What is the Middle Way in Early Buddhism?

What is the Buddhist Middle Way? We'll take a look at early Buddhism in particular, and some of the material found in suttas of the Pāli Canon. There we'll see there are a few related approaches to this topic, some immediate and down-to-earth, others more conceptual and philosophical.
Check out my Patreon page at / dougsseculardharma
Suttas mentioned:
Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (SN 56.11): suttacentral.net/sn56.11/en/b...
Cūḷadukkhakkhanda Sutta (MN 14): suttacentral.net/mn14/en/sujato
The Discourse About the Courtesan (Ud 6.8): suttacentral.net/ud6.8/en/ana...
Kaccayanagotta Sutta (SN 12.15): suttacentral.net/sn12.15/en/b...
A Cosmologist (SN 12.48): www.accesstoinsight.org/tipit...
Thanks to Patrons:
Matthew Smith
Kathy Voldstad
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secularbuddhism.org/
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[@sunilalimbu1594]

In my opinion, Middle way simply put is, neither to run after your desires nor run away from them.

[@DougsDharma]

Yes, that is one way to look at it, thanks sunila.

[@hellothere2052]

This helped so much for my religion philosophy and ethics homework due tomorrow! Thank you *SO* much !

[@DougsDharma]

You're very welcome Oswin! Hope the teacher likes it too. 🙂

[@0JohnLascola0]

I’ve found myself on the extreme of spectrums many times through my life so far. The idea of how everything is just an illusion or perception of the individual really messed with my reality for a time period , but coming back to my conception of the middle way always brought me the peace of mind needed to interpret the world around me with a personal understanding that lead to “peace of mind”. This video is wonderful thank you for your time my friend.

[@DougsDharma]

You're very welcome John! Thanks for the comment.

[@clarasirius3473]

(Deep breath): I love this talk. Thank You for recording this.

[@DougsDharma]

You’re very welcome Clara, thanks for the comment!

[@marianaranjo6682]

Thank you so much, for taking the time to make this wonderful videos. Sometimes we seekers are so immersed looking, that we forget to like the video.

[@DougsDharma]

You’re very welcome Maria! I perfectly understand, most people don’t remember to like the video and don’t have time to comment, it’s all good. But thank you for liking and commenting! 🙂🙏

[@allenmorgan4309]

I worked on it for years and I did find liberation but I can't fully explain it; everyone has to find it for themselves. I can say that it is doable and the middle path is the way. When we harmonize the opposite forces within ourselves and find the balance within all areas of our life and with study and contemplation we will become aware of the true nature of reality.

[@DougsDharma]

Thanks Allen! 🙏

[@04dram04]

I want to suggest you read Neville Goddard. He explains how to reach Nirvana through disciplined control of you conscious thoughts feeling and beliefs. That all reality is a projection from your subconscious mind. And what programs it is your your current thoughts feeling and beliefs.

[@SP.Addams]

We need this new information more than ever.

[@DougsDharma]

I agree Amy! That's why I'm doing the channel! 😀

[@Kelvin006]

Hey Doug, great and informative video as usual!! When you mentioned the Jains, I kinda thought that maybe it would be interesting to make a video (or a series of videos) about the Buddha's 6 contemporary major teachers / teachings (in which Niganthas or Jains are included) which The Buddha's rejected. I know some of them are already mentioned in your videos(or maybe all, I haven't watched all of your videos yet) but I really want to see how your more in-depth thoughts are regarding these teachers/teachings, which in my opinion can really supplement your explanation of the middle way in this video. Just a suggestion :) Anyways, keep up the great work!! Metta Cittena.

[@DougsDharma]

Thanks for the thought Guttacaro. It is an interesting idea for a video, one I will keep in mind! 🙏

[@terraminsan7392]

Buddha has only 2 teacher.

[@pork-chopexpress650]

Great stuff doug

[@DougsDharma]

Thanks Pork-Chop Express! 🙂

[@morebento]

I love these talks, thanks.

[@DougsDharma]

Very welcome morebento, thanks for watching! 🙂

[@kaungmyatthu7222]

Thank you so much, I really admire u 🙂🙂🙂

[@DougsDharma]

So nice of you to say Kaung Myat Thu! You're very welcome.

[@bensonputhethu5918]

Is there a good book on middle way philosophy, like a handbook for beginners? Thank you in advance.

[@DougsDharma]

Any good introduction to Buddhism will do. I have a number of recommended ones in my playlist on books.

[@dusanbosnjakovic6588]

What do you think about the middle way being just another caution against attachment? Attachment to the doctrine. Sort of like the parable of the raft? Buddhism is like a raft you can leave behind when you cross the river

[@DougsDharma]

Sure, it can be thought of in that way. Though strictly speaking we can get attached to anything we can contemplate, even the middle way itself. The Buddha though tended to use the simile mostly about extremes of indulgence and asceticism, as well as of permanence and nihilism.

[@truthinesssss]

👍

[@colinlavery625]

Middle Way, not too much, not too little.Does that mean I can have a pint now and again ?

