The Buddha said “All worldlings are mad.” Except he didn’t. This quote is found in a number of publications, including an essay in “Collected Wheel Publications Volume XXVIII,” and in Sangharakshita’s “A Stream of Stars.” I’ve even quoted it myself. Mea culpa!
Sometimes this is expanded to “Human stupidity is boundless. All worldlings are mad,” which strikes me as harsh, even for one of the Buddha’s bad days. (And I do think he had bad days.)
Yet this expression isn’t found in the Pali canon. Another “Wheel Publication (Number 45/46) has a helpful explanatory note, correcting this misattribution as if had appeared in one of their essays, and pointing out that Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhimagga says “The worldling is like a madman” (ummattako viya hi puthujjano). This expression is found in a number of other commentarial works as well.
A comment comment on Shravasti Dhammika’s site claims that the “All worldlings are mad” quote comes from the letters of the English monk Ñāṇavīra Thera, who was quoting from memory the words of Buddhaghosa. The commenter offers a link to a now defunct Buddhist forum where, apparently, there was an in-depth overview of the quote. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to access this discussion on archive.org, which is a wonderful resource for retrieving information from deceased websites. (It was in fact from there that I was able to find the material to reconstruct this site after it was destroyed by hackers a few weeks ago.) It seems that archive.org is undergoing maintenance at the moment, so I’ll revisit that source again.
The term “worldling” is a translation of “puthujjana,” which simply refers to anyone who isn’t awakened. It’s literally the “many (puthu) folk (jana).” The manyfolk are under the sway of various mental derangements, or as we would say these days, “cognitive distortions.” These are called the four “vipallasas” (or viparyasas in Sanskrit).
The four vipallasas (classically found here) are thinking that impermanent things are permanent, that sources of suffering are sources of pleasure, that things that lack selfhood have selfhood, and that things that are beautiful or wholesome are in fact ugly or unwholesome. In a sense, the manyfolk are indeed under the grip of powerful cognitive distortions amounting to a kind of insanity, but the Buddha certainly doesn’t seem to have said that we are mad.
Even Buddhaghosa doesn’t quite say that worldlings are mad, just that the worldling is like a madman. A simile is a far cry from a statement of fact.
Since it means “the many” and is used to distinguish the unaware from the aware ariya, puthujjana parallels in striking fashion the term hoi polloi “the many”, as contrasted to the aristoi “the best”. Heraclitus notably made this distinction. At about the same period of history too.
The word puthujjana has a specific, unique meaning. It cannot translate as many folks.
Hi, Silaratana.
Gruff correctly contrasted “puttujjana” with “ariya,” so he’s using the word correctly and isn’t assuming it merely means “many folks.”
All the best,
Bodhipaksa
Pruthak means in Sanskrit is isolated or separated from the rest. If otherwise, thinking as ‘I am”. jana means man or individual. One who thinks he is one separated from the others is puthujjana.
Hi, Silaratana.
According to the Pali-English dictionary, puthu does mean both separated and numerous. Your explanation is interesting, but the standard etymology takes puthujjana as meaning “many-folk.”
All the best,
Bodhipaksa
My impression is that it is a well known saying in Buddhist countries, probably coming from the commentaries.
It may have become current in the West owing to an article: BUDDHIST MENTAL THERAPY, by Francis Story in The Light of the Dhamma, Vol. VIII, No. 2, 1961. There, he writes: “The Pali axiom Sabbe puthujjana ummattaka,* “All worldlings are deranged”, indicates that the whole purpose of Buddhism is to
apply mental therapy to a condition which, accepted as the norm, is in truth nothing but a state of universal delusion.”
His reference is: * Cf. Visuddhimagga Vol. II, page 208, lin 13, 6th Syn. Edit. The “Cf” presumably implies that he is not quoting directly. In the Nanamoli translation of the Visuddhimagga (XVII, 261, p 591), Buddhaghosha says “the ordinary man is like a madman” that must be the reference. I tried looking at the 13 uses of the term ummattaka in the Pali Canon itself, and I can’t find a similar quote there. However, in the book on Buddhism and Science edited by Alan Wallace, William Waldron quotes: “sabbe satta ummattaka all sentient beings are deranged”, ascribing it to the Buddha. I expect this is a mis remembering of the Francis Story phrase, since he does not give any source.
