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Makkhali Gosāla
Makkhali Gosāla. An elder contemporary of the Buddha and founder of the Ājīvaka sect. Little is known for certain about his life, but he is disparaged on several occasions by the Buddha for holding perverse beliefs. As one of the Six Sectarian Teachers his doctrines are preserved in Buddhist sources, from which the following is an extract: ‘There is no cause either proximate or remote for the depravity of beings, they become depraved without reason and without cause. There is no cause either proximate or remote for the rectitude of beings, they become pure without reason and without cause … There is no such thing as power, or energy, or human strength or human vigour. All animals … are without force and power of their own. They are bent this way and that by their fate’ (Dialogues of the Buddha, i. 7, tr. T. W. and C. A. F. Rhys Davids 1899, Pali Text Society, Oxford). Makkhali thus appears to have been a determinist who held that fate or destiny (niyati) controlled everything and that moral choice was an illusion. According to him, all living beings belong to one of six classes and purification is ultimately obtained after a long course of evolutionary transmigration, the course of which could not be changed. It was for his denial of the doctrine of karma and the efficacy of the religious effort that the Buddha castigated him so severely.
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Cite this article
DAMIEN KEOWN. "Makkhali Gosāla." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DAMIEN KEOWN. "Makkhali Gosāla." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-MakkhaliGosla.html DAMIEN KEOWN. "Makkhali Gosāla." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-MakkhaliGosla.html |
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Makkhali Gosala
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Cite this article
JOHN BOWKER. "Makkhali Gosala." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Makkhali Gosala." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-MakkhaliGosala.html JOHN BOWKER. "Makkhali Gosala." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-MakkhaliGosala.html |
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Gosāla, Makkhali
Gosāla, Makkhali (founder): see MAKKHALI.
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Cite this article
JOHN BOWKER. "Gosāla, Makkhali." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Gosāla, Makkhali." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-GoslaMakkhali.html JOHN BOWKER. "Gosāla, Makkhali." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-GoslaMakkhali.html |
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