Question

Here is an excerpt from the Sutta Pitaka, describing a conversation between King Ajatasattu, the ruler of Magadha, and the Buddha: On one occasion, King Ajatasattu visited the Buddha and described what another teacher, named Makkhali Gosala, had told him: “Though the wise should hope, by this virtue … by this penance I will gain karma … and the fool should by the same means hope to gradually rid himself of his karma, neither of them can do it. Pleasure and pain, measured out as it were, cannot be altered in the course of samsara (transmigration). It can neither be lessened or increased … just as a ball of string will, when thrown, unwind to its full length, so fool and wise alike will take their course and make an end of sorrow.” And this is what a philosopher named Ajita Kesakambalin taught: “There is no such thing, O king, as alms or sacrifice, or offerings … there is no such thing as this world or the next … A human being is made up of the four elements. When he dies, the earthy in him returns to the earth, the fluid to water, the heat to fire, the windy to air, and his senses pass into space … The talk of gifts is a doctrine of fools, an empty lie … fools and wise alike are cut off and perish. They do not survive after death.” The first teacher belonged to the tradition of the Ajivikas. They have often been described as fatalists: those who believe that everything is predetermined. The second teacher belonged to the tradition of the Lokayatas, usually described as materialists. Texts from these traditions have not survived, so we know about them only from the works of other traditions.

Do you think it is appropriate to describe these men as fatalists or materialists?

Answer 1

Yes, it is highly appropriate to describe these two thinkers as fatalists and materialists, respectively, as their philosophies perfectly align with the core definitions of those terms.

1. Why Makkhali Gosala is a “Fatalist” (Ajivika Tradition)
   1. Predetermined Destiny: He explicitly taught that human actions like virtue, penance, or rituals cannot alter one’s karma.
   2. Fixed Life Course: He believed that pleasure and pain are pre-measured out in samsara and cannot be lessened or increased.
   3. The Ball of String Analogy: He compared life to a ball of string that must unwind completely to its full length, proving that human free will or effort plays absolutely no role in achieving liberation.
2. Why Ajita Kesakambalin is a “Materialist” (Lokayata/Charvaka Tradition)
   1. Rejection of the Supernatural: He completely denied the existence of ritual concepts like alms, sacrifices, offerings, or an afterlife (“the next world”).
   2. Physical Elements Only: He reduced human existence strictly to four physical elements (earth, water, fire, air), stating that when a person dies, these components simply return to nature.
   3. No Afterlife: He declared that both the wise and the foolish perish completely upon death and do not survive, focusing entirely on the observable, material world.