Across families
Advaita Vedanta and Mahayana Buddhism
Different families with 11 axes in close agreement — the sort of pairing a quiz weighting only the divine axes would never surface. Mean distance across all seventeen axes: 0.16 (0 would be identical).
One reality without a second: what you take to be a separate self is Brahman, misperceived. Knowledge dissolves the error — there is nothing to acquire and nobody separate to acquire it.
Emptiness and buddha-nature: awakening is not acquired but uncovered, and it is aimed at everyone rather than at oneself. Skilful means makes the tradition genuinely pluralist about how people get there.
Where they agree
C2 Shape of time
Both sit at cyclical return — a gap of 0.00.
C3 The human condition
Both sit at ignorant but fundamentally sound — a gap of 0.00.
E2 Origin of the cosmos
Both sit at beginningless or natural — a gap of 0.04.
B3 Institutional authority
Both sit at leaning clergy and tradition decide — a gap of 0.07.
E1 Exclusivity
Both sit at leaning many valid paths — a gap of 0.08.
B1 Source of truth
Both sit at between revealed and fixed and reason and direct experience — a gap of 0.10.
D1 Mechanism of the ultimate good
Both sit at achieved by effort or insight and leaning achieved by effort or insight respectively — a gap of 0.10.
E4 Standing of nature
Both sit at leaning animate and itself sacred and between creation, given for use and animate and itself sacred respectively — a gap of 0.10.
B2 Reading of sacred text
Both sit at between literal and binding and metaphorical, or no text at all — a gap of 0.10.
A4 Locus
Both sit at fully present within it and leaning fully present within it respectively — a gap of 0.12.
D3 The body
Both sit at leaning to be disciplined — a gap of 0.12.
Where they part company
A1 Divine reality
Advaita Vedanta: a divine reality certainly exists. Mahayana Buddhism: between nothing beyond the natural and a divine reality certainly exists. A gap of 0.55 on an axis running from “nothing beyond the natural” to “a divine reality certainly exists”.
All seventeen axes
| Axis | Advaita Vedanta | Mahayana Buddhism | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Divine reality | a divine reality certainly exists | between nothing beyond the natural and a divine reality certainly exists | 0.55 |
| A2 Personhood | impersonal principle or order | leaning impersonal principle or order | 0.20 |
| A3 Plurality | leaning strictly one | between strictly one and many powers and spirits | 0.28 |
| A4 Locus | fully present within it | leaning fully present within it | 0.12 |
| B1 Source of truth | between revealed and fixed and reason and direct experience | between revealed and fixed and reason and direct experience | 0.10 |
| B2 Reading of sacred text | between literal and binding and metaphorical, or no text at all | between literal and binding and metaphorical, or no text at all | 0.10 |
| B3 Institutional authority | leaning clergy and tradition decide | leaning clergy and tradition decide | 0.07 |
| C1 Survival of the self | leaning continues in some form | leaning ends at death | 0.35 |
| C2 Shape of time | cyclical return | cyclical return | 0.00 |
| C3 The human condition | ignorant but fundamentally sound | ignorant but fundamentally sound | 0.00 |
| D1 Mechanism of the ultimate good | achieved by effort or insight | leaning achieved by effort or insight | 0.10 |
| D2 Centrality of ritual | between essential and prescribed and optional or absent | between essential and prescribed and optional or absent | 0.17 |
| D3 The body | leaning to be disciplined | leaning to be disciplined | 0.12 |
| E1 Exclusivity | leaning many valid paths | leaning many valid paths | 0.08 |
| E2 Origin of the cosmos | beginningless or natural | beginningless or natural | 0.04 |
| E3 Locus of belonging | leaning a people, inherited | leaning an individual choice | 0.37 |
| E4 Standing of nature | leaning animate and itself sacred | between creation, given for use and animate and itself sacred | 0.10 |
Positions for Advaita Vedanta rest principally on Shankara’s Brahmasutrabhasya and the principal Upanishads; for Mahayana Buddhism, on Lotus, Heart and Vimalakirti Sutras; Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika. Per-cell sources are listed on each tradition’s own page.
The questionnaire places your answers on these same axes and ranks all 65 traditions by how closely they match. Take it.