Systems of Buddhistic Thought

The book first lays out several strategic classifications of Buddhism, including the distinction between Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna, the “difficult path” and “easy path,” and the doctrinal divisions grounded in the Buddhist canon. It then develops the core philosophical infrastructure of Buddhism through universal impermanence, anātman, nirvāṇa, and karma, showing how these principles govern ethical life, causality, rebirth, and liberation. The discussion moves into a comparative study of Buddhist schools: the Sarvāstivādins are examined through their doctrine of dharmas and causality; the Satyasiddhi school through its critique of substantialist Abhidharma tendencies; the Madhyamaka school through śūnyatā, the Middle Path, and the two truths; Yogācāra through Ālaya-vijñāna, mental functions, cognition, and the transformation of consciousness; Bhūtatathatā thought through suchness, enlightenment, ignorance, and perfuming; Tien-Tai through the three principles of emptiness, conventionality, and the Middle Path; and Avataṃsaka through the interpenetration of all phenomena within the Dharma-loka. The work closes by emphasizing Buddhist faith, ethical cultivation, and the integration of wisdom and altruistic conduct as the practical realization of Buddhist philosophy.