Nagarjuna

Lore & Background

Very little is reliably known of Nāgārjuna's life, and modern historians do not agree on a specific date or place. Most scholars place him in South India between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE. Surviving accounts were written in Chinese and Tibetan centuries after his death and are mostly hagiographical and historically unverifiable. The earliest accounts date to Kumārajīva's time (350–409 or 344–413) and are sparse. Some scholars, such as Joseph Walser, argue Nāgārjuna was an advisor to a king of the Sātavāhana dynasty, possibly Yajña Śrī Śātakarṇi (c. second half of the 2nd century), placing him around 150–250 CE. Walser also suggests he likely lived in a mixed monastery where Mahāyānists were a minority, possibly affiliated with the Purvasailya, Aparasailya, or Caityaka sub-schools of the Mahāsāṃghika, and that he wrote the Ratnavali in the Andhra region near Dhanyakataka (modern Amaravati) in the late second century.

Traditional hagiographies, beginning with Kumārajīva's circle, depict Nāgārjuna as the greatest bodhisattva since Śākyamuni, living when the Dharma was 'decadent and weak' and saving the Mahāyāna through debate and writing. According to Huiyuan's preface to the Da zhidu lun, Nāgārjuna became a monk, dwelt in seclusion, practiced dhyāna, had an awakening, traveled to the Himālayas to receive Mahāyāna teachings from a śramaṇa, and then went to the palace of the nāgas, where he mastered all canons. Later Chinese and Tibetan hagiographies add that he was a Brahmin who converted to Buddhism, traveled to the nāga palace, and was depicted as a spellcasting wonderworker and master of mantras and alchemy. He is also associated with revealing the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras after they had been hidden, and with the Vajrayana and Pure Land traditions.

Reader's Guide

Nāgārjuna's significance lies in his foundational role in Mahāyāna Buddhism through the Madhyamaka school. His Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Root Verses on Madhyamaka) is the most important text on the philosophy of emptiness (śūnyatā), which influenced Indian philosophy for a millennium and remains an indispensable doctrinal source for East Asian and Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. The MMK inspired numerous commentaries in Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan, Korean, and Japanese and continues to be studied today. Nāgārjuna is widely considered the most important Buddhist philosopher after the Buddha, and in Tibetan Buddhism he is called the 'second Buddha.' He was a defender of the Mahāyāna movement at a time when it was a minority within nikāya Buddhism. His writings opened the way for the Mahāyāna to flourish, as noted by early Chinese sources. Later traditions, including Pure Land and Esoteric Buddhism, claim him as a patriarch, and he is associated with the transmission of mantra teachings and alchemical practices. Despite the scarcity of reliable historical data, his philosophical legacy endures across all contemporary Mahāyāna traditions.

Did You Know?

• Nāgārjuna is called the 'second Buddha' in Tibetan Buddhism.
• His Mūlamadhyamakakārikā is the most important text on Madhyamaka philosophy of emptiness.
• Traditional hagiographies claim he retrieved the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras from the palace of the nāgas.
• He is considered a patriarch in both the Pure Land and East Asian Esoteric Buddhist traditions.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"I, without grasping will pass beyond sorrow,And I will attain nirvāṇa," one says.Whoever grasps like thisHas great grasping." — Nagarjuna "If you think you see bothDestruction and becoming,Then you see destruction and becomingThrough impaired vision." — Nagarjuna "Due to having faith one relies on the practices,Due to having wisdom one truly knows.Of these two wisdom is the chief,Faith is its prerequisite." — Nagarjuna "I am not, I will not be.I have not, I will not have."That frightens all the childishAnd extinguishes fear in the wise." — Nagarjuna