DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - The Maha Kammavibhanga Sutta: The "Buddha's Box"

**Mifsnavassy** · 11-10-2010, 11:55 PM

Hello, Element,

The Buddha is using examples from what he referred to as "right view with defilements" (sammaditthi sasava), but is actually teaching discernment and critical thinking, which is "noble right view". He is demonstrating how to analyze metaphysical speculations (using karma-and-reincarnation beliefs as a case study) from an objective point of view. I have seen folks claim that this sutta is about the consequences and workings of karma-and-reincarnation, but it is actually a refutation of such beliefs. He shows that such beliefs have a moral usefulness if not taken as hard-and-fast rules, but he also shows that they are merely speculations that cannot be shown to adequately describe the real world. But all of that is just the example material, and what he is teaching is how one should approach speculative views critically and objectively.

11-10-2010, 11:55 PM	#3
Mifsnavassy Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 577 Senior Member	Hello, Element, The Buddha is using examples from what he referred to as "right view with defilements" (sammaditthi sasava), but is actually teaching discernment and critical thinking, which is "noble right view". He is demonstrating how to analyze metaphysical speculations (using karma-and-reincarnation beliefs as a case study) from an objective point of view. I have seen folks claim that this sutta is about the consequences and workings of karma-and-reincarnation, but it is actually a refutation of such beliefs. He shows that such beliefs have a moral usefulness if not taken as hard-and-fast rules, but he also shows that they are merely speculations that cannot be shown to adequately describe the real world. But all of that is just the example material, and what he is teaching is how one should approach speculative views critically and objectively.
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