Buddhism and Soteriology

This paper argues that research in Buddhism must have a soteriological focus. To demonstrate this, an overview of the Cūḷamālunkya Sutta (MN 63) is presented. This sutta consists of a conversation between the Buddha and one of his students, and it reveals that Buddhism’s topics of inquiry must address how one can be free from suffering. The implication of this conversation – the soteriological focus – seems to suggest that Buddhist research excludes topics in metaphysics, such as addressing the nature of the universe (if it has a beginning or an end, if it is finite or infinite, and so forth), or the nature of the self. Soteriology seems to suggest that ethics is the only focus of research in Buddhism; that is, to know how to be free from suffering, one must study how one should live and conduct oneself. Though this appears to be the case, this paper will show that research in Buddhism is not limited in this manner. Instead of excluding metaphysical research entirely, Buddhism instead excludes research that is done for its own sake; topics must therefore be researched for the sake of soteriology. Thus, the research implication of the Cūḷamālunkya Sutta is not that certain topics are unable to be researched, but rather that a qualification of soteriology is attached to topics of research.