Madhyamakahṛdayakārikā
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Description
Bhāviveka’s "Verses on the Heart of the Middle Way" (Madhyamakahṛdayakārikā) with their commentary, known as "The Flame of Reason" (Tarkajvālā), give a unique and authoritative account of the intellectual differences that stirred the Buddhist community in this creative period.
Bhāviveka and His Buddhist Opponents gives a clear and accessible translation of Chapters 4 and 5 of this text: the chapters on the Śrāvakas, or eighteen schools, and the Yogācāra, Bhāviveka’s most important Mahayana opponents. The translation is introduced by an essay that situates Bhāviveka in the intellectual context of sixth-century India, and it is accompanied by copious notes, commenting on Bhāviveka’s sources and explaining his controversial method. The book also contains a critical edition of the Sanskrit text of Bhāviveka’s verses and the Tibetan translation of the verses and commentary. (Source: Harvard University Press)
The text functions as a comprehensive commentary (vṛtti) that utilizes logic and debate (tarka) to explain and defend Bhāvaviveka's understanding of Madhyamaka, often known as Svātantrika.
It provides an in-depth analysis of various Buddhist and non-Buddhist philosophical systems. Notably, it refutes the Yogācāra school's view on reality and the path to Buddhahood.The text addresses important philosophical topics, including:
- The Buddha's Omniscience: Chapter 10 defends the omniscience of the Buddha against critics, using examples from the Buddha's life.
- "Non-production from Others": It refutes the Sautrāntika, Vaibhāṣika, and Vaiśeṣika schools regarding the nature of causality and existence.
- Distinction between Conventional and Ultimate Reality: Bhāviveka argues that the "imagined nature" exists conventionally, but ultimately, things are empty.
Bhāviveka’s "Verses on the Heart of the Middle Way" (Madhyamakahṛdayakārikā) with their commentary, known as "The Flame of Reason" (Tarkajvālā), give a unique and authoritative account of the intellectual differences that stirred the Buddhist community in this creative period.
Bhāviveka and His Buddhist Opponents gives a clear and accessible translation of Chapters 4 and 5 of this text: the chapters on the Śrāvakas, or eighteen schools, and the Yogācāra, Bhāviveka’s most important Mahayana opponents. The translation is introduced by an essay that situates Bhāviveka in the intellectual context of sixth-century India, and it is accompanied by copious notes, commenting on Bhāviveka’s sources and explaining his controversial method. The book also contains a critical edition of the Sanskrit text of Bhāviveka’s verses and the Tibetan translation of the verses and commentary. (Source: Harvard University Press)Bhāviveka’s "Verses on the Heart of the Middle Way" (Madhyamakahṛdayakārikā) with their commentary, known as "The Flame of Reason" (Tarkajvālā), give a unique and authoritative account of the intellectual differences that stirred the Buddhist community in this creative period.
Bhāviveka and His Buddhist Opponents gives a clear and accessible translation of Chapters 4 and 5 of this text: the chapters on the Śrāvakas, or eighteen schools, and the Yogācāra, Bhāviveka’s most important Mahayana opponents. The translation is introduced by an essay that situates Bhāviveka in the intellectual context of sixth-century India, and it is accompanied by copious notes, commenting on Bhāviveka’s sources and explaining his controversial method. The book also contains a critical edition of the Sanskrit text of Bhāviveka’s verses and the Tibetan translation of the verses and commentary. (Source: Harvard University Press)
Nearly all of the Indic materials that record discussions of meat-eating are canonical, that is, believed to have been spoken by the Buddha himself and therefore of a prescriptive nature. The one exception is the anti-vegetarian polemic that consists of seven verses accompanied by auto-commentary in the ninth Mīmāṃsā chapter of the Madhyamakahṛdayakārikā composed by the sixth-century Madhyamaka scholar, Bhāviveka (500-570 CE). This text is noteworthy because it documents an active defense of a Buddhist meat diet against others' censure. However, while he refutes his non-Buddhist opponent's claims, Bhāviveka eventually contradicts a pro-vegetarian Mahāyāna sūtra, the Laṅkāvatāra. This paper argues that Bhāviveka's anti-vegetarian discourse cannot avoid being read as a critique, even though he did not intend for it to be so.
