Emptiness, negation, and skepticism in Nāgārjuna and Sengzhao

This paper excavates the practice-oriented background and therapeutic significance of emptiness in the Madhyamaka philosophy attributed to Nāgārjuna and Sengzhao. Buddhist emptiness unravels experiential and linguistic reification through meditation and argumentation. The historical contexts and use...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Asian philosophy 2023-04, Vol.33 (2), p.125-144
Main Author: Nelson, Eric S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Argumentation
Buddhism
Chinese languages
emptiness
Intercultural communication
Meditation
Negation
Nāgārjuna
Philosophy
Sengzhao
Skepticism
Therapy
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Summary:This paper excavates the practice-oriented background and therapeutic significance of emptiness in the Madhyamaka philosophy attributed to Nāgārjuna and Sengzhao. Buddhist emptiness unravels experiential and linguistic reification through meditation and argumentation. The historical contexts and uses of the word indicate that it is primarily a practical diagnostic and therapeutic concept. Emptiness does not lead to further views or truths but, akin to yet distinct from Ajñāna and Pyrrhonian skepticism, the suspension of assertion. This sense of emptiness as a practice can be traced in the intercultural transmission of Madhyamaka from Nāgārjuna, its paradigmatic philosopher, to Sengzhao 僧肇, its first pivotal indigenous Chinese representative.
ISSN:0955-2367
1469-2961
DOI:10.1080/09552367.2023.2179966