Buddhism - Key Passages

Epicurean Focus

These passages come from the oldest Buddhist scriptures, the Pali Canon of the Theravada tradition, in the translations through which Buddhism first reached English readers. They state the Buddhist positions that most directly oppose Epicurus: that life is suffering, that craving for pleasure is its cause, that the senses are “on fire,” that the questions of natural philosophy do not profit, that there is no self, and that the deeds of one life are punished or rewarded in another. Each excerpt has its own link target and a link to the printed page.

Life Is Suffering, and Desire Is Its Cause

The Buddha’s first sermon sets out the whole program. The “habitual practice … of those things whose attraction depends upon the passions, and especially of sensuality” is “a low and pagan way.” Birth, age, sickness and death are painful, and “In brief, the five aggregates which spring from attachment … are painful.” The cause of suffering is “thirst (or craving),” and the cure is “the destruction, in which no passion remains, of this very thirst.” Among the forms of craving to be destroyed is the craving for this present life alone, which the translator T. W. Rhys Davids calls “the ‘let-us-eat-and-drink-for-to-morrow-we-die heresy’,” with “very close analogies to … materialism.”

Epicurus taught the reverse. Pleasure is “the first good innate in us” (DL X.129), and desire is not to be destroyed but classified: some desires are natural and necessary, some natural but not necessary, and some empty (PD 29). The natural desires are to be satisfied, with prudence, not extinguished.

The Senses Are on Fire

In the Fire Sermon the Buddha teaches that “The eye, O priests, is on fire; forms are on fire,” and the same for every sense and for the mind, “With the fire of passion … with the fire of hatred, with the fire of infatuation.” The disciple therefore “conceives an aversion” for every sense and every sensation, “pleasant, unpleasant, or indifferent,” and so “he knows that rebirth is exhausted.” The Dhammapada draws the conclusion: “From pleasure comes grief, from pleasure comes fear; he who is free from pleasure knows neither grief nor fear.”

For Epicurus the senses are the first standard of truth, and the feelings of pleasure and pain are the standard of good and evil. To conceive an aversion for the senses is to give up the means by which nature lets us know and enjoy the world.

Questions That “Profit Not”

Asked whether the world is eternal, whether the soul and body are one, and whether the saint exists after death, the Buddha refuses to answer, and compares the questioner to a man shot with a poisoned arrow who will not have it drawn until he learns who shot it: “That man would die … without ever having learnt this.” These questions are set aside “Because … this profits not.” What the Buddha has explained is “Misery … the origin of misery … the cessation of misery … and the path leading to the cessation of misery.”

Epicurus held that these were exactly the questions a man must answer if he is to be free of fear: “A man cannot dispel his fear about the most important matters if he does not know what is the nature of the universe” (PD 12).

No Self, but Rebirth

The monk Nagasena tells the Greek king Milinda that there is “no Ego here to be found.” Just as “chariot” is only a name for pole, axle and wheels, “Nagasena” is only a name for the body and the mental groups. Yet the same Nagasena teaches that “Rebirth takes place without anything transmigrating”: not the same “name and form” but another is born, and “inasmuch as one is born into another existence, therefore is one not freed from one’s evil deeds.” The Dhammapada: “Some people are born again; evil-doers go to hell; righteous people go to heaven.”

Epicurus also taught that the soul is a compound, a “body of fine particles,” and that it is scattered at death. But he drew the opposite conclusion from Nagasena. Lucretius: even if our atoms were gathered again after death into the same arrangement, “this result even would concern us not at all, when the chain of our self-consciousness has once been snapped asunder.”

Nietzsche on Buddhism and on Epicurus

Nietzsche judged Buddhism “a hundred times more realistic than Christianity,” but he called both “nihilistic religions … religions of decadence.” And he put Epicurus beside them: “Epicurus was a typical decadent,” driven by “The terror of pain, even of infinitely slight pain.” This is the Epicurus of the “absence of pain,” read through Buddhist eyes. Epicurus’s own goal was pleasure, in motion as well as at rest.

