Buddhist philosophy

Author: Fang Litian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The philosophical thought of Mahayana Buddhism
Around the 1st century, Mahayana Buddhism emerged in India, leading to a historic split between Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhism. During its development, Mahayana Buddhism further evolved into two major schools: the Madhyamaka school (the School of Emptiness) and the Yogācāra school (the School of Conventional Reality).
The Madhyamaka school advocates observing issues without leaning to either side (such as emptiness and existence, or permanence and impermanence, each being one side), meaning it synthesizes both extremes and aligns with the Middle Way, hence its name. It was founded by Nāgārjuna (approximately 150–250) and his student āryadeva (Deva?īla, approximately 170–270), with the Mahāpraj?āpāramitā Sūtra as its primary scripture. Nāgārjuna's works, such as the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, ?atasāhasrikā Praj?āpāramitā, and ?ūnyatāsāmuccaya, as well as āryadeva's Hundred Arguments, form the foundational texts of this school. āryadeva's successor was Rāvapa??ita, whose lineage passed to ?āntideva and Buddhapāla, subsequently splitting into different sub-schools.
Around the 4th and 5th centuries, Mahayana Buddhism gave rise to the Yogācāra school, which became the mainstream of Buddhism. "Yoga" means correspondence, referring to a meditative practice for realizing Buddhist "truth." This school reveres Maitreya as its founder and uses scriptures such as the Deep ?ūtra and the Abhidharmako?abhā?ya as its primary texts. Its founders were the brothers Asa?ga and Vasubandhu. Asa?ga's ?ūnyatāsāmuccaya and Vasubandhu's Trimsikāvij?aptimātratā and Mahāyānottaratantra?āstra played a significant role in establishing the school.
Following Vasubandhu were two major sub-schools: the Prasangika and the Svātantrika. The Prasangika lineage, which included Dignāga and Dharmakīrti, emphasized epistemology and logical analysis. The Svātantrika lineage, which included Kamala?īla and ?īlabhadra (?āntarak?ita's teacher), focused on the analysis of consciousness.
The Madhyamaka school opposes certain Hinayana views that claim all phenomena have inherent existence. It argues that human suffering arises from a lack of true understanding of the world, leading to futile distinctions and illusions. To overcome suffering, one must realize the "actual" nature of all things—recognizing that they lack inherent existence (?ūnyatā) and are "empty." This is the concept of emptiness.
The Madhyamaka school's argument for emptiness is based on the doctrine of dependent origination. It posits that since all phenomena arise through causes and conditions rather than from their own nature, they are not truly existent. The very fact that things depend on other factors for their existence proves their inherent unreality. Anything that relies on prior conditions cannot claim to possess intrinsic reality. Dependent existence is not true existence.
The original Buddhist doctrine of dependent origination states that anything lacking a cause is not a real phenomenon. Therefore, since all things have causes, they are real. However, the Madhyamaka school argues that all things arising from causes are unreal—precisely because they are caused, they are unreal. This represents an advancement from the original doctrine to the cosmology of "dependent origination and emptiness" (pratītyasamutpāda and ?ūnyatā), or "all is empty." Thus, the Madhyamaka school is also known as the "Greater Vehicle School of Emptiness."
The Yogācāra school inherited the Madhyamaka concept of emptiness but argued that the claim of "all is empty" could lead to a theoretical crisis by denying the existence of the subject and object of enlightenment, thereby threatening the very foundation of Buddhism.