Nagarjuna’s Middle Way: Mulamadhyamakakarika (Classics of Indian Buddhism) by Mark Siderits (PDF)

Description

Winner of the 2014 Khyenste Foundation Translation Prize.Nagarjuna’s renowned twenty-seven-chapter Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way (Mulamadhyamakakarika) is the foundational text of the Madhyamaka school of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy. It is the definitive, touchstone presentation of the doctrine of emptiness. Professors Siderits and Katsura prepared this translation using the four surviving Indian commentaries in an attempt to reconstruct an interpretation of its enigmatic verses that adheres as closely as possible to that of its earliest proponents. Each verse is accompanied by concise, lively exposition by the authors conveying the explanations of the Indian commentators. The result is a translation that balances the demands for fidelity and accessibility.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Good printing. Good translation/interpretation. A valuable text for serious Buddhist studies.

⭐Very detailed, scholarly but not detached, presentation and translation. The best I’ve found so far of a very difficult to grasp Buddhist text.

⭐Really good translation and commentary based on the 4 known historical commentaries: the anonymous’ Akutobhayā, Bhāviveka’s, Buddhapālita’s and Candrakīrti’s, giving a profound view on the main buddhist principle: śunyatā, emptiness. A must-read for any serious buddhist and serious truth seeker! Question everything!

⭐I am a student of Shambhala Buddhism and have been wanting to learn Madhyamaka for some time, it being an integral part of the Mahayana teachings. I had come across other translations of Nagarjuna’s famous treatise but found it to be mostly incomprehensible. In this current translation professors Siderits and Katsura have provided a verse by verse commentary which is invaluable and makes this challenging text understandable. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to any student of the Mahayana.

⭐This edition has extensive explanations of each verse of Nagarjuna’s intellectual justification for Buddhism. His writing is terse and requires extensive experience with the literature and period which this book offers well. It is long and somewhat repetitive and mostly of interest to philosophers and logicians rather than those interested in Buddhist theology. A very well done book on itsown terms of logic and philosophy.

⭐There are not to many translations of Nagarjuna, so to find a book that clearly deciphers meaning is such a value. This book is conscice and worded in such a clear manor. The book itself as a package was clean and in prestine condition. It came in super fast. I am very happy with this order. !!

⭐book is definately for scholars..nararjuna is giant and informed intellect and spiritual savant…. i might as well whiz in the sea, but am still glad to have this treatise…….. matt

⭐A very difficult study but essential to one’s Buddhist studies. I recommendsimultaneously studying the Surangama Sutra while tackling Nagarjuna, which, I believe, will help one to better comprehend both teachings.

⭐This influential system hinges on denying the applicability of words and concepts beyond practical purposes (including Buddhist doctrine!). This is done by revealing internal contradictions in various philosophical theories, if interpreted literally, often using arguments like those of Zeno. I don’t claim to follow all the arguments, but I’m attracted by some of the ideas here e.g. the generalisation of the early Buddhist denial of the self into the broader notion of ’emptiness’; the idea of ‘two truths’, and the difference between the everyday world and nirvana being merely a matter of one’s attitude. Siderits & Katsura provide an introduction and summary for each chapter, and they interweave Nagarjuna’s cryptic verses (given in Sanskrit and English) with a new commentary, which draws mainly on the four early Indian commentators, but also includes some illuminating insights of their own; all of which makes the ideas more accessible for modern readers.

⭐The new go-to translation of Nagarjuna’s seminal text. This book is a huge improvement on the commendable effort by Jay Garfield (which was itself a cornerstone of my own research for many years) and I think that this new translation all but closes the book in terms of translating the MMK from the Sanskrit original.Helpfully, Siderits and Katsura provide the transliterated Sanskrit along with the translated English and a detailed philosophical commentary. This is especially useful to students of Sanskrit looking to read Buddhist texts in their original language and it also allows the student to translate the karikas on their own without relying too heavily on the work of Siderits/Katsura.A very, very good piece of scholarship, both linguistically and philosophically.

⭐Please note that if you buy this book you are not buying the MMK itself.Instead of footnotes, the translators have placed interpretive remarks *within* the verses.Nowhere in the book can you just read the verses from start to finish.Every two to four lines of the MMK is followed by a few paragraphs of commentary.Therefore this is not a “translation” of the work. This is a book of literary criticism.Incredibly, the translators inform us it would be very difficult to understand the meaning otherwise.

⭐I have read a number of books on the philosophy of Nagarjuna. Some have been fanciful to the point of being inconsistent. This book is very well considered and makes a lot of sense, but it takes a lot of thinking about. I image it took me about two months to read, and I am still wrestling with the implications now. I look forward to reading more books by this author, some of which are available on Amazon.

⭐Very good copy. Excellent translation. Very quick delivery.

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