DOCSLIB.ORG

Nāgārjuna's Theory of Causality: Implications Sacred and Profane Author(S): Jay L

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Nāgārjuna's Theory of Causality: Implications Sacred and Profane Author(S): Jay L Nāgārjuna's Theory of Causality: Implications Sacred and Profane Author(s): Jay L. Garfield Source: Philosophy East and West, Vol. 51, No. 4, Nondualism, Liberation, and Language: The Infinity Foundation Lectures at Hawai'i, 1997-2000 (Oct., 2001), pp. 507-524 Published by: University of Hawai'i Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1400165 . Accessed: 06/08/2013 15:51 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. University of Hawai'i Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Philosophy East and West. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 130.65.109.155 on Tue, 6 Aug 2013 15:51:12 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions NAGARJUNA'S THEORY OF CAUSALITY: IMPLICATIONS SACRED AND PROFANE JayL. Garfield DepartmentofPhilosophy, Smith College, and School of Philosophy, University of Tasmania Introduction Ndgdrjunaproperly emphasizes that one understandsthe fundamentalnature of reality(or lackthereof, depending on one's perspective)if, and onlyif, one under- standsthe nature of dependent origination: Whoeversees dependent arising Alsosees suffering Andits arising Andits cessation as wellas thepath. (XXIV:40) Andhe devotestwo importantchapters of the MalamadhyamakakjrikJ to the anal- ysis of causalityper se and of dependentarising more generally.The analysis developedin these chapters permeates the rest of the treatise. I have largelysaid my piece abouthow thesechapters are to be readand abouttheir role in Nagdrjuna's largerphilosophical enterprise (Garfield 1990, 1994, 1995). I will reviewthat ac- countonly briefly here as a preliminaryto some applications. I thinknot only that Nagarjuna is rightabout the fundamentalimportance of causality,and ofdependence more generally, to ourunderstanding ofreality and of humanlife but also thathis own accountof these matters is generallycorrect. Given thesetwo premises,it followsthat our conductof naturalscience as well as the pursuitof our moral life should be informedby Nagarjuna's account of these matters. Here,I willdevelop some of these implications. I caution, however, that my devel- opment,at leastin the case ofethics, is heterodox-although,as I willargue, abso- lutelyorthodox Madhyamaka-within at leastone majorliving tradition in which Madhyamakais preservedand practiced:the dGe lugspa school of TibetanBud- dhism.As a consequence,we willhave reasonto questionboth certain substantive claimsmade within that tradition about the necessary conditions of the cultivation of bodhicittaand thedoxographic strategy of the tradition. My claimsabout the philosophy of sciencemay be less controversial,but will nonethelessoffend some. And that (on bothcounts) is as itshould be. Forthe phi- losophyof science has been steadilymaturing into a moreBuddhist framework over the past few decades (even ifmost Western philosophers of science would not rec- ognize thatcharacterization). But thereare residues of pre-Buddhistmodernism in practice,and even those who opt fora more enlightenedapproach to these matters do not always see the big picture. PhilosophyEast & WestVolume 51, Number4 October2001 507-524 507 ? 2001 byUniversity ofHawai'i Press This content downloaded from 130.65.109.155 on Tue, 6 Aug 2013 15:51:12 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions I willfirst sketch Nagarjuna's view. The accountwill be straightforward,and I will notdefend my reading any further here. I willthen turn to the implicationsof thisview for the philosophy of science,arguing that Nagarjuna's account of inter- dependenceshows how we can clearlyunderstand the nature of scientific explana- tion,the relationshipbetween distinct levels of theoreticalanalysis in thesciences (withparticular attention to cognitivescience), and howwe can sidestepdifficulties in understandingthe relations between apparently competing ontologies induced by levelsof description or explanationsupervening on one another. Finally,I will examine rGyal tshab's exposition of DharmakTrti'saccount, in the pramanasiddhichapter of the Prampnavarttika, ofthe necessity of a beliefin rebirth