All Topics  
Middle way

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Middle way
 
 
  Topics Middle way Topic Home

In general, the Middle Way or Middle Path (; ) is the Buddhist practice of non-extremism.

More specifically, in Theravada
Theravada

Theravada...
 Buddhism's Pali Canon
Pali Canon

The Pali Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism tradition, as preserved in the Pali. It is the only completely surviving Early Buddhist schools canon, and one of the first to be written down....
, the Middle Way crystallizes the Buddha
Gautama Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama was a Spirituality teacher in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is generally seen by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddhahood of our age....
's Nirvana
Nirvana

In sramana thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from both dukkha and the cycle of rebirth. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
-bound path of moderation away from the extremes of sensual indulgence and self-mortification and toward the practice of wisdom, morality and mental cultivation. In later Theravada texts as well as in Mahayana
Mahayana

Mahayana is one of the two main existing schools of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophy and practice. It was History of Buddhism in India....
 and Vajrayana
Vajrayana

Vajrayana Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayana, Mantranaya, Mantrayana, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle ....
 Buddhism, the Middle Way refers to the concept, enunciated in the Canon, of direct knowledge that transcends seemingly antithetical claims about existence.

Theravada contexts
In Theravada Buddhism's Pali Canon
Pali Canon

The Pali Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism tradition, as preserved in the Pali. It is the only completely surviving Early Buddhist schools canon, and one of the first to be written down....
, the phrase "middle way" is ascribed to the Buddha himself in his description of the Noble Eightfold Path
Noble Eightfold Path

The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal Dharma of Gautama Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening....
 as a path between the extremes of austerities and sensual indulgence.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Middle way'
Start a new discussion about 'Middle way'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


In general, the Middle Way or Middle Path (; ) is the Buddhist practice of non-extremism.

More specifically, in Theravada
Theravada

Theravada...
 Buddhism's Pali Canon
Pali Canon

The Pali Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism tradition, as preserved in the Pali. It is the only completely surviving Early Buddhist schools canon, and one of the first to be written down....
, the Middle Way crystallizes the Buddha
Gautama Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama was a Spirituality teacher in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is generally seen by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddhahood of our age....
's Nirvana
Nirvana

In sramana thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from both dukkha and the cycle of rebirth. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
-bound path of moderation away from the extremes of sensual indulgence and self-mortification and toward the practice of wisdom, morality and mental cultivation. In later Theravada texts as well as in Mahayana
Mahayana

Mahayana is one of the two main existing schools of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophy and practice. It was History of Buddhism in India....
 and Vajrayana
Vajrayana

Vajrayana Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayana, Mantranaya, Mantrayana, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle ....
 Buddhism, the Middle Way refers to the concept, enunciated in the Canon, of direct knowledge that transcends seemingly antithetical claims about existence.

Theravada contexts


In Theravada Buddhism's Pali Canon
Pali Canon

The Pali Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism tradition, as preserved in the Pali. It is the only completely surviving Early Buddhist schools canon, and one of the first to be written down....
, the phrase "middle way" is ascribed to the Buddha himself in his description of the Noble Eightfold Path
Noble Eightfold Path

The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal Dharma of Gautama Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening....
 as a path between the extremes of austerities and sensual indulgence. Later Pali literature
Pali literature

Pali literature is concerned mainly with Theravada Buddhism, of which Pali is the traditional language....
 has also used the phrase "middle way" to refer to the Buddha's teaching of dependent origination as a view between the extremes of eternalism and annihilationism.

Noble Eightfold Path


In the Pali canon, the Middle Way (majjhima paipada) was said to have been articulated by the Buddha in his first discourse, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta

The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta is the Gautama Buddha's first sutta after he reached Enlightenment . In this sutta, the Buddha discusses the Middle Way, the Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths....
 (SN
Samyutta Nikaya

The Samyutta Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the third of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism....
 56.11):

"Monks, these two extremes ought not to be practiced by one who has gone forth from the household life. (What are the two?) There is addiction to indulgence of sense-pleasures, which is low, coarse, the way of ordinary people, unworthy, and unprofitable; and there is addiction to self-mortification, which is painful, unworthy, and unprofitable.


