The Discourse under study, number 27 of the Digha Nikaya, is titled agganna sutta, analyzeable as agganna, na meaning 'knowledge' or 'knowing'. But agga- is rich in meaning; it means 'ancient', 'primeval' and 'end' on the one hand, and 'beginning' 'first, 'foremost', 'best', etc., on the other. So agga in relation to the process of Evolution can be said to refer to the 'beginning' process, and 'best' in relation to the Dhamma. We see this latter meaning at the end of the Sutta, "Of these four classes [meaning Khattiya, Brahmana, Vessa, Sudda, listing them in the order the Buddha does], Vasettha, one who becomes a monk, becoming worthy [i.e., Arahant] with defilements jettisoned,... in whom the fetters of becoming are destroyed indeed is properly called the best [or 'deserve the highest praise'] among them.
As will be seen in our analysis, in #10-16 of the Discourse, the Buddha is laying out the parameters of the unfolding of the universe. What this intricate and succinct segment of a mere seven paragraph does is to give a comprehensive understanding of the reality of the universe, in its physical, human and vegetation dimensions, interactively. Yet, in introducing the lines quoted above, at the very end of the Sutta, the Buddha seems to be telling us, 'It's great that you now know the beginnings of the universe (in this Evolutionary phase). But you know what, what's best is knowing the Dhamma'. This, then, is the wordplay that the Buddha engages in, providing a treasure trove for the language as art afficianados.
It was quite accidentally that I got into this study. Writing a popular piece, "Life there was before Earth" (see Bibliography), in a comparative thrust in relation to Westernscience, it was sent to a respected scholar, when I was kindly directed to an article by Prof. Collins (see Bibliography). This was an extensive research on the agganna sutta, opening up a whole new world to me. Interesting it was alright, but I just could not quite stomach his view that segment #10-16 of the Sutta was nothing but 'satire'. (See 16.1 for a little longer treatment.)
The article introduced me to another treatment of the Sutta, by Prof. Gombrich (see Bibliography). He took the segment to be a 'parody' of the Vedic 'aetiological myth' of Creation. This, too, I found not sitting well with me. I could not just believe it - that the Buddha would spend his time on satire or parody just for its own sake. This is not to say that there is no satire and wit in the Buddha's Teachings, but to the extent that I can fathom, it has always been as a communication strategy, a means to an end, and not as an end in itself.
This is when I took a serious look at the agganna sutta. In the opening segment, the Buddha tells us of an Abhassara Being existing in the Devolutionary phase. So my first question to myself was who these Beings were. By definition, a Being has a consciousness; and so, in the text, they are 'mind-based'. But a consciousness cannot exist without a material body, given the characterization of sentience as 'mindbody' (namarupa). So how could we understand this material form? The traditional meaning of Abhassara Brahma was not of much help. This is when it hit me to step out of the box.
I had been familiar in general terms with the Buddha's view of a cyclical universe, but here it was staring me in my face. The pair samvatta and vivatta appearing in the segment is, then, what took me into the labyrinth of Westernscience. I wanted to put my own labyrinth, the inner ear, closer to the Buddha's voice.
Whatever else might be said about the historical background and setting of the Agganna Sutta of the Digha Nikaya (3.80-98), the work presents one of the best known synopses of what purports to be Gotama Buddha's understanding of creation and evolution. It does so succinctly within the compass of just a few verses, and although there are somewhat parallel discussions of evolution elsewhere in the Pali Canon (e.g., Ambattha Sutta, D.1.88), the Agganna brings the topics of geological, biological, social and even political formations into one interesting analytical sweep.
In his book, Suwanda H. J. Sugunasiri has provided a novel perspective on this ancient text. His central argument is that the Agganna Sutta is a genuine utterance of Gotama, and must be seriously regarded as a factual summary of his world-view. In this regard, he takes exception to Pali scholars who see in the Sutta a take-off on the pancatantra genre common to Gotama's cultural period (a fable-like story designed to make a point); or the Agganna Sutta as a fanciful description of evolution, caste and rulership (with "a good-humoured irony", as notes T.W.Rhys Davids ); or as a satire (Steven Collins), or as a parody of a earlier Vedic creation myth (Richard Gombrich). Rather, for Sugunasiri, the Agganna Sutta is as much a sincere scientific exhortation as it is a teaching on the ultimate primacy of following a dhamma or instruction based on the moral 'norms' of conduct associated with human society.
Sugunasiri urges us to see how the Buddha's views on cosmological and evolutionary topics are not contradictory to what he calls 'Westernscience'. Thus the Sutta's description of the origin of the cosmos, the creation of protohuman life forms (Abhassara beings), the unique force of human craving (Tanha, in due course a key element of the Second Noble Truth or source of painfulness), and what the author describes as "a characterization of the flow of nature" or evolution all these are, in the author's opinion, to be regarded as a serious attempt to explain reality.
Others have similarly emphasized a compatibility between Buddhist teaching and modern notions of scientific reality (e.g., WF Jayasuriya, K.N. Jayatilleke, Buddhadasa P. Kirthisinghe). Sugunasiri's point of view is perhaps best distilled in the title of his monograph, Dhamma Aboard Evolution in other words, Buddhist teachings traveling compatibly alongside of modern evolutionary concepts.
An added strength is that he writes very well.
His thoughtful study will be welcome by students of Buddhism and the Indian Religious Tradition in general.
Art (289)
Biography (239)
Buddha (1969)
Children (95)
Deities (48)
Healing (35)
Hinduism (56)
History (544)
Language & Literature (464)
Mahayana (413)
Mythology (91)
Philosophy (456)
Sacred Sites (115)
Tantric Buddhism (90)
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Manage Wishlist