Nagarjuna
Nāgārjuna | |
|---|---|
| नागार्जुन | |
Painting of Nāgārjuna (18th century) | |
| Born | c. 150 CE |
| Died | c. 250 CE India |
| Occupation(s) | Buddhist teacher, monk and philosopher |
| Philosophical work | |
| Era | Ancient philosophy |
| Region | Eastern philosophy |
| School | |
| Notable works | Mūlamadhyamakakārikā |
| 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. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.
Nāgārjuna is widely considered to be the founder of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy and a defender of the Mahāyāna movement. 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.