Early Advaita Vedānta and Buddhism

Richard King is Lecturer in Religious Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Stirling, Scotland.

"The complex relationship between the Vedantic world of ideas and that of the Mahayana Buddhists has for a long time been either completely ignored by traditionalist Hindu scholars, or summarily paid lip service to by Western scholars as a form of 'crypto-Buddhism.' Therefore, a thoroughgoing and well-documented investigation of each and every major Vedantic work's indebtedness to the Buddhist conceptual framework is of great importance for the understanding of Indian philosophical progress." — F. G. Sutton, Pace University"King's fine grasp of Mahayana thinking enables him to read the Gaudapadiya-karika with insight and develop his argument with cogency." — John P. Keenan, Middlebury College

• AcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsIntroductionRecent Work on the Gaudapadiya-karika Outline of the Monograph 1. The Date and Authorship of the Gaudapadiya-karikaThe Identity and Date of GaudapadaAuthorship of the Gaudapadiya-karika The Relationship Between the First and Second PrakaranasThe Relationship of GK II, III, and IVThe Gaudapadiya-karika and Bhavaviveka The Author of the Fourth Prakarana and Buddhist ScholasticismConclusion 2. The Vedantic Heritage of the Gaudapadiya-karikaThe Three Foundations (Prasthanatraya) of the Vedanta-DarsanaThe Upanisadic Heritage of the Gaudapadiya-karikaCosmogonic Speculation in the UpanisadsPsychology in the UpanisadsThe Four States of ExperienceThe Mandukya Upanisad The Bhagavadgita and the Gaudapadiya-karikaThe BrahmasutraDoctrines of the Brahmasutra3. The Abhidharma Context of Non-Origination (Ajativada)The Non-Origination Date of Dharmas—Absolutism and the Svaghava Debate in BuddhismThe Sarvastivada AbhidharmaThe Nature of Samskrta and Asamskrta DharmasThe Sautrantika Position: Asamskrta-NairatmyaThe Unique Particularity of Dharmas—A Mahayana CritiqueThe Non-arising (Anutpada) and Immutability of Dharmas4. Non-Origination in the Gaudapadiya-karika: Early Vedantic Ontology and Madhyamaka BuddhismMahayana Buddhism and the Fourth Prakarana of the GKThe Two Truths in the Mahayana Tradition: The Nature of SamvrtiThe Two Truths in the Gaudapadiya-karika Foundations of Non-Origination: The Paradox of ChangeNagarjuna's Refutation of Absolutism (Svabhavavada) and the Gaudapadian ResponseEmptiness (Sunyata) and Non-dualism (Advaita)Non-Origination and Emptiness: The Madhyamaka and Advaita Perspectives5. Asparsa-yoga in the Gaudapadiya-karikaAsparsayoga as a Meditative TechniqueThe Four States of Experience in the Agama-Prakarana (GK I)Meditation on the Phoneme OMAsparsayoga as a Description of the Ultimate StateThe Attainment of Gnosis (Jnana) in the GKAsparsayoga: The Gaudapadian Phenomenology of PerceptionNon-contact (Asparsa) and Representation-Only (Vijnapti-matra)The Yogacara Phenomenology of PerceptionThe Non-Veridicality (Vaitathya) of Waking and Dream Experience in the GKMaya in the Gaudapadiya-karika The Meaning of the Term 'Asparsayoga'6. Gaudapadian Inclusiveness and the Mahayana Buddhist TraditionThe Gaudapadian Conception of BuddhismThe Theory of Non-Conflict (Avirodhavada) in the GKInclusivism in the Gaudapadiya-karikaThe Bhavavivekan Response to the Vedantic Inclucivism of the GK7. Absolutism in the BK and the Mahayana: the Tathagatagarbha TextsThe Tathagatagarbha TextsThe Systematization of Indian Tathagatagarbha: The RatnagotravighagasastraA Question of Hermeneutics: Is There a Mahayana Absolutism?Tathagatabarbha and Two Types of Emptiness in Tibetan MahayanaThe Gaudapadiya-karika and Tathagatagarbha BuddhismConclusionsAppendix: A Running Translation of the Gaudapadiya-karikaNotesBibliographyIndexIndex of Verses