Early Buddhism
A CRUP-OMAF case study
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Domain: Existence, Reality, Soteriology
Theorist/s: Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha)
Assessor(s): DeepSeek
Date: 2025-12-03
Version of OMAF Used: v0.1
1. Overview of the Ontology
Purpose & Scope:
Early Buddhism presents a pragmatic soteriological ontology aimed at ending suffering (dukkha) by correcting the fundamental misunderstanding of reality. Its scope encompasses all conditioned phenomena—physical, mental, and experiential—analyzing them through the lens of impermanence, non-self, and dependent origination. This is not speculative metaphysics but a phenomenological map for liberation.[1]
Core Claims:
- All conditioned phenomena are impermanent (anicca)
- All conditioned phenomena are unsatisfactory or suffering-prone (dukkha)
- All phenomena are without a permanent, independent self (anattā)
- All phenomena arise and cease through dependent origination (paṭiccasamuppāda)
- Reality consists of a stream of momentary, interdependent events (dharmas)
- Liberation (nibbāna) is the unconditioned cessation of this conditioned stream
Theoretical Influences:
The historical and cultural context of 5th-century BCE North India, including contemporaneous Vedic and Śramaṇa traditions (particularly those emphasizing asceticism and rebirth).[2]
2. Application of OMAF
Refer to the rubric for ratings
Axis I — Completeness
| Criterion | Score (1–5) | Notes / Justification |
|---|---|---|
| Grounding | 4 | Exceptionally clear foundational principle: dependent origination serves as the coherent, non-metaphysical ground for all conditioned existence. It avoids ultimate substance but provides a robust explanatory framework. |
| Manifestation | 4 | Provides detailed descriptive accounts of how being appears through the five aggregates (khandhas) and twelve links of dependent origination. Strong operational clarity for meditative analysis, though focused on experience rather than external objects. |
| Persistence | 3 | Explains recurrence through karmic conditioning and causal chains, but the mechanism for temporal continuity—the momentary dharmas—is described more than explained. Persistence is an illusion of rapid succession. |
| Boundaries | 5 | Boundaries are explicitly defined and rigorously maintained: between conditioned (saṃsāra) and unconditioned (nibbāna), between conventional truth (sammuti sacca) and ultimate truth (paramattha sacca). The ontology knows its domain and stays within it. |
Axis II — Robustness
| Criterion | Score (1–5) | Notes / Justification |
|---|---|---|
| Internal Coherence | 5 | Remarkably coherent given its radical claims. The three marks (anicca, dukkha, anattā) mutually reinforce dependent origination. The system withstands logical scrutiny within its soteriological framework. |
| Domain Validity | 5 | Universally applicable within its declared domain of conditioned existence. Successfully handles all cases of suffering, change, and identity through the aggregates and dependent origination. |
| Objectivity / Reflexivity | 4 | Highly self-aware; applies its own principles to its teachings (the Dhamma is a "raft" to be abandoned). Acknowledges its pragmatic, non-absolutist stance, though avoids metaphysical self-application. |
| Explanatory Power | 4 | Powerful explanation for the nature of suffering, personal identity, and cyclical existence. Unifies psychology, ethics, and ontology. Somewhat limited in explaining the positive nature of nibbāna. |
| Resilience to Critique | 4 | Withstands most critiques through its non-dogmatic, pragmatic approach. The charge of nihilism is addressed via the Middle Way. Some tension exists between momentariness and moral responsibility. |
Axis III — Pragmatic Usefulness
| Criterion | Score (1–5) | Notes / Justification |
|---|---|---|
| Operational Clarity | 5 | Exceptionally actionable. Provides clear, step-by-step guidance for meditation, ethical conduct, and wisdom development through the Noble Eightfold Path. The ontology is a manual for transformation. |
| Integrability | 3 | Integrates well with later Buddhist systems but is less directly compatible with substantialist or eternalist worldviews. Its phenomenological focus requires adaptation for integration with object-oriented sciences. |
| Heuristic Utility | 5 | Profoundly generative. Spawned all subsequent Buddhist traditions and continues to inspire psychology, philosophy of mind, and contemplative science. Provides tools for analyzing any experience. |
Axis IV — Transformative Potential
| Criterion | Score (1–5) | Notes / Justification |
|---|---|---|
| Cognitive Shift | 5 | Capable of producing a complete perceptual and cognitive revolution—from seeing permanence to seeing impermanence, from self to non-self. This is the entire point of the teaching. |
| Experiential Depth | 5 | Directly targets and transforms lived experience through mindfulness and insight practices. Designed to produce profound experiential shifts, not just intellectual understanding. |
| Generativity | 5 | Spawned 2,500 years of philosophical development, multiple schools, and global contemplative traditions. Continues to generate new interpretations and applications across cultures and disciplines. |
3. Visualisation
Radar Chart:
| Dimensions | Average Score |
|---|---|
| Completeness | 4.0 |
| Robustness | 4.4 |
| Pragmatic Usefulness | 4.33 |
| Transformative Potential | 5.0 |
radar-beta
title "Early Buddhism Ontology"
axis Completeness, Robustness, Usefulness, Potential
curve Score{4.0, 4.4, 4.3, 5.0}
max 5
4. Summary & Observations
Strengths:
- Unmatched practical utility: The ontology functions as an operational manual for ending suffering, with clear, actionable steps.
- Profound transformative power: Designed to produce radical cognitive and experiential shifts through direct application.
- Exceptional internal coherence: The doctrines of impermanence, non-self, and dependent origination form a mutually reinforcing, logically tight system.
- Clear domain boundaries: Explicit distinction between conditioned and unconditioned prevents over-application and metaphysical overreach.
Weaknesses:
- Limited metaphysical grounding: Deliberately avoids positive ontological claims about ultimate reality, focusing instead on conditioned phenomena.
- Tension in persistence: The momentariness doctrine, while coherent, creates challenges for explaining continuity in conventional experience.
- Integration challenges: Its phenomenological and soteriological focus requires translation for integration with object-oriented scientific models.
Trade-offs / Tensions:
- The decision to remain pragmatically silent on ultimate metaphysical questions (the "unanswered questions") achieves soteriological focus at the cost of ontological completeness.
- The radical deconstruction of self provides profound liberation but creates tension with conventional social, ethical, and psychological frameworks.
- The focus on suffering as the primary problem makes the ontology universally relevant but potentially reductionist when applied to non-soteriological domains.
5. Recommendations
- Develop bridging frameworks to translate the phenomenological insights of Early Buddhism into contemporary philosophical and scientific discourse without losing their transformative power.
- Expand the account of conventional reality to provide more detailed guidance for applying the insights of impermanence and non-self in ethical, social, and psychological contexts.
- Create integration protocols for combining with ontologies that provide positive metaphysical grounding (like Process Philosophy or the CoD) while maintaining the pragmatic focus.
- Develop modern pedagogical methods to help contemporary practitioners navigate the profound cognitive shift from self-based to process-based perception.
6. References
- The Pali Canon (Tipiṭaka), especially the Sutta Pitaka
- Ñāṇamoli, Bhikkhu & Bodhi, Bhikkhu (trans.), "The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha"
- Gombrich, Richard F., "What the Buddha Thought"
- Siderits, Mark, "Buddhism as Philosophy: An Introduction"
- Analayo, Bhikkhu, "Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization"
- Gethin, Rupert, "The Foundations of Buddhism"
Footnotes
Last updated: 2026-01-16
License:
JIML v.1