In the preface of the 1942 Buddhism in India, Mater Yin-shun argued that Buddhism would be able to revive and be fully elucidated only after we base our belief on the pure roots in the initial stage of the Buddhism development, interpret the practice and understanding in the middle stage (the cautiousness toward the brahmanization of Buddhism), and retrieve the appropriate and accurate portion of Buddhism in the latter stage. The above can be regarded as the quintessence of Master Yin-shun's study of the Buddhism in India, and is crucial to our understanding of his thoughts. When it comes to the brahmanization of Buddhism, to which Mater Yin-shun gave no further explanation, we should not ignore its deeper implications. This article seeks to investigate into the brahmanization in the Indian Buddhist cannons and find out whether brahmanization was the reason for causing the demise of Indian Buddhism. It will also discuss the brahmanization of Buddhism in China and its relations to the case in India. Finally, the article will deal with Master Yin-shun's attitudes toward the above religious sects, providing some new observations on these topics.
