Concept of Mukti and Shankaracharya

[MC1 at AOL.COM]

George, I haven't been following the full dialogue here but in case it sheds
some light  on the issue, I offer an alternative taken from Swami
Vireswarananda's abbreviated translation of Sankara's commentary on the Brahma
SUtras - this is most likely the Swami's own interpretation:

This sutra can also be interpreted as refuting the Nihilist's: The translation
would then be: And (as Nihilism) is illogical etc.

Nihilism iof the Bauddhas goes counter to everything. It goes against the
sruti, the smrti, perception, inference, and every other means of right
knowledge and so has to be entirely diregarded by those who are mindful of
their welfare.


In a message dated 1/3/99, 4:58:47 PM, INDOLOGY at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK writes:
<<>In his BRAHMASUTRA-BHASHYA, Adhyaya II, Pada 2, Section 32, Shamkara writes
>the following:  "From whatever points of view the Buddhist systems are
>tested with regard to their plausibility, they cave in on all sides, like
>the walls of a well dug in sandy soil.  [Buddhist philosophy] has, in fact,
>no foundation whatever to rest upon, and thus it is foolish to adopt it as
a
>guide in the practical concerns of life.  Moreover, the Buddha,  by
>presenting three mutually contradictory systems of philosophy -- teaching
>respectively the reality of the external world, the reality of
>consciousness-only, and general emptiness -- has himself made it clear
>either that he was a man given to making incoherent assertions, or else
that
>hatred of all beings moved him to propound absurd doctrines that would
>thoroughly confuse all who might take him seriously.  Thus . . . , the
>Buddha?s doctrine must be entirely disregarded  by  all  those  who  have
a
>regard  for  their  own  happiness."
>
>When Shamkara focuses his analytical and critical dialectic on his
>philosophical opponents, he can be very tough!
>>>