In writings on Kashmir Shaivism I often come across references to ancient struggles between the Shaiva scholars and the Buddhist scholars who also lived in Kashmir. Swami Lakshmanjoo mentions somewhere that Shree Vasugupta-Natha invoked Shiva to aid him in defeating the Buddhist thinkers who believed "in the negation of the Supreme Self". I'd like to think that this was more than inter-religious squabbles and had more depth to it - that Vasugupta was seeking his own clarification, to attain to the perfected knowledge of realization, so that he could then guide aright those who desired to be so guided, and he could also help the Buddhist scholars.

I'm not well-versed in the intricacies of Buddhist philosophy and its many schools. I do know the basic story of Gautama Buddha quite well and find it quite inspirational - displaying the attitude every sincere spiritual seeker should take towards the effort of his own realization. I'm curious - with the revelation of the Siva Sutras to Vasugupta, which points directly addressed doctrines of the Buddhists that were around in Kashmir in the 8th century?

Is there much history known about all of this? Swami Lakshmanjoo says that "based on the teachings of these [Siva Sutras], [he] defeated the Buddhist thinkers in religious discussions."

Could anyone point out the finer details of the Buddhist doctrine about "negation of the Supreme Self" in its relation to the teachings of Kashmir Shaivism?