Rejecting of Four Contemporary Theories of Causality by the Buddha

There were four theories of causality upheld by the contemporary religious teachers of the Buddha.

1.  ßayaM kataM dukkhaM – suffering made by oneself, held by ßat karaNavAda or ßassatavAda

2.  ParaM kataM dukkhaM – suffering is made by others, held by ücchedavAda

3.  ßayaM kataJca paraM kataJca dukkhaM – suffering is made by oneself as well as others

4.  åsayaM kAraM aparaM kAraM adhiccasamuppannaM  dukkhaM – suffering is neither by oneself nor by others it is spontaneous.

The åJJatiTThiyasutta of the SN II has a record of these four theories which were prevailing in the time of the Buddha holding the causality thus:

1. ßayaM kataM dukkhaM : this theory upheld the view that the suffering in life is made by oneself. This is to be examined according to the causality and also the theory of kamma. It maintains that the doer itself undergoes the results. The åcelakassapasutta of SN explains theory as follows.

      “ßo karoti so paTisaMvediyatI’ti kho Kassapa Adito sayaM kataM dukkhan’ti vAdaM sassataM”

=O Kassapa! The theory which says he does, he receives result, and thereby it is made by oneself that is eternalism.

      The same theory was presented with related to causality also. In the Vedanta philosophy there is idea called sakkAranavAda which maintains that cause itself is the result or the result is already there in the causes. The sankya philosophy which is a post Buddhist philosophical tradition maintains the same theory as satkAraNavAda.

2. ParaM kataM dukkhM : This theory holds the direct opposite view of the first theory. According to this view the doer does not receive the result. Doer is one the receiver of result is another. The åcelakassapasutta of SN explains this theory as follows:

“åJJo karoti aJJo paTisaMvedIyatI’ti kho Kassapa … paraM dukkhan’ti vAdaM ucchedaM”

= O Kassapa! The theory which maintains doer is one and the receiver of result is another as suffering is made by others. This theory is nihilism.

      Contrary to the first theory the present one maintains a soul of temporary existence.

3. ßayaM kataJca paraM kataJca dukkhaM : The endless argument on the problem of suffering in two early groups opened the door for another third theory to arise. The new third theory accepts that the above two views were partly correct. That means the problem of suffering is part made by oneself and the other part by others.

4.     åsayaM kAraM aparaM kAraM adhiccasamuppannaM dukkhaM : In the field of discussion on causality another fourth vie arose in response to above three views. They said that suffering is not made by oneself, not by another. But it is spontaneously arisen.

      The Buddhist view of causality does not fall into anyone of these four theories. In the åJJatiTThiyasutta of SN, the Buddha says:

      “PaTiaccasamuppannaM kho Avuso dukkhaM vuttaM mayA”

= O friend! Suffering is called by me to be causally condition.

In this manner, budhism explains the function of psycho-physical phenomena with relating it to causality. Visuddhimagga, the treatise by Ven. Buddhaghosa explains the Buddhist path to purity as follows:

      “Kammassa kArako natthi – vipAkassa ca vedako,

    suddhadhammA pavattanti – esAyaJJassa sampadA”

=There is no doer of the action, nor the receiver of the result.

Bear phenomena exist, this is the principle here.