This thesis aims to demonstrate the deliberative examination of views in the Āgama-sūtras. The examination of views is deliberative because the Āgama-sūtras do not ask sentient beings to blindly believe what the Āgama-sūtras propose; instead, the Āgama-sūtras have a solid background within. In the Āgama-sūtras, views are mostly divided into mithyā-dṛṣṭi and samyag-dṛṣṭi, respectively wrong views and right views. I will further examine such a distinction as follows. In this research, I argue that the forms of mithyā-dṛṣṭi and samyag-dṛṣṭi are assertions or propositions on the one hand, and both mithyā-dṛṣṭi and samyag-dṛṣṭi have great influence on further practice on the other. At an initial stage, both mithyā-dṛṣṭi and samyag-dṛṣṭi can be expressed as assertions or propositions with specific contents. In a higher level, however, it should be noted that the main concern of samyag-dṛṣṭi will put more emphasis on investigation and thinking, and the aspect of assertions or propositions is not much involved as the former. From this standpoint, I further conclude that the idea of samyag-dṛṣṭi should have many aspects; in other words, the “meaning” of samyag-dṛṣṭi is diverse, instead of being assigned with a single viewpoint. There are many items concerning mithyā-dṛṣṭi and samyag-dṛṣṭi, yet this thesis will discuss within the scope of prominent ones, focusing more on samyag-dṛṣṭi. The items of mithyā-dṛṣṭi can be put into three main categories—wrong views about the world, views from holding one extreme position, and views about the self—each of which has its own faults. As for samyag-dṛṣṭi, the understanding of four noble truths and the understanding of the mechanism of conditioned co-arising and cessation are prominent in this discussion because they are highly related to how one gets rid of suffering and how the world works. According to the Āgama-sūtras, views can guide us into the way of further practice, and samyag-dṛṣṭi can lead to the right way of it. By performing investigation and thinking behind samyag-dṛṣṭi and the practice samyag-dṛṣṭi leads to, one can cultivate right wisdom, which will help one to achieve liberation.