"Avoiding both these extremes, the Tathagata
Tathagata

Tathagata in Pali and Sanskrit means, confusingly perhaps, both one who has thus gone and one who has thus come . Others assert that the name means one who has found the truth....
 (the Perfect One) has realized the Middle Path; it gives vision, gives knowledge, and leads to calm, to insight, to enlightenment and to Nibbana
Nirvana

In sramana thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from both dukkha and the cycle of rebirth. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
. And what is that Middle Path realized by the Tathagata...? It is the Noble Eightfold path
Noble Eightfold Path

The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal Dharma of Gautama Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening....
, and nothing else, namely: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration."


Thus, for the attainment of Nibbana (Pali; Skt.: Nirvana), the Middle Way involves:
  • abstaining from addictive sense-pleasures and self-mortification
  • nurturing the set of "right" actions that are known as the Noble Eightfold Path.


In this discourse (Pali: sutta
Sutra

Sutra , literally means a rope or thread that holds things together, and more metaphorically refers to an aphorism , or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual....
), the Buddha identifies the Middle Way as a path for "one who has gone forth from the household life" (Pali: pabbajitena) although lay
Householder (Buddhism)

In English translations of Buddhist literature, householder denotes a variety of terms. Most broadly, it refers to any layperson, and most narrowly, to a wealthy and prestigious familial patriarch....
 Buddhists may center their lives on this path as well.

In regard to the Buddha's admonition against the "indulgence of sense-pleasures" (Pali: kamesu kama-sukha-allika), Ven. Dr. Rewata Dhamma has written:

"...This kind of practice is the concern of so-called 'urban civilization,' which condones sensuous pleasures as the highest attributes of bliss; the greater the pleasures, the greater the happiness....


"The Buddha taught that indulgence in sensuous pleasures is not the practice of enlightened, noble ones (ariyas). Noble ones who live the worldly life do not have attachment to sense objects. For example, in the first stage of an enlightened
Four stages of enlightenment

The four stages of enlightenment in Buddhism are the four degrees of approach to full enlightenment as an Arahant which a person can attain in this life....
 noble life, the sotapanna
Sotapanna

In Buddhism, a sotapanna , a stream-enterer or stream-winner, is a person, who has eradicated the first three Fetter s of the mind, that prevent freedom....
, or stream winner, has not yet overcome lust and passions. Incipient perceptions of the agreeableness of carnal pleasures (sukhasañña) still linger. Nevertheless, the stream-winner will not feel the need to indulge in worldly pleasures."


According to the scriptural account, when the Buddha delivered the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, he was addressing five ascetics with whom he had previously practiced severe austerities. Thus, it is this personal context as well as the broader context of Indian shramanic
Shramana

A shramana is a mendicant in certain ascetic traditions of ancient India, including Jainism, Buddhism, and Ajivika religion . Famous include religious leaders Mahavira and Gautama Buddha....
 practices that gives particular relevancy to the caveat against the extreme (Pali: anta) of self-mortification (Pali: atta-kilamatha).

Dependent Origination


Harvey (2007) writes, "Conditioned Arising is ... a 'Middle Way' which avoids the extremes of 'eternalism' and 'annihilationism': the survival of an eternal self, or the total annihilation of a person at death." In Theravadan literature, this usage of the term "Middle Way" can be found in 5th c. CE Pali commentaries
Atthakatha

Atthakatha refers to Pali-language Theravada commentaries to the canonical Theravadin Tipitaka. These commentaries give the traditional interpretations of the scriptures....
.

In the Pali Canon itself, this view is not explicitly called the "Middle Way" (majjhima paipada) but is literally referred to as "teaching by the middle" (majjhena dhamma) as in this passage from the Samyutta Nikaya
Samyutta Nikaya

The Samyutta Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the third of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism....
's Kaccyanagotta Sutta (in English and Pali
Páli

P?li is a village in Gyor-Moson-Sopron county, Hungary.External links...
):


"'Everything exists': That is one extreme.
'Everything doesn't exist': That is a second extreme.
Avoiding these two extremes,
the Tathagata teaches the Dhamma via the middle...."

