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Everything is empty. Not empty of existence, but empty of independent, permanent essence. He turned Buddhist logic into a razor.
The master who mapped the whole of early Buddhist thought, then crossed over to argue that the world we see is mind only.
Connection
Nagarjuna Mahayana tradition Vasubandhu — Vasubandhu's Yogacara took shape alongside the Madhyamaka tradition that Nagarjuna founded, the two great wings of Mahayana thought.
Ideas
Words
“Whatever is dependently arisen, that is explained to be emptiness.”
“Without a foundation in conventional truth, the significance of the ultimate cannot be taught.”
“All this is consciousness only, for the world appears as the objects of a dream appear.”
Key Moments
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
c. 320 CE
Born in Gandhara
c. 360 CE
The Abhidharmakosha
c. 380 CE
The Turn to Mind-Only
c. 390 CE
Twenty Verses on Consciousness
Works
Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way
Thirty Verses on Consciousness-Only