Product Description

The Buddhist saint Nagarjuna, who lived in South India in approximately the second century CE, is undoubtedly the most important, influential, and widely studied Mahayana Buddhist philosopher. His many works include texts addressed to lay audiences, letters of advice to kings, and a set of penetrating metaphysical and epistemological treatises. His greatest philosophical work, the Mulamadhyamikakarika--read and studied by philosophers in all major Buddhist schools of Tibet, China, Japan, and Korea--is one of the most influential works in the history of Indian philosophy. Now, in The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way, Jay L. Garfield provides a clear and and eminently readable translation of Nagarjuna's seminal work, offering those with little of no prior knowledge of Buddhist philosophy a view into the profound logic of the Mulamadhyamikakarika.

Garfield presents a superb translation of the Tibetan text of Mulamadhyamikakarika in its entirety, and a commentary reflecting the Tibetan tradition through which Nagarjuna's philosophical influence has largely been transmitted. Illuminating the systematic character of Nagarjuna's reasoning, Garfield shows how Nagarjuna develops his doctrine that all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, that is, than nothing exists substantially or independently. Despite lacking any essence, he argues, phenomena nonetheless exist conventionally, and that indeed conventional existence and ultimate emptiness are in fact the same thing. This represents the radical understanding of the Buddhist doctrine of the two truths, or two levels of reality. He offers a verse-by-verse commentary that explains Nagarjuna's positions and arguments in the language of Western metaphysics and epistemology, and connects Nagarjuna's concerns to those of Western philosophers such as Sextus, Hume, and Wittgenstein.

An accessible translation of the foundational text for all Mahayana Buddhism, The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way offers insight to all those interested in the nature of reality.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #58413 in Books
• Published on: 1995-11-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

From Library Journal
Professor of philosophy and director of Hampshire College's exchange program with exiled Tibetan scholars, Garfield provides the first Tibetan-to-English translation of eminent second-century Buddhist N ag arjuna's greatest work: M ulamadhyamik arik a. Reflecting Indo-Tibetan Pr asangika-M adhyamika (Middle Path) School commentaries by Buddhap alita and Candrakirti, it is aimed at Western philosophers, not philologists. Throughout this profoundly logical text, N ag arjuna meets contrasting dialectical arguments, thereby proving that all phenomena are empty of inherent existence and nothing originates independently of anything else. He forges a middle path between conventional and ultimate truths. In his comments, Garfield compares this complex doctrine with Western philosophical concepts of emptiness and essence, demonstrating its empirical stature. Kenneth Inada's Sanskrit translation, N ag arjuna (1970) is more accessible to general readers, emphasizing the Buddhist mentor as a benign mediator rather than a strict logician. Garfield's text successfully appeals to scholars and is recommended for academic rather than public libraries.?Dara Eklund, Los Angeles P.L.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Will be...enormously beneficial."--Guy Newland, Central Michigan University

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Tibetan

Customer Reviews

A Treasure and Rare Find
This is a translation and commentary of the central philosophical writing of Nagarjuna, the Mulamadhyamakakarika, or The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way. Nagarjuna, an Indian Buddhist master who lived in the First Century A.D., was the first to clearly articulate the Madhyamika philosophy, the most profound view of reality to be found among the various schools of Buddhism, and the philosophy that permeates the Prajnaparamita, the various Perfection of Wisdom Sutras that form the foundation for Mahayana Buddhism. Nagarjuna's writings were elaborated upon by his disciples Aryadeva and Chandrakirti, and by later Tibetan masters such as Je Tsongkhapa. In fact, it is a Tibetan translation of Nagarjuna's original Sanskrit text that Mr. Garfield has translated here, and since his own practice follows the Tibetan tradition, this allows him to bring a more sympathetic understanding to the text and its insights.

This is a marvelous book, the likes of which I never thought I would find. You will understand something of my despair, and hopefully likewise appreciate the many fine qualities this book embodies if you have also spent years as a Buddhist practitioner trying to understand the profundities of Eastern and Buddhist philosophies by reading the currently extant English translations and commentaries to the great scriptures. Most such books suffer from one or more of a number of serious flaws, such as writing and thinking that is sloppy, imprecise, or hopelessly fuzzy and full of vaguely defined mystical jargon that clouds understanding, or interpretations and conclusions that are idiosyncratic and out of sync with other major scriptural sources. None of that here! Mr. Garfield has done a masterful job of presenting in English one of the most difficult of all scriptures, and he has done so in a way that is both pleasurable and understandable.

This is challenging material. Nagarjuna's philosophy is both very subtle and very profound. To gain liberation or enlightenment a Buddhist practitioner must (among other practices) first gain an intellectual understanding of this philosophy, and then thoroughly deepen that understanding through skillful meditation under the guidance of a master until it intuitively informs every level of being. Mr. Garfield expressly states in his preface that this book is "meant to be a presentation of a philosophical text to philosophers, and not an edition of the text for Buddhologists", so it is clear that he does not intend the text to help at all with the second phase of this process, but his book adds masterfully to the preliminary intellectual understanding.

