Ashvaghosha अश्वघोष (80~150 AD), “बुद्धचरितम् Buddhacarita; or Acts of the Buddha”, was a Siddhartha Gautama poem epic; and the topic of an earlier blog post.
Here I present: Nagarjuna नागार्जुन (150 – 250 AD), Mūlamadhyamakakāri मूलमध्यमककारिका (“The Middle Way”) which was by a famous Buddhist.
Table of Contents
Chapter Number. “Title“.
1.. Pratyayaparīkṣā: Analysis of conditions.
2.. Gatāgataparīkṣā: Analysis of going and not going.
3.. Cakṣurādīndriyaparīkṣā: Analysis of the eye and the other sense-organs.
4.. Skandhaparīkṣā: Analysis of the skandhas (“aggregates”).
5.. Dhātuparīkṣā: Analysis of the dhatūs (“constituents”).
6.. ” Rāgaraktaparīkṣā: Analysis of desire and the desirous.”
7.. Saṃskṛtaparīkṣā: Analysis of the constructed.
8.. Karmakārakaparīkṣā: Analysis of action and actor.
9.. Pūrvaparīkṣā: Analysis of the past.
10.. Agnīndhanaparīkṣā: Analysis of fire and fuel.
11.. Pūrvaparakoṭiparīkṣā: Analysis of initial and final limits.
12.. Duḥkhaparīkṣā: Analysis of suffering.
13.. Saṃskāraparīkṣā: Analysis of mental constructions.
14.. Saṃsargaparīkṣā: Analysis of admixture.
15.. Svabhāvaparīkṣā: Analysis of own-nature.
16.. Bandhanamokṣaparīkṣā: Analysis of bondage and liberation.
17.. Karmaphalaparīkṣa: Analysis of action (karma) and its fruit.
18.. Ātmaparīkṣā: Analysis of the self (atman).
19.. Kālaparīkṣā: Analysis of time.
20.. Sāmagrīparīkṣā: Analysis of combination.
21.. Saṃbhavavibhavaparīkṣā: Analysis of becoming and un-becoming.
22.. Tathāgataparīkṣā: Analysis of the Tathāgata.
23.. Viparyāsaparīkṣā: Analysis of Error.
24.. Āryasatyaparīkṣā: Analysis of the Noble Truths.
25.. Nirvānaparīkṣā: Analysis of nirvāṇa.
26.. Dvādaśāṅgaparīkṣā: Analysis of the twelve links (of dependent origination).
27.. Dṛṣṭiparīkṣā: Analysis of views.
In his first sermon, the Buddha prescribed a “middle way” between the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification.
Nagarjuna, citing an early sutra, expanded the notion of the “middle way” into the philosophical sphere, identifying a “middle way” between existence and nonexistence.
The Legend of the Origins of the Esoteric Teachings.
According to Shingon legend, Vajarasattva, after having been initiated by Mahavairocana into the deepest mysteries of Buddhism, hid himself within an Iron tower in southern India. There the Bodhisattva concealed himself for centuries, until Nagarjuna opened the Iron Tower and, according to one version of this legend, recieved from Vajarasattva the two sutras of Shingon Buddhism, the Mahavairocana Sutra and the Vajrasekhara Sutra.
Here lies the fundamental teaching and practice of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism. Our bodies, speech, and minds in their present state become the body, speech, and mind of the buddha. This is the realm of the deep but lofty enlightenment that is unique to Shingon Buddhism.
Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 BC), 法句經 “Dhammapada” धम्मपद , 250 BC collection of Buddhist sayings was the topic of an earlier blog post.
Here I presented: Nagarjuna नागार्जुन (150 – 250 AD), Mūlamadhyamakakāri मूलमध्यमककारिका (“The Middle Way”) which was by a famous Buddhist.
Nagarjuna नागार्जुन is the most famous Buddhist after historical Siddhartha Gautama himself.
Nagarjuna, Mūlamadhyamakakāri मूलमध्यमककारिका (“The Middle Way”) is fundamental to Japanese Shingon Buddhist, such as Kukai of Koyasan Buddhism.
Nagarjuna in this writing presents the “emptiness doctrine”. This concept of “empty” (void) is the essence of Albert Einstein’s “theory of relativity”.
