It has been subjected to debate for long time about whether or not Buddhist logic is compatible with Aristotelian formal syllogism. However, taking Buddhist hetuvidya as “logic” had never been questioned until Ernst Steinkellner argued that as evidenced in the four methods of reasoning (catasro yuktayah) found in the last chapter of the Sajdhinirmocanan Sutra (SNS.X), it should rather be characterized as a kind of exegetical hermeneutics. If it is correct to view hetuvidya as hermeneutics, then further clarification is required. The question is: how should Buddhist logic or hermeneutics developed in the early period of the Yogacara School be properly treated? Following the scholarly contributions of Kajiyama Yuichi, Yoshimizu Chizuko and Hideomi Yaita, this paper attempts to answer the question by re-contextualizing the four methods of reasoning in the SNS.X, the Wravakabhumi and the Bodhisattvabhumi. This paper concludes that Buddhist “logic” or “methods of reasoning” is employed in the advanced stage of meditative discipline for correctly understanding the Buddhist fundamental doctrines. It is correct to characterize the practice of logic and epistemological analysis as part of the Buddhist scholastic hermeneutics, whereas it is also important to see it as an essential discipline in the Buddhist soteriological project.
