Some Research Methods Used by the Buddha as Recorded
Buddha taught the dhamma with the objective of bringing welfare and happiness
to living beings. He admonished his disciples to wander for the welfare of the
many, happiness of the many, and for the welfare of the gods and humans. As
he stated, the objective of expounding dhamma is cessation of suffering or of
unsatisfactory nature (not seeking anything in return or not seeking converts).
The dhamma expounded by the Buddha can be examined by the wise and it is an
open invitation to come and see (in Pali the characteristic is named as 'ehipassika').
When performing this compassionate service to the world Buddha, used various
methods of teaching as well as techniques that help improvement of wisdom and
liberation of the mind. Buddhist goal of liberation of mind can be attained
by realizing the true nature of things (as impermanent, unsatisfactory and non-soul
nature of the mind). All what we see are subject to change. Hence, we could
treat the conditioned things as subjective. The Buddhist aim is to understand
this subjectivity of everything. When this subjectivity is realized through
understanding, the objective liberation of the mind becomes more realistic.
Buddha's teachings were not always conveyed verbally since it is a personal
realization. His techniques included verbal techniques as well as other methods
that improve understanding of a person. Three of these methods can be illustrated
by citing happenings of the past.
Sampling and generalizations
Kisagotami was a member of a rich family in India. Her life was full of comforts
before her marriage that she did not know the burdens of lay life. After her
marriage she bore a child. As the child was growing up from its infancy a disease
overpowered the baby and he died. Sorrow overpowered Kisagotami's mind. Due
to this sorrow she was unable to accept the death of her child. Losing the touch
of reality due to the sorrow she thought the child had just fallen ill and it
was possible to find a cure for this illness. She started wondering around in
the city of Savath with the dead baby in her hands looking for medicine to cure
her child. She asked for some medicine from everyone she met. Ultimately, some
kind folks in the city directed her to the Buddha. They said, "there is
the Buddha in Jeta's grove, he'll be able to cure your baby." She followed
their advice and went to the Jeta's grove. There the Buddha was teaching and
discussing dhamma with the seekers at that time. Kisagotami hurried towards
the Buddha and placed the dead body of the baby in front of him. She pleaded
to the Buddha, "please sir, cure my baby and help me." Buddha understood
the mental state of Kisagotami. He did not start preaching dhamma or attempted
to show his miracle powers. Instead he asked Kisagotami to bring a handful of
mustard seeds. These mustard seeds should be from a household where no one had
died before.
Kisagotami started her search. Still carrying a dead body she went from house
to house. She asked for mustard seeds from the first house. The occupants of
the house gladly gave the seeds. Then she asked the important question, "had
anyone died in the household?" The answer to this question was the list
of the people that had passed away (grandparents, other elderly etc.). She went
to the second house, third house etc. The search continued. From all the houses
she could find the mustard seeds but in each one of them someone had died. Finally,
she realized that death is part of the nature of life. With this realization
she gained her mental senses. She realized what had happened to her beloved
baby. She placed the baby in a cemetery and hurried to meet the Buddha. After
joining the bhikkuni order (the women disciples of the Buddha), she practiced
according to the Buddha's instructions and attained the final liberation of
the mind.
In this case, the Buddha's hypothesis is that death is natural and it overcomes
everyone when the conditions are there. His survey method made Kisagotami realize
the truthfulness of this hypothesis. This was more than just a statistical proof.
This realization was strong enough for her to come to proper senses and realize
the true nature of everything. The null hypothesis would have been immortality
(in which Kisagotami was attempting to believe). There was no evidence of this.
In her search she went to enough households until she realized (until the sample
was adequate for the realization). From her observations, she was able to generalize
and understand the nature of life and attain inner or mental peace and happiness
to realize the sorrow free state of Nibbana.
Experimental Observations
At some other occasions, Buddha created controlled environments to understand
the truth. Again we can look at the case of a monk who was given instructions
to perform an experiment. In this case, the monk's name was Chullapanthaka.
Let us call him Panthaka. He ordained under his brother and was attempting to
learn teachings of the Buddha. However, he was unable to memorize even a four-line
stanza. His brother asked Panthaka to leave the Bhikkhu order. Buddha came to
know about this and out of compassion for Panthaka instructed him to perform
a very simple experiment rather than attempting to memorize a stanza. Early
in the morning Buddha gave Panthaka a clean piece of white cloth. Asked him
to sit in one place facing the east direction and to rub the piece of cloth
with both hands. While rubbing this cloth, he was asked to repeatedly utter
the statement- "removing dirt." This was a very simple and easy task
for Panthaka compared to leaving the order or memorizing the stanza. He was
so absorbed in the activity. As the time passed by the sun moved from east to
west. Gradually the white piece of cloth became dirtier also due to his rubbing
of it. He realized the changing nature of things and the necessity to remove
the defilement of his mind. He understood the true nature of the conditioned
things. The white cloth changed its color. Sun started setting. The conditions
for purity changed and the cloth changed its color. The conditions for the sun
to stay in the east changed and it was in western direction. Similarly the other
conditioned things change too as the conditions change. Panthaka liberated his
mind from the impurities. He was able to attain inner peace, tranquility and
liberating wisdom.
In this case Buddha's method was experimentation in modern terms. He created
a more controlled environment for Panthaka to make his observations. Panthaka
succeeded in this experiment and gained.
Case Research
In modern days we use case research in social sciences. Buddha's application
of this method can be seen when we study various Jataka stories. Sometimes,
we have the misconception that they are good only for small children. However,
when we understand the context and the purpose of the story we can understand
that the Buddha was relating a tale as a case study (from the modern day sense).
When hearing this story the listeners were able to understand the situation
they were in. They were able to connect their present situation to the past
happenings in the story. As a result the listeners were able to understand the
truth. They were able to understand the nature of the life, nature of the world
or the four noble truths proper.
Even today we can understand many phenomena in human nature as well as in society
by reading them. It is necessary to pay attention to the purpose of them as
well as to the context as conveyed in the stories (rather than getting immersed
in literary details in them).
The above three methods provide some insights about the openness in Buddha's
teaching and his emphasis on investigations leading to improved understanding.
Isn't impartial observation and reflection important in daily life?