Early Monastic Buddhism v1.c8.s1.1

v1.c8.s1.1

There are a few problems said to have been left unanswered (avyākata) by Buddha, the reason assigned for doing so being either that they relate to topics or notions which have sophical tenets embodied in the Upaniṣads and other Brāhmanic philosophical works, but that does not go to establish that the Brahmajālasutta was composed with any reference to them, the cases of agreement being only accidental. The Sutta, however, has served two important purposes, viz., disabusing our minds of many deep-rooted current notions about the world, the soul and their ultimate condition, and cautioning us against interpreting the doctrine of Buddha in the light of our preconceived notions. By way of illustration, I may point out that the notion of Ātman as a permanent, immaculate entity existing within our body unaffected by karma (actions) is likely to distort the true import of the Attā or Puggala of the Buddhist texts, and in the same way the notion of Nihilism (Ucchedavāda = Natthatta) may influence the interpretation of Anattā or Suññatā doctrine of the Buddhists. A typical instance is given in the Majjhima Nikāya (I, pp. 136-137): A Sassatavādin hears Buddha's teaching about the attainment of Nibbāna by the destruction of passion, desire, wrong views etc. and concludes therefrom that Buddha is an Ucchedavādin. Childers writes in his article on Nibbāna (Pali Dictionary, p. 267): "There is probably no doctrine more distinctive of Sākyamuni's original teaching than that of the annihilation of being" (p. 274): Burnouf "is decidedly in favour of the opinion that the goal of Buddhism is annihilation."