Sabbamatthi'ti kho ..., ayameko anto.
Sabba natthi'ti aya dutiyo anto.
... [U]bho ante anupagamma
majjhena tathagato dhamma deseti.
In this discourse, the Buddha next describes the conditioned origin of suffering (dukkha
Dukkha

Dukkha roughly corresponding to a number of terms in English including suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness, sorrow, affliction, anxiety, dissatisfaction, discomfort, anguish, Stress , misery, and frustration....
) — from ignorance (avijja) to aging and death (jaramarana
Jaramarana

Jaramaraa is Sanskrit and Pali for "old age" and "death" . In Buddhism, jaramarana refers to the inevitable end-of-life suffering of all beings prior to their rebirth in the cycle of Samsara ....
) — and the parallel reverse-order interdependent cessation of such factors (see Dependent Origination and Twelve Nidanas
Twelve Nidanas

The Twelve Nidanas are the best-known application of the Buddhist concept of Pratitya-samutpada , identifying the origins of dukkha to be in tanha and avijja....
). Thus, in Theravada Buddhist soteriology, there is neither a permanent self nor complete annihilation of the 'person' at death; there is only the arising and ceasing of causally related phenomena.

Mahayana contexts


In Mahayana Buddhism, the Madhyamaka
Madhyamaka

Madhyamaka is a Buddhist Mahayana tradition systematized by Nagarjuna. Nagarjuna may have arrived at his positions from a desire to achieve a consistent exegesis of Gautama Buddha's doctrine as recorded in the Nikayas....
 ("Middle Way") school posits a "middle way" position between metaphysical claims that things ultimately either exist or do not exist.

In the Tendai
Tendai

is a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the China Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.David W. Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:...
 school, the "middle way" refers to the synthesis of the thesis that all things are "empty"
Shunyata

Sunyata, ??????? , Su??ata , stong pa nyid , K?ng/Ku, ? , Gong-seong, ?? , qo?usun meaning "Emptiness" or "Voidness", is a characteristic of phenomena arising from the fact that the impermanent nature of form means that nothing possesses essential, enduring identity ....
 and the antithesis that all things have phenomenal existence.

See also

  • Buddhism
    Buddhism

    Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices considered by most to be a religionand is based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as "The Buddha" , who was born in what is today Nepal....
  • Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
    Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta

    The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta is the Gautama Buddha's first sutta after he reached Enlightenment . In this sutta, the Buddha discusses the Middle Way, the Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths....
  • Madhyamaka
    Madhyamaka

    Madhyamaka is a Buddhist Mahayana tradition systematized by Nagarjuna. Nagarjuna may have arrived at his positions from a desire to achieve a consistent exegesis of Gautama Buddha's doctrine as recorded in the Nikayas....
  • Nirvana
    Nirvana

    In sramana thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from both dukkha and the cycle of rebirth. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
  • Noble Eightfold Path
    Noble Eightfold Path

    The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal Dharma of Gautama Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering and the achievement of self-awakening....
  • Tendai
    Tendai

    is a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the China Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.David W. Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:...
  • Middle Way Meditation
  • Nagarjuna
    Nagarjuna

    File:Nagarjuna at Samye Ling Monastery.JPGFile:Nagarjuna.JPGAcharya Nagarjuna was an Indian philosophy and the founder of the Madhyamaka school of Mahayana Buddhism....
  • Mulamadhyamakakarika
    Mulamadhyamakakarika

    Mulamadhyamakakarika , or Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way, is a key text by Nagarjuna, one of the most important Buddhist philosophers....
  • Golden Mean
    Golden mean

    Golden mean may refer to:*Doctrine of the Golden Mean *Golden mean , the felicitous middle between the extremes of excess and deficiency*Golden ratio, a specific mathematical ratio ...


Bibliography


  • Bodhi, Bhikkhu
    Bhikkhu Bodhi

    Bhikkhu Bodhi , born Jeffrey Block, is an American Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York/New Jersey area....
     (trans.) (2000). The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Sayutta Nikaya. Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-331-1.


  • Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed., trans.) (2005). In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon. Somerville: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-491-1.