The book is in two parts. The first part is simply an English translation of Nagarjuna's text. The translation is extremely well thought out, and the directness and clarity of the language, seldom found in this sort of translation, makes it as easy to follow as possible. But such is the depth and subtlety of the arguments, and the writing is so condensed in the original text that few could follow it without a commentary. The second section, then, provides a verse by verse commentary, and herein lies the real brilliance of Mr. Garfield's book, for he leads us with all the confidence and assuredness of a master through the mental gymnastics of Nagarjuna's arguments. He is invariably on top of every argument and counter-argument, and presents all in absolute clarity. He writes with philosophical authority, and yet without being overly dogmatic or arrogant. But more than this: He involved me in the arguments and the flow of Nagarjuna's reasoning, such that I felt more a participant than a mere spectator. As I was led along, I was often reminded of a great mystery writer, or of a skillful naturalist leading students on a nature hike. It was at times exhilarating. And yet more than this too: He also wrote beautifully, with elegance and erudition. His use of language is clear, precise and well-informed, a pleasure to read.

But there's even more than this here: He not only wrote persuasively and beautifully, but also accurately. He has truly done this scripture justice. At no point did I detect any views not completely in accord with what I have gleaned and struggled hard to learn from my own teacher and my own readings of the scriptures. Indeed, my own understanding was clarified and expanded greatly and provided with solid logical underpinning, and for that I am most grateful.

I might also add that this is a handsome book, with quietly elegant binding, paper and typesetting. I encountered no typos. The preface, references and index were truly helpful, and the overall organization flowed smoothly.

The only two problems I encountered reading the book were problems of my own. First, I was surprised to learn that despite two decades studying Eastern philosophy, I know very little about Western philosophy. Someone reading this text with as little knowledge as I had about the ideas of Kant, Hume, Berkeley, Descartes and Wiggenstein, and with only non-formal training in philosophical vocabulary and logic may be a bit lost at times. I found the Oxford Companion to Philosophy helpful, but plan to further fill this glaring gap in my education later. Second, Mr. Garfield's command of vocabulary was extensive enough to finally propel me to fulfill a long held wish to purchase a truly fine dictionary. I went to the book store with a vocabulary list from the first several chapters of the commentary, and quickly realized that none of the many dictionaries there had more than half the words, with the exception of the two volume New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, which had them all. I purchased it gladly.

It remains for someone with sophisticated philosophical training to review this book from that perspective, but I can recommend it highly to any Buddhist practitioners who long for a clear and deep presentation of these most profound truths.

The Prasangika Madhyamika view on Nagarjuna's masterpiece
The Mulamadhyamakakarika(MMK) by Nagarjuna is one of the most important scriptures within Mahayana Buddhism. It's the Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way. Although other English translations exist already, Mr Garfield's rendition is the first that shows the Prasangika Madhyamika (Middle Way Consequence school) view on the MMK.

The MMK consists of 27 chapters which are examinations of fundamental theoretical elements in Buddhist ontology like Dependent origination, Impermanence, Perception, Aggregates (skandhas), Self, and relations between Substance and Attribute. The book is divided into two sections: 1. The translation of the 27 chapters, 2. The translation + commentaries.

It's noteworthy to mention that this book is based on the Tibetan dBu-ma rtsa-ba shes-rab, the Tibetan translation of the original Sanskrit work of MMK.

Garfield asserts in this book that Nagarjuna's goal was to refute the view of extremism of the Sarvastidas (All exists) and the other side of Nihilism (Nothing exists), proposing a Middle Way position. Pointing out the Two Truths of reality; Absolute Truth and Conventional Truth, Nagarjuna uses the Emptiness (shunyata) doctrine to show the reader upon examination that phenomena (both mental and physical) are empty of inherent-exitestence, but also that they are NOT non-existent (they exist within the Absolute Truth). Through these Examination one will obtain insight into the relativity of concepts and phenomena.

As a side note: Nagarjuna's goal is not to bring about a philosophical debate on metaphysical elements. Garfield points this out perfectly in the Introduction to the Commentary section of this book.

I have not read other renditions in English on the MMK, but so far this one is a very bright shining jewel in my extensive collection on Buddhism.

For further reading I would suggest Candrakirti's Prasannapada (Lucid Exposition of the Middle Way), which is a commentary on the MMK and it's best companion in my opinion.

Demanding but satisfying
As Garfield states in the introduction, his analysis of the text is more from an analytical, Western philosophical perspective than from a "Buddhalogical" (his word) one. The result is authoritative, scholarly and a little dry. His presentation reminds me of David Brazier's presentation of the Abhidharma in his book "Zen Therapy: Transcending the Sorrows of the Human Mind." The experience of reading this book is very demanding, but also very satisfying. The benefits to be derived are probably directly proportional with the work one puts in to understanding it.

A more poetically compelling translation of the Mulamadhyamikakarika, along with a very thought-provoking introduction, is to be found in Stephen Batchelor's "Verses from the Center."