forthe cultivation of bodhicitta.This account is acceptedin thedGe lugstradition bothas an accuraterepresentation of DharmakTrti'sviews and as authoritativere- gardingbodhicitta and themahakarunJ, which is itsnecessary condition. But, I will argue,DharmakTrti, rGyal tshab, and theirfollowers are, by virtueof acceptingthis argument,neglecting Nagarjuna's account of dependent arising and inconsequence are implicatedin what might be seen froma properPrasangika-Madhyamaka point ofview as thevery subtlest form of self-grasping. We can use Nagdrjuna'saccount to extirpatethis final self-grasping, thus freeing the morally central notion of bodhicitta fromunnecessary and perhapsimplausible metaphysical and cosmologicalbaggage. Thisalso suggestssome caution regarding a doxography that takes as axiomaticthe consistencyof DharmakTrti'spramanavada and Nagarjuna'sMadhyamaka. We will concludewith a fewobservations on commonlessons emerging from these appli- cationsof Ndgarjuna'sinsights in two such radically different domains. TheEmptiness of Causality Nagarjunais oftenerroneously understood as a nihilistwith respect to causalityand dependentarising. On thismisreading he is takento arguethat in factthere are no relationshipsof mutual dependence among phenomena, and eventhat no phenom- ena in factexist. Nothing could be furtherfrom the truth.Ndgdrjuna assiduously defendsthe co-relativity of emptiness and dependentarising, and insiststhat to say thatall phenomenaare emptyjust is to saythat they are dependentlyarisen: Whateverisdependently co-arisen Thatis explained to be emptiness, That,being a dependentdesignation, Is itselfthe middle way. Somethingthat is notdependently arisen, Sucha thingdoes not exist. Thereforea nonempty thing Does notexist. (XXIV:18-19) Since nobody-particularly anyone who would offera nihilisticreading of N~garjuna with respectto the conventionalworld and pratitya-samutpada-would seriouslyclaim thatN~garjuna denies the emptinessof all phenomena,nobody who 508 PhilosophyEast & West This content downloaded from 130.65.109.155 on Tue, 6 Aug 2013 15:51:12 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions readsthe Malamadhyamakakarikathrough to the end could seriouslydefend the nihilisticreading. Since one of the principalphenomena that Nagarjuna analyzes as emptyis causation,it is notsurprising that some readthe first chapter of the Malamadhya- makakarikaas an attackon thereality of causation. After all, inthe very first verse he asserts: Neitherfrom itself nor from another, Norfrom both, Norwithout a cause, Doesanything whatever, anywhere arise. (1:1) Butagain, given a correctmiddle-path reading of Ndgdrjuna'sprogram, we can see immediatelythat such a readingmust be erroneous.Ndgdrjuna's strategy throughoutthe MOlamadhyamakakdrikJ is to argue that the phenomena we normally taketo be inherentlyexistent, to have convention-independentnatures, and to exist as theydo preciselybecause of their natures are infact empty of inherentexistence, existonly conventionally, and existprecisely because of theiremptiness and inter- dependence.To quote a favoriteTibetan Prdsangika-Madhyamaka saw: we do not saythat because things are emptythat they do notexist; we saythat because things existthey are empty.The converse,of course, is equallyassertible. Now, as I have arguedbefore, in the case of causation,in chapter1 of the MalamadhyamakakarikJ,Nagarjuna proceeds by distinguishinghetu (rgyu)from pratyaya(kyen). He uses the formerterm to denote the cause of the meta- physicians-anevent capable ofbringing about another by virtue of a powerthat is partof itsnature. The latterdenotes an eventor phenomenonwhose occurrence or existenceis correlatedwith that of another-a condition: Thesegive rise to those, So theseare called conditions. (I: 5a, b) "When thisarises, so does that.When thisceases, so does that."Of course Nagdrjunaidentifies four kinds of conditions, in roughharmony with standard Bud- dhisttaxonomies of causality (for more detail see Garfield1995). He arguesthat the midpointbetween reification of causation-the adoption of a realisticview with re- spectto causal powers-and nihilism-theview of a randomand inexplicableuni- verseof independentevents-is theacceptance of the realityof conditions,and a regularistaccount of explanation. On sucha view,what counts as