India has been a home to a large number of diverse religious, philosophical and spiritual traditions. Hinduism and Buddhism as they stand today are two major religious traditions that emerged in this geography and which share a deep cultural, religious, and spiritual history.
At the core of this religious and spiritual pluralism is the dynamic Indian tradition of Vada or Philosophical Dialogue.
The term Vada is derived from the root ‘vad’ or ‘to speak’ and it has a variety of meanings including dialogue, discourse, thesis, argument, doctrine, discussion, controversy, and dispute, among others. The Indian tradition of Vada can easily be traced back to Vedic literature with the earliest word used to denote philosophical discussion being ‘Brahmodya’ and one of the most graphic examples of this kind of dialogue was the Vada between Yajnavalkya and Gargi.
Highlighting the diversity and pluralism inherent in the Vada tradition, Radhavallabh Tripathi in his ground-breaking book ‘Vada in Theory & Practice’ observes “Vada subsists on diversity. No Vada is possible if there is only one point of view. Also, Vada does not happen in singularity, it always is a prerequisite to the other and mostly promotes the presence of many others. India’s history of ideas and debates presents a multilinear view. The tradition of Vada envisages pluralism.”
One of the best exemplar of this dynamic and pluralistic nature of the Indian Vada Tradition is the Hindu-Budhhist Philosophical Dialogue that happened in the first millenium CE. Tripathi describes it as the “one of the finest examples of intellectual refinement through Vada. As both the sides sharpened their weapons for attacking their adversaries, they enriched and sharpened their own systems of thought and tools of analysis.”
The Hindu schools that participated in this philosophical dialogue were the Darshanas of Nyaya-Vaisheshika, Samkhya-Yoga, Mimamsa, and Vedanta, which are collectively known as Astika Darshanas as they accept Veda as the authoritative source of knowledge. The Buddhist schools that participated in the dialogue were the philosophical schools such as Sarvastivada, Sautranika, Vaibhashika, Madhyamaka, and Vijnanavada.
We wish to shed light on this important aspect of Indian philosophical and intellectual history through a series of Symposiums and talks focussing on Hindu-Buddhist Dialogue.
Towards this end, the present Symposium seeks to highlight the Hindu Darshanas’ philosophical engagement with Buddhist schools and prominent Buddhist doctrines such as Anatta (non-self), Sunyata (emptiness), and Vijnanavada.
##SCHEDULE##
| Time | Speaker | Title of Talk |
| 9.00 AM-9.15 AM | Nithin Sridhar Director & Chief Curator, INDICA Moksha |
Opening Remarks |
| 9.15 AM-10.00 AM | Dr. Nagaraj Paturi Senior Director and Dean IKS Studies, INDICA |
Inaugural Talk – Vaidika-Bauddha doctrinal interface: A review of contemporary studies |
| 10.00 AM-10.30 AM | Vidushi. Maitri Gowswami A Practioner of Pushti-Bhakti-Marg and a Direct Descendent of Mahaprabhu Shri Vallabhacharya |
Satkarantavaad repudiating Shunyavaad : The Vallabhite notion of Existential theory |
| 10.30 AM-11 AM | Dr. Jammalamadaka Srinivas Scholar – IKS Courses, Siddhanta Knowledge Foundation |
Is Advaita Crypto-Buddhist? Exploring the Pracchannabauddha Arguments with respect to Gaudapadacharya and Adi Shankaracharya |
| 11.00 AM-11.30 AM | Prof Godabarish Mishra Professor and Dean, School of Buddhist Studies, Philosophy and Comparative Religion, Nalanda International University. |
Encountering the Buddhist challenges: Vedantic Way |
| 11.30 AM – 12.00 PM | Dr K.S. Maheswaran Namboothiri Assistant Professor, Vedanta Department, Madras Sanskrit College, Chennai |
भामत्यनुसारं योगाचाराणां साकारज्ञानवादनिराकरणम् (Sanskrit Talk) |
| 12.00 PM – 12.30 PM | Vid P R Vasudevan Assistant Professor in Nyaya Department, Madras Sanskrit College , Mylapore |
शास्त्रदीपिकायाम् बौद्धमतदूषणम् (Sanskrit Talk) |
| 12.30 PM – 1.00 PM | Prof. MA Alwar Professor of Nyayashastra in the Govt. Maharaja’s Sanskrit College, Mysuru |
Treatment of Buddhist doctrines in the Sribhasyam of Ramanujacharya |
| 1.00 PM – 1.30 PM | Dr. Ganesh Ishwar Bhat HOD and Professor in Advaita Vedanta Department, Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan in Rajiv Gandhi Campus, Sringeri |
शारीरकमीमांसाभाष्योक्तरीत्या सङ्घातवादविमर्शः (Sanskrit Talk) |
| 1.30 PM – 2.00 PM | Prof. Venkatesha Tatacharya Associate Professor, Central Sanskrit University, Rajiv Gandhi Campus, Sringeri. |
मीमांसाश्लोकवार्तिकानुसारेण योगाचारबौद्धाभिमतस्य विषयशून्यज्ञानवादस्य परिशीलनम् (Sanskrit Talk) |
| 2.00 PM – 2.30 PM | Dr. Sacchidanand Mishra Member Secretary, Indian Council of Philosophical Research |
The Knower in the Nyāya Buddhist debate: Looking through the Nyāya Kusumanjali |
| 2.30 PM – 3.00 PM | Ketu Ramachandra Sekhar Course Development Team, Siddhanta Knowledge Foundation |
Bahyarthavadin Critique by Utpaladeva and Abhinavaguptacarya. |
| 3.00 PM – 3.30 PM | Prof. Bishnupada Mahapatra Professor & HOD, Department of Nyaya-Vaisheshika, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rastriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, New Delhi |
न्यायशास्त्रदिशा बौद्धाभिमतसिद्धान्तानां निराकरणप्रकारचिन्तनम् (Sanskrit Talk) |
| 3.30 PM – 4.00 PM | Dr. T. Ganesan Director, Center For Shaiva Studies, Pondicherry |
Buddhist Concepts Reviewed And Refuted By The Early Śaivasiddhānta |
| 4.00 PM – 4.20 PM | Dr. Nagaraj Paturi Senior Director and Dean IKS Studies, INDICA |
Summary and Closing Remarks |
| 4.20 PM – 4.30 PM | Nithin Sridhar Director & Chief Curator, INDICA Moksha |
Conclusion and Vote of Thanks |
