14. Conclusion

The central task of the philosopher of language is to explain what meaning is. The Buddha underlined the importance of meaning that holds most cherished position after the Dhamma. Aspects of meaning are special and peculiar in the Pāli literature. Different ways of expressing or encoding ideas in language represent different patterns of thought, so that encountering different linguistic ‘options’ for encoding ideas can influence the way we reason. Language, in fact whatever way used, should produce the necessary meaning that matures into the realization of Dhamma. This chapter, so far, with its intense and critical appraisal has presented in detail all the fourteen issues/sections bearing on the research topic of the philosophy of language in the Five Nikāyas. All issues of philosophy of language in the Nikāyas have been systematically and critically examined, analyzed and discussed, and special attention has been given many other aspects that come to acquire the focal attention in the study.

The first section on its introduction tends to offer a brief account of pertinent information as well as sectionization so that to enable an adequate critique in the chapter.

The second section has brought out a multi-faceted aspect of language. Non-verbal communication is a point. The visible aspect of non-verbal such as closing and the opening of the eyelids, winking, blinking, the way one looks, movement of the hands, and so on is seen as ‘body language’. Communication through silence is a theme in the domains of philolinguistics and psycholinguistics, and applied linguistics. One should appropriately know the time to say nothing. Here, the possible reasons of the silence of the Buddha by the metaphysical questions are carried out in order to clarify partly the problem. “I am one who speaks after making an analysis; I do not speak one-sidedly” (Majjhima Nikāya, Sutta number 99.4), the Buddha said. Thus, his teaching is said to be twofold. The Majjhima Nikāya presents two kinds of question which are answered by the silence of the Buddha: questions of metaphysics and questions of the ultimate Real. Thus, silent language is a Buddhist method in communicating with each other as a following famous story that once on the Gridhakūta mountain, in front of his amount of disciples, the Buddha raised his hand with a lotus in silent, his greatest disciple venerable Kassapa immediately recognized the Buddha’s implicity. For that understood of venerable Kassapa, the Buddha appointed venerable Kassapa to be a leader of Sangha after the Buddha’s nibbāna. In the Nikāyas, there are six kinds of speech that the Buddha knows the time to utter or not (see §4.3.3).

Section three has focused on language behaviour which is seen an outstanding reproduction of mind. In this section, all courses of speech and the models of verbal conduct are exposed in detail. In addition, the section also points out the Buddha’s instruction of the verbal conduct, which concerns to the terms of phonetics and dialect and sociolect.

The forth section has set up the relationship between language and knowledge in which language as Chomsky (1968) affirmed “is a code that represents our hidden inner thoughts, a ‘mirror of mind’.” Dialectically, “language is not a separate source of knowledge” but “an indirect cognition of reality” Stcherbatsky (1999: 458). It is something what to be used to convey our knowledge or logically our indirect knowledge through inference. Thus, “language mirrors human mental processes or shapes the flow and character of thought” (Chomsky 1968: 1). In addition, this section has drawn out the truth-table to illustrate the meaning of truth-functional sentential connectives. This offers an effective method for testing the validity of arguments in propositional logic. Further, two modes of knowledge; that is, ñāna and paññā are clearly distinguished from each other. In sum, as discussed in the section, language is not only an interpretative knowledge of the world and a conferral or comparison of meaning to life but also a means of access to the ultimately reality thus leading to the final liberated goal.

Following the previous section, the fifth section has continuously focused on studying the characteristics of paññā ‘wisdom’ in the process of enlightenment and liberation. As discussion has pointed out that paññā ‘wisdom’ is as “the light of the moon, of the sun, of fire, and of wisdom. Of these four lights, the light of wisdom is supreme” (Aṅguttara Nikāya, Sutta number 4:143); and as a knife “that cuts, severs, and carves away the inner defilements, fetters, and bonds” (Majjhima Nikāya, Sutta number146: 11, 12). The section also presented the way to grasp the noble wisdom through the Noble Eightfold Path in which the first two factors; that is, the right view (sammādiṭṭhi) and right intention (sammāsankappa) are very important.