explanansand as explanandumdepends on explanatoryinterests and uponconventions for individu- ationand classification.Hume is oftenread (properlyin myview) in roughlythis way. Such a view is,hence, far from a nihilism.This is insteada moderate,sensible approachto explanationand to understanding. N~garjuna's reasons for rejectingcausal powers anticipate the argumentsof Hume and of Wittgenstein:causal powers are never observed; causal powers, if sufficientfor explanation, can never inhere in isolated events or things,which always require cooperating conditions; causal powers cannot be explanatoryon JayL. Garfield 509 This content downloaded from 130.65.109.155 on Tue, 6 Aug 2013 15:51:12 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Thinking in Buddhism: Nagarjuna's Middle
    Thinking in Buddhism: Nagarjuna’s Middle Way 1994 Jonah Winters About this Book Any research into a school of thought whose texts are in a foreign language encounters certain difficulties in deciding which words to translate and which ones to leave in the original. It is all the more of an issue when the texts in question are from a language ancient and quite unlike our own. Most of the texts on which this thesis are based were written in two languages: the earliest texts of Buddhism were written in a simplified form of Sanskrit called Pali, and most Indian texts of Madhyamika were written in either classical or “hybrid” Sanskrit. Terms in these two languages are often different but recognizable, e.g. “dhamma” in Pali and “dharma” in Sanskrit. For the sake of coherency, all such terms are given in their Sanskrit form, even when that may entail changing a term when presenting a quote from Pali. Since this thesis is not intended to be a specialized research document for a select audience, terms have been translated whenever possible,even when the subtletiesof the Sanskrit term are lost in translation.In a research paper as limited as this, those subtleties are often almost irrelevant.For example, it is sufficient to translate “dharma” as either “Law” or “elements” without delving into its multiplicity of meanings in Sanskrit. Only four terms have been left consistently untranslated. “Karma” and “nirvana” are now to be found in any English dictionary, and so their translation or italicization is unnecessary. Similarly, “Buddha,” while literally a Sanskrit term meaning “awakened,” is left untranslated and unitalicized due to its titular nature and its familiarity.
    [Show full text]
  • Studies in Buddhist Hetuvidyā (Epistemology and Logic ) in Europe and Russia
    Nataliya Kanaeva STUDIES IN BUDDHIST HETUVIDYĀ (EPISTEMOLOGY AND LOGIC ) IN EUROPE AND RUSSIA Working Paper WP20/2015/01 Series WP20 Philosophy of Culture and Cultural Studies Moscow 2015 УДК 24 ББК 86.36 K19 Editor of the series WP20 «Philosophy of Culture and Cultural Studies» Vitaly Kurennoy Kanaeva, Nataliya. K19 Studies in Buddhist Hetuvidyā (Epistemology and Logic ) in Europe and Russia [Text] : Working paper WP20/2015/01 / N. Kanaeva ; National Research University Higher School of Economics. – Moscow : Higher School of Economics Publ. House, 2015. – (Series WP20 “Philosophy of Culture and Cultural Studiesˮ) – 52 p. – 20 copies. This publication presents an overview of the situation in studies of Buddhist epistemology and logic in Western Europe and in Russia. Those studies are the young direction of Buddhology, and they started only at the beginning of the XX century. There are considered the main schools, their representatives, the directions of their researches and achievements in the review. The activity of Russian scientists in this field was not looked through ever before. УДК 24 ББК 86.36 This study (research grant № 14-01-0006) was supported by The National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow). Academic Fund Program in 2014–2015. Kanaeva Nataliya – National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow). Department of Humanities. School of Philosophy. Assistant professor; [email protected]. Канаева, Н. А. Исследования буддийской хетувидьи (эпистемологии и логики) в Европе и России (обзор) [Текст] : препринт WP20/2015/01 / Н. А. Канаева ; Нац. исслед. ун-т «Высшая школа экономи- ки». – М.: Изд. дом Высшей школы экономики, 2015. – (Серия WP20 «Философия и исследо- вания культуры»).
