Indian Buddhist monk-philosopher. He was the founder of the Madhyamika or Middle Path school of Buddhism.
|
Part of a series on Buddhism
|
|
|
History of Buddhism |
|
|
Foundations |
|
|
Key Concepts |
|
|
Major Figures |
|
|
Practices and Attainment |
|
|
Buddhism by Region |
|
|
Schools of Buddhism |
|
|
Texts |
|
|
Comparative Studies |
|
From studying his writings, it is clear that Nāgārjuna was conversant with the Nikaya school philosophies and with the emerging Mahāyāna tradition. According to Lindtner the works definitely written by Nagarjuna are:
Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Fundamental Verses of the Middle Way) śūnyatāsaptati (Seventy Verses on Emptiness) Vigrahavyāvartanī (The End of Disputes) Vaidalyaprakaraṇa (Pulverizing the Categories) Vyavahārasiddhi (Proof of Convention) Yuktiṣāṣṭika (Sixty Verses on Reasoning) Catuḥstava (Hymn to the Absolute Reality) Ratnāvalī (Precious Garland) Pratītyasamutpādahṝdayakārika (Constituents of Dependent Arising) Sūtrasamuccaya Bodhicittavivaraṇa (Exposition of the Enlightened Mind) Suhṛllekha (To a Good Friend) Bodhisaṃbhāra (Requisites of Enlightenment)There are other works attributed to Nāgārjuna, some of which may be genuine and some not.
Philosophy
Nāgārjuna's primary contribution to Buddhist philosophy is in the development of the concept of śūnyatā, or "emptiness," which brings together other key Buddhist doctrines, particularly anatta (no-self) and pratītyasamutpāda (dependent origination).
English translations
Mulamadhyamakakarika
Other works
| Author | Title | Publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lindtner, C | Nagarjuniana | Motilal, 1987 [1982] |
Contains Sanskrit or Tibetan texts and translations of the
Shunyatasaptati, Vaidalyaprakarana, Vyavaharasiddhi (fragment), Yuktisastika, Catuhstava and Bodhicittavivarana. |
| Komito, D R | Nagarjuna's "Seventy Stanzas" | Snow Lion, 1987 | Translation of the Shunyatasaptati with Tibetan commentary |
| Bhattacharya, Johnston and Kunst | The Dialectical Method of Nagarjuna | Motilal, 1978 | A superb translation of the Vigrahavyavartani |
| Kawamura, L | Golden Zephyr | Dharma, 1975 | Translation of the Suhrlekkha with a Tibetan commentary |
| Jamieson, R.C. | Nagarjuna's Verses on the Great Vehicle and the Heart of Dependent Origination | D.K., 2001 | Translation and edited Tibetan of the Mahayanavimsika and the Pratityasamutpadahrdayakarika, including work on texts from the cave temple at Dunhuang, Gansu, China |
User Comments Add a comment…