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Life
A prince who left his palace, sat under a tree, and woke up. Then he spent forty-five years teaching others how to do the same.
Everything is empty. Not empty of existence, but empty of independent, permanent essence. He turned Buddhist logic into a razor.
Connection
The Buddha foundational teacher Nagarjuna — Nagarjuna took the Buddha's teaching on dependent origination and built it into a systematic philosophy of emptiness.
Ideas
Words
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought.”
“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”
“Whatever is dependently arisen, that is explained to be emptiness.”
“Without a foundation in conventional truth, the significance of the ultimate cannot be taught.”
Key Moments
c. 563 BCE
Born as Siddhartha Gautama
c. 528 BCE
Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree
c. 528 BCE
First Sermon at Sarnath
c. 483 BCE
Parinirvana
c. 150 CE
Born in South India
c. 175 CE
Founds Madhyamaka Philosophy
c. 175 CE
Writes the Mulamadhyamakakarika
c. 250 CE
Death in South India
Works
The Dhammapada
Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way