astronomy

The unanswerable questions

The unanswerable questions is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The unanswerable questions rather than just read about it. In short: In Buddhism, acinteyya (Pali), "imponderable" or "incomprehensible," avyākṛta (Sanskrit: अव्याकृत, Pali: avyākata, "unfathomable, unexpounded,"), and atakkāvacara, "beyond the sphere of reason," are unanswerable questions or undeclared questions. They are sets of questions that should not be thought about, and which the Buddha refused to answer, since this distracts from practice, and hinders the attainment of liber…

Key takeaways

The unanswerable questions belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The unanswerable questions to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The unanswerable questions from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In Buddhism, acinteyya (Pali), "imponderable" or "incomprehensible," avyākṛta (Sanskrit: अव्याकृत, Pali: avyākata, "unfathomable, unexpounded,"), and atakkāvacara, "beyond the sphere of reason," are unanswerable questions or undeclared questions. They are sets of questions that should not be thought about, and which the Buddha refused to answer, since this distracts from practice, and hinders the attainment of liberation. Various sets can be found within the Pali and Sanskrit texts, with four, and ten (Pali texts) or fourteen (Sanskrit texts) unanswerable questions.

Etymology The Sanskrit word acintya means "incomprehensible, surpassing thought, unthinkable, beyond thought." In Indian philosophy, acinteyya is

[T]hat which is to be unavoidably accepted for explaining facts, but which cannot stand the scrutiny of logic. It is also defined as

That which cannot or should not be thought, the unthinkable, incomprehensible, impenetrable, that which transcends the limits of thinking and over which therefore one should not ponder. The term is used to describe the ultimate reality that is beyond all conceptualization. Thoughts here-about should not be pursued, because they are not conducive to the attainment of liberation. Synonymous terms are avyākṛta "indeterminate questions," and atakkāvacara, "beyond the sphere of reason."

Atakkāvacara Nirvana is atakkāvacara, "beyond logical reasoning". It is difficult to comprehend with logic or reason, since it is not a concrete "thing." It cannot be explained with logic or reason to someone who has not attained it by themselves.

Acinteyya – four imponderables The four imponderables are identified in the Acintita Sutta, Anguttara Nikaya 4.77, as follows:

The Buddha-range of the Buddhas [i.e., the range of powers a Buddha develops as a result of becoming a Buddha]; The jhana-range of one absorbed in jhana [i.e., the range of powers that one may obtain while absorbed in jhana]; The [precise working out of the] results of kamma (Karma in Sanskrit); Speculation about [the origin, etc., of] the cosmos is an imponderable that is not to be speculated about (SN 56.41 develops this speculation as the ten indeterminate).

Avyākṛta

Ten indeterminate questions The Cula-Malunkyovada Sutta, MN 63 and 72 contains a list of ten unanswered questions about certain views (ditthi):

The world is eternal. The world is not eternal. The world is (spatially) infinite. The world is not (spatially) infinite. The being imbued with a life force is identical with the body. The being imbued with a life force is not identical with the body. The Tathagata (a perfectly enlightened being) exists after death. The Tathagata does not exist after death. The Tathagata both exists and does not exist after death. The Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist after death. In the Aggi-Vacchagotta Sutta, "Discourse to Vatsagotra on the [Simile of] Fire," Majjhima Nikaya 72, the Buddha is questioned by Vatsagotra on the "ten indeterminate question:" avyākrta

Is the cosmos eternal, non-eternal, finite, infinite? Are the soul and the body (jīvam & sarīram) similar or different? After death, a Tathagata exists, does not exist, both exists and does not exist, neither exists nor does not exist? The Buddha refuses to answer the questions, avoiding getting entangled in debate, but answers with a simile:

"And suppose someone were to ask you, 'This fire that has gone out in front of you, in which direction from here has it gone? East? West? North? Or south?' Thus asked, how would you reply?""That doesn't apply, Master Gotama. Any fire burning dependent on a sustenance of grass and timber, being unnourished — from having consumed that sustenance and not being offered any other — is classified simply as 'out' (unbound)." "Even so, Vaccha, any physical form by which one describing the Tathagata would describe him: That the Tathagata has abandoned, its root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising. Freed from the classification of form, Vaccha, the Tathagata is deep, boundless, hard to fathom, like the sea. 'Reappears' doesn't apply. 'Does not reappear' doesn't apply. 'Both does & does not reappear' doesn't apply. 'Neither reappears nor does not reappear' doesn't apply.

Fourteen questions The extant Sanskrit tradition (and the Tibetan and Chinese texts following the Sanskrit) expand the list of imponderables to fourteen. 1. Is the world eternal? 2. ...or not? 3. ...or both? 4. ...or neither? (Pali texts omit "both" and "neither") 5. Is the world finite? 6. ...or not? 7. ...or both? 8. ...or neither? (Pali texts omit "both" and "neither") 9. Is the self identical with the body? 10. ...or is it different from the body? 11. Does the Tathagata (Buddha) exist after death? 12. ...or not? 13. ...or both? 14. ...or neither?

Sixteen questions - Sabbasava-Sutta The Sabbasava Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 2) also mentions 16 questions which are seen as "unwise reflection" and lead to attachment to views relating to a self.

What am I? How am I? Am I? Am I not? Did I exist in the past? Did I not exist in the past? What was I in the past? How was I in the past? Having been what, did I become what in the past? Shall I exist in future? Shall I not exist in future? What shall I be in future? How shall I be in future? Having been what, shall I become what in future? Whence came this person? Whither will he go? The Buddha states that it is unwise to be attached to both views of having and perceiving a self and views about not having a self. Any view which sees the self as "permanent, stable, everlasting, unchanging, remaining the same for ever and ever" is "becoming enmeshed in views, a jungle of views, a wilderness of views; scuffling in views, the agitation (struggle) of views, the fetter of views."

Hindrance to liberation Pondering over the four acinteyya is a hindrance to the attainment of liberation. Sacca-samyutta, "The Four Noble Truths", Samyutta Nikaya 56:

Therefore, o monks, do not brood over [any of these views] Such brooding, O monks, is senseless, has nothing to do with genuine pure conduct (s. ādibrahmacariyaka-sīla), does not lead to aversion, detachment, extinction, nor to peace, to full comprehension, enlightenment and Nibbāna, etc. And the Aggi-Vacchagotta Sutta, "Discourse to Vatsagotra on the [Simile of] Fire," Majjhima Nikaya 72:

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The unanswerable questions

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The unanswerable questions claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The unanswerable questions before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The unanswerable questions ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The unanswerable questions

In research: The unanswerable questions appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The unanswerable questions in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The unanswerable questions is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Buddhist cosmology, Buddhist philosophical concepts, Karma in Buddhism, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The unanswerable questions outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The unanswerable questions in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The unanswerable questions means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The unanswerable questions out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The unanswerable questions in simple terms?

Why does The unanswerable questions matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The unanswerable questions?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The unanswerable questions.