    [Show full text]
  • Ontology of Consciousness
    Ontology of Consciousness Percipient Action edited by Helmut Wautischer A Bradford Book The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England ( 2008 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or me- chanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. MIT Press books may be purchased at special quantity discounts for business or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected] or write to Special Sales Depart- ment, The MIT Press, 55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. This book was set in Stone Serif and Stone Sans on 3B2 by Asco Typesetters, Hong Kong, and was printed and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ontology of consciousness : percipient action / edited by Helmut Wautischer. p. cm. ‘‘A Bradford book.’’ Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-262-23259-3 (hardcover : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-0-262-73184-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Consciousness. 2. Philosophical anthropology. 3. Culture—Philosophy. 4. Neuropsychology— Philosophy. 5. Mind and body. I. Wautischer, Helmut. B105.C477O58 2008 126—dc22 2006033823 10987654321 Index Abaluya culture (Kenya), 519 as limitation of Turing machines, 362 Abba Macarius of Egypt, 166 as opportunity, 365, 371 Abhidharma in dualism, person as extension of matter, as guides to Buddhist thought and practice, 167, 454 10–13, 58 in focus of attention, 336 basic content, 58 in measurement of intervals, 315 in Asanga’s ‘‘Compendium of Abhidharma’’ in regrouping of elements, 335, 344 (Abhidharma-samuccaya), 67 in technical causality, 169, 177 in Maudgalyayana’s ‘‘On the Origin of shamanic separation from body, 145 Designations’’ Prajnapti–sastra,73 Action, 252–268.
    [Show full text]
  • The Second Chapter of the Pramanavarttika
    The Second Chapter of the Pramanavarttika Handout for the Fall 2014 Term for the Advanced Buddhist Philosophy Course in English INSTITUTE OF BUDDHIST DIALECTICS McLeod GanJ, Dharamsala, India Prepared by Venerable Kelsang Wangmo Table of Contents1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Dignaga ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Dharmakirti ............................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Gyaltsab Je ................................................................................................................................................................................ 4 The Seven Treatises on Pramana ................................................................................................................................... 4 The eight pivotal points of logic ...................................................................................................................................... 5 The Pramanavarttika ........................................................................................................................................................... 8 The chapter on inference for one’s own benefit ....................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Proquest Dissertations
    UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Pratyaksa and Dharmakirti's Soteriology by Christina Roberta Yanko A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES CALGARY, ALBERTA July, 2008 © Christina Roberta Yanko Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-44233-3 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-44233-3 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation.
    [Show full text]
  • Ram-Indlogic
    The monkey on the tree and other dilemmas R. Ramanujam The Institute of Mathematical Sciences Chennai - 600 113 email: [email protected] Colloquium, Hangzhou, May 27, 2019 First words . I Thanks to Wang Yi for this opportunity and to Zhejiang University for the wonderful atmosphere. I Please feel free to interrupt any time to comment or question. I Statutory Warning: I am not a Sanskrit scholar or expert on the ancient Indian systems of logic, am only sharing what I have learned from secondary sources. Acknowledgements: 1 Bimal Krishna Matilal I Bimal Krishna Matilal (1935 | 1991): an influential Indian philosopher who wrote extensively on the Indian philosophical tradition in logic. I From 1977 to 1991 he was the Spalding Professor of Philosophy at University of Oxford. Acknowledgements: 2 Jonardon Ganeri I Jonardon Ganeri is a philosopher whose work spans the philosophy of mind, metaphysics and epistemology. He is the editor of the Oxford Handbook of Indian Philosophy (2017). I The Open Minds magazine named him of one of its 50 global open minds for 2016. He is currently in New York. I Almost everything I am talking of here is from Ganeri's writing, and the Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosphy. I Epistemic: Under what conditions does knowledge of some facts permit knowledge of another fact. I Dialectic: Under what conditions does the acceptance by someone of some facts require him or her to accept some other fact. I Linguistic: Use the forms of linguistic expressions to identify forms of inferences and arguments. This is the modern method. Indian philosphers seem to have been mostly preoccupied with the first three.
    [Show full text]
  • Shankara: a Hindu Revivalist Or a Crypto-Buddhist?
    Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Religious Studies Theses Department of Religious Studies 12-4-2006 Shankara: A Hindu Revivalist or a Crypto-Buddhist? Kencho Tenzin Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/rs_theses Part of the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Tenzin, Kencho, "Shankara: A Hindu Revivalist or a Crypto-Buddhist?." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2006. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/rs_theses/4 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Religious Studies at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Religious Studies Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SHANKARA: A HINDU REVIVALIST OR A CRYPTO BUDDHIST? by KENCHO TENZIN Under The Direction of Kathryn McClymond ABSTRACT Shankara, the great Indian thinker, was known as the accurate expounder of the Upanishads. He is seen as a towering figure in the history of Indian philosophy and is credited with restoring the teachings of the Vedas to their pristine form. However, there are others who do not see such contributions from Shankara. They criticize his philosophy by calling it “crypto-Buddhism.” It is his unique philosophy of Advaita Vedanta that puts him at odds with other Hindu orthodox schools. Ironically, he is also criticized by Buddhists as a “born enemy of Buddhism” due to his relentless attacks on their tradition. This thesis, therefore, probes the question of how Shankara should best be regarded, “a Hindu Revivalist or a Crypto-Buddhist?” To address this question, this thesis reviews the historical setting for Shakara’s work, the state of Indian philosophy as a dynamic conversation involving Hindu and Buddhist thinkers, and finally Shankara’s intellectual genealogy.
    [Show full text]
  • Philosophy (PHL) 1
    Philosophy (PHL) 1 PHL 130 Political Philosophy 3 Credits PHILOSOPHY (PHL) An introduction to the problems of political philosophy with an emphasis on recent and contemporary issues, such as the conflict between liberal PHL 100 Plato and Aristotle 3 Credits and conservative ideologies, fascism, revolution, civil disobedience, and The beginnings of Western scientific and humanistic thought among the the concept of legitimate political authority. This course counts towards early Greeks and their progress into the two great systems of Plato and the fulfillment of the Disciplinary Perspectives element of the CLAS Aristotle. Selections from Plato and Aristotle are read and discussed to general education curriculum. determine the meaning and significance of philosophical ideas that have PHL 202 Social Philosophy 3 Credits subsequently influenced the whole history of Western civilization. This Emphasizes social ethics through critical studies of such contemporary course counts towards the fulfillment of the Disciplinary Perspectives problems as abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, pornography and element of the CLAS general education curriculum. censorship, animal rights, drug use, sexual morality, environmental PHL 102 Philosophical Thinking 3 Credits ethics, and world hunger. This course counts towards the fulfillment of An introduction to philosophical thought with an emphasis on the the Disciplinary Perspectives element of the CLAS general education enduring questions and problems of philosophy. We will explore such curriculum. questions as: how do I know I am not dreaming? Is there an external PHL 203 Business Ethics 3 Credits world? What is truth? Is there a self? Is there a God? What is the Surveys and examines ethical problems concerning the institutions and relationship between the mind and the body? How can I tell right from practices of contemporary business.
    [Show full text]
  • Mulamadhyamakakarika* by Nagarjuna
    Mulamadhyamakakarika* By Nagarjuna *Chapter 26, 18, 23, 24, 22, and 1 2 Mulamadhyamakakarika (When His Holiness the Dalai Lama teaches the Mulamadhyamakakarika he often teaches the following chapters: chapter 26, 18, 23, 24, 22, and 1) Verse of Homage: That which is dependent arising is Without ceasing, without being generated, Without annihilation, without permanence, Without coming, without going, Without being different, without being one, It is peaceful, free from mental fabrication. To the complete Buddha who taught all that, To the unsurpassed one, I bow. 26. Chapter: Examination of the Twelve Links of Dependent Arising 1. (26) Obscured by ignorance we perform three types Of compositional actions that lead to rebirth. Driven by compositional karmic actions We wander in migratory existence. 3 2. (26) Having actions as its conditions, Consciousness enters migratory existence. Once consciousness has entered, Name and form will come to be. 3. (26) Once name and form come to be, The six sense sources arise. In dependence on the six sense sources, Contact ensues. 4. (26) It is solely generated depending On eye and form and retention. Thus, in dependence on name and form, Consciousness is generated. 5. (26) That which is the coming together of the three— Eye and form and consciousness— Is contact. From contact Feeling comes to be. 6. (26) Craving is conditioned by feeling. Craving arises for a feeling. When we crave, we grasp — We grasp at the four aspects. 4 7. (26) When there is grasping, ‘Existence’ of those who grasp comes to be. If we did not grasp, we would Be freed; ‘existence’ would not arise.
