Bhāviveka

Key ideas

Formal inference

Bhāviveka faulted Buddhapālita’s reasoning because it gave no reason and no example and did not answer objections: a proper argument needs the recognised parts of a formal inference, as Dignāga had described them.

Adding ‘ultimately’

Restating Nāgārjuna, he made explicit that things are denied to arise ‘ultimately’: the inner sense fields do not ultimately arise from themselves, because they already exist, like consciousness.

The Svātantrika line

His appeal to the language of logic and epistemology began the line of interpretation later called Svātantrika, which addressed real problems in the Madhyamaka project.