________________ INTRODUCTION Although Buddhism does not believe in soul, its viewpoint is essentially spiritual because it believes in the theory of karma, bondage, liberation etc. According to the Buddha the ultimate truths are to be realised through deep samadhi ; they cannot be established by intellectual discussions. Buddhism therefore should not have entangled itself in logical discussions ; but the prevailing atmosphere rendered this impossible, if it was to successfully defend itself and propagate its views. The Charvakas, who believed in the material happiness alone as the goal of human endeavour, were as vehement in advocating their views as the Sramanas, who held the mortification of the flesh as the only path for spiritual salvation. The Vedic kamya-karmamarga was advocated in one quarter, while serene contemplation of Brahman was preached in another. These different schools were vigorously advocating their own views and attacking those of their opponents. Such being the situation, the Buddha and his disciples' could not avoid recourse to logical disputes and discussions in order to refute the theories of the opponents and to establish their own views. It was in these discussions that the foundation of Buddhist logic was laid. In the Pali Tripitakas there are many suttas, dealing with the Buddha's, discussions with many Brahmanas and ascetics. In them we find that the Buddha refutes the theories of the opponents by various arguments and establishes his own views. The study of these suttas makes it quite definite that while refuting the views of other systems the Buddha does not rely on any scripture or authority but gives his own arguments, which are chiefly based on apt illustrations (drishtanta) and not on universal concomitance (vyapti). He establishes his view as well as refutes that of the opponent through the same techni que. His strong forte is a convincing illustration, which cannot but disarm his opponent and extort his assent. This was the general technique of discussions at that time followed also in the Upanishads. They also prove the existence of Brahman through various apt illustrations. Therefore, we can 1 Digha-nikaya--potthapada-sutta, 1, 9; Tevijja-sutta, 1, 13; Mahahidana'sutta, 2, 15; Anguttara-nikaya-Veranjaka-sutta, 8, 1, 2, 1.
