Buddhist sources say that in Shakyamuni’s day there were sixty-two “mistaken philosophies” in India. That precise number is, of course, the contribution of later Buddhist scholars, but Shakyamuni himself denounced several widely held theories contemporary with his own philosophy. In his sermons, he made it clear that to lead people to Buddhism it is first necessary to show them the fallacies of other religions and philosophies and motivate them to abandon the mistaken practices encouraged by such systems.
Basic Buddhist Concepts