Nagarjuna

Category: Patriarchs of Early Buddhism

From Buddhist Encyclopedia

• Chinese :  龙树菩萨 lóngshúpúsà
• Sanskrit :  nāgārjuna
• Tibetan :  klu grub

Nagarjuna's (c.150-250CE) writings were the basis for the formation of the Madhyamika School, which was transmitted to China under the name of the Three Treatise sanlun School. He is credited with developing the philosophy of the Prajnaparamita, and was closely associated with the Buddhist university of Nalanda.

Nagarjuna was born in South India, near the town of Nagarjunakonda in present day Guntur, District of Andhra Pradesh. According to historians such as Kumarajiva, he was born into a Brahmin family, but later converted to Buddhism. This may be the reason he was one of the earliest significant Buddhist thinkers to write in classical Sanskrit rather than Pali.

From studying his writings, it is clear that Nagarjuna was conversant with the Nikaya philosophies and with the emerging Mahayana tradition. If the most commonly accepted attribution of texts (that of Christian Lindtner) holds, then he was clearly a Mahayanist, but his Buddhist Philosospy|philosophy holds assiduously to the canon, and while he does make explicit references to Mahayana texts, he is always careful to stay within the parameters set out by the canon.

Writings

There exist a number of influential texts attributed to Nagarjuna, although most were probably written by later authors. The only work that all scholars agree is Nagarjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way), which contains the essentials of his thought in twenty-seven short chapters. According to Lindtner the works definitely written by Nagarjuna are:

• Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Fundamental Verses of the Middle Way)
• Sunnyatasaptati (Seventy Verses on Emptiness)
• Vigrahavyāvartanī (The End of Disputes)
• Vaidalyaprakaraṇa (Pulverizing the Categories)
• Vyavahārasiddhi (Proof of Convention)
• Yuktisastika (Sixty Verses on Reasoning)
• Catuḥstava (Hymn to the Absolute Reality)
• Ratnavali (Precious Garland)
• Pratītyasamutpādahṝdayakārika (Constituents of Dependent Arising)
• Sūtrasamuccaya
• Bodhicittavivaraṇa (Exposition of the Enlightened Mind)
• Suhṛllekha (To a Good Friend)
• Bodhisambhara (Requisites of Enlightenment)

There are other works attributed to Nagarjuna, some of which may be genuine and some not. In particular, several important works of esoteric Buddhism (most notably the Pancakrama or "Five Stages") are attributed to Nāgārjuna and his disciples. Contemporary research suggests that these works are datable to a significantly later period in Buddhist history (late eighth or early ninth century), but the tradition of which they are a part maintains that they are the work of the Madhyamaka Nāgārjuna and his school. Traditional historians (for example, the 17th century Tibetan Tāranātha), aware of the chronological difficulties involved, account for the anachronism via a variety of theories, such as the propagation of later writings via mystical revelation. A useful summary of this tradition, its literature, and historiography may be found in Wedemeyer 2006.

Lindtner considers that the Māhaprajñāparamitopadeśa, a huge commentary on the Large Prajñāparamita not to be a genuine work of Nāgārjuna. This is only extant in a Chinese translation by Kumarajiva. There is much discussion as to whether this is a work of Nāgārjuna, with some original comments by Kumarajiva, or an original work by Kumarajiva based on the philosophy of Nāgārjuna.

Philosophy

Nagarjuna's primary contribution to Buddhist Philosophy is in the development of the concept of sunyata, or "emptiness," which brings together other key Buddhist doctrines, particularly anatta and pratītyasamutpāda (dependent origination). For Nāgārjuna, it is not merely sentient beings that are empty of ātman; all phenomena are without any svabhāva, literally "own-nature" or "self-nature", and thus without any underlying essence; they are empty of being. This is so because they are arisen dependently: not by their own power, but by depending on conditions leading to their coming into existence, as opposed to being. Nāgārjuna was also instrumental in the development of the two-truths doctrine, which claims that there are two levels of truth in Buddhist teaching, one which is directly true, and one which is only conventionally or instrumentally true, commonly called upāya in later Mahāyāna writings. Nagarjuna drew on an early version of this doctrine found in the Kaccayanagotta Sutta, which distinguishes nītārtha (clear) and neyārtha (obscure) terms -

By and large, Kaccayana, this world is supported by a polarity, that of existence and non-existence. But when one sees the origination of the world as it actually is with right discernment, 'non-existence' with reference to the world does not occur to one. When one sees the cessation of the world as it actually is with right discernment, 'existence' with reference to the world does not occur to one.