I think you’re right, Ratnaprabha, that it’s commentarial in origin and not scriptural. Another saying that’s like that is the one about the Buddha supposedly telling us to test his words like the goldsmith tests his gold. As far as I know it’s found nowhere in the scriptures.
It is a saying of erudite Mahayana scholar Aryadewa.
That’s interesting. Are you thinking of verse 158 of the 400 Verses on the Middle Way?
There are two quotes which related to “sabbe Puthujjana Ummaththaka” in someway. Both written by Buddhagosha.
As mentioned here 1st reference is in “Visuddi magga” 17th Chapter Pagna Bhoomi Nirdesh” which says “Ummaththaka viyahi sabbe puthujjana dissathi”.
Second reference is from “Sammoha Vinodhini – Abhidarma Pitaka – Vibanga Attakatha” chapter 6 6 patichchasamuppada vibhanga – under bhavapada niddesha which says “Ummattako viya hi puthujjano”.
Iguess Buddhagosha may have expanded this idea based on a Pali cannon statement which is in – Suththa Pitaka – Anguththara Nikaya – chathukka nipathaya – chathukka pannasaya – indriya vaggaya – Roga Sutta”. In the biggining of Roga Suththa it say “:Te, bhikkhave, sattā sudullabhā lokasmiṃ ye cetasikena rogena muhuttampi ārogyaṃ paṭijānanti, aññatra khīṇāsavehi.”
The context Adopted from Sutta Central translations of Bhante Sujatho is below
“Dveme, bhikkhave, rogā. Katame dve? Kāyiko ca rogo cetasiko ca rogo.”
“Mendicants, there are two kinds of illness. What two? Mental and physical.”
“Dissanti, bhikkhave, sattā kāyikena rogena ekampi vassaṃ ārogyaṃ paṭijānamānā, dvepi vassāni ārogyaṃ paṭijānamānā, tīṇipi vassāni ārogyaṃ paṭijānamānā, cattāripi vassāni ārogyaṃ paṭijānamānā, pañcapi vassāni ārogyaṃ paṭijānamānā, dasapi vassāni ārogyaṃ paṭijānamānā, vīsatipi vassāni ārogyaṃ paṭijānamānā, tiṃsampi vassāni ārogyaṃ paṭijānamānā, cattārīsampi vassāni ārogyaṃ paṭijānamānā, paññāsampi vassāni ārogyaṃ paṭijānamānā, vassasatampi, bhiyyopi ārogyaṃ paṭijānamānā.”
“Some sentient beings are seen who can claim to be free of physical illness for a year, or two, or three years … even up to a hundred years or more. Some sentient beings are seen who can claim to be free of physical illness for a year, or two, or three years … even up to a hundred years or more.”
Te, bhikkhave, sattā sudullabhā lokasmiṃ ye cetasikena rogena muhuttampi ārogyaṃ paṭijānanti, aññatra khīṇāsavehi.
But it’s very hard to find any sentient beings in the world who can claim to be free of mental illness even for a moment, apart from those who have ended the defilements.
sabbe satta ummattaka?
But it’s very hard to find any sentient beings in the world who can claim to be free of mental illness even for a moment, apart from those who have ended the defilements.
Indeed! I’m agree!
Hard work to do!
SV!
As Alan mentions above, the Buddha does say in the Rogasutta that “it’s very hard to find any sentient beings in the world who can claim to be free of mental illness even for a moment, apart from those who have ended the defilements.” (AN 4.157) which amounts to the same thing, or at least comes very close, doesn’t it?
Hi, Prakashika.
I’d forgotten about that comment. Thanks for the reminder. So yes, that sutta (here’s a link for any readers who might want to read it) contrasts “illness of the body” (kāyikena rogena) with “illness of the mind” (cetasikena rogena). Examples given include not being contented, wanting to have possessions and popularity, and having ulterior motives. The Buddha considered those to be disorders of the mind, but “mental illness” and “madness” are not the same thing.
The modern concept of “mental illness” is a very broad category. It includes things like anxiety disorders, addiction, depression, and so on. Being anxious, depressed, or addicted doesn’t mean you’re insane. It just means that there are things going on in your life that cause you and others to suffer. It’s “dis-ease” in the sense of being unhappy. So the sutta is saying that there are things going on in the body that cause suffering (dis-ease) and also things going on in the mind that cause suffering.
So although at a glance, that passage might seem to agree with the quote “all worldlings are mad,” they’re really two very different statements.