The Buddha's Noble Silence

The scriptures mention a few occasions when the Buddha remained silent to questions posed to Him. Some scholars, owing to their misunderstanding of the Buddha's silence, came to the hasty conclusion that the Buddha was unable to answer these questions. While it is true that on several occasions the Buddha did not respond to these metaphysical and speculative questions, there are reasons why the Buddha kept noble silence.

When the Buddha knew that the questioner was not in a position to understand the answer to the question because of its profundity, or if the questions themselves were wronly put in the first place, the Blessed One remained silent. Some of the questions to which the Buddha remained silent are as follows:

1.    Is the universe eternal?
2.    Is it not eternal?
3.    Is the universe finite?
4.    Is it infinite?
5.    Is soul the same as the body?
6.    Is the soul one thing and the body another?
7.    Does the Tathagata* exist after death?
8.    Does He not exist after death?
9.    Does He both (at the same time) exist and not exist after death?
10.  Does He both (at the same time) neither exist nor not exist?

The Buddha who had truly realized the nature of these issues observed noble silence. An ordinary person who is still unenlightened might have a lot to say, but all of it would be sheer conjecture based on his imagination.

---K. Sri Dhammananda---