Eastern Philosophy
Attachment to Beliefs Prevents Nirvana
A Summary of the “Brahmajala Sutta”, Pali Canon (400 BCE)
The Brahmajāla Sutta, or The Discourse on the All-Embracing Net of Views, is the first discourse of the Buddha presented in the Tripiṭaka — the ancient collection of early Buddhist scriptures. These scriptures were memorised and transmitted orally from the time of the Buddha, and were committed to palm-leaves in the 1st century BCE. The Brahmajāla Sutta is one of the 34 “Long” Discourses, which are collectively called “Dīgha Nikāya.”
In the text, the Buddha describes a number of philosophical and speculative views concerning the self and the world that were prevalent among spiritual seekers of his day. In rejecting these teachings, he establishes the parameters of his own position via negation. That is to say, the Buddha wants to show that the ultimate truth is not a speculative viewpoint.
We proceed now with a simplifies abridgement of the text.
By the way, I’m now publishing all of my book summaries under the publication Paraphilosophy. I’d really appreciate it if you could follow — it’s free. 😁