Nāgārjuna differentiates between saṃvṛti (conventional) and paramartha (ultimately true) teachings, but he seldom declares any to fall in this latter category; for him, even śūnyatā is śūnya--even emptiness is empty. For him, ultimately,

nivṛttamabhidhātavyaṃ nivṛtte cittagocare|

anutpannāniruddhā hi nirvāṇamiva dharmatā||7

The designable is ceased when the range of thought is ceased,

For phenomenality is like nirvana, unarisen and unstopped.

For more on Nāgārjuna's philosophy, see Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.

English translations

Biography

In accordance with many prophecies found in both sutras and tantras, Nagarjuna was born in a Brahmin family in the south Indian land of Beda. An astrologer predicted that in the best case (if he practiced the Dharma), the child would live for no more than seven years. When seven years were almost gone, the parents sent their son away on pilgrimage with a servant, because they could not bear the thought of seeing his corpse. However Nagarjuna reached Nalanda and meet Saraha who told him that he could escape death if he were ordained as a monk. Nagarjuna also receive the initiation into the mandala of Amitayus and practicing the mantra recitation through the last night of his seventh year, he could free himself from the fear of death. The following year Nagarjuna received the initial monk ordination and became proficient in all the branches of knowledge of the sutras. Saraha also gave him many teachings upon the secret Mantrayana.

Having mastered all these teachings Nagarjuna returned to see his parents again. He then took the full monastic vows. Once, a terrible famine broke out in Magadha and continued for twelve years. Saraha asked Nagarjuna to provide for the monks of Nalanda who lacked all necessities. Nagarjuna decided to find out how to make gold. He took two sandalwood leaves and, with the appropriate mantras, gave them the power to instantly transport a person to wherever he wished to go. Holding one leaf in his hand and concealing the other in the sole of his sandal, he traveled across the ocean to an island where a famous alchemist lived. Nagarjuna requested instructions in the making of gold. Now the alchemist realized that Nagarjuna must have come across the water by a secret technique, so hoping to acquire this secret he said, "Let us exchange either our crafts or our wealth." "We should exchange our crafts," answered Nagarjuna, and gave him the leaf he held in his hand.

The alchemist, thinking that Nagarjuna was no longer able to leave the island taught him how to make gold. Then Nagarjuna, by means of the sandalwood leaf he had hidden in his sandal, returned to India. There he turned a lot of iron into gold and provided the whole Sangha with all their needs. Later Nagarjuna became abbot of Nalanda. He repeatedly defeated all his opponents, both the heretics, such as Shankara, who ridiculed the Madhyamika view and the shravaka who asserted the invalidity of the Mahayana. Some Nagas came to attend to Nagarjuna's teachings and requested him to visit the Land the Nagas. Having taught the Naga King and his subjects, Nagarjuna returned with the text of the Prajnaparamita in One Hundred Thousand Verses and its abbreviated form. With these scriptures he revived the Mahayana tradition. He himself composed many treatises elucidating the view of the Madhyamika and setting a reference point to the whole Mahayana philosophy on relative and absolute truths.

In accordance with the prediction of Arya Tara, Nagarjuna went to leave and teach in South India. There, too, he composed many treatises. His teachings on Vinaya were equaled to Lord Buddha's First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma, his teachings on emptiness to the Second Turning, and his Collection of Praises (such as the Praise to the Absolute Expanse) to the Third Turning.

Once a young prince, who coveted his father's kingdom, was told by his mother, "Your father's life is linked to that of Master Nagarjuna who himself attained eternal life. Therefore, you will never rule the kingdom." Later not bearing her son's unhappiness, the queen added, "Nagarjuna is a Bodhisattva, if you ask him for his head, he will give to you." The prince did accordingly, and Nagarjuna consented to give his head. But although the prince struck with his sword again and again, the master's neck could not be severed.

Nagarjuna said, "Once when I was cutting kusha grass I cut off the head of an insect. The karmic consequence of this act can still affect me and you can easily kill me with a blade of kusha grass." The prince tried and at the first stroke the masters' head fell on the ground. Milk, not blood, poured out and the severed head spoke: "I shall now go to Tushita heaven, but later I shall return in this very same body." Afraid, the prince, threw the head far away. Howeverboth the head and body of Nagarjuna turned into stone and it is said that the head, slowly but surely, moves closer to its trunk and that eventually, when the two reunite, Nagarjuna will revive and perform vast deeds for the benefit of the Dharma and beings. Nagarjuna had four principal spiritual sons, Shakyamitra, Nagabodhi, Aryadeva, and Matanga, as well as three close sons, Buddhapalita, Bhavaviveka, and Ashvagosha.

References

• Nagarjuna's Letter to a Friend by Kyabje Kangyur Rinpoche
• The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way: Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika
• Buddhist Advice for Living and Liberation: Nagarjuna's Precious Garland by Jeffrey Hopkins