Life
Nagarjuna was an Indian Buddhist philosopher generally placed around the second or third century CE. Traditional narratives associate him with South India and with extraordinary episodes involving nāgas. The historical relation among different authors called Nagarjuna, including later tantric and alchemical figures, requires care. His philosophical works are a firmer starting point than a single composite life story.
Contribution
He argues that things do not possess svabhāva: an independent, self-grounding nature. Their existence depends on conditions, relations and designation. Emptiness therefore does not mean that nothing happens or that suffering is irrelevant. It challenges the assumption that what happens must be grounded in an unchanging essence.
Key works
- Mūlamadhyamakakārikā
- Verses examining causation, motion, time, self and other categories.
- Vigrahavyāvartanī
- A discussion of objections to his critical method and its relation to knowledge.
Legacy
His work shaped Madhyamaka debates across India, Tibet and East Asia. Later interpreters disagree about the implications of his arguments and their proper method. For a beginner, the central task is to avoid turning emptiness into one more hidden substance. If dependence is the point, “emptiness” cannot become an independent foundation exempt from the critique.
Can something be real and effective without existing entirely through itself?
Sources
- Reference
Nāgārjuna — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (opens in a new tab)
plato.stanford.edu
- Reference
- TranslationEnglish with parallel Pali available
SN 22.59 — The characteristic of not-self (opens in a new tab)
SuttaCentral · nonprofit textual repository
How to read itTranslation by Bhikkhu Sujato. Select the root-text view to read Pali. A foundational early Buddhist argument about the five aggregates.
- TranslationEnglish with parallel Pali available
SN 56.11 — Setting the wheel of Dhamma in motion (opens in a new tab)
SuttaCentral · nonprofit textual repository
How to read itTranslation by Bhikkhu Bodhi. Presents the four truths and middle path. Translation copyright and reuse terms remain those of the repository.