In the sixth section, the important function of right view to the supramundane path as well as its requirements of language comprehension and language production is fairly showed up. As shown, wisdom is known as right view which is said to be twofold: conceptual right view, and experiential right view. The former is a clear intellectual grasp of the Dhamma; the latter is the wisdom that directly penetrates the Dhamma.

The section has also mentioned two kinds of right view:

(i) mundane right view which possessed by wise persons includes both kinds of Buddhists and outsiders; and

(ii) supra-mundane right view which possessed by the disciples in both the higher training and the Arahants.

Moreover, the language comprehension which is a complex and dynamic active process, and is a measure of one’s capacity in capturing the meaning from other’s utterance has also discussed in this section.

Two psychological tendencies–unwholesome and wholesome–which should be abandoned and should be cultivated respectively have been dealt with discussed in the seventh section. Following that, the unwholesome basically comprises ten issues divided into three groups: (i) bodily action: killing living beings, taking what is not given, and misconduct in sensual pleasures; (ii) verbal action: false speech, malicious speech, harsh speech and gossip; and (iii) mental action: covetousness, ill will, and wrong view. These unwholesome habits are said to originate from mind affected by lust, hate, and delusion. In contrast, the wholesome states also consist of ten courses of action which are completely opposite to the unwholesome, and the root of these ten is non-greed, non-hate, and non-delusion.

Section eight has particularly studied the Dependent Origination (paṭiccasamuppāda) which is central to the Buddha’s teaching. This doctrine affirms that all phenomena or events in both mental and physical arise in dependence on causes and conditions and lack intrinsic being: “when this exists, that comes to be; with the arising of this, that arises. When this does not exist, that does not come to be; with the cessation of this, that ceases” (Majjhima Nikāya, Sutta number 38.19; 22). The ultimate purpose of the teaching on dependent origination is to reveal the conditions that sustain the round of rebirths and thereby to show what must be done to gain release from the round. This doctrine is so important that the Buddha said: “One who sees dependent origination sees the Dharnma, and one who sees the Dhamma sees dependent origination” And “one who can see those things, see the Tathāgata” (Majjhima Nikāya, Sutta number 28.28).

The ninth section has dealt with and discussed on the five aggregations (pañcakkhandhā) that run:

(i) material form (rūpa), the physical component of experience;

(ii) feeling (vedanā), the ‘affactive tone’ of experience–either pleasant, painful or neutral;

(iii) perception (saññā), the identification of things through their distinctive marks and features;

(iv) volitional formations (saṅkhārā), a term for the multifarious mental factors involving volition, choice, and intention; and

(v) consciousness (viññāṇa), cognition arisen through any of the six sense faculties; that is, eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

The Nikāyas use these to analyze human experience. The Samyutta Nikāya, Sutta number 22, explains critically the five aggregates for at least four reasons. First, the five aggregates are the ultimate referent of the first noble truth, the noble truth of suffering, and since all four truths revolve around suffering, understanding the aggregates is essential for understanding the Four Noble Truths as a whole. Second, the five aggregates are the objective domain of clinging and as such contribute to the causal origination of future suffering. Third, clinging to the five of wisdom needed to remove clinging is precisely clear insight into the true nature of the aggregates. Based on the Samyutta Nikāya, Sutta number 22.56, the section has drawn out the table on the five aggregates in order to demonstrate their content, condition and simile.

The tenth section has mentioned and studied the characteristic of non-self.

The most common formula builds upon their internal relationship as follows:

(i) all sankhāras are impermanent (sabbe sankhārā aniccā);

(ii) all sankhāras are unsatisfactory (sabbe sankhārā dukkhā); and

(iii) all dhammas are without self (sabbe dhammā anattā).

