Middle way
Middle path ( Sanskrit madhyamā pratipad, Pali majjhimā paṭipadā) is a synonym for the noble eightfold path in Buddhism . In a broader sense, it is understood in Buddhism as a principle to avoid extremes.
background
During the time of the historical Buddha , religious schools were shaped by extremes; also Siddharta Gautama himself was originally a member of one of these schools, which are characterized by extreme forms of asceticism excelled and unworldliness. In some cases, these practices went to the limit of self-destruction, to which the Buddha also testified. It was only when he turned away from these practices that he unintentionally found the realization .
Embassy
At the sermon of Benares , his first discourse after enlightenment , Buddha explained the Middle Way to his former ascetic companions:
“Two extremes, monks, cannot be cultivated by the homeless. Which two? In the case of sensory things, indulge in clinging to the sensual good, the low, common, common, ignoble, hopeless; and surrender to self-torment, painful, ignoble, hopeless. Avoiding these two extremes, the perfected one has awakened to the middle process, which makes seeing and knowing, which leads to calming, to an overview, to awakening, to nirvāna. "
Thus, translated, what is reflected in the Middle Path is that the knowledge can neither be found in neglect of the needs necessary for the maintenance of life, nor in a way of life that is attached to sensual things. This is partly interpreted in such a way that there is no need for asceticism, which contradicts the actual meaning.
The middle way is described, among other things, with the parable of a string of a musical instrument. If it is not tensioned enough, the sound will not be nice. If it is stretched too much, it can tear. Only when a string has the appropriate tension between the extremes can it produce a beautiful sound.
In addition to the external extremes between destruction and overproduction, avoidance refers to the roots of these excesses, the spiritual aspects, and here the two extremes of greed ( lobha or raga ) and hate ( dosa ) are meant. So rejection is like affection apart from the “middle way”.
“Whatever is going on in our mind, if our motivations aren't good enough, we can't let go of it. In other words; there are two sides: this side here and that side there. People tend to go on one side or the other. There is seldom someone who walks in the middle. It's a lonely path. If there is love, we are walking on the path of love. If there is hate, then we are walking on the path of hate. When we try to let go of love and hate it is a lonely path. We are not willing to follow him. "
Nagarjuna has made the Middle Way the main teaching of Buddhism. It says that four extreme positions should be avoided, according to which things should have substance or exist only subjectively, or both or neither. Instead, they are supposed to be dependent. In Nagarjuna's own words from a hymn to the Buddha: " Dialecticians claim that suffering arose out of itself, through something else, through both, or without a cause."
See also
swell
- ↑ Dhammacakkappavattana Vagga ( Samyutta-Nikaya 56.11) ( online )
- ↑ Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta ( Vinayapitaka Mahāvagga I 1,6) ( online )
- ↑ Appativana Sutta: Merciless
- ^ Sona Sutta: About Sona
- ^ Ajahn Chah : The Middle Way Within. ( Memento of October 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (The inner middle way)
- ↑ Ajahn Chah: The Lonely Path.