________________ 04 BOOK REVIEW in 1959.? The present book is a valuable addition to the literature of this field of study. Ruegg made it his chief aim to study the tathagatagarbha-theory in its classical form as presented in some fundamental sastras. Since the investigation of the sutras involves a number of yet unexplored problems, philological, historical and doctrinal, he thought it preferable to begin with the study of the sastras, which would provide him with "point de repere" for the study of the doctrines propounded in the sutras in unsystematic manner and often by means of parables and images difficult to interpret. He treats almost all the important conceptions related to the tathagatagarbha-doctrine with extensive references to the IndoTibetan materials. His method is mainly descriptive: he presents in systematic arrangement the materials as they are rather than attempting historical and philosophical speculations. The book comprises four Parts: - I. La theorie mahayaniste du "gotra". II. L'Eveil universel et le Vehicule unique. III. La theorie du "tathagatagarbha". IV. La luminosite naturelle de la Pensee. In Parts I and II, importance is placed on the theories expounded in the Abhisamayalamkara (= AA) and its commentaries. A detailed examination of the RGV is made in Part III. The AA is a treatise to which a great importance was attached in the later period of the Mahayana Buddhism in India. The gotra-theory put forward in it is acknowledged to be very close to the tathagatagarbhatheory, inasmuch as the gotra, the germ of the enlightenment, is identified therein with the Ultimate Reality. A solid foundation for the study of the AA was laid by E. Obermiller and Th. Stcherbatsky, but there still remains much room for further investigations. In his examination of the gotra-theory in the AA, Ruegg utilized abundantly the commentaries written by Indian and Tibetan authors, thus richly contributing to the advancement of the study of the AA. Both the AA and the RGV are reckoned, according to the Tibetan tradition, among the "Five Treatises of Maitreya". Whether Maitreya (-natha) was a historical personage or not has often been discussed by scholars.9 Regarding this problem, Ruegg accepts on the one hand P. Demieville's opinion that Maitreya was "l'inspirateur celeste" of Asanga, and admits on the other hand the difference in doctrine between the treatises attributed to Maitreya and Asanga's own works. He draws the conclusion that Asanga as the author of the Mahayanasamgraha, etc.,