Journal of East China Normal University (Philosoph ›› 2019, Vol. 51 ›› Issue (1): 124-131.doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5579.2019.01.015

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Characteristics of Nagarjuna's Sutra Hermeneutics: From the Perspective of His “Middle Way”

YIN Bang-zhi   

  • Online:2019-01-15 Published:2019-01-22

Abstract: Nagarjuna's writings are representative works of Mahayana Buddhism. Combining the Mahayana classics prevailing at that time with the mainstream Indian traditions and putting forward categories such as "middle way", "eight negation", "two truths", he not only dated back to Shakyamuni in the tradition of Buddhism, but also reconstructed it. His arguing method extracted from classic texts is very unique. The content and logic of the argument is established or vanished timely. Differing from modern hermeneutics which explores the possibilities of life, Nagarjuna's Middle Way is characterized by "neither dying nor being born", standing aloof from this world.

Key words: Nagarjuna, Middle Way, Eight Negation, Madhyamaka, Two Truths, Buddhist classics, Buddhism