Nāgārjuna | |
---|---|
नागार्जुन | |
Born | c. 150 CE |
Died | c. 250 CE India |
Occupation(s) | Buddhist teacher, monk and philosopher |
Notable work | Mūlamadhyamakakārikā |
Era | Ancient philosophy |
Region | Eastern philosophy |
School | |
Notable ideas |
Nāgārjuna (Sanskrit: नागार्जुन, Nāgārjuna; c. 150 – c. 250 CE) was an Indian monk and Mahāyāna Buddhist philosopher of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school.[2] He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.[3]
Nāgārjuna is widely considered to be the founder of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy and a defender of the Mahāyāna movement.[3][4] His Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Root Verses on Madhyamaka, MMK) is the most important text on the Madhyamaka philosophy of emptiness. The MMK inspired a large number of commentaries in Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan, Korean and Japanese and continues to be studied today.[5]