Lecture notes Madhyamaka & Prajnaparamita : Madhyamaka, Nagarjuna, Sunyata, Nagarjuna's Two Truths, Prajnaparamita, Six Paramitas, The Great Mother, Sutras, Dimond-Cutter and Heart Sutra.
What is the connection between Nagarjuna and
Madhyamaka?
Madhyamaka:
Madhyamaka is a significant development of Mahayana Buddhism that has become one of
the two principle Mahayana Schools. The name means ‘middle way’ or ‘centrism’ and it
refers to the claim that this development defines a middle path between the extremes of:
- Eternalism: The view that things possess an eternal and unchanging nature.
- Annihilationism: The view that everything is intrinsically non-existent. The complete
destruction of everything as temporary phenomena.
The Middle Path is made through the sheer rejection of any inherent nature of things at all.
Madhyamaka denotes that phenomena possess neither a permanent or temporary nature,
they simply lack any inherent nature at all – they are empty of inherent nature (Sunyata).
Nagarjuna:
This school was founded by Nagarjuna – an Indian Buddhist Thinker who lived around 150-
250AD. Nagarjuna’s philosophy mainly focused on developing the idea of Emptiness
(Sunyata) that exists for all phenomena, and the use of Skilful Means (Upaya). Nagarjuna
argued that his philosophy did not take any position, as to do so would only serve as a
method of clinging to some form of fictitious existence – defining oneself in phenomena
that is ultimately characterised by Sunyata (Emptiness).
Sunyata:
Sunyata is central to Nagarjuna’s philosophy. The term means ‘emptiness’ and is
interconnected with the concept of ‘dependent origination’ (Pratityasamutpada). This is the
idea that all phenomena arise in dependence of other phenomena. This in turn follows a
similar line of argument to Anatta (No-Self). The Self is a temporary phenomenon. So, the
concept of Sunyata denotes that all phenomena are contingent on other temporary
phenomena, and are therefore empty of ‘Svabhava’ (Intrinsic, unchanging nature).
An example of Sunyata comes from Milindapanha (The Questions of Milinda) with an
example of a chariot: What part of the chariot is the ‘chariot’? Is it the wheels, the seat, the
spokes? Similarly, if you began to take it apart, when does it stop becoming a chariot?
Simply put, the ‘chariot’ is the sum of its constituent parts – it lacks any intrinsic nature, and
is contingent on its parts of exist!
, Yet traditional understanding of Sunyata denote that Dharma’s, despite their contingency,
were still Ultimate phenomenon that possess intrinsic nature. Nagarjuna saw this was a
mistake, and misconstrued the teaching of The Buddha. So, Nagarjuna argued that there
are no Dharma’s at all, as the fact that it is contingent and reliant on other forces – this
means it cannot be a Dharma by definition:
“There being no Dharma whatsoever that is not dependently
originated, it follows that there is also no Dharma whatsoever” 1
Similarly, Nagarjuna argued that one should not consider Sunyata to be an Ultimate Truth
as the concept itself is also empty:
“Dependent origination we declare to be emptiness. It is a
dependent concept; just that is the middle path”2
Instead, the concept should be seen as a useful tool for understanding the nature of things,
something he categorised through his doctrine of two truths.
Nagarjuna’s Two Truths:
In his Mulamadhyamakakarika, Nagarjuna claimed that reality existed on two separate,
simultaneous levels: The Conventional Truth, and The Ultimate Truth:
- The Conventional Truth: Relative truths. Not necessarily accurate, but helpful. Generally
agreed on understandings of things, not something that denotes an objective reality.
- The Ultimate Truth: The understanding of all phenomena as empty, lacking any essence
or definition, beyond existence and non-existence. Characterised by Sunyata.
“The Dharma taught by the Buddhas is precisely based on the two
truths: a truth of mundane conventions and a truth of the
ultimate.”3
An understanding of both Truths is essential for Liberation; The Buddha taught the Dharma
in two truths as a means of Upaya. Both with Conventional meanings to help people
engage, and Ultimate meanings. Understanding The Doctrine of Two Truths helps people
recognise the Buddha’s true teachings, and reach Nirvana. The Conventional Truth helps us
to see the Ultimate Truth, without this, we cannot attain the wisdom needed to reach
Nirvana.
The Misconceptions of Nagarjuna’s Philosophy:
1
MMK 24:19
2
MMK 24:18
3
MMK 24:8
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