Causality: The Central Philosophy of Buddhism

The book proceeds through eight major chapters. Chapter I, “Pre-Buddhist Theories of Causation: The Vedic Tradition,” traces causal reflection from the Ṛgveda through the Brāhmaṇas, Āraṇyakas, and Upaniṣads, examining natural order, ṛta, self-causation, divine creation, and related speculative theories. Chapter II studies pre-Buddhist causal theories in non-Vedic traditions, especially Materialism, Ājīvika thought, Jainism, determinism, moral causation, and other rival explanations known to early Buddhism. Chapter III analyzes causal terminology in the Nikāyas and Āgamas, especially hetu and pratyaya, and argues that their later technical distinction was not original to earliest Buddhism. Chapter IV examines the nature of causally conditioned dhammas, contrasting early Buddhist phenomenalism with later substantialist or momentarist interpretations. Chapter V presents the Buddhist causal principle itself, focusing on the causal nexus, the validity of causation, and the verification of causal relations. Chapter VI explains how causation applies to inorganic phenomena, organic life, psychology, social and moral life, and spiritual development, showing that Buddhist causality is broader than the twelvefold formula alone. Chapter VII compares early Buddhist causality with later developments, especially Madhyamaka and other scholastic traditions. Chapter VIII studies causal correlation in later Theravāda, Sarvāstivāda, and Yogācāra systems, while clarifying how these traditions developed beyond the early Nikāya-Āgama framework.