Guest guest Posted August 23, 2002 Report Share Posted August 23, 2002 Dear List: I forwarded 'Vpcnk''s question to a colleague of mine at the University of Toronto, Eisel Mazard, a buddhology student. This is his reply, just received. Phillip Ernest ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Fri, 23 Aug 2002 09:22:57 -0700 mazard phillip_ernest <phillip.ernest Chatter, pt. II: contradictions in silence. In response to "Vpcnk" on the Indology list-serv, The question of "action" entertained in the 17th chapter of Nagarjuna's Madhyamakakarika is not the question of "passivism" versus "activism", but that of the existence of Karma (in various modes). The critique of action (i.e., karma) established in this chapter establishes the sense of Nagarjuna's usage of the word throughout the 'Karika. This is made clear in enough in Bocking's translation of the 17th chapter of the Chung-Lun (i.e., the Madhyamakakarika + the commentary of Ching-Mu; published title _Nagarjuna in China: a translation of the middle treatise_). The chapter opens with the interlocutor's posit that (in Lopez's translation): "Self restraint and benefiting others With a compassionate mind is the Dharma. This is the seed for Fruits in this and future lives." This is a model of the ethical life conceived of in terms of the hetu-phala of karman; as the interlocutor continues in the following verses, "action" takes on all the mechanistic aspects of Abhidharma psychology and cosmology. All of this, of course, is untenable in Nagarjuna's eyes. He will not allow of karma as an entity, nor as a super-entity, nor as a substratum to entities, etc.; ultimately, he will not even admit of a reifying dichotomy of the act and the agent: "...the experiencer Is neither different from the agent, Nor identical with it. "Since this action Is not arisen from a condition, Nor arisen causelessly, It follows that there is no agent." "If there is no action and no agent, Where could the fruit of action be? Without a fruit, Where is the experiencer?" (Lopez's translation, again, ch. 17, verses 28-30) The critique of action is not an injunction against it; one does not prohibit what one does not consider to exist. Nor is this an exhortation to passivism in any sense whatever; there is not a single passage of Nagarjuna which would constitute such an exhortation --quite the contrary, he constantly "beats the drum" for the Bodhisattva to give up the pursuit of their own quiescence and take up the work of the Bodhisattva. Eisel Mazard Get your free encrypted email at https://www.hushmail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 26, 2002 Report Share Posted August 26, 2002 >The question of "action" entertained in the 17th chapter of >Nagarjuna's Madhyamakakarika is not the question of "passivism" >versus "activism", but that of the existence of Karma (in various >modes). The actual chapter where the verse I HAD QUOTED occurs, is in chapter 26 of the Mulamaadhyamaka Kaarikaa – the examination of the twelve links (pratithya samutpaada). >The critique of action (i.e., karma) established in this chapter >establishes the sense of Nagarjuna's usage of the word throughout >the 'Karika. >there is not a single passage of Nagarjuna which would constitute >such an exhortation --quite the contrary, I would advise you to read from verse 7 to verse 12 of the chapter I've mentioned above. INDOLOGY, phillip.ernest@u... wrote: > Dear List: > > I forwarded 'Vpcnk''s question to a colleague of mine at the University of > Toronto, Eisel Mazard, a buddhology student. This is his reply, just > received. > > Phillip Ernest > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > Fri, 23 Aug 2002 09:22:57 -0700 > mazard@h... > phillip_ernest <phillip.ernest@u...> > Chatter, pt. II: contradictions in silence. > > > > In response to "Vpcnk" on the Indology list-serv, > > The question of "action" entertained in the 17th chapter of Nagarjuna's > Madhyamakakarika is not the question of "passivism" versus "activism", > but that of the existence of Karma (in various modes). The critique > of action (i.e., karma) established in this chapter establishes the > sense of Nagarjuna's usage of the word throughout the 'Karika. > > This is made clear in enough in Bocking's translation of the 17th > chapter of the Chung-Lun (i.e., the Madhyamakakarika + the commentary of > Ching-Mu; published title _Nagarjuna in China: a translation of the > middle treatise_). > > The chapter opens with the interlocutor's posit that (in Lopez's > translation): > "Self restraint and benefiting others > With a compassionate mind is the Dharma. > This is the seed for > Fruits in this and future lives." > This is a model of the ethical life conceived of in terms of the > hetu-phala of karman; as the interlocutor continues in the following > verses, "action" takes on all the mechanistic aspects of Abhidharma > psychology and cosmology. All of this, of course, is untenable in > Nagarjuna's eyes. He will not allow of karma as an entity, nor as a > super-entity, nor as a substratum to entities, etc.; ultimately, he will > not even admit of a reifying dichotomy of the act and the agent: > "...the experiencer > Is neither different from the agent, > Nor identical with it. > > "Since this action > Is not arisen from a condition, > Nor arisen causelessly, > It follows that there is no agent." > > "If there is no action and no agent, > Where could the fruit of action be? > Without a fruit, > Where is the experiencer?" > (Lopez's translation, again, ch. 17, verses 28-30) > > The critique of action is not an injunction against it; one does not > prohibit what one does not consider to exist. Nor is this an exhortation > to passivism in any sense whatever; there is not a single passage of > Nagarjuna which would constitute such an exhortation --quite the contrary, > he constantly "beats the drum" for the Bodhisattva to give up the > pursuit of their own quiescence and take up the work of the Bodhisattva. > > Eisel Mazard > > > > > > Get your free encrypted email at https://www.hushmail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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