Mujjhenadhamma Dhesana

Mujjhenadhamma Dhesana
The Middle Teaching

           The Buddhist doctrine comprises 2 sections; Mujjhenadhamma Dhesana and Mujjhima Patipada. Mujjhenadhamma means the Middle Teaching. Mujjhima Patipada means the midle Practice, the moderate Way of Life, which is considered to be the Buddhist ethic.

            The Middle Teaching is said to be the Right view. This Right View is a vary balanced kind of view, which does not tend to extremes. For example, the principle of Dependent Origination is the most important and unique teaching which demonstrates the truth in a median and unbiased way, know as the Buddha's Middle Teaching. The " median - ness " of this truth is more clearly understood when it is compared with other teachings. In order to show how the principle of Dependent Origination differs from the extreme view, Phra Dhammapitaka presents these following thoughts or theories that are considered as extreme or wrong views according to the Buddha's teachings.


            The first pair: Atthikavada, the school which holds that all things really exist [ extreme realism ] and Natthikavada, which holds that all things do not exist [ nihilism ].

            The second pair: Sassatavada, the school of eternalism and Ucchedavada, the school of Annihilationism.

             The third pair: Attkaravada, the school which holds the view that happiness and suffering are entirely self - determined ( kammic autogenesism ) and Parakaravada, the school which holds the view that happiness and suffering are entirely caused by external factors [ kammic hetergenism ]

              Not that the second and the third pair of thoughts are very important to the fundamental teaching in Buddhism. If studied and clearly understood, they can help prevent a lot of misunderstandings concerning the law of kamma, which we will explore later in this book.

              Among the many middle teachings in Buddhism, The Buddhist law of conditionality or Dependent Origination is the most important teaching along with other doctrines, such as the three Common Characteristics, the Four Noble Truths, the Five Aggregates, the Law of Nature and the Doctrine of Kamma.





By THE BUDDHA'S Core Teachings