Blurb:

The Alagaddūpama Sutta is the 22nd discourse of the Majjhima-nikāya of the
Pali canon. In the sutta itself it is mentioned that the Buddha’s delivery of
this discourse was necessitated by the need to refute a wrong view held by
one of his disciples named Ariṭṭha. Parallel versions of the sutta are found
preserved in the Chinese Āgamas. The two main similes used in the sutta,
those of the snake and of the raft, are referred to in the scriptures of a number
of non-Theravāda Buddhist traditions as well, showing that the Buddhist
doctrine represented in it is early and authentic and the message contained
in the sutta was considered to be extremely significant by many early Buddhist
traditions. The Alagaddūpama Sutta shows the Buddha’s role as one of
the earliest thinkers in the history of philosophy who engaged in a critique
of the craving for metaphysics and dogma frequently exhibited in those who
propound worldviews. The Buddha did not value a belief or a worldview on
grounds of the logical skill with which it was constructed but on grounds of
the transformative effect it could have on the character of an individual and
the sense of wellbeing it could promote. There are several discourses of the
Pali canon which give prominence to this aspect of the Buddha’s teaching.
Among them the Brahmajāla Sutta of the Dīgha-nikāya and the Aṭṭhakavagga of
the Suttanipāta need special mention. The Buddha is seen to have consistently
avoided engagement in speculative metaphysics, pointing out that the goal
of his teaching goes beyond all such engagement. The Buddha himself distinguished
his own worldview as a Teaching in the Middle (majjhena) avoiding
the common tendency of humankind to be trapped by either of the two
extremes, Eternalism or Annihilationism. These distinctive standpoints of the
Buddha are all seen to be amply represented in the Alagaddūpama Sutta.