Buddhism Between Religion and Philosophy

Buddhism Between Religion and Philosophy Nagarjuna and the Ethics of Emptiness

Hardback (07 May 2024)

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Publisher's Synopsis

Nagarjuna (c. 150-250), founder of the Madhyamaka or Middle Way school of Buddhist philosophy and the most influential of all Buddhist thinkers aside from the Buddha himself, concludes his masterpiece, Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way, with these baffling verses: For the abandonment of all views He taught the true teaching By means of compassion I salute him, Gautama But how could anyone possibly abandon all views? In Buddhism between Religion and Philosophy, Rafal K. Stepien shows not only how Nagarjuna's radical teaching of no-view or "abelief" makes sense within his Buddhist philosophy, but also how it stands at the summit of his religious mission to care for all living beings. Rather than treating any one aspect of Nagarjuna's ideas in isolation, here his metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics emerge as a single coherent and convincing philosophical-religious system of thought and practice. Grounded in meticulous study of original texts from classical India and China but innovating on the theories and methods underpinning contemporary scholarship East and West, this study shows how profoundly important voices from the diverse religious and philosophical traditions of the world have until now been diminished, distorted, and silenced. In opening up truly global horizons of existing and co-existing in the world, this work challenges the very ways in which we think about religion and philosophy.

Book information

ISBN: 9780197771303
Publisher: OUP USA
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Pub date:
DEWEY: 181.043
DEWEY edition: 23
Language: English
Sales rank: 6512
Number of pages: 408
Weight: 862g
Height: 130mm
Width: 231mm
Spine width: 38mm