Pakudha Kaccayana

IAST|Pakudha Kaccāyana was an Indian Brahmin [ P. 90, "Dictionary of Pali Proper Names" By George Peiris Malalasekera ] ascetic teacher who lived around the 5th or 4th c. BCE, contemporaneous with Mahavira and the Buddha.

According to Pakudha, there are seven eternal "elements": Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Joy, Sorrow and Life. Pakudha further asserted that these elements do not "interact" with one another.

The Samannaphala Sutta (DN 2) represents Pakudha's views as follows::"'... [T] here are these seven substances — unmade, irreducible, uncreated, without a creator, barren, stable as a mountain-peak, standing firm like a pillar — that do not alter, do not change, do not interfere with one another, are incapable of causing one another pleasure, pain, or both pleasure and pain. Which seven? The earth-substance, the liquid-substance, the fire-substance, the wind-substance, pleasure, pain, and the soul as the seventh. These are the seven substances — unmade, irreducible, uncreated, without a creator, barren, stable as a mountain-peak, standing firm like a pillar — that do not alter, do not change, do not interfere with one another, and are incapable of causing one another pleasure, pain, or both pleasure and pain. :"'And among them there is no killer nor one who causes killing, no hearer nor one who causes hearing, no cognizer nor one who causes cognition. When one cuts off [another person's] head, there is no one taking anyone's life. It is simply between the seven substances that the sword passes.'" [ [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.02.0.than.html Thanissaro (1997).] ]

In the Brahmajala Sutta (DN 1), theories such as Pakudha's are labeled as "non-action" (Pali/Skt.: "IAST|akiriyavāda") [Bhaskar (1972). [http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:558.pali Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 215, entry for "Kiriya"] defines "IAST|akiriyavāda" as: "denying the difference between merit & demerit."] and "eternalism" ("IAST|sassatavādā"). [Bhaskar (1972). [http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.3:1:3945.pali Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 700, entry for "Sassata"] defines "IAST|sassata-vāda" as: "an eternalist, eternalism."]

See also

* Shramana
* Samannaphala Sutta
* Brahmajala Sutta
* Merit (Buddhism)

Notes

Sources

* Bhaskar, Bhagchandra Jain (1972). "Jainism in Buddhist Literature". Alok Prakashan: Nagpur. Available on-line at http://jainfriends.tripod.com/books/jiblcontents.html.
* Ñāṇamoli, Bhikkhu (trans.) and Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed.) (2001). "The Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya". Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-072-X.
* Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). "The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary". Chipstead: Pali Text Society. A general on-line search engine for the PED is available at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/.
* Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997). "Samaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Contemplative Life" (DN 2). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.02.0.than.html.
* Walshe, Maurice O'Connell (trans.) (1995). "The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Dīgha Nikāya". Somerville: Wisdom Publications. ISBN: 0-86171-103-3.