Darstantika, Sautrantika and Sarvastivadin

Summary

This article explores the relationships between three terms used by Buddhist doxographers: Darstantika, Sautrantika and Sarvastivadin. It explains that these names do not denote entirely separate schools but rather different phases of the north-western Sarvastivadin tradition. The term Sarvastivadin refers to the canonical position that all dharmas exist in past, present and future, while Sautrantika emphasises the authority of sutras over abhidharma commentaries. Darstantika is associated with teachers who used illustrative metaphors to clarify teachings. The article notes that all three phases shared a common Sanskrit canon and many Sautrantikas were themselves Sarvastivadins. The author discusses how later Tibetan and Chinese scholastics sometimes misrepresented the distinctions among these groups. He examines key doctrines such as the theory of momentariness, perception and inference, and the concept of the object as an external moment. The article highlights that Sautrantika critiques of Abhidharma should not be seen as heterodox but as intra-Sarvastivadin debates about method and interpretation. By analysing citations from the Nyaya and Vaisesika schools, the article shows that Sautrantikas engaged with contemporary Indian philosophy. It concludes that the Darstantika-Sautrantika movement represents a reformist impulse within the Sarvastivadin tradition rather than a break with it.