Nagarjuna’s Dialectics of Emptiness

“Appellation ceases with the absence of the objects of thought: The absolute as the essence of all things is not born, nor does it cease to be.” – Nagarjuna: Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way, XVIII.7

By Ryan Smith

The Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna (ca. 150-250 CE) is commonly held to be the most important philosopher in Buddhism and is called the “second Buddha” by some. Nagarjuna’s principal philosophical work is called the Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way (or the Mulamadhyamakakarika). It is one long dialectical criticism on the follies of holding positions, be they empirical or philosophical. ...

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