The Middle Way as Intervention

Abstract

The middle way (majjhimā paṭipadā) is usually read as moderation. This preprint argues from the early Buddhist sources that the practical middle way of the first discourse (SN 56.11) is not a midpoint between pleasure and pain. It is an intervention at the link from feeling to craving (vedanā-paccayā taṇhā). It separates the practical middle (SN 56.11, SN 42.12, MN 139, AN 3.156–162) from the doctrinal middle (SN 12.15, SN 12.17). It shows that both extremes act on feeling (MN 101, SN 36.6), that feeling and craving are separable (MN 44), and that non-sensual pleasure belongs within the path (MN 36, MN 66, MN 139). The findings are checked against the Chinese Āgama parallels (SĀ 379, SĀ 912, MĀ 169, SĀ 301, MĀ 123, SĀ 470) and against Theravāda and Mahāyāna commentarial readings, including those that diverge. The paper compares the result with the Bhagavad Gītā and Aristotle, assesses how far current scientific evidence can decide the question, and specifies a coupling parameter (κ) and a pre-registrable study design that could falsify the reconstruction.