Mādhyamika
Mādhyamika, also known as Madhyamaka, is a significant school of thought within Buddhism that emphasizes a "middle way" approach to understanding existence. Originating from the teachings of the Buddha, who sought enlightenment in the sixth century BCE, Mādhyamika arises as a response to the extremes of annihilationism and eternalism. Central to Mādhyamika philosophy is the concept of *śūnyatā*, or emptiness, which posits that all phenomena are interdependent and lack an inherent, independent existence. Key figures like Nagarjuna, often regarded as the founder of Mādhyamika, articulated these ideas in works such as the *Mūlamadhyamakakārikā*, arguing that true understanding must recognize the limitations of language and the relativity of truths.
Mādhyamika further distinguishes between conventional truth and ultimate truth, suggesting that while we can identify and interact with objects in daily life, these identifications do not reflect ultimate reality, which is devoid of inherent meaning. The lineage of Mādhyamika thought continued to evolve with contributions from later scholars who debated and expanded upon Nagarjuna's teachings. This school has significantly influenced Tibetan Buddhism and has engaged with various philosophical traditions, adapting concepts like dependent origination to explore the nature of reality. Through its explorative and dialogical nature, Mādhyamika remains a critical framework for addressing philosophical questions within and beyond Buddhism.
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Mādhyamika
Madhyamika (or Madhyamaka) is a school of Buddhist thought best understood as a "middle way." Buddhism is a religion founded on the teachings of a figure known as the Buddha. As Buddhism grew, various schools and traditions formed to clarify, counter, or expand upon those early teachings. Madhyamika clarifies Buddhist tradition by establishing a central path between ideological extremes. People who subscribe to this school of thought are called Madhyamikas.
Background
Buddhism as a formal practice began, according to tradition, with a man named Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in India in the sixth century BCE. Gautama was born and raised a member of an upper-class family but rejected his status in favor of seeking improvement through religious understanding. In the Hindu Vedas, which Gautama studied, suffering was considered the greatest issue to overcome because suffering negatively affected reincarnation. Gautama initially attempted to overcome suffering through asceticism, the rejection of earthly pleasures and influences. Gautama eventually rejected full asceticism, instead advocating for enlightenment through understanding of dharma. Dharmas exist in several religions, but for Buddhists, they refer to ideals and concepts that affect people's lives and the world around them. After Gautama achieved enlightenment, he became known as the Buddha, or "Awakened One." Upon his death, the Buddha's followers wrote down and attempted to codify his teachings. This process led to schisms among followers and the formation of separate schools of Buddhist thought.
Mahayana, or "Great Vehicle," is one of two Buddhist movements created from an early schism in Buddhist teachings. Earlier schools, such as Theravada, focused on the Buddha's teachings, which were recorded mostly by people claiming direct connection to him as his early followers. Mahayana instead formed around a growing and changing body of literature that commented upon earlier works. Mahayana, it is argued, was not a particular sect or group but rather a collection of writers and their works trying to resolve issues through commentaries and dialogues. The emphasis on attaining enlightenment through dialogue led to a focus on becoming a bodhisattva, or a person who helps others along the path toward understanding. While several early writers existed within the Mahayana movement, much emphasis has been placed on Nagarjuna, the founder of the Madhyamika subset of Mahayana.
Nagarjuna was born in India sometime around 150 CE. Little is known about him, but according to tradition, he, like the Buddha, was raised by and lived among nobility and possibly served as an advisor to a king. Nagarjuna is said to have received wisdom and guidance from Nagas, water spirits that appear as a combination of serpents and humans. Not all texts attributed to Nagarjuna can be confirmed as authentic works. Most critics agree that he wrote Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Fundamental Verses of the Middle Way), which forms the basis of Madhyamika thought and the theory of sunyata, or emptiness.
Overview
Madhyamika as a system of thought is best understood as a middle way in Buddhist teachings. In Sanskrit, Madhyamika means "middle" or "intermediate." It refers to the Buddhist tradition of advocating for finding and following a middle way in life. Madhyamika attempts to find balance between two extremes found in Vedic and other non-Buddhist traditions: uccedavada, or annihilation, and sassatavada, or eternalism. In the uccedavada understanding, existence is based on the perception of material existence and ends after a person dies. Sassatavada speaks to an eternal existence of a thing, wherein an object or a person maintains its identity permanently. Madhyamika also works as a refutation of Sarvastivada, a Buddhist belief that dharmas have particular and unique identities. Nagarjuna and other Madhyamikas assert that objects and dharmas exist, but this existence pertains only to sunyata, or emptiness.