  • Buddhaghosa
    Buddhaghosa

    Bhadantacariya Buddhaghosaas a 5th-century Indian Theravadin Buddhist commentator and scholar. His name means "Voice of the Buddha" in the Pali....
    , Bhadantacariya & Bhikkhu Ñaamoli (trans.) (1999). The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga. Seattle, WA: BPS
    Buddhist Publication Society

    The Buddhist Publication Society is a charity whose goal is to explain and spread the dhamma of the Gautama Buddha. It was founded in Sri Lanka in 1958 by two Sri Lankan Buddhist laymen, A.S....
     Pariyatti Editions. ISBN 1-928706-00-2.


  • Dhamma, Rewata (1997). The First Discourse of the Buddha: Turning the wheel of Dhamma. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-104-1.


  • Gethin, Rupert
    Rupert Gethin

    Dr. Rupert Mark Lovell Gethin is a Lecturer in Indian Religions in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and codirector of the Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Bristol, and president of the Pali Text Society....
     (1998). The Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-289223-1.


  • Harvey, Peter
    Peter Harvey

    Peter Harvey is an Australian television journalist, currently employed with the Australian Nine Network?s 60 Minutes program. Harvey is also a regular contributor on Today Hot Topics segment....
     (2007). An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-31333-3.


  • Kohn, Michael H. (trans.) (1991). The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen. Boston: Shambhala. ISBN 0-87773-520-4.


  • Piyadassi Thera (trans.) (1999). Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta: Setting in Motion the Wheel of Truth (SN
    Samyutta Nikaya

    The Samyutta Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the third of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism....
     56.11). Retrieved 2008-01-03 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.piya.html.


  • Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary (PED). Chipstead: Pali Text Society
    Pali Text Society

    The Pali Text Society was founded in 1881 by Thomas William Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pali texts".Pali is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism is preserved....
    . A general on-line search engine for the PED is available at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/. Retrieved 2008-01-03, the entry for "pabbajita" is available at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.2:1:1639.pali.


  • Sri Lanka Buddha Jayanti Tipitaka Series [SLTP] (n.d.-a). Ahara vaggo (SN
    Samyutta Nikaya

    The Samyutta Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the third of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism....
     12.2) [in Pali]. Retrieved 2008-01-03 from "MettaNet - Lanka" at http://www.mettanet.org/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/3Samyutta-Nikaya/Samyutta2/12-Abhisamaya-Samyutta/02-Aharavaggo-p.html.


  • Sri Lanka Buddha Jayanti Tipitaka Series [SLTP] (n.d.-b). Dhammacakkappavattana vaggo (SN
    Samyutta Nikaya

    The Samyutta Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the third of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism....
     55.2) [in Pali]. Retrieved 2008-01-03 from "MettaNet - Lanka" at http://www.mettanet.org/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/3Samyutta-Nikaya/Samyutta5/55-Sacca-Samyutta/02-Dhammacakkappavattanavaggo-p.html.


  • Thanissaro Bhikkhu
    Thanissaro Bhikkhu

    Thanissaro Bhikkhu is an United States Buddhist monk of the Thai forest kammatthana tradition. He was born Geoffrey DeGraff and converted to Buddhism in high school....
     (trans.) (1997). Kaccayanagotta Sutta: To Kaccayana Gotta (on Right View) (SN
    Samyutta Nikaya

    The Samyutta Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the third of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism....
     12.15). Retrieved 2008-01-03 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.015.than.html.


  • Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1998). Maha-Saccaka Sutta: The Longer Discourse to Saccaka (excerpt) (MN
    Majjhima Nikaya

    The Majjhima Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism....
     36). Retrieved 2008-01-03 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.036x.than.html.


  • Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2005). Acela Sutta: To the Clothless Ascetic (SN
    Samyutta Nikaya

    The Samyutta Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the third of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism....
     12.17). Retrieved 2008-01-03 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.017.than.html.


External links

  • Advayavada Buddhism Infocenter. The Noble Eightfold Path in Advayavada Buddhism. On-line at http://www.euronet.nl/~advaya/patipada.htm
  • The Two Truths of the Middle Way http://www.emptymountains.org/
  • Moral objectivity and the Middle Way http://www.moralobjectivity.net
  • The Buddhist Critique of Sassatavada and Ucchedavada http://www.zencomp.com/greatwisdom/ebud/ebdha263.htm