Buddhist philosophy in India in the early sixth century C. E. took an
important tum away from the traditional methods of explaining and
systematizing the teachings in Siitra literature that were attributed to
the Buddha. The new direction in which several Indian Buddhist
philosophers began to move was that of following reasoning to its
natural conclusions, regardless whether the conclusions conflicted with
traditional teachings. The central figure in this new movement was
DiIinaga, a native of South India who found his way to the centre of
Buddhist education at Nalanda, studied the treatises that were learned
by the Buddhist intellectuals of his day, and eventually wrote works of
his own that formed the core of a distinctly new school of Buddhist
thought. Inasmuch as virtually every Indian philosopher after the sixth
century had either to reject Dirinaga's methods or build upon the
foundations provided by his investigations into logic, epistemology and
language, his influence on the evolution of Indian philosophy was
considerable, and indeed some familiarity with Dirinaga's arguments and
conclusions is indispensable for anyone who wishes to understand the
historical development of Indian thought. Moreover, since the approach
to Buddhism that grew out of Dirinaga's meditations on language and the
limits of knowledge dominated the minds of many of the scholars who took
Buddhism to Tibet, some familiarity with Dirinaga is also essential to
those who wish to understand the intellectual infrastructure of Tibetan
Buddhist philosophy and practice.