Contents

• The First Sermon: The Two Extremes and the Four Truths
• The Translator’s Note on the Craving for This Life
• The Fire Sermon
• The Poisoned Arrow: Questions Which Tend Not to Edification
• There Is No Ego: The Chariot
• Rebirth Is Not Transmigration
• Dhammapada: Born Again, to Hell or to Heaven
• Dhammapada: “We Shall Be Like the Bright Gods”
• Dhammapada: “Nirvana the Highest Happiness”
• Dhammapada: “From Pleasure Comes Grief”
• Dhammapada: “All Created Things Perish”
• Nietzsche: Buddhism a Religion of Decadence
• Nietzsche: “Epicurus Was a Typical Decadent”

The Passages

The First Sermon: The Two Extremes and the Four Truths

The Buddha’s first sermon, preached to five ascetics in the Deer Park near Benares. It is the classic statement of the Middle Path and the Four Noble Truths.

Dhamma-kakka-ppavattana Sutta (“The Foundation of the Kingdom of Righteousness”) 2–7, in Buddhist Suttas, tr. T. W. Rhys Davids (1881) · pp. 146–149

2. ‘There are two extremes, O Bhikkhus, which the man who has given up the world ought not to follow—the habitual practice, on the one hand, of those things whose attraction depends upon the passions, and especially of sensuality—a low and pagan way (of seeking satisfaction) unworthy, unprofitable, and fit only for the worldly-minded—and the habitual practice, on the other hand, of asceticism (or self-mortification), which is painful, unworthy, and unprofitable.

3. ‘There is a middle path, O Bhikkhus, avoiding these two extremes, discovered by the Tathagata—a path which opens the eyes, and bestows understanding, which leads to peace of mind, to the higher wisdom, to full enlightenment, to Nirvana! […]

4. ‘Now this, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning suffering.

‘Birth is attended with pain, decay is painful, disease is painful, death is painful. Union with the unpleasant is painful, painful is separation from the pleasant; and any craving that is unsatisfied, that too is painful. In brief, the five aggregates which spring from attachment (the conditions of individuality and their cause) are painful.

‘This then, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning suffering.

6. ‘Now this, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the origin of suffering.

‘Verily, it is that thirst (or craving), causing the renewal of existence, accompanied by sensual delight, seeking satisfaction now here, now there—that is to say, the craving for the gratification of the passions, or the craving for (a future) life, or the craving for success (in this present life).

‘This then, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the origin of suffering.

7. ‘Now this, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the destruction of suffering.

‘Verily, it is the destruction, in which no passion remains, of this very thirst; the laying aside of, the getting rid of, the being free from, the harbouring no longer of this thirst.

The Translator’s Note on the Craving for This Life

Rhys Davids’s note on the second and third kinds of craving in §6, the craving for existence and the craving for this present life alone.

T. W. Rhys Davids, note to the Dhamma-kakka-ppavattana Sutta, Buddhist Suttas (1881) · p. 149

Sassata-ditthi may be called the ‘everlasting life heresy,’ and ukkheda-ditthi the ‘let-us-eat-and-drink-for-to-morrow-we-die heresy.’ These two heresies, thus implicitly condemned, have very close analogies to theism and materialism.

Spence Hardy says (‘Manual of Buddhism,’ p. 496): ‘Bhawa-tanha signifies the pertinacious love of existence induced by the supposition that transmigatory existence is not only eternal, but felicitous and desirable. Wibhawa-tanha is the love of the present life, under the notion that existence will cease therewith, and that there is to be no future state.‘

The Fire Sermon

Preached on Gaya Head to a thousand monks. The senses, their objects and every sensation are “on fire,” and the disciple frees himself by conceiving an aversion for all of them.