[@DougsDharma]

That’s a matter of some debate in Buddhism! Personally I don’t see anything wrong with it so long as it’s following that “middle way” and not leading to inebriation. 🙂

[@futurerush2560]

@@DougsDharma As a 26 year old British guy who probably consumed a few too many pints during university, I went T-total from 01.01.2020 until about a week ago. I spent a lot of time justifying my decision to colleagues, friends, and even my parents! It ostracised me very slightly. Especially when combined with my Veganism - people found it difficult to relate to me and I started to feel I was being a little puritanical. So last week I reunited with my 3 best schoolfriends after many months apart. I elected to have a few drinks with them (I had 3 beers). They were delighted, I didn't feel drunk nor hungover the next day, and I feel no urge to drink again for the foreseeable future. I may drink again in moderation if the setting is right and I want to, or I may not. But I am not neurotically clinging to absolute sobriety any more, and it feels right.

[@metaphysicalmigraine694]

There is a universal enlightenment or awakening happening worldwide, but it's likely to get worse before peace can be achieved. Ignorance is not an option and the enforced power or control over people must be overcome, as an individual relative to everything realises the norm to conform is a storm that subsides like tides of time. The only path is the one you're on whether that be the middle of the road, sitting on the fence or feeling free with every sense, life can be liberating depending on your choices.

[@DougsDharma]

Thanks for your input MM.

[@shineisle2263]

🙏🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@DougsDharma]

🙏😊

[@afanasibushmanov7463]

I often wonder if monastics are actually practicing Buddhism the way the Buddha actually wanted them to. You brought up a good point about them clinging to rules and rituals and I don't necessarily think that's beneficial. I believe that it can be possible to become "enlightened" in certain circumstances like living in a monastery for example and not really being in touch with the outside world, but I don't think that's true enlightenment. I think it's important to have to deal with adversity in the real world and let go of a lot of the rules and rituals that monastics have to abide by. In one of your other videos you said that someone told you that you look like you just got out of bed when you were giving a lecture. I think that's one example of a person clinging to regulations that aren't particularly necessary.

[@DougsDharma]

Hi Afanasi and thanks for the comment. Yes, rules can be a problem if we cling to them. But rules are often there for a reason, which is that they can be useful tools in training.

[@afanasibushmanov7463]

@@DougsDharma I completely agree. Without rules we wouldn't have Buddhism or any religion for that matter. I just think the rules should be looked at as a guide and not something that's set in stone or something that we should be dedicating our lives to following. My outlook is kind of similar when it comes to vegetarianism/veganism. I personally think vegans are doing the moral thing by avoiding meat and supporting animal rights. My issue with them is that I think a lot of them just go overboard with it and they are going about being a vegan with the wrong approach. If vegans are at a friend's house they might refuse to eat what the friend is serving because there might be an animal product in it. I personally think they should be willing to bend the rules in that situation and eat the animal product out of respect for their friend. My outlook on religion (especially Buddhism because the Buddha specifically preached about non-attachment) is the same way.

[@DougsDharma]

Thanks Afanasi. Yes, one thing is the rules, if they are appropriate or inappropriate, and another is how we relate to them psychologically. Even though however we might say that there are some lines we won’t cross. Let’s say we grew up in Germany in the late 1930s for example ...

[@Ben-ve1wi]

I’m stuck with homework

[@DougsDharma]

Well ... homework can be a good thing sometimes. 🙂

[@NickRyanBayon]

Same, worried if it's possible to fall asleep again and if you do if you can make it back.

[@middlewayers]

All people describing middle way in wrong ways in comments..Seems easy in words but hard to understand.

[@civilcrab3356]

Damn

[@MiddlewaysocietyOrgMWS]

It's good to see some attention being given to this topic at last, but there's hardly a coherent view of the Middle Way here. On the one hand you claim that the Middle Way is important, and on the other that it's merely rhetoric. Why should it be important if it is merely rhetorical? There's also no attempt to consider what links together the Middle Way between self-indulgence and asceticism on the one hand, and the avoidance of the extremes of existence and non-existence on the other. Why ever should we follow the Middle Way if it's solely based on apparently incoherent and disconnected "rhetoric" from the recorded early Buddhist teachings? There's no mention here of the many and far-reaching ways that the Middle Way can be understood as a basic approach to judgement in every situation. This looks like an attempt to dispatch an inconvenient topic that does not fit easily into the speaker's philosophical approach - on the basis of very little real reflection on the subject, and very little understanding of why it has been so important to Buddhists.

[@DougsDharma]

Thanks for your thoughts Robert. 🙂 For the record this was never presented as a comprehensive treatment of the middle way in early Buddhism, much less all of Buddhist philosophy. It was an introduction. And I never claimed, nor do I believe, that the early Buddhist presentation of the middle way is “incoherent”. Far from it! You find the phrase central to your belief and practice, as do many historically very important Buddhist schools, which is great. We each have our different approaches to the dhamma and need to relax around labels and concepts. Be well my friend. 🙏

[@MiddlewaysocietyOrgMWS]

Hi Doug, I think there's a reasonable expectation that if you present an introduction to something you will have thought it out: not in the sense of necessarily being factually comprehensive, but in the sense of considering various practical interpretations of the issue, and being able to justify one approach coherently. The key question is what is most useful to people, and in the case of interpreting Buddhism, how the concept can be helpfully used in practice. I didn't get any sense from your presentation that the Middle Way could be helpfully put into practice in a way that was also coherently justified. And please don't tell me to "relax around labels", as though being relaxed was incompatible with having a thoughtful discussion about issues that one believes to be important. (Robert M. Ellis)

[@monotheist..]

awakening meditation middle way no ascetic no indulge middle path islam middle way school