The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika

by Nagarjuna; Garfield, Jay L.

• ISBN13: 9780195103175
• ISBN10: 0195103173
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1995-11-09
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

For nearly two thousand years Buddhism has mystified and captivated both lay people and scholars alike. Seen alternately as a path to spiritual enlightenment, an system of ethical and moral rubrics, a cultural tradition, or simply a graceful philosophy of life, Buddhism has producedimpassioned followers the world over. The Buddhist saint Nagarjuna, who lived in South India in approximately the first century CE, is undoubtedly the most important, influential, and widely studied Mahayana Buddhist philosopher. His many works include texts addressed to lay audiences, letters ofadvice to kings, and a set of penetrating metaphysical and epistemological treatises. His greatest philosophical work, the Mulamadhyamikakarika--read and studied by philosophers in all major Buddhist schools of Tibet, China, Japan, and Korea--is one of the most influential works in the history ofIndian philosophy. Now, in The Foundations of the Philosophy of the Middle Way, Jay L. Garfield provides a clear and and eminently readable translation of Nagarjuna's seminal work, offering those with little of no prior knowledge of Buddhist philosophy a view into the profound logic of theMulamadhyamikakarika. Translated from the Tibetan, the tradition through which Nagarjuna's philosophical influence has largely been transmitted, Garfield presents a superb translation of Mulamadhyamikakarika in its entirety. Illuminating the systematic character of Nagarjuna's reasoning, as well as the worksprofundity, Garfield shows how Nagarjuna develops his doctrine that all phenomena are empty of inherent existence and essenceless. But, he argues, phenomena nonetheless exist conventionaly, and that indeed conventional existence and ultimate emptiness are in fact the same thing. This represents theradical understanding of the Buddhist doctrine of the two truths, or two levels of reality. Nagarjuna reinterprets all of Buddhist metaphysics and epistemology through this analytical framework--"a systematic and beautifully elegant philosophical dissection of reality." In turn, Garfield goes on tooffer the only verse-by-verse commentary based upon the Indo-Tibetan Prasangika-Madhyamika reading of Nagarjuna, the school most influential in the development of Mahayana philosophy in Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan. Written specifically for the Western reader, the commentary explains Nagarjuna'spositions and arguments in the language of Western metaphysics and epistemology, and connects Nagarjuna's concerns tho those of Western philosophers such as Sextus, Hume, and Wittgenstein. A fascinating and accessible translation of the foundational text for all Mahayana Buddhism text, The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way will enlighten all those in search of the essence of reality.

Author Biography

Jay L. Garfield is Professor of Philosophy at Hampshire College. He is the author of the forthcoming Western Idealism and its Critics: A Textbook For Use in Tibetan Buddhist Universities.

Table of Contents

The Text of Mulamadhyamakakarika
Dedicatory Verses	p. 2
Examination of Conditions	p. 3
Examination of Motion	p. 6
Examination of the Senses	p. 10
Examination of the Aggregates	p. 12
Examination of Elements	p. 14
Examination of Desire and the Desirous	p. 16
Examination of the Conditioned	p. 18
Examination of the Agent and Action	p. 23
Examination of the Prior Entity	p. 26
Examination of Fire and Fuel	p. 28
Examination of the Initial and Final Limits	p. 31
Examination of Suffering	p. 33
Examination of Compounded Phenomena	p. 35
Examination of Connection	p. 37
Examination of Essence	p. 39
Examination of Bondage	p. 41
Examination of Actions and Their Fruits	p. 43
Examination of Self and Entities	p. 48
Examination of Time	p. 50
Examination of Combination	p. 52
Examination of Becoming and Destruction	p. 56
Examination of the Tathagata	p. 60
Examination of Errors	p. 63
Examination of the Four Noble Truths	p. 67
Examination of Nirvana	p. 73
Examination of The Twelve Links	p. 77
Examination of Views	p. 79
The Text and Commentary
Introduction to the Commentary	p. 87
Dedicatory Verses	p. 100
Examination of Conditions	p. 103
Examination of Motion	p. 124
Examination of the Senses	p. 136
Examination of the Aggregates	p. 142
Examination of Elements	p. 149
Examination of Desire and the Desirous	p. 153
Examination of the Conditioned	p. 159
Examination of the Agent and Action	p. 178
Examination of the Prior Entity	p. 183
Examination of Fire and Fuel	p. 189
Examination of the Initial and Final Limits	p. 196
Examination of Suffering	p. 202
Examination of Compounded Phenomena	p. 207
Examination of Connection	p. 216
Examination of Essence	p. 220
Examination of Bondage	p. 225
Examination of Actions and Their Fruits	p. 231
Examination of Self and Entities	p. 245
Examination of Time	p. 254
Examination of Combination	p. 258
Examination of Becoming and Destruction	p. 267
Examination of the Tathagata	p. 275
Examination of Errors	p. 284
Examination of the Four Noble Truths	p. 293
Examination of Nirvana	p. 322
Examination of The Twelve Links	p. 335
Examination of Views	p. 342
References	p. 361
Index	p. 367
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