The Fire-Sermon (Maha-Vagga i. 21), in Henry Clarke Warren, Buddhism in Translations (1896) · pp. 351–353

“All things, O priests, are on fire. And what, O priests, are all these things which are on fire?

“The eye, O priests, is on fire; forms are on fire; eye-consciousness is on fire; impressions received by the eye are on fire; and whatever sensation, pleasant, unpleasant, or indifferent, originates in dependence on impressions received by the eye, that also is on fire.

“And with what are these on fire?

“With the fire of passion, say I, with the fire of hatred, with the fire of infatuation; with birth, old age, death, sorrow, lamentation, misery, grief, and despair are they on fire.

“The ear is on fire; sounds are on fire; … the nose is on fire; odors are on fire; … the tongue is on fire; tastes are on fire; … the body is on fire; things tangible are on fire; … the mind is on fire; ideas are on fire; … […]

“Perceiving this, O priests, the learned and noble disciple conceives an aversion for the eye, conceives an aversion for forms, conceives an aversion for eye-consciousness, conceives an aversion for the impressions received by the eye; and whatever sensation, pleasant, unpleasant, or indifferent, originates in dependence on impressions received by the eye, for that also he conceives an aversion. […] And in conceiving this aversion, he becomes divested of passion, and by the absence of passion he becomes free, and when he is free he becomes aware that he is free; and he knows that rebirth is exhausted, that he has lived the holy life, that he has done what it behooved him to do, and that he is no more for this world.”

The Poisoned Arrow: Questions Which Tend Not to Edification

The monk Malunkyaputta threatens to leave the order unless the Buddha tells him whether the world is eternal or not, finite or infinite, whether the soul and body are the same, and whether the saint exists after death.

Majjhima-Nikaya, Sutta 63, in Warren, Buddhism in Translations (1896) · pp. 120–122

“It is as if, Malunkyaputta, a man had been wounded by an arrow thickly smeared with poison, and his friends and companions, his relatives and kinsfolk, were to procure for him a physician or surgeon; and the sick man were to say, ‘I will not have this arrow taken out until I have learnt whether the man who wounded me belonged to the warrior caste, or to the Brahman caste, or to the agricultural caste, or to the menial caste.’ […] That man would die, Malunkyaputta, without ever having learnt this.

“In exactly the same way, Malunkyaputta, any one who should say, ‘I will not lead the religious life under The Blessed One until The Blessed One shall elucidate to me either that the world is eternal, or that the world is not eternal, … or that the saint neither exists nor does not exist after death;‘—that person would die, Malunkyaputta, before The Tathagata had ever elucidated this to him. […]

“And why, Malunkyaputta, have I not elucidated this? Because, Malunkyaputta, this profits not, nor has to do with the fundamentals of religion, nor tends to aversion, absence of passion, cessation, quiescence, the supernatural faculties, supreme wisdom, and Nirvana; therefore have I not elucidated it.

“And what, Malunkyaputta, have I elucidated? Misery, Malunkyaputta, have I elucidated; the origin of misery have I elucidated; the cessation of misery have I elucidated; and the path leading to the cessation of misery have I elucidated.”

There Is No Ego: The Chariot

From the Questions of King Milinda. Milinda is the Greek king Menander, who ruled in northwest India in the second century BC, and the “Yonakas” in his court are Greeks.

Milindapanha 25–28, in Warren, Buddhism in Translations (1896) · pp. 129–133

“Your majesty, I am called Nagasena; my fellow-priests, your majesty, address me as Nagasena: but whether parents give one the name Nagasena, or Surasena, or Virasena, or Sihasena, it is, nevertheless, your majesty, but a way of counting, a term, an appellation, a convenient designation, a mere name, this Nagasena; for there is no Ego here to be found.” […]

“Your majesty, if you came in a chariot, declare to me the chariot. Pray, your majesty, is the pole the chariot?”

