or the
good as well. As the stage of avidya is passed its luminous
character shines forth, for it is the ultimate truth which only
illusorily appeared as the many of the world.

This doctrine seems to be more in agreement with the view
of an absolute unchangeable reality as the ultimate truth than
that of the nihilistic idealism of _La@nkavatara_. Considering the
fact that As'vagho@sa was a learned Brahmin scholar in his early
life, it is easy to guess that there was much Upani@sad influence in
this interpretation of Buddhism, which compares so favourably
with the Vedanta as interpreted by S'a@nkara. The _La@nkavatara_
admitted a reality only as a make-believe to attract the Tairthikas
(heretics) who had a prejudice in favour of an unchangeable self
(_atman_). But As'vagho@sa plainly admitted an unspeakable reality
as the ultimate truth. Nagarjuna's Madhyamika doctrines which
eclipsed the profound philosophy of As'vagho@sa seem to be more
faithful to the traditional Buddhist creed and to the Vijnanavada
creed of Buddhism as explained in the La@nkavatara [Footnote ref 1].

The Madhyamika or the S'untavada school.--Nihilism.

Candrakirtti, the commentator of Nagarjuna's verses known as
"_Madhyamika karika_," in explaining the doctrine of dependent
origination (_pratityasamutpada_) as described by Nagarjuna starts
with two interpretations of the word. According to one the word
pratityasamutpada means the origination (_utpada_) of the nonexistent
(_abhava_) depending on (_pratitya_) reasons and causes

________________________________________________________________________

[Footnote 1: As I have no access to the Chinese translation of
As'vagho@sa's _S'raddhotpada S'astra_, I had to depend entirely on
Suzuki's expressions as they appear in his translation.]

139

(hetupratyaya). According to the other interpretation pratitya
means each and every destructible individual and pratityasamutpada
means the origination of each and every destructible individual.
But he disapproves of both these meanings. The second meaning does
not suit the context in which the Pali Scriptures generally speak
of pratityasamutpada (e.g. _cak@su@h pratitya rupani ca utpadyante
cak@survijnanam_) for it does not mean the origination of each and
every destructible individual, but the originating of specific
individual phenomena (e.g. perception of form by the operation in
connection with the eye) depending upon certain specific conditions.