advaita and buddhism

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Book Review

 

 

 

Advaita and Buddhism

IN SEARCH OF REALITY:

O. N. Krishnan; Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 41, U.A. Bunglow

Road, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi-110007. Rs. 595.

THE BOOK under review is an attempt to understand Indian philosophy in the

backdrop of the Upanishadic, Buddhistic and the Advaitic traditions. The

author says that it is a layman's journey through Indian philosophy and he

has undertaken this philosophical journey to know and interpret the great

traditions for which he has to be complimented.

Philosophical concepts

In 18 chapters, divided into six parts, he deals with the Vedic ideas, the

Upanishads, Buddhism, early Advaita, Advaita of Sankara and the Ultimate

Reality. The fundamental philosophical concepts like the nature of God, soul

and the world are necessary to the understanding of the Ultimate Reality.

Polytheism and sacrificial rites are dealt with in the first chapter and

also the concept of immortality examined from the Vedic and the Upanishadic

standpoints.

The basic ideas of the Upanishads are presented with sincerity and

conviction. The nature of the individual Self, relation between the universe

and the Self, doctrine of Karma and rebirth form the crux of the chapter on

the Upanishads.

Early Buddhism

A study of early Buddhism is made in part three. The author compares

Buddhism and the Katha Upanishad and shows the differences between them— the

Upanishad postulates Atman as the ultimate underlying and unchanging

Reality, which has the characteristics of Sat (existence) Cit

(consciousness) and Ananda (bliss), whereas for the Buddha the hallmarks of

existence are, Anitam (impermanence), Anatta (no Self) and Dukkha

(suffering). A chapter on Abhidhamma has a discourse on Dharma. It aims at

the classification and codification of the Dharmas. Similarly, a study on

the Prajnaparamita movement, which rejects the Abhidharmic ideas, shows how

both the Self and things are empty.

Pre-Sankara Advaita

The early Advaita Vedanta is discussed from the Gaudapada Karika. He

discusses the influence of the Madhyamika and the Yogacharya schools of

Buddhism on this text. The author claims that the theories of

non-origination and comparison of the waking and dream states examined in

the Karika are all drawn from Buddhism. He compares concepts like Atman and

Vijnana with the Karika and Buddhism. But scholars like T.M.P. Mahadevan

have shown how the Karika is different from Buddhism and how Gaudapada is

very much original in his approach. Though there are certain doctrines

common to both Buddhism and the Karika, the similarity is only an apparent

one, according to Mahadevan. It is not known whether the author is aware of

this important point.

The author examines the Advaita of Sankara wherein he deals with concepts

like Maya, Atman and contrasts them with Buddhism. Towards the end of this

chapter, there is a discussion on the ethics of Sankara. The issue has been

debated both by Indian and Western scholars. Some like Rudolf Otto argued

that Sankara's philosophy lacks ethics whereas thinkers like Radhakrishnan

have shown ethics in Sankara's teachings.

Though the author claims that this book is a work on Indian philosophy, he

has restricted himself only to two schools, namely, Buddhism and Advaita.

For those who are interested in knowing the basics of Advaita and Buddhism,

this book will serve as a good introduction.

 

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