A certain Parivrajaka (Wanderer) named Vacchagotta comes to the Buddha and asks:

 

'Venerable Gotama, is there an Atman?’

 

The Buddha is silent.

 

'Then Venerable Gotama, is there no Atman?’

 

Again the Buddha is silent.

 

Vacchagotta gets up and goes away.

 

After the Parivrajaka had left, Ananda asks the Buddha why he did not answer Vacchagotta’s question. The Buddha explains his position:

 

'Ananda, when asked by Vacchagotta the Wanderer: “Is there a self?”, if I had answered: “There is a self”, then, Ananda, that would be siding with those recluses and brahmanas who hold the eternalist theory (sassata-vada).

 

'And, Ananda, when asked by the Wanderer: “Is there no self?” f I had answered: “There is no self”, then that would be siding with those recluses and brahmanas who hold the annihilationist theory (uccbeda-vada).

 

'Again, Ananda, when asked by Vacchagotta: “Is there a self?”, if I had answered: “There is a self”, would that be in accordance with my knowledge that all dhammas are without self?’

 

'Surely not, Sir.’

 

'And again, Ananda, when asked by the Wanderer: “Is there no self?”, if I had answered: “There is no self”, then that would have been a greater confusion to the already confused Vacchagotta. For he would have thought: Formerly indeed I had an Atman(self), but now I haven’t got one.’

 

It should now be quite clear why the Buddha was silent. But it will be still clearer if we take into consideration the whole background, and the way the Buddha treated questions and questioners-which is altogether ignored by those who have discussed this problem.

 

The Buddha was not a computing machine giving answers to whatever questions were put to him by anyone at all, without any consideration. He was a practical teacher, full of compassion and wisdom. He did not answer questions to show his knowledge and intelligence, but to help the questioner on the way to realization. He always spoke to people bearing in mind their standard of development, their tendencies, their mental make-up, their character, their capacity to understand a particular question.