Nagarjuna

Nagarjuna was an Indian Buddhist monk and philosopher in the Mahayana tradition and the founder of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist Philosophy. He is highly regarded as one of the most important Buddhist Philosophers.

Statue of monk Nagarjuna.

His key work is the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Root Verses on Madhyamaka), and is a important text explaining the philosophy of emptiness in Madhyamaka. Jan Westerhoff considers Nagarjuna to be among the greatest thinkers in the history of Eastern Philosophy.

Early life

We have limited reliable information about Nagarjuna's life, and historians disagree on when and where he lived (possibly 1st to 3rd century CE in various places in India). The earliest surviving accounts were written in Chinese and Tibetan centuries after his death and are mostly hagiographical accounts that are historically unverifiable. The earliest accounts were written centuries later in Chinese and Tibetan, mainly offering hagiographical, unverifiable details.

Some scholars, like Joseph Walser, suggest Nagarjuna served as an advisor to a king of the Satavahana dynasty in the 2nd century, possibly Yajna Sri Satakarni, based on archaeological findings at Amaravati. This places Nagarjuna around 150–250 CE.

References

  1. ↑ "Nagarjuna - Greatest Buddhist Philosopher | Founder of Madhyamaka School". Original Buddhas. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  2. ↑ "Nagarjuna | Biography, Philosophy, & Works | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  3. ↑ Westerhoff, Jan Christoph (2022), "Nāgārjuna", in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2022 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 2023-12-13
  4. 1 2 Walser (2005), p. 60.
  5. 1 2 Walser (2005), p. 61.

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