Nagarjuna in China: A Translation of the Middle Treatise (STUDIES IN ASIAN THOUGHT AND RELIGION)

The great Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna's writings on emptiness, sunyata, have profoundly influenced Indian, Tibetan and Chinese Buddhism for nearly 2000 years. The central statement of his thought is found in his Middle Stanzas. The Middle Treatise (T. 1564) here translated in full into English, is Kumarajiva's Chinese version of Nagarjuna's Middle Stanzas with the commentary, attributed to the monk Blue Eyes (Pingala, Vimalaksa), which exists only in the Chinese Buddhist canon. The introductory chapters set the Treatise in context within the Sino-Japanese Buddhist tradition, introduce Madhyamika ideas found in the Middle Treatise, and provide a detailed commentary on the Treatise for the modern reader, discussing each chapter and clarifying the argument of the Treatise.