Overview
The Two Extremes (dve antā) represent the fundamental behavioral and philosophical dead-ends that the Buddha explicitly rejected in his very first sermon. By abandoning both of these fruitless paths, the Buddha discovered the Middle Way (Majjhimā Paṭipadā), which leads directly to vision, knowledge, peace, and Nibbāna.
The List
- Kāmasukhallikānuyoga - Devotion to sensual indulgence: The pursuit of happiness through the gratification of the physical senses. The Buddha called this low, vulgar, coarse, ignoble, and unbeneficial.
- Attakilamathānuyoga - Devotion to self-mortification: The pursuit of liberation through extreme physical punishment, starving, and torturing the body. The Buddha called this painful, ignoble, and unbeneficial.
Textual References
- Canonical: Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (SN 56.11) – The Buddha instructs the five ascetics to avoid these two extremes.