    [Show full text]
  • Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika
    The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY BY JAY L. GARFIELD Oxford University Press Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangkok Calcutta Cape Town Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madras Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi Paris Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Copyright © 1995 by Jay L. Garfield Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Nagarjuna, 2nd cent. [Madhyamakakarika. English & Sanskrit] The fundamental wisdom of the middle way: Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika / Translation and commentary by Jay L. Garfield, p. cm. ISBN 0-19-509336-4 (pbk.); ISBN 0-19-510317-3 (cloth) 1. Madhyamika (Buddhism)—Early works to 1800. I. Garfield, Jay L., 1955—. BQ2792.E5G37 1995 294.3’85—dc20 95-1051 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper I dedicate this work, with profound gratitude and respect, to the Most Ven. Professor Samdhong Rinpoche: scholar, educator, statesman, public servant and shining exemplar of monastic life. Preface This is a translation of the Tibetan text of Mulamadhyamakakarika. It is perhaps an odd idea to translate a Tibetan translation of a Sanskrit text and to retranslate a text of which there are four extant English versions.
    [Show full text]
  • MM and Kagyu Lineage
    MAHAMUDRA AND THE KAGYU LINEAGE KHENCHEN THRANGU RINPOCHE It has been some years since the Buddhist teachings have spread to the West, and in that time many people have engendered a deep faith and confidence in the teachings of the Buddha. For those with such great faith and confidence, the practice of Mahamudra is very appropriate because Mahamudra is a particularly convenient practice to do, and at the same time it is extremely beneficial. For students following the path of Mahamudra, it will be very helpful to know and understand something about the history of this lineage. Three Lifestyles of Mahamudra Practitioners In terms of the history of Mahamudra practice throughout India and Tibet, and in particular in India, there are the renowned 84 mahasiddhas who were practitioners of Mahamudra. These 84 mahasiddhas, or great accomplished ones, led many types of lifestyles. For example, we can look at Indrabodhi, a great and powerful king of India who had a wealth of enjoyments and pleasures. He was also skilled at cultivating and sustaining his kingdom in a vast way. Even though he exerted himself at cultivating and sustaining his kingdom and enjoyed the many pleasures of a king, along with that, he meditated on Mahamudra. Due to his Mahamudra meditation, he attained great accomplishment. If we look at a second category of practitioner, we can take the example of the great protector Nagarjuna. Nagarjuna was a great scholar and a wise master who was learned in all of the Buddhist reasonings. He had an extremely sharp intellect and a great ability to compose Buddhist texts and treatises.
    [Show full text]
  • NĆGä†Rjunaâ•Žs Theory of Causality
    Masthead Logo Smith ScholarWorks Philosophy: Faculty Publications Philosophy 10-2001 Nāgārjuna’s Theory of Causality: Implications Sacred and Profane Jay L. Garfield Smith College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.smith.edu/phi_facpubs Part of the Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Garfield, Jay L., "Nāgārjuna’s Theory of Causality: Implications Sacred and Profane" (2001). Philosophy: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA. https://scholarworks.smith.edu/phi_facpubs/23 This Article has been accepted for inclusion in Philosophy: Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Smith ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected] Nāgārjuna's Theory of Causality: Implications Sacred and Profane Author(s): Jay L. Garfield Source: Philosophy East and West, Vol. 51, No. 4, Nondualism, Liberation, and Language: The Infinity Foundation Lectures at Hawai'i, 1997-2000 (Oct., 2001), pp. 507-524 Published by: University of Hawai'i Press Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1400165 Accessed: 03-08-2018 15:54 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms University of Hawai'i Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Philosophy East and West This content downloaded from 131.229.64.25 on Fri, 03 Aug 2018 15:54:53 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms NAGARJUNA'S THEORY OF CAUSALITY: IMPLICATIONS SACRED AND PROFANE Jay L.
    [Show full text]