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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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 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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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 ...
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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 ...
user14119
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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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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 ...
user14119
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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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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 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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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) ...
user2512
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In what form or fashion might it be ethical to "bestow" consciousness on an AI? A question and conversation with ChatGPT:
Given the dramatic progress in Artificial Intelligence over the last year (ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion, Bing, etc) I have been thinking about the ethical implications of attempts to replicate human-like ...
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How is Nagarjunas 'Shunyata' different from Buddhas 'Anatta'?
I am studying Nagarjuna's work online and from the commentaries understand that in the Madhyamika Nagarjuna describe 'Shunayata' as
all phenomena are conditional and empty of any self essence
I am ...
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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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Sanskrit versus Pali and Nagarjuna
I have recently been learning Pali, and have heard that Sanskrit is somewhat similar. With a decent knowledge of Pali, is it possible to read Nagarjuna, for instance, perhaps with just some of the ...
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Why is continuity like "the light of a lamp"?
Because the continuity of the aggregates is similar to the light of a lamp, therefore the very existence or non-existence of an end is
unreasonable.
https://www.stephenbatchelor.org/index.php/en/...
user23322
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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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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 ...
user2512
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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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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 ...
user2512
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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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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 ...
user2512
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What did Vasubandhu and Asanga say regarding Nagarjunacharya?
Given that Vasubandhu and Asanga came after Nagarjunacharya, who was a proponent of a major Buddhist school with a different philosophy. Did they or thier students like Dignaga say anything about ...
user23953
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Mereology: does being inside something mean it is inside?
When we speak of an individual having a property we nominalize the
predicate expressing the property we take to be constitutive and
ascribe the instantiating properties to the individual thus created.
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user23322
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Moggaliputta-tissa Kathavatthu
Anyone knows where I can find an english translation of Moggaliputta’s work “Kathavatthu” (The Points of Controversy) where he somehow “saved” the Buddha’s message of the middle way contained in the ...
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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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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?
user14119
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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 ...
user2512