Question

Read the given source carefully and answer the questions that follow: 
Here is an excerpt from the Sutta Pitaka, describing a conversation between King Ajatasattu, the ruler of Magadha, and the Buddha: “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 unwound 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.” 

 Analyse the views of Makkhali Gosala on karma. 
 

Hint:

Makkhali Gosala’s fatalistic views on karma highlight the concept of predetermination, where all actions, good or bad, lead to inevitable consequences.

Answer 1

Makkhali Gosala, a philosopher from the Ajivika tradition, believed that karma could not be changed or influenced. According to his views, both the wise and the fool alike would experience the consequences of their karma in a predestined manner. Karma, he argued, could neither be reduced nor increased, and the course of one’s life was governed by fixed natural laws.