Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka: A Philosophical Introduction

by Jan Westerhoff

The Indian philosopher Acharya Nagarjuna (c. 150-250 CE) was the founder of the Madhyamaka (Middle Path) school of Mahayana Buddhism and arguably the most influential Buddhist thinker after Buddha himself. Indeed, in the Tibetan and East Asian traditions, Nagarjuna is often referred to as the 'second Buddha.' His primary contribution to Buddhist thought lies is in the further development of the concept of sunyata or 'emptiness.' For Nagarjuna, all phenomena are without any svabhaba, literally 'own-nature' or 'self-nature', and thus without any underlying essence. In this book, Jan Westerhoff offers a systematic account of Nagarjuna's philosophical position. He reads Nagarjuna in his own philosophical context, but he does not hesitate to show that the issues of Indian and Tibetan Buddhist philosophy have at least family resemblances to issues in European philosophy.

Genres: Philosophy, Buddhism, Religion, Nonfiction, Metaphysics, Spirituality, Zen

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 21, 2009

About the author

Jan Christoph Westerhoff is a philosopher and orientalist with specific interests in metaphysics and the philosophy of language. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and SOAS. At present he is a University Lecturer in Religious Ethics at the University of Oxford, a Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall and a Research Associate at SOAS. He was previously a Research Fellow in Philosophy at the City University of New York, a Seminar Associate at Columbia University, a Junior Research Fellow at Linacre College and a Junior Lecturer in the Philosophy of Mathematics at the University of Oxford.

He is a specialist in metaphysics and Indo-Tibetan philosophy. His research interests also include the history of ideas in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Reviews

[withdrawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

As is the case with Jay Garfield and Mark Siderits, author Jan Westerhoff writes to bring Madhayana Buddhist philosophy to readers who have an interest in Western philosophy also. This is an excellent example of these writings.

Westerhoff covers a wide range of Nāgārjuna’s philosophy, ranging from Nāgārjuna’s main preoccupations through to topics barely touched upon in his works but which have a natural connection for Western philosophers. A great deal is covered in this relatively short book.

I struggled at times with some of the topics, but I must put that down to my own abilities. Westerhoff writes clearly often dealing with the topic from various aspects so as to give the readers every possible opportunity to understand.

Highly recommended for anyone looking for a clear explanation of Nāgārjuna’s philosophy without getting confounded by Buddhist religious terminology.

For myself, there is much here that attracts me, not only as a theoretical philosophy but as a way of understanding the world as I live in it, as a way of life. Of course, this is not easy to achieve. I am alone in this endeavour, particularly as I accept none of the transcendent trappings of Buddhism, or of any other religion or philosophy. Practice without belief will simply not work as long as the practice is framed in a language of myth.

[Revanth Ukkalam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is more than an 'introduction' but whether that is the due to the object in question or the author is unclear. The ideas - which I am as far as one can get in mastering - presented by Westerhoff and imagined by Acharya Nagarjuna are overwhelmingly impressive. If imbibed wholly the world will perhaps never seem the same again. The negation of Svabhava, Nagarjuna's philosophical project is strikingly original and creative. One finds it backed by rigorous thought and robust rationality. The book despite its complexity leaves one hungry for more on, around, and from Nagarjuna and the Madhyamikas.

[s · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear and thorough introduction in general to a really interesting figure. Overall much more concerned with the precise elucidation of doctrine than its historical or sociocultural context (beyond the positions of his interlocutors and commentators), which is fine, you need to prioritize, but it left me quite curious about the latter.

[R-K · Rating 4 out of 5]

A difficult read which only came together for me as I started reading Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. Then I had to keep coming back to this to stir my memory. For the most part though, Westerhoff does a fine job of clarifying Nāgārjuna’s riddles. There are times, however, when he writes in riddles.of his own.

I have an earlier review of this book from October 2017 under the name Withdrawn.

[Cordell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reputation of Nagarjuna's own texts, and the many commentaries on them, and of modern treatments on them, made this my first engagement with a foundational voice in Mahayana Buddhism.

Reading this was a quest. Potent, sometimes arduous, sometimes exhilarating. Laudably, the footnotes are on the page, and the writing conscientiously well-ordered.

It was illuminating to ruminate on svabhava long enough to click. I am confident that the tetralemma still eludes me - but I've now seen and handled it sketched and disputed a few ways and feel some orientation at least for how foreign it is to me.

Chapter 7: The Self, is the most efficient and thorough and handsome turning of one of the main questions westerners come to Buddhism with. That chapter can sell this book on its own.

Its preceding Chapter 6: Motion had held me as a captive mystified about why I was reading a chapter that seemed infinitely patient to exhaust a question I never came in with - but it built up compellingly on Causation and really surprise-prestiged me with a more cohesive and less problematic sensibility of karma and rebirth than I've found elsewhere.

I found this unusually challenging, and rewarding. For me, I had to rise and strain for this, but if you're interested in a title like "Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka: A Philosophical Introduction" boy does it do what it says on the tin.

[Kamakana · Rating 4 out of 5]

30503: I find I have not written review of this work. briefly, I recall some discomfort with parochial attempts to find parallels with western thought (as if validating worth) but it was interesting to try western (mis)conceptions of buddhist arguments. western logic is weighed-down with presuppositions, not least of which its own ontological primacy. so it gets curious 4. interesting, illuminating, instructive. but not quite all there...

note: because it has been months of other books I cannot remember details, only trends, this is not my favourite on Nagarjuna....

