ram Nandan Singh, Department of Buddhist Studies, University of Jammu.