In the Mahāsīhanāda Sutta, the Buddha says that unless one abandons the speech, thought and view that the Buddha has no superhuman and noble states of knowledge and vision, and all he’s taught comes out of logic, that person will go to hell.
I feel like there’s an important distinction here between malicious slander and honest doubt, especially with the discourses such as the Kālāmā Sutta. It seems pretty clear that the Buddha doesn’t teach for the sake of disciples.
So, how do we understand this statement made by the Buddha? What Suttas may help me expand my understanding here?
There is a natural reaction to think, “Surely this can’t be enough to send someone to hell.” But when we do a broad reading of the suttas we find that lots and lots of things can indeed land us in hell, including views. This is why saṁsara is so dangerous and we have to try to get out as quickly as possible.
For people who grew up with the Christian notion of eternal hell this is especially disturbing.
I think for this passage, though, one could easily infer that the Buddha had a particular person in mind. However the notion that wrong views lead to hell is found throughout the suttas. Check out hell in the CIPS, especially the last item in that entry, “wrong view leads to”.
You see, honest doubt is one thing, and to make public statement that Buddha has no any superpowers is another thing. Not that “honest doubt” in the case of Buddha’s disciple isn’t harmful, but by itself should not have such painful results.
Generally for a Buddhist doubting some aspects of Dhamma, the very doubt is his punishment
Sunakhatta’s behaviour (DN 24) seems to me to exemplify everything that one should not do.
And the Buddha describes the 10 unwholesome paths of action that lead to hell in MN 41 and AN 10.211.
Plus there are additional wrong views described in MN 117, MN 57 SN 42.2 and SN 42.3
Its not doubt that leads to hell. Doubt implies an open mind… one has not made a decision either way.
Its when one has actively made that decision to hold a particular view that one goes to a bad destination. Because one believes it and one acts on it… making bad kamma.. reaping the fruits thereof.
There’s MN 47, where the Buddha encourages his disciples to investigate him to figure out if he’s fully awakened or not. So I guess we can assert that the Buddha wasn’t speaking of honest doubt when he said that such and such view will drag a person to hell.
But I can understand that you have to be a special kind of deluded and even wicked, to see this Indian ascetic who liked being secluded, who was so peaceful in his conduct and taught so many incredible things, who left the sensual world to find the answer to suffering, and still declare that such a person is ordinary, just a philosopher and a thinker.
