Etymology
The Sanskrit word '' acintya'' means "incomprehensible, surpassing thought, unthinkable, beyond thought."spokensanskrit.de, ''acintya''''Atakkāvacara''
''Nirvana'' is ''atakkāvacara'', "beyond logical reasoning". It is difficult to comprehend with logic or reason, since it is not a concrete "thing." It cannot be explained with logic or reason to someone who has not attained it by themselves.''Acinteyya'' - four imponderables
The four imponderables are identified in the Acintita Sutta, Anguttara Nikaya 4.77, as follows: # The Buddha-range of the Buddhas .e., the range of powers a Buddha develops as a result of becoming a Buddha # The jhana-range of one absorbed in jhana .e., the range of powers that one may obtain while absorbed in jhana # The recise working out of theresults of kamma ( Karma in Sanskrit); # Speculation about''Avyākṛta''
Ten indeterminate questions
The ''Cula-Malunkyovada Sutta'', MN 63 and 72 contains a list of ten unanswered questions about certain views ''(ditthi)'': #The world is eternal. #The world is not eternal. #The world is (spatially) infinite. #The world is not (spatially) infinite. #The being imbued with a life force is identical with the body. #The being imbued with a life force is not identical with the body. #The Tathagata (a perfectly enlightened being) exists after death. #The Tathagata does not exist after death. #The Tathagata both exists and does not exist after death. #The Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist after death. In the '' Aggi-Vacchagotta Sutta'', "Discourse to Vatsagotra on the imile ofFire," Majjhima Nikaya 72, the Buddha is questioned by Vatsagotra on the "ten indeterminate question:" ''avyākrta'' * Is the cosmos eternal, non-eternal, finite, infinite? * Are the soul and the body (jīvam & sarīram) similar or different? * After death, a Tathagata exists, does not exist, both exists and does not exist, neither exists nor does not exist? The Buddha refuses to answer the questions, avoiding getting entangled in debate, but answers with a simile:Fourteen questions
1. Is the world eternal? 2. ...or not? 3. ...or both? 4. ...or neither? (Pali texts omit "both" and "neither") 5. Is the world finite? 6. ...or not? 7. ...or both? 8. ...or neither? (Pali texts omit "both" and "neither") 9. Is the self identical with the body? 10. ...or is it different from the body? 11. Does the Tathagata (Buddha) exist after death? 12. ...or not? 13. ...or both? 14. ...or neither?Sixteen questions - ''Sabbasava-Sutta''
The Sabbasava Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 2) also mentions 16 questions which are seen as "unwise reflection" and lead to attachment to views relating to a self.Douglas W. ShraderHindrance to liberation
Pondering over the four ''acinteyya'' is a hindrance to the attainment of liberation. ''Sacca-samyutta'', "The Four Noble Truths", Samyutta Nikaya 56:suttacentral, Samyutta Nikaya 56, ''Reflection about the World''See also
* Noble Silence * Similarities between Pyrrhonism and Buddhism * Kant's antinomies * AcatalepsyReferences
Sources
;Printed sources * * * * * * * ;Web-sourcesExternal links
Further reading
*Karunadasa, Yakupitiyage (2007)