Nagarjuna
(flourished c. 150–250 CE), Buddhist philosopher. Nagarjuna, whose influence persists in modern-day Buddhism, is thought to have been born to a Brahman family in India. Although he is a historical figure, details of his life are drawn primarily from legends. It is generally believed that his parents urged him to go on a pilgrimage, and that he then made his way to the famous Buddhist university of Nalanda, where a monk urged him to adopt the monastic life.
According to one legend, the boy Nagarjuna, after studying the four Vedas (the earliest Hindu scriptures), took to worldly pleasures. He mastered the technique of making himself invisible and frequently broke into peoples' homes. Eventually, his offenses were discovered, and he nearly had to atone for them with his life. Subsequently, he became a devout Buddhist and an adept of Buddhist philosophy.
Nagarjuna's ethical system, popularly known as Madhyamika (The Middle Way), attempted to dispel erroneous interpretations of Buddhist doctrine relating to the philosophical concept of reality. His dialectic approach, which takes a middle course, led to the theory of sunyata, or Emptiness. This theory holds that all things are nonessential by nature. Furthermore, Nagarjuna's philosophical precept of pratityasamutpada, or dependent origination, emphasizes that devoid of their inherent qualities, all things are interdependent. Nagarjuna believed that everything was formed of one substance.
Nagarjuna's philosophy represented neither an orthodox expression of early Buddhism nor a total negation of it. Without conforming stringently to the original tenets of Buddhism, Nagarjuna proceeded exclusively from the principles established in the Buddhist canon and arrived at unique conclusions based on a deductive method that the founder of Buddhism would have approved of.
Nagarjuna also pioneered the renaissance of Sanskrit learning among Indian Buddhists. At the same time, he can be credited with refining the analytical method of inquiry developed by the historical Buddha. Thus, Nagarjuna's intellectual feats assume a significance as profound as the doctrine propounded by Buddha himself.
Further Reading
Fatone, Vincente. (1981) The Philosophy of Nagarjuna.Trans. from the Spanish by Dr. Prithipaul. Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass.
Ghosh, Ramendranath. (1987) The Dialectics of Nagarjuna. Allahabad, India: Vohra.
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