Texts of Nagarjuna in Kumarajiva's biography

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Javierfv1212
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Texts of Nagarjuna in Kumarajiva's biography

Post by Javierfv1212 »

Kumarajiva's bio states:
In order to expound Mahayana teachings in an extensive way, he composed theoretical discourses (upadesa) in a hundred thousand stanzas and wrote the Alamkarabuddhamarga-sastra in five thousand stanzas, the Mahamaitryupaya-shastra in five thousand stanzas, and the Madhyamika-shastra in five hundred stanzas.
Do we know what the Alamkarabuddhamarga-sastra in five thousand stanzas and the the Mahamaitryupaya-shastra in five thousand stanzas refer to and do they survive?
It is quite impossible to find the Buddha anywhere other than in one's own mind.
A person who is ignorant of this may seek externally,
but how is it possible to find oneself through seeking anywhere other than in oneself?
Someone who seeks their own nature externally is like a fool who, giving a performance in the middle of a crowd, forgets who he is and then seeks everywhere else to find himself.
— Padmasambhava

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Aemilius
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Re: Texts of Nagarjuna in Kumarajiva's biography

Post by Aemilius »

Christian Lindtner discusses in his Master of Wisdom: Writings of the Buddhist Master Nagarjuna the question which works that are preserved in the name of Nagarjuna are genuine. In the early edition of that book there was a translation of Akutobhya, which is a commentary to the MulaMadhyamaka Karika (also by Nagarjuna). But at some point the it has been removed from the accepted works of Nagarjuna, although it is a most valuable piece of writing in my opinion. And it is not included in the later editions of book of Chritian Lindtner, which is unfortunate.

In comparison it is said in encyclopedia.com that "Vasubandhu is renowned as the author of one thousand works, five hundred in the Hīnayāna tradition and five hundred Mahāyāna treatises. However, only some forty-seven are extant, nine of which survive in the Sanskrit original, twenty-seven in Chinese translation, and thirty-three in Tibetan translation."
and "After Asaṅga's death, Vasubandhu composed commentaries on various Mahāyāna sūtras, including the Avataṃsaka, Nirvāṇa, Saddharma-puṇḍarīka, Prajñāparamitā, Vimalakīrti, and Śrīmālādevī."
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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