Makkhali Gosala, Makkhali-gosāla: 2 definitions
Introduction:
Makkhali Gosala means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
In Hinduism
General definition (in Hinduism)
Source: WikiPedia: HinduismMakkhali Gosala was an ascetic teacher of ancient India, often identified as a leader of the Ajivika movement. He was a contemporary of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, and of Mahavira, the last and 24th Tirthankara of Jainism.
etymology: Makkhali Gosala or Makkhali Gossala (Pāli; BHS: Maskarin Gośāla; Jain Prakrit sources: Gosala Mankhaliputta)
In Buddhism
Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: Pali Kanon: Pali Proper NamesOne of the six heretical teachers contemporaneous with the Buddha. He held (*1) that there is no cause, either ultimate or remote, for the depravity of beings or for their rectitude. The attainment of any given condition or character does not depend either on ones own acts, nor on the acts of another, nor on human effort. There is no such thing as power or energy or human strength or human vigour. All beings (satta), all lives (pana), all existent things (bhuta), all living substances (jiva), (*2) are bent this way and that by their fate, by the necessary conditions of the class to which they belong, by their individual nature; it is according to their position in one or other of the six classes (abhijati) that they experience ease or pain.
There are fourteen hundred thousands of principle genera or species (pamukhayoniyo), again six thousand others and again six hundred. There are five hundred kinds of kamma - there are sixty two paths (or modes of conduct), sixty two periods, six classes among men, eight stages of a prophets existence (atthapurisabhumi), (*3) forty nine hundred kinds of occupation, forty nine hundred Ajivakas, forty nine hundred Wanderers (Paribbajaka), forty nine hundred Naga abodes (or species), two thousand sentient existences (vise indriyasate), three thousand infernal states, thirty six celestial, mundane or passionate grades (rajodhatuyo), seven classes of animate beings (sannigabbha), or beings with the capacity of generating by means of separate sexes, seven of inanimate production (asannigabbha), seven of production by grafting (niganthagabbha), seven grades of gods, men, devils, great lakes, precipices, dreams.
(*1) D.i.53 f. Makkhali, his views and his followers are also referred to at M.i.231, 238, 483, 516f.; S.i.66, 68; iii.211; iv.398; A.i.33f., 286; iii.276, 384; also J.i.493, 509; S.iii.69 ascribes the first portion of the account of Makkhalis views (as given in D.i.53) that there is no cause, no reason for depravity or purity to Purana Kassapa. A.i.286 apparently confounds Makkhali with Ajita Kesakambala, and A.iii.383f. represents Purana Kassapa as though he were a disciple of Makkhali.
(*2) Buddhaghosa (DA.i.160 ff.) gives details of these four classes showing how they are meant to include all that has life on this earth, from men down to plants. But the explanation is very confused and makes the terms by no means mutually exclusive.
(*3) Buddhaghosa gives them as babyhood, playtime, trial time, erect time, learning time, ascetic time, prophet time, and prostrate time, with (very necessary) comments on each.
There are eighty four thousand periods during which both fools and wise alike, wandering in transmigration, shall at last make an end of pain. This cannot be done by virtue, or penance, or righteousness.
Theravāda is a major branch of Buddhism having the the Pali canon (tipitaka) as their canonical literature, which includes the vinaya-pitaka (monastic rules), the sutta-pitaka (Buddhist sermons) and the abhidhamma-pitaka (philosophy and psychology).
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Makkhali, Goshala.
Full-text: Ajivika, Kappu, Mahaditthena Sutta, Sahali, Nanatitthiya Sutta, Barabar, Kisasankicca, Culasaropama Sutta, Maskarin, Titthayatana, Satthar, Sandaka Sutta, Samannaphala Sutta, Ajitakesakambala, Purana Kassapa, Ditthi.
Relevant text
Search found 17 books and stories containing Makkhali Gosala, Makkhali-gosāla; (plurals include: Makkhali Gosalas, gosālas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Lakulisha-Pashupata (Philosophy and Practice) (by Geetika Kaw Kher)
Appendix 2 - An Enquiry into the Sectarian Affiliation of the Ruins at Harwan
Evidence of Ajivika cult in Kashmir < [Chapter 2 - Spread and Transition]
Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh (early history) (by Prakash Narayan)
Jati (status on account of birth) < [Chapter 4 - Social Process, Structures and Reformations]
Dhammapada (Illustrated) (by Ven. Weagoda Sarada Maha Thero)
Verse 318-319 - The Story of the Disciples of Non-Buddhist Teachers < [Chapter 22 - Niraya Vagga (Hell)]
Verse 167 - The Story of a Young Monk < [Chapter 13 - Loka Vagga (World)]
Verse 316-317 - The Story of A Group of Bad Ascetics < [Chapter 22 - Niraya Vagga (Hell)]
The Great Chronicle of Buddhas (by Ven. Mingun Sayadaw)
Part 2 - The Sandal-Wood Bowl < [Chapter 24 - The Buddha’s Sixth Vassa at Mount Makula]
Part 1 - Singular Opportunity of Living in an Age when a Buddha appears < [Chapter 2 - Rare Appearance of a Buddha]
Part 46 - The Story of Subhadda, the Wandering Ascetic < [Chapter 40 - The Buddha Declared the Seven Factors of Non-Decline for Rulers]
Karmic Astrology—a Study (by Sunita Anant Chavan)
Part 4.3 - Karma in the Vedāṅga period < [Chapter 3 - Development of Jyotiḥśāstra and Karman in the Literature]
A History of Indian Philosophy Volume 1 (by Surendranath Dasgupta)
Part 1 - The State of Philosophy in India before the Buddha < [Chapter V - Buddhist Philosophy]