Sanjaya Belatthiputta

Sanjaya Belatthiputra, also known as Sanjaya of the Belattha clan, was an Indian ascetic philosopher who lived around the 7th-6th century BC in the region of Magadha. He was a contemporary of Mahavira, Makkhali Gosala, Ajita Kesakambali, and the Buddha, and is recognized as a proponent of the Ajñana school of thought. Many scholars consider Sanjaya Paribajjaka, also known as Sanjaya the wanderer, to be the same person. Sanjaya is believed to have been the teacher of Mahā-Moggallāna and Sariputta, two prominent disciples of the Buddha. However, they eventually left Sanjaya's tutelage in search of answers to suffering. Sanjaya's philosophical stance is often characterized as agnostic or characterized by "endless equivocation" (amaravikkhepavada). He famously responded to metaphysical questions by suspending judgment and refusing to adopt definitive positions. His approach is sometimes described as a form of dialectical existentialism.