The History of Buddhist Thought c26.4

c26.4

Professor Suzuki (*Studies*, 171) says that it was not written as a philosophical treatise to establish a definite system of thought, but to discourse on a certain kind of religious experience, and that what philosophy or speculation it offers is only incidental as an introduction necessitated by the rational nature of humanity. It may be true that this was the writer's motive, but it is also true, as Professor Suzuki's valuable and important studies show, that the philosophical system was there, and that the author was not slow in attacking rival systems. It is not systematic, but sūtras, as we have seen, were not systematic. They were popular expositions of the instruction given orally in the monasteries. The *Lankāvatāra* evidently belonged to a Mahāyāna school which existed alongside of the Prajñāpāramitā movement. It accepted the doctrine of the Void, the career of the bodhisattva, and the unreality of things perceived by the senses. But while the school of Nāgārjuna started from the standpoint of logic, and showed the impossibility of making any statement free from contradictions, the *Lankāvatāra* started from a psychological standpoint, and found a positive basis in actual experience.