“Nay, verily, bhante.” […]

“Pray, your majesty, are pole, axle, wheels, chariot-body, banner-staff, yoke, reins, and goad unitedly the chariot?”

“Nay, verily, bhante.”

“Is it, then, your majesty, something else besides pole, axle, wheels, chariot-body, banner-staff, yoke, reins, and goad which is the chariot?”

“Nay, verily, bhante.” […]

“Bhante Nagasena, I speak no lie: the word ‘chariot’ is but a way of counting, term, appellation, convenient designation, and name for pole, axle, wheels, chariot-body, and banner-staff.”

“Thoroughly well, your majesty, do you understand a chariot. In exactly the same way, your majesty, in respect of me, Nagasena is but a way of counting, term, appellation, convenient designation, mere name for the hair of my head, hair of my body … brain of the head, form, sensation, perception, the predispositions, and consciousness. But in the absolute sense there is no Ego here to be found.”

Rebirth Is Not Transmigration

Nagasena explains how there can be rebirth, and punishment for deeds, when there is no self that passes from one life to the next.

Milindapanha 71 and 46, in Warren, Buddhism in Translations (1896) · pp. 234–235

Said the king: “Bhante Nagasena, does rebirth take place without anything transmigrating [passing over]?”

“Yes, your majesty. Rebirth takes place without anything transmigrating.”

“How, bhante Nagasena, does rebirth take place without anything transmigrating? Give an illustration.”

“Suppose, your majesty, a man were to light a light from another light; pray, would the one light have passed over [transmigrated] to the other light?”

“Nay, verily, bhante.”

“In exactly the same way, your majesty, does rebirth take place without anything transmigrating.” […]

“Bhante Nagasena,” said the king, “what is it that is born into the next existence?”

“Your majesty,” said the elder, “it is name and form that is born into the next existence.”

“Is it this same name and form that is born into the next existence?”

“Your majesty, it is not this same name and form that is born into the next existence; but with this name and form, your majesty, one does a deed—it may be good, or it may be wicked—and by reason of this deed another name and form is born into the next existence.”

“Bhante, if it is not this same name and form that is born into the next existence, is one not freed from one’s evil deeds?”

“If one were not born into another existence,” said the elder, “one would be freed from one’s evil deeds; but, your majesty, inasmuch as one is born into another existence, therefore is one not freed from one’s evil deeds.”

Dhammapada: Born Again, to Hell or to Heaven

From the chapter on evil.

Dhammapada 126–127, tr. F. Max Müller (1881) · p. 34

126. Some people are born again; evil-doers go to hell; righteous people go to heaven; those who are free from all worldly desires attain Nirvana.

127. Not in the sky, not in the midst of the sea, not if we enter into the clefts of the mountains, is there known a spot in the whole world where a man might be freed from an evil deed.

Dhammapada: “We Shall Be Like the Bright Gods”

From the chapter on happiness. The Buddhist ideal of a happy life, free from hatred and greed and calling nothing one’s own.

Dhammapada 197–200, tr. F. Max Müller (1881) · pp. 51–52

197. Let us live happily then, not hating those who hate us! among men who hate us let us dwell free from hatred!

198. Let us live happily then, free from ailments among the ailing! among men who are ailing let us dwell free from ailments!

199. Let us live happily then, free from greed among the greedy! among men who are greedy let us dwell free from greed!

200. Let us live happily then, though we call nothing our own! We shall be like the bright gods, feeding on happiness!

Dhammapada: “Nirvana the Highest Happiness”

From the same chapter. The body is “the greatest of pains,” and the highest happiness is Nirvana.

Dhammapada 202–204, tr. F. Max Müller (1881) · pp. 53–54

202. There is no fire like passion; there is no losing throw like hatred; there is no pain like this body; there is no happiness higher than rest.

203. Hunger is the worst of diseases, the body the greatest of pains; if one knows this truly, that is Nirvana, the highest happiness.

204. Health is the greatest of gifts, contentedness the best riches; trust is the best of relationships, Nirvana the highest happiness.

