Sautrāntika

Brief definition

Sautrāntika is an early Buddhist school that bases its doctrines primarily on the sūtras, holding that only momentary dharmas truly exist and emphasizing direct perception while critiquing Abhidharma realism about external objects.

Contrast with Vaibhāṣika and Yogācāra

Compared to Vaibhāṣika, Sautrāntika accepts external objects but insists they are only momentary and often known indirectly through inference rather than directly. Unlike Yogācāra/Cittamātra, however, Sautrāntika does not reduce external objects to mere manifestations of mind; it maintains a form of external realism alongside its focus on momentary dharmas.

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Chandrakīrti’s critique (very brief)

Chandrakīrti appreciates Sautrāntika’s move away from three-times eternalist realism but argues that as long as momentary dharmas and external objects are still taken as ultimately real, the basic mistake remains. For him, even the most subtle, inferred momentary entities lack intrinsic nature. Sautrāntika’s refined epistemology is thus acceptable conventionally, but its residual ontology is rejected at the ultimate level.

See also

• [[thought:fb779716-6b38-4eb3-9ff6-6db5e1472964|Chandrakirti]] – Prāsaṅgika critiques of Sautrāntika realism and inferential structures.
• [[thought:bd2a2973-43d8-4e40-819d-5c2bd480f62e|Chandrakīrti vs Other Madhyamikas]] – how Sautrāntika-style views are positioned in Tibetan doxography.