Question

Read the given source carefully and answer the questions that follow:

Fatalists and Materialists? 
Here is an excerpt from the Sutta Pitaka, describing a conversation between King Ajatasattu, the ruler of Magadha, and the Buddha:
On one occasion King Ajatasattu visited the Buddha and described what another teacher, named Makkhali Gosala, had told him:
“Though the wise should hope, by this virtue ... by this penance I will gain karma ... and the fool should by the same means hope to gradually rid himself of his karma, neither of them can do it. Pleasure and pain, measured out as it were, cannot be altered in the course of samsara (transmigration). It can neither be lessened or increased ... just as a ball of string will when thrown unwind to its full length, so fool and wise alike will take their course and make an end of sorrow.” And this is what a philosopher named Ajita Kesakambalin taught : 
“There is no such thing, O king, as alms or sacrifice, or offerings … there is no such thing as this world or the next … 
A human being is made up of the four elements. When he dies the earthy in him returns to the earth, the fluid to water, the heat to fire, the windy to air, and his senses pass into space … 
The talk of gifts is a doctrine of fools, an empty lie … fools and wise alike are cut off and perish. They do not survive after death.” 
The first teacher belonged to the tradition of the Ajivikas. They have often been described as fatalists : those who believe that everything is predetermined. The second teacher belonged to the tradition of the Lokayatas, usually described as materialists. Texts from these traditions have not survived, so we know about them only from the works of other traditions. 

Analyse the views of Makkhali Gosala on karma.
 

Hint:

Makkhali Gosala’s fatalism emphasizes that karma is beyond human control, and all actions are part of an unalterable cycle.

Answer 1

Makkhali Gosala's views on karma suggest a fatalistic philosophy where everything, including the consequences of karma, is predetermined. He believed that both wise and foolish people are bound by their karma, and no amount of penance or virtue can change their fate. According to Gosala, the cycle of samsara (rebirth) is inevitable, and pleasure or pain cannot be altered by human efforts. His doctrine implies that life’s course is fixed and unchangeable.