Dhammapada: “From Pleasure Comes Grief”

The chapter titled “Pleasure.”

Dhammapada 210–216, tr. F. Max Müller (1881) · p. 55

210. Let no man ever look for what is pleasant, or what is unpleasant. Not to see what is pleasant is pain, and it is pain to see what is unpleasant.

211. Let, therefore, no man love anything; loss of the beloved is evil. Those who love nothing, and hate nothing, have no fetters.

212. From pleasure comes grief, from pleasure comes fear; he who is free from pleasure knows neither grief nor fear.

213. From affection comes grief, from affection comes fear; he who is free from affection knows neither grief nor fear.

214. From lust comes grief, from lust comes fear; he who is free from lust knows neither grief nor fear.

215. From love comes grief, from love comes fear; he who is free from love knows neither grief nor fear.

216. From greed comes grief, from greed comes fear; he who is free from greed knows neither grief nor fear.

Dhammapada: “All Created Things Perish”

From the chapter on the way.

Dhammapada 277–279, tr. F. Max Müller (1881) · p. 66

277. ‘All created things perish,’ he who knows and sees this becomes passive in pain; this is the way to purity.

278. ‘All created things are grief and pain,’ he who knows and sees this becomes passive in pain; this is the way that leads to purity.

279. ‘All forms are unreal,’ he who knows and sees this becomes passive in pain; this is the way that leads to purity.

Nietzsche: Buddhism a Religion of Decadence

Nietzsche compares Buddhism with Christianity.

Nietzsche, The Antichrist §20 (tr. A. M. Ludovici, 1911) · p. 147

With my condemnation of Christianity I should not like to have done an injustice to a religion which is related to it and the number of whose followers is even greater; I refer to Buddhism. As nihilistic religions, they are akin,—they are religions of decadence,—while each is separated from the other in the most extraordinary fashion. […] Buddhism is a hundred times more realistic than Christianity,—it is part of its constitutional heritage to be able to face problems objectively and coolly, it is the outcome of centuries of lasting philosophical activity. The concept “God” was already exploded when it appeared. […] it no longer speaks of the “struggle with sin” but fully recognising the true nature of reality it speaks of the “struggle with pain.”

Nietzsche: “Epicurus Was a Typical Decadent”

Nietzsche explains the Christian doctrine of salvation as the outcome of an extreme sensitivity to pain, and places Epicurus beside it.

Nietzsche, The Antichrist §30 (tr. A. M. Ludovici, 1911) · p. 166

These are the two physiological realities upon which and out of which the doctrine of salvation has grown. I call them a sublime further development of hedonism, upon a thoroughly morbid soil. Epicureanism, the pagan theory of salvation, even though it possessed a large proportion of Greek vitality and nervous energy, remains the most closely related to the above. Epicurus was a typical decadent: and I was the first to recognise him as such.—The terror of pain, even of infinitely slight pain—such a state cannot possibly help culminating in a religion of love…

About These Translations

• Rhys Davids: Buddhist Suttas, translated from the Pali by T. W. Rhys Davids, The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XI (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1881). Scan.
• Warren: Henry Clarke Warren, Buddhism in Translations: Passages Selected from the Buddhist Sacred Books, Harvard Oriental Series, Vol. 3 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1896). Scan.
• Müller: The Dhammapada, translated from the Pali by F. Max Müller, The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. X, Part I (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1881). Scan. Text also at Project Gutenberg.
• Nietzsche: The Twilight of the Idols and The Antichrist, translated by Anthony M. Ludovici (Edinburgh: T. N. Foulis, 1911). Scan (Allen and Unwin printing, 1927). Text from Project Gutenberg.

The diacritical marks of the Pali names (for example Nāgasena, Māluṅkyāputta, Nirvāṇa) are omitted. The translators’ footnotes are omitted. Omissions within an excerpt are marked […].