The first and second apply to all mundane things, everything that ‘exists’ (sankhāra). The third refers to the unconditioned element (a-sankhata). This does not ‘exist’. Thus, all things being subject to change and disappearance as the Buddha taught “Monks, form is nonself … Therefore, monks, any kind of form whatsoever, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, all form should be seen as it really is with correct wisdom thus: ‘This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self’” (Samyutta Nikāya, Sutta number 22.59). The principle of non-self is to follow logically from the two marks of impermanence and suffering. The standard formula states that what is impermanent is pain or suffering, and what is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change cannot be regarded as mine, I, or self (Majjhima Nikāya, Sutta number 22.26). From the discussion in section, the evidence is borne out by the third characteristic: all dhammas in this sense including Nibbāna are without self.

Section eleven has made an attempt to discuss the samatha ‘serenity’ and vipassanā. While, samatha aims at achievement of concentration and pursues through all jhānas, vipassanā aims at the direct personal apprehension and verification of the Dhamma. The target of vipassanā is the achievement of insight wisdom which enables one to cognize the true essence of all formations (saṅkhāra) as its three characteristics of impermanent, suffering, and non-self. It is this insight wisdom that leads to entry into the supramundane paths and to Nibbāna. This section has also studied the four foundations of mindfulness (satipaṭṭhāna). As the discussion pointed out Satipaṭṭhāna is established on four observations and contemplations of the body (kāya), feelings (vedanā), mind (citta) (mental processes), and mind-objects (dhammā) of oneself and of others. The practice of insight meditation is guided in a common subject within each of these four foundations of mindfulness. The section has further presented sixteen exercises of mindfulness of breathing as methods for practicing. In sum, four foundations of mindfulness are considered as “the bindings for the mind of the noble disciple to subdue one’s habits, memories and intentions, distress, fatigue, and fever based on the household life so that he may attain the true way and realize Nibbāna” (Majjhima Nikāya, Samyutta Nikāya 125.23).

Having been one of the important topics of the chapter, the description of mind has been examined, analyzed and discussed in section twelve. This section has taken the beginning to discuss the meaning and the knowledge of language. Next, it has focused on discussing the defiled mind and pure mind as the discourse of “Simile of the Cloth” (Majjhima Nikāya, Sutta number 7) that demonstrated “when the mind is undefiled, a happy destination may be expected.” Further, the section has studied five wildernesses and five shackles in the heart.

It pointed out that a bhikkhu must abandon all doubtful, uncertain, undecided, and unconfident about his:

(i) the Teacher,

(ii) the Dhamma,

(iii) the Saṅgha,

(iv) the training; and

(v) angry and displeased with his companions in the holy life.

And he is requested to be free from lust, desire, affection, thirst, fever, and craving. The section has also been mentioned twelve stains for a secluse that a bhikkhu is asked to abandon. The diversity of mind and the methods to incline mind in which the Buddha points out forty-four factors that the mind needs to be inclined have furthermore been discussed in the section. Finally, the five methods for removing unwholesome thoughts have also been mentioned and studied.

The thirteenth section has focused on examining as well as discussing the development and cultivation of the four immeasurable minds. In training of the four immeasurable minds, one extents these immeasurable minds not only to special objects he has known but also to all ten quarters of the world. He is guided to “abide pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with loving-kindness, likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the forth; so above, below, around, and everywhere, and to all as to himself, he abides pervading the all-encompassing world with a mind imbued with loving- kindness, abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill will” (Majjhima Nikāya, Samyutta Nikāya 7.13). Having done this, his mind becomes pure and he understands clearly about the Four Noble Truth.

Throughout the conclusion section, all distinctive features presented, examined, discussed as well as analyzed in whole chapter have been summarized systematically. Through the chapter, the major questions of philosophy of language in the Five Nikāyas have been studied crucially. The next chapter, language and thought, will broadly be extended to study and discuss in great detail.