Nagarjuna

Nagarjuna was an Indian Buddhist monk and philosopher in the Mahayana tradition and the founder of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist Philosophy. He is highly regarded as one of the most important Buddhist Philosophers. 
His key work is the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Root Verses on Madhyamaka), and is a important text explaining the philosophy of emptiness in Madhyamaka. Jan Westerhoff considers Nagarjuna to be among the greatest thinkers in the history of Eastern Philosophy.

 Early life 
We have limited reliable information about Nagarjuna's life, and historians disagree on when and where he lived (possibly 1st to 3rd century CE in various places in India).Walser (2005), p. 60. The earliest surviving accounts were written in Chinese and Tibetan centuries after his death and are mostly hagiographical accounts that are historically unverifiable. The earliest accounts were written centuries later in Chinese and Tibetan, mainly offering hagiographical, unverifiable details.

Some scholars, like Joseph Walser, suggest Nagarjuna served as an advisor to a king of the Satavahana dynasty in the 2nd century, possibly Yajna Sri Satakarni, based on archaeological findings at Amaravati. This places Nagarjuna around 150–250 CE.Walser (2005), p. 61.

 References 


 Other websites 


 Online version of the Ratnāvalī (Precious Garland) in English Translated by Prof. Vidyakaraprabha and Bel-dzek
 Online version of the Suhṛllekha (Letter to a Friend) in English Translated by Alexander Berzin


 Nārāgjuna vis-à-vis the Āgama-s and Nikāya-s Byoma Kusuma Nepalese Dharmasangha (archived)
 ZenEssays: Nagarjuna and the Madhyamika
 Mula madhyamaka karika online Tibetan and English version translated by Stephen Batchelor (archived)

Category:Buddhism
Category:Bodhisattvas
Category:Monks