Nagarjuna explains in the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā that nothing exists independently without being affected by or composed of several factors or dharmas. All objects can be broken down into their constituent parts; those parts can be broken down even further; and the parts themselves can be broken down into the physical and non-physical influences exerted upon them. Pratītyasamutpāda, or dependent origination/dependent arising, describes this interconnectedness. Since nothing exists on its own, all things depend on external factors for their existence, so reality itself has no independent identity. An ideal chair or table cannot exist because each chair and each table is the product of innumerable actions and materials. Nothing can contain a unique and unchanging meaning and, therefore, cannot follow eternalism. This concept of identifiable existence without inherent meaning leads to the concept of two truths.
Within Buddhism, and more specifically within Madhyamika thought, is the notion of two truths. These truths are saṁvṛiti, or conventional truth, and paramārtha, or ultimate truth. People experience conventional truths when they interact with objects or people existing in the world. A person can identify a chair and understand what another person means when he or she talks about a chair. According to Nagarjuna and other Madhyamikas, however, since nothing has an independent nature and existence, there can be no true meaning of chair since there are no independent truths or ideas that would create a universal meaning. So, Madhyamikas use conventional truths to observe and discuss a tree or a fire but reject any ultimate truth about them because they are made up of innumerable factors that prevent an ultimate classification. Madhyamikas point out that language is limited in a similar way and restricts the ways people can talk about such truths. These limitations lead to the argument that emptiness itself is a constant and unchanging truth, but Nagarjuna challenges this with the idea of "the emptiness of emptiness."
The concept of the emptiness of emptiness follows directly from the two truths. If objects and ideas arise from external influences and factors, then they have no inherent identity. Without an inherent identity, then they are empty. But this emptiness—this lack of ultimate identity—depends upon external influences and factors. Emptiness itself can be understood only as a conventional truth that relies on external forces and meanings to have existence. If emptiness itself is without meaning, then the emptiness found in uccedavada is limited as only a conventional truth without any deeper meaning. This understanding of emptiness has several possible analyses; as a metaphysical analysis, as a commentary and guide on Buddhist practices, or as a statement whose point is undercut by its own assumed emptiness.
Other Madhyamika writers have discussed and debated Nagarjuna's ideas and have produced texts that built upon or commented on his work. Some, such as Buddhapālita, attempted to defend and expand upon Mūlamadhyamakakārikā through their own commentaries. Buddhapālita, in Buddhapalitavrtti, defended the earlier work by taking issues opposing philosophers submitted and developing logical consequences that worked within the previously set boundaries of Pratītyasamutpāda. This style of support for Madhyamika led to the creation of the Prāsaṅgika school of thought. Writers such as Bhāviveka found the use of this consequence-based logic insufficient. Bhāviveka, in his work Jñāndīpa (Wisdom Lamp), argued that a more formal, language-based method was needed to properly defend Madhyamika ideas. The push for the adoption of formal syllogisms to defend Madhyamika rather than simply using consequential reasoning led to the school known as Svātantrika. Bhāviveka was criticized by a later writer, Candrakīrti.
Candrakīrti was an Indian writer who lived during the sixth century CE. His work Madhyamakāvatāra (Introduction to Madhyamaka), argues that the best way to defend Nagarjuna is to use logical consequences to show the absurdity of opposing claims. The focus on pointing out absurdity rather than relying on language and logical progression was also used to argue against other schools of thought such as Yogachara. Yogachara, like the annihilationism that Nagarjuna argued against, was formed from the idea that things existed only in the context of a person's perspective. Candrakīrti argued against perspective, pointing out, as Nagarjuna would have, that even perspective itself is lacking in ultimate truth. Writers such as Śāntideva, Jñānagarbha, and Śāntarakṣita continued the tradition of dialogue within Madhyamika, creating a body of work that serves as a continuous dialogue with earlier texts.
Candrakīrti and Madhyamika formed the foundation of Tibetan Buddhism as it exists today. Other schools of thought in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Zen adopted and adapted dependent origination and the two truths doctrine to discuss reality and being. Critics of the school point to issues with language and the non-specific meanings of words that Madhyamikas use as concrete facts in their syllogisms. Nagarjuna and other Madhyamikas questioned the usefulness of language in their own arguments, which has allowed Madhyamika to exist in a continuous dialogue with other ideas, even into the present.
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