Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c5.s6.11

c5.s6.11

The efficacy of *vāda* lies in encouraging the others to speak out and to establish communication. Debate for the sake of debate was never appreciated. Buddha has used the words *kalaha* (quarrel) and *vivāda* (verbal combat) to indicate the negative aspects of human personality. What is the genesis of *kalaha*, *vivāda* (debate), *vilāpa* (lamentation), *śoka* (sorrow), *mātsarya* (jealousy), *māna* (pride), *abhimāna* (ego) and *paiśūnya* (backbiting) — this question is asked to him in *Kalahavivādasutta* of *Suttanipāta*. Buddha says that all these evils are produced by attachment. The question of the propriety of creating controversies through debates is raised again in the next *sutta* (*Cūlavyūhasutta*) of *Suttanipāta*. Buddha is of the view that if a man does not follow the middle path, he gets stuck with a certain view and then he starts declaring that his view alone is right. He has denounced the tendency to enter into debates for creating controversies. Both praise and denouncement are fruits of this tendency. There are persons who would praise their own sects, methods and *dharmas*, and they will just decry the other systems as degraded (*hīna*). In fact, Buddha's discourse on the ethics of debate here is very pertinent: