Nāgārjuna

[Snoopy]

I thought I’d create a receptacle for all things Acharya Nāgārjuna. I don’t have anything specific to post at present, I just thought I’d start a thread for quotes, references, resources, book recommendations, comments, discussion…whatever…for “the second Buddha.”

Feel free….....

s.

[seattlegal]

Although you may spend your life killing, You will not exhaust all your foes. But if you quell your own anger, your real enemy will be slain.
~Nāgārjuna

[Devadatta]

Nagarjuna is the one true man of the left.
Nagarjuna is the one true man of the left out.
Nagarjuna is the one true man of the left out of account.
Yet Nagarjuna is not truly a man of the left.
Nagarjuna is not truly (as above).
Nagarjuna is not (as above).
The bhikkhus recite and write this way, ultimately, not to remember but to forget. They want to forget the 84,000 conventions of birth & death.
Nagarjuna doesn’t end there.
Nagarjuna has no beginning.
(As above.)
Every morning Nagarjuna eats a breakfast of rice gruel with an egg fried in ghee. Conventionally, he follows good yogic practice, modified by the philosopher’s intensified need for protein. Ultimately, a sparrow flies beneath his canopy and across the sky, unsupported, as if it knows where it is going.
Conventionally, Nagarjuna is a great magician who entertains at court and gives sound advice to those who have seen, heard & done it all and now want to see, hear & do it all with a little more flare.
Conventionally, Nagarjuna meets all the expectations of his day and is as well attended by ritual, bureaucracy & authority as any pope.
Ultimately, Nagarjuna sings off-key, misapplies the day’s ragas, melodic modes and rhythmic patterns and subtly spoils all the fine rasas of Maheshvara, the Lord of Dance. Nagarjuna always evades the perfectly executed and never colours within the lines.
[There’s that awkward moment when something emerges, when it’s still wet, clumsy and baldly expressed, like the first delta blues, or the first rough wheel. This would be Nagarjuna’s moment, were he to have one.]
[Yet that’s all wrong, badly put & misleading.]
[Yet nothing is more fatal than a finished product and fine craftsmanship. Everything digestible leads to indigestion.]
Conventionally, Nagarjuna produces his liberating vaccines & serums from the indigestible venom of cobras, rightly held.
Ultimately (as below).

[Snoopy]

Many thanks for these contributions. References might be nice?

s.

[Alex P]

Nāgārjuna - Precious Garland....

"There is pleasure when a sore is scratched, But to be without sores is more pleasurable still. Just so, there are pleasures in worldly desires, But to be without desires is more pleasurable still..."

[seattlegal]

Originally Posted by seattlegal

Although you may spend your life killing, You will not exhaust all your foes. But if you quell your own anger, your real enemy will be slain.
~Nāgārjuna

Originally Posted by Snoopy

Many thanks for these contributions. References might be nice?

s.

Alrighty. The above quote is verse 208 from the She-rab Dong-bu (Tree of Wisdom)

More from The Tree of Wisdom:

211. He who, having seen the excellence of others,
Is afflicted by disturbance in his own mind,
Will not gain even a little of the Truth.
Such a being destroys his own merit.

212. Let all hear this moral maxim,
And having heard it keep it well:
Whatever is not pleasing to yourself
Do not that unto others.

213. As regards the leaving of this mortal life,
Who is not clever in knowing and speaking about it?
But when it comes to practising (what they preach)
(Those who know) would be considered wise among the sages.

Oh, btw, Nāgārjuna, probably would have despised me, as he seemed to despise all women...

162. The way of the wise man is knowledge,
The way of the cuckoo is a sweet note,
The way of the ascetic is patience,
The way of a woman is perversity.

<...>

182. A woman's appetite is twice (that of a man),
Her deceitfulness four times (as much),
Her shame six times,
And her passions eight times--so it is said.
183. Not by gifts nor by attentions,
Not by worship nor by veneration,
Not by (constant) association nor by assiduity,--
By none of these is a woman to be resisted (? controlled).
184. When he was carried off by the King of the Birds
The White Lotus Serpent God said:
"He who tells secrets to women
"His life is lost there and then."
185. (By them) one's object and religion are completely destroyed,
They create an obstacle in the attainment of salvation,
They become the cause of all mischief.
Rather therefore avoid other men's womenfolk.

