Pakudha Kaccayana
Topic: Buddhism, Jainism and Heterodox Traditions · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Pakudha Kaccāyana was a teacher who lived at the same time as the Buddha (c. sixth–fifth century BCE). He taught that the world is made of seven eternal elements: earth, water, fire, air, pleasure, pain and the soul (life). Nobody created these elements and nothing can destroy them. Because of this, he held that killing does not truly destroy anything. A sword only passes through the space between the elements. His ideas survive only in Buddhist texts, which were written by his rivals.
Example
In the Buddhist Sāmaññaphala Sutta, part of the Sutta Pitaka, King Ajātasattu of Magadha tells the Buddha what six rival teachers taught. Pakudha Kaccāyana is one of the six, together with Makkhali Gosāla, Ajita Kesakambalin, Pūraṇa Kassapa, Sañjaya Belaṭṭhiputta and Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta (Mahāvīra).
Don't confuse with
- Ajita Kesakambalin: he was a Lokāyata materialist who taught that a person is made of four elements and that these scatter at death. Pakudha counted seven elements and held that they are eternal.