[Dr. Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's clearly written and takes some very complicated ideas and makes them more approachable. It presents one particular way of understanding Nagarjuna but it dies flag that there are alternative ways. It's just not really engaged in showing why this interpretation is superior to the others but rather it focuses on showing the merit of this particular interpretation.

[Paul Kerschen]

Clear and fair, as you want your philosophers to be.

[Sreena · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book that delves into the historical context of Nagarjuna's life, his contributions to Buddhist thought, and the significance of his magnum opus, the Mulamadhyamakakarika (Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way).

This book explores key concepts such as emptiness (shunyata), dependent origination (pratityasamutpada), and the two truths (conventional and ultimate). Through lucid explanations and thought-provoking analysis, the book elucidates the philosophical foundations of Nagarjuna's thought and its implications for understanding the nature of reality, perception, and consciousness.

Serves as an excellent resource for both students and scholars of Buddhist philosophy, as well as anyone interested in exploring the profound insights offered by Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka.

Other books on similar topics (If you like this, and want to explore more):

1. "The Sun of Wisdom: Teachings on the Noble Nagarjuna's Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way" by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche - This book offers a more traditional commentary on Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika from a Tibetan Buddhist perspective. It explores the text's verses in depth, providing detailed explanations and insights.

2. "Nagarjuna: A Translation of His Mulamadhyamakakarika with an Introductory Essay" by David J. Kalupahana - This book provides a translation of Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika along with an introductory essay that offers an overview of Nagarjuna's philosophy and its historical context.

[Hussam Nabil · Rating 5 out of 5]

يان فيسترهوف أستاذ الفلسفة البوذية في أكسفورد بيقدم في الكتاب دا مقدمة فلسفية عظيمة لكتاب "حكمة الطريق الوسطى" للفيلسوف البوذي آريا ناجارچونا
ناجارچونا بيعتبر أهم فيلسوف بوذي لا يعلو عليه غير البوذا نفسه.
مقدمة يان فيسترهوف عظيمة لأنها بتزيل كثير من الالتباس وسوء الفهم اللي تعرضله الكتاب في الأوساط المثقفة الغربية
لأن كتاب ناجارچونا هو كتاب في الأساس بيناقش مفهوم الخواء او Shuntaya وهي باختصار واختزال شديد ان مفيش أي شيء يمتلك جوهر, ان مفيش أي صفة هتفضل ثابتة بعد تفكيك أي موجود او مفهوم ومفيش شيء هيفضل ثابت لو غيرنا الظروف والسياقات.
في بداية احتكاك الأكاديمية الغربية فهمو فكرة الخواء والوهم باعتبارهم جانب من ثنائية وكان فهمهم للكتاب انه بيتكلم عن فكرة شبيهة بالنومينا والفينومينا عند المثاليين الألمان.
الحقيقة ناجارچونا بيقول ان العالم دا وهم ولكن لا يوجد ما وراء هذا الوهم.
ناجارچونا بيستعمل في الكتاب لإثبات طرحه أداة من المنطق الهندي القديم بيسميها المحدثين الTetralemma وهي أداة للإثبات غير المباشر ممكن نعتبرها بشكل ما نوع من أنواع الReductio Ad Absurdum أو الرد إلى المحال.
يمتاز يان فيسترهوف بكونه ملم بالمدارس المنطقية الهندية القديمة جدا وبكونه دارس بعمق المدارس الابستيمولوجية البوذية في العصر الذهبي للبوذية الهندية لأن اهتمامه الأساسي كان الميتافيزيقا والمنطق وفلسفة اللغة وبعدها اتجه لدراسة الفلسفة البوذية وهو في رأيي أحسن حد يتكلم عن الابستيمولوجيين والمناطقة البوذيين.

[Calvin Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book very helpful to read as an academic philosopher working on Buddhism. I think it would be a difficult read for someone who has not studied both analytic metaphysics and Buddhism at at least the undergraduate level. I would have preferred a concise presentation of the Madhyamaka view alongside an assessment of its plausibility in the context of contemporary analytic philosophy, as opposed to the details the book offers on textual exegesis and the historical Madhyamaka-Nyaya dialectic; but this simply reflects my own interest in contemporary philosophy over history of philosophy.

[Akanay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book on Nagarjuna's works. It's written in a Western philosophical framework. Buddhism explained that this kind of structure isn't specifically very easy to read. But one can work through slowly, I think most things are expressed very clearly but in a complicated way.

[Nima Tserung · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

[Roy Kenagy]

RK BABEL

[Taylor Swift Scholar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nagarjuna's philosophy builds on earlier Buddhist thinkers. Everything is empty and nothing has an inherent nature. Westerhoff explores the implications that this has for different aspects of living including most interestingly knowledge and the self.

I thought this book would include more of Nagarjuna's writings with commentary, but it was mostly Jan Westerhoff's attempt to systematize Nagarjuna's thought and explain it to a Western reader. As a non-expert, I can't really comment about whether she was successful, but it was super informative. In fact, I would argue it was too informative for this lay person who was looking for an introduction. I, personally, would have preferred a more concise, less technical introduction. I suspect I might give a subset of this book four stars.

[Dharmakirti · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful account of the philosophy of Nagarjuna, who is one of Buddhism's more important philosophers. This book is not a translation of Nagarjuna's work, but is an analytical account of Nagarjuna's philosophy.

[Ellison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth the read but Westerhoff's style is very academic and too full of effort. When trying to nail a concept down he often seemed to be beating it to death. The beginning and the ends of chapters were always the best.

[Kalsang]

I want to read