An Analytical Study of the Sense Pleasures in the Māgaṇḍiya Sutta

Abstract

This research article aimed to: 1) to study the structure and content of the Māgandhiya Sutta, 2) to study the sensual pleasures (kāmaguṇa) within the Māgandhiya Sutta, and 3) to analyze those sensual pleasures in the Māgandhiya Sutta. This research is a qualitative study conducted through documentary research, investigating data from the Tipiṭaka, Commentaries, as well as relevant academic works. 1) The result of the study of the structure and content indicate that the Māgandhiya Sutta is a discourse found in the Suttantapiṭaka, within the Majjhima Nikāya, Majjhima Paṇṇāsaka. It is characterized by a dialectical (question-and-answer) format, employing systematic metaphors to elucidate the Dhamma. The content depicts the Buddha’s discourse to the wanderer Māgandhiya, aiming to highlight the perils of the five strands of sensual pleasures and the path to abandoning sensuality to attain mental tranquility. 2) The study of sensual pleasures in the Māgandhiya Sutta reveals that the five strands of sensual pleasures—comprising visible forms, sounds, odors, tastes, and tangible objects—engender satisfaction and attachment, serving as a source of suffering. These are classified into objective sensuality (Vatthu-kāma) and subjective sensuality (Kilesakāma). Buddhism emphasizes understanding and transcending these through wisdom to attain more refined happiness and, ultimately Nibbāna. 3)The result of analysis reveals that sensual pleasures through five systematic dimensions, cuase, cessation, gratification, danger, and the abendon. This reflects the Buddhist framework of explaining sensuality through causality, offering a path for mental development from the mundane (Lokiya) to the supramundane (Lokuttara) level, leading to liberation.