Dependent Origination and Emptiness in Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (MMK): An Analytical Study
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (MMK), attributed to Nāgārjuna, is a foundational text of Madhyamaka philosophy and one of the most influential works of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Through its analysis of dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda), emptiness (śūnyatā), causal conditions (pratyaya), and the Eight Negations, the MMK articulates a distinctive account of the Middle Way that profoundly shaped later Buddhist thought.
This qualitative study employs historical, textual, and comparative analysis to examine dependent origination in the MMK and its relationship with emptiness and non-arising (anutpāda). It aims to clarify Nāgārjuna’s understanding of dependent origination, analyze its relationship with causal conditions and emptiness, and examine the significance of non-arising for Madhyamaka practice and liberation.
The findings reveal three major points. First, Nāgārjuna does not treat dependent origination merely as a theory of causal production; rather, it functions as a philosophical method for revealing the absence of inherent existence (niḥsvabhāva) in all phenomena. Comparative analysis of early Buddhist, Mahāyāna, and Tibetan Madhyamaka interpretations further highlights the distinctive Madhyamaka use of dependent origination.
Second, the relationship among dependent origination, causal conditions, and emptiness shows that emptiness is not the negation of phenomena but the recognition that phenomena arise only in dependence on conditions. Dependent origination and emptiness therefore express the Middle Way beyond the extremes of inherent existence and nihilistic nonexistence.
Third, the analysis indicates that non-arising (anutpāda) and non-ceasing (anirodha) do not deny conventional appearance; rather, they deny arising and ceasing through an independent essence. This insight provides a philosophical basis for overcoming reified views and cultivating liberative wisdom in Madhyamaka.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The Journal of TCI is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence unless otherwise stated. Please read our Policies page for more information on Open Access, copyright and permissions.
References
Ames, W. L. (1994). Bhāvaviveka’s Prajñāpradīpa: A translation of chapter one: “Examination of causal conditions” (Pratyaya), part two. Journal of Indian Philosophy, 22(2), 149–186. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01349401
Anālayo, B. (2021). Dependent arising and interdependence. Mindfulness, 12(5), 1094–1102. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01544-x
Eckel, M. D. (1987). Bhāvaviveka’s vision of reality: Structure and metaphor in a Buddhist philosophical system. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 55(1), 39–54. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1464335
Ellis, G. (2021). Dependent origination as emergence of the subject: A cognitive-psychological approach. Contemporary Buddhism, 21(1–2), 263–283. https://doi.org/10.1080/14639947.2021.1988214
Garfield, J. L. (1995). The fundamental wisdom of the Middle Way: Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/ 10.1093/oso/9780195103175.001.0001
Shulman, E. (2008). Early meanings of dependent-origination. Journal of Indian Philosophy, 36(2), 297–317. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-007-9030-8
Westerhoff, J. (2009). Nāgārjuna’s Madhyamaka: A philosophical introduction. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/97801953 75213.001.0001
