Nagarjuna
Indian philosopher who founded the Madhyamaka school of Buddhism.
His philosophy of the "middle way" based on emptiness influenced Indian philosophical debate for a thousand years.[1] The Buddhist monk and philosopher Nāgārjuna, who was active in southern India, is generally accepted to have lived from around 150 to 250 CE.[1] According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, there is unanimous agreement that Nāgārjuna is the most significant Buddhist philosopher after the historical Buddha.[1]
Quick Facts
- Born
- c. 150 CE
- Died
- c. 250 CE
- Place of death
- India
- Occupation
- Buddhist teacher, monk and philosopher
- Notable works
- Mūlamadhyamakakārikā
- Notable ideas
- Madhyamaka
- Śūnyatā
- Two truths doctrine
- School of thought
- Mahāyāna Buddhism
- Madhyamaka
- Pure Land Buddhism
- Tiantai Buddhism
- Region
- Eastern philosophy; Indian philosophy
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
Most scholars place him in South India between the 1st and 3rd century CE.[2] Nāgārjuna's teachings bring together emptiness, not-self, and dependent origination to refute the metaphysics of his contemporaries.[3] The core of his thought refutes all theories of svabhāva, leading to the middle way.[3] Modern historians lack consensus on Nāgārjuna's specific dates and birthplace, and reliable information about his life is scarce.[2]
Walser proposes that the monastery where Nāgārjuna lived was most likely affiliated with the Purvasailya, Aparasailya, or Caityaka schools.[4] Nāgārjuna's most renowned composition is the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, which is the key text for Madhyamaka philosophy.[5] The Mūlamadhyamakakārikā is a philosophically dense work composed of concise Sanskrit verses that elucidate the doctrine of emptiness.[6] A large portion of the verses in the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā are dedicated to dismantling arguments that support substance theories.[6]
What the cited sources add
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy states there is unanimous agreement that Nāgārjuna is the most important Buddhist philosopher after the Buddha.[1] Westerhoff notes that Nāgārjuna's philosophy of the middle way influenced Indian philosophical debate for a thousand years.[1] The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy describes Nāgārjuna as "the second Buddha" by Tibetan and East Asian Mahayana traditions.[7] Berger writes that Nāgārjuna's concept of emptiness served as the terminological prop of subsequent Buddhist philosophical thinking.[7]
The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy states Nāgārjuna was probably born into an upper-caste Brahmin family in the southern Andhra region.[7] Berger notes that Tibetan sources portray Nāgārjuna emigrating from Andhra to study Buddhism at Nalanda.[7] The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy explains that Nāgārjuna's philosophy can be seen as an attempt to deconstruct all systems of thought analyzing the world in terms of fixed substances.[7]
References
- Westerhoff, Jan Christoph, "Nāgārjuna", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2024 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.). facts only, no text reused. plato.stanford.edu
- Wikipedia, "Nagarjuna" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Walser (2005), p. 60.; Ye Shaoyong, 2019. “Nāgārjuna”, in Brill's Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Volume II: Lives. pp. 335-347.; Walser (2005), p. 60.; Ye Shaoyong, 2019. “Nāgārjuna”, in Brill's Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Volume II: Lives. pp. 335-347. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Nagarjuna" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ye Shaoyong, 2019. “Nāgārjuna”, in Brill's Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Volume II: Lives. pp. 335-347. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Nagarjuna" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Walser (2005), p. 87.; Walser (2005), p. 61. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Nagarjuna" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Garfield (1995), p. 87. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Nagarjuna" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kalupahana 1994, p. 160; Kalupahana 1992, p. 120 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Berger, "Nagarjuna (c. 150—c. 250)", Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. facts only, no text reused. iep.utm.edu
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Nagarjuna (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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