Notes on the Lankavatara

Summary

Responding to Professor Hauer’s studies of Indian religion, this essay offers critical notes on the Lankavatara Sutra and the wider question of indigenous influences on Buddhist thought. The author commends Hauer’s efforts to study the aboriginal elements in Indian religion but stresses that much more work remains to be done. He argues that texts like the Lankavatara reveal a complex interaction between Buddhist philosophy and pre‑Buddhist beliefs, including notions of a supreme spirit and cosmogonic myths. By examining passages on the mind‑only doctrine and the nature of ultimate reality, the article suggests that the sutra reflects an assimilation of autochthonous ideas rather than a simple importation of foreign philosophies. It calls for a more nuanced appreciation of the interplay between indigenous cultural traditions and Buddhist doctrine.