Questions tagged [nagarjuna]
Buddhist philosopher (ca. 150–250 CE) considered to be the founder of the Madhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Also credited with developing the philosophy of the Prajñāpāramitā (Perfection of Wisdom) sūtras. Reputed to have recovered the these sutras from the nagas or snake-people.
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Does reality exist?
Does reality exist? Carlo Rovelli (a famous theoretical physicist) doesn't think so and he cites Nagarjuna as believing the same:
Rovelli has a different idea. He says reality doesn’t exist. The
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What translation variants exist of Mūlamadhyamakakārikā 25:19-20?
The verses in question are from Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā chapter 25 on an examination of nirvana.
Mūlamadhyamakakārikā 25:19–20
न संसारस्य निर्वाणात् किं चिद् अस्ति विशेषणं
na saṁsārasya ...
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Theravada and Nagarjuna
I appreciate that various aspects of Nagarjuna's teachings are rejected by Theravadans but I'm wondering where the line is drawn. For some of his teachings I can see room for scepticism, but what ...
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Question about the Samādhirāja-sūtra
I have a similar question about the Samādhirāja-sūtra.
Is the Samādhirāja-sūtra, a mahAyAnA sUtra or does it occur in the nikAyas or somewhere else? What is the historically accepted date of this ...
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Question about the Pitāpūtrasamāgama-sūtra
Is the pitāpūtrasamāgama-sūtra, a Mahayana sutra or does it occur in the nikayas or somewhere else? What is the historically accepted date of this sutra? Does this sutra precede Nagarjuna or is it a ...
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Nature of dependent origination, and is Buddhism non-duality?
Is dependent arising meant for us to understand the arising of suffering -- or is it also meant to describe how phenomena in the outside World arise dependent on other conditions (for instance how ...
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How did Arya Nagarjuna reached the direct perception of Emptiness?
our Sangha is trying to find through a lot of ancient books about the story of Arya Nagarjuna reaching a level of direct perception of Emptiness, and we couldn't find anything in the scriptures yet.
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Theories and Doctrines
It is common practice to speak of Nagarjuna's theory of emptiness and Doctrine of Two Truths.
Why do we call one a theory and the other a doctrine?
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What sort of infinite regress to birth is Nagarjuna's MMK arguing for?
I start with some quotes, to show how I got to two specific questions about Buddhism, then a question that is more philosophical and general.
Batchelor's translation of Nagajuna's MMK:
I bow down ...
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Nagarjuna and the Schools
I am confused by the variety of views within Buddhism. It appears to me that Nagarjuna provides a complete philosophical justification and explanation for the Buddha's teachings and that this is ...
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Does anyone read the part 2 of Nagarjuna's karika as an argument about infinite divisibility?
Is Nagarjuna is arguing that time cannot really be both infinitely divisible and extended, so is a conceptual construction?
I'm asking because verse 2.23 suggested that to me, taken completely out of ...
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Earliest usage of "rope or snake" allegory in Buddhist literature?
The allegory of a rope being mistaken for a snake to explain subtle metaphysical points is widespread in Buddhist literature. In particular, Je Tsongkhapa uses this allegory many times in his works to ...
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Has anyone read Nagarjuna as claiming only that an effect is never its cause?
Has anyone read Nagarjuna as claiming only that an effect can never be conceived of as its cause?
I'm asking because it would neatly fit my own views on how to understand science, as well as I think ...
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Russian language Mulamadhyamakakarika?
Would anyone have any advice on where to find a good Russian translation of Nagarjuna's book? (I've tried myself, but Russian is no longer my first language!)
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Does Nagarjuna's Middle Treatise 24:18 teach real knowledge?
I like this verse, it is simply stated, and I like simple statements that can be made into something, or understood as, important.
But I'm totally unsure how to make sense of its four (famous) ...
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Causation without causes
I just reread Bachelor's translation of MMK.
It struck me that the argument against causation was that:
A cause has no essence in addition to what it is, else it would not be the final cause. But it ...
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Which commentary on the MMK should be studied first?
I am currently casually reading various things, and Ocean of Reasoning is one of those things. I've began to feel that I should pick a challenging reading to focus on, but I'm thinking I might want to ...
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What were Nagarjuna's seminal contributions to Buddhist philosophy?
Nagarjuna's ideas are considered to represent the historical starting point of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy. Can his ideas be considered a clarification of the philosophy presented in the Pali canon? ...
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Which book by Nagarjuna provides an introduction to his teachings?
I've noticed there are a lot of YouTube video lectures on Nagarjuna. It seems he was a very prolific writer on Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy. Which of his works would be appropriate to get an ...
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What is the relevance of Pratityasamutpada in Nagarjunas system?
In his philosophy, Nagarjuna uses the Pratityasamutpada to prove, that everything is empty and without reality. In the end, however he proves not only the emptiness of that very Pratityasamutpada but ...
