Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 October 2010
The Pratyabhijñā system, elaborated in the tenth and eleventh centuries by the Kashmiri philosophers Utpaladeva and Abhinavagupta, presents a rational justification of the metaphysical principles contained in the Śaiva nondualistic scriptures. However, contrary to what one might expect, many arguments to which Utpaladeva and Abhinavagupta resort when defending their idealism belong to Buddhist rather than Śaiva sources. This article examines the profound influence, in this respect, of the Buddhist “logico-epistemological school” on the Pratyabhijñā system. But it also shows that Utpaladeva and Abhinavagupta are not unknowingly or unwittingly influenced by their Buddhist opponents: they systematically emphasize this influence, thus taking full responsibility for appropriating their rivals' concepts. Moreover, they highlight their fundamental divergence regarding the way consciousness manifests a seemingly external and diverse universe, most notably by replacing the Vijñānavādins' traditional analogy: according to the Śaivas, perceived objects should not be compared to dreamt objects, but to yogins' creations.
I would like to thank Ulrich Pagel and the Circle of Tibetan and Himalayan Studies for inviting me to give a lecture at SOAS on the subject “Buddhist arguments in a Śaiva demonstration: the influence of Dharmakīrti's School on the Pratyabhijñā's idealism” (the present article is an expanded version of this talk, given on 11 March 2009); Alexis Sanderson, with whose generous help I read many passages of the ĪPV quoted below; Vincent Eltschinger, for sharing his forthcoming articles and for engaging in friendly discussions that led to several improvements in this paper; Harunaga Isaacson, for kindly reading a draft and correcting several mistakes; Lyne Bansat-Boudon, for bringing several relevant passages of the PS and PSV to my attention; and the anonymous reviewer, whose elegant suggestions also led to important improvements.