Critiques of Huayan often begin with its highly elaborate metaphysical vision. The doctrine of mutual interpenetration, summed up in phrases such as “each in all, all in each,” has been judged by many to strain logical coherence, even appearing to violate the law of non‑contradiction by suggesting that things can be fully themselves and yet fully others at the same time. From this perspective, Huayan’s grand cosmology risks becoming an ornate intellectual construction that drifts away from the more experiential and pragmatic concerns that shaped earlier Buddhist approaches. Some scholars also see tensions with core Buddhist emphases on impermanence and emptiness, arguing that Huayan’s stress on totality and harmonious interconnection can seem to soften the radical critique of inherent existence.

A second line of criticism focuses on practical and ethical implications. Because Huayan stresses a vision of perfect interdependence and cosmic harmony, there is concern that this can unintentionally undercut the sense of individual moral responsibility. If every phenomenon is already fully integrated into an all‑embracing web, the urgency of ethical choice and disciplined practice may appear diminished. Critics suggest that, despite its comprehensive worldview, Huayan does not always provide clear, concrete guidance for daily conduct, and that its emphasis on ultimate reality can overshadow the immediate, painful realities of suffering that earlier Buddhist teachings place at the center.

Huayan’s philosophical coherence and epistemic basis are also questioned. The school’s account of how conventional distinctions persist within total interpenetration is seen by some as incomplete, leaving unresolved how phenomena can retain distinct characteristics while being completely interfused. Related to this is an epistemological worry: claims about such exhaustive interpenetration seem to exceed what can be verified through ordinary or even contemplative experience, raising doubts about how such a vision can be known rather than merely asserted. For these reasons, Huayan is sometimes regarded as a brilliant but overly systematized development within the Buddhist tradition, whose luminous vision of interconnectedness continues to invite both admiration and searching critique.