<...>

246. An evil man, gold, a drum,
A wild horse, women and cloth
Are controlled by beating.
These are not vessels for elegant doings.

[Snoopy]

Originally Posted by seattlegal

Oh, btw, Nāgārjuna, probably would have despised me, as he seemed to despise all women...

Hey, we're all on a learning curve!

and of course, thanks for this additional stuff...

s.

[seattlegal]

More online texts:

Nagarjuna's "Friendly Epistle"
THE PRANYAMÛLA-ŠÂSTRA-TIKA OF NÂGÂRJUNA
THE EKASHLOKA SHASTRA of Nagarjuna

[Snoopy]

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Nagarjuna – by Mushashi Tachikawa.

Well this was hard work. I think I’ll need to re-visit it at some point, when my headache has subsided…

s.

[seattlegal]

Causality and Emptiness: The Wisdom of Nāgārjuna Free PDF e-book from buddhanet.net (1.58 MB)

[Snoopy]

Originally Posted by seattlegal

Causality and Emptiness: The Wisdom of Nāgārjuna Free PDF e-book from buddhanet.net (1.58 MB)

Thanks.

I'll take a look at it when I've got the time (soon I hope).

s.

[Snoopy]

Between Heaven and Earth
From Nagarjuna to Dogen – A Translation and Interpretation of the Mulamadhyamakakarika

By Michael Eido Luetchford

This is a clear and compelling text which demonstrates the unity of thought that Nagarjuna and Dogen share. An early example from the book is the four views used by Nagarjuna and Dogen –

“From Dogen’s Shobogenzo it can be seen that a similar structure is used throughout, often at paragraph and sentence level:

Abstract / Ideal / Subjective.
Concrete / Actual / Objective.
Immediate / Action.
Ineffable / Universal / Real.

Nagarjuna also says that there are four views / fundamental beliefs / conditions, which he defines as:

Causal / Idealistic / Subjective.
External / Materialistic / Objective.
Unity within the Present Moment / Immediate.
Reality beyond words / Ineffable / Universal.”


Luetchford analyses each of the 27 chapters of the Mulamadhyamakakarika and makes regular comparisons with Dogen.

A definite desert island book…

s.

[Tariki]

Hey Snoopy! Long time no read...........

Book recommendation...."Verses From the Centre" By Stephen Batchelor.

As an attempt to cling desperately to my own particular conditioning, a quote from "The Three Pure Land Sutras" by Hisao Inagaki............It is clear.......that Nagarjuna was a devotee as well as an exponent of Pure Land Buddhism

And a quote............

In seeing things
To be or not to be
Fools fail to see
A world at ease

From one fool to another............all the best,

Derek

[Snoopy]

Originally Posted by Tariki

Hey Snoopy! Long time no read...........

Hey Derek! Long time no read you too!
I’ve definitely missed you and your thoughtful posts around here; have you not been lurking then? I hope this isn’t to be your annual post! PM me if you like.

I’ve looked at that book before and thought about getting it; may just do that then as you recommend it.

From a foolish fish,

Snoopy.

[Tariki]

Snoopy,

Yes, Stephen Batchelor's book was the product of a long browse in Watkins Books of Cecil Court, London. I fingered a paperback edition of "Verses from the Centre" for a hour or two and then decided against parting with my hard earned cash - nevermind just how unreal or real it was - but then gravitated towards the "seconds" and "bargains" section of the shop. Lo! and behold! what met my eye was a hardback edition of the same book, brand spanking new, at half the cost of the paperback!! Well, this just seemed to be a sign............

Stephen Batchelor is one of my favorite Buddhist authors, very "existential".....the book consists of a long introduction then a full translation of the Mulamadhyamakakarika, much of which is way beyond me...........but when should that ever represent a "no-go" sign"?

Batchelor says that his own translation of the text is "poetic" rather than "literal and academic", and that his introduction "locates Nagarjuna's central and much-misunderstood idea of emptiness in the wider context of Buddhist, Taoist and Western traditions and offers a contemporary interpretation of Nagajuna's vision."

Well, so much for blurbs and recommendations.........over to you....

Hope all is well.