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Alessandro Socio Migliori

What is a good commentary of mmk?

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André A. Pais

I like Garfield's.

 

3

Stian Gudmundsen Høiland

I’ve read almost all of them, and the one by Mark Siderits & Shoryu Katsura is the most balanced and unbiased by far: https://www.amazon.com/Nagarjunas-Middle.../dp/1614290504

That isn’t always what you want though. Sometimes you want the author to weight in more heavily, and for that nothing beats Mervyn Sprung’s Lucid Exposition of the Middle Way.

 

AMAZON.COM

Nagarjuna's Middle Way: Mulamadhyamakakarika (Classics of Indian Buddhism)

Nagarjuna's Middle Way: Mulamadhyamakakarika (Classics of Indian Buddhism)

 

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Alessandro Socio Migliori

Thanks

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André A. Pais

I've actually just started rereading the MMK with Garfield's commentary along with Siderits/Katsura. I find the latter very "lofty", going into little detail, although helpful at times. I'm only 2 chapters in though.

 

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Tyler Jones

André, I would distinguish between a commentary and an explanation. A commentary need only clarify what the root text is actually saying, because it was often cryptic to save words and fit the meter. For instance Candrakirti wrote a commentary on MMK, and also his own text explaining Madhyamaka. I think Siderits is an exemplary commentary, and for an explanation I go to Westerhoff.

 

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Soh Wei Yu

Author

John tan said "In terms of ranking, I prefer Jan Westerhoff, Garfield then Siderits. Like what Tyler said Siderits is more of clarifying what the root text is saying, his presentation is quite structured in point forms and the settings behind the text and opponent views help readers understand the root text better. Westerhoff went far beyond and many points are related to anatta insight but more from the philosophical angle. But what all these books lack is how it can help one breakthrough conceptualities, what exactly is mmk trying to arrive at. After studying mmk, how does it help in freeing our mind?”

 

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Tyler Jones

There are a couple of things I really like about Westerhoff. The first is that his "Western philosophy" style exposition makes it easier for me to grasp the subtle points than the explanations by shedra trained khenpos/geshes that I have seen. I have the same praise for Garfield. The second is that he incorporates Tsongkhapa's illuminating philosophical insights on various points without being a fully Gelug presentation, which is what Garfield gives. 

 

 

  • Soh
    , loved the quote by Tsong-Kha-Pa! By the way just to let you know I have started my study of Nagarjuna. Using the book by Mark Siderits. Have you got any other suggestion?
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    • Reply
    • 53m

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    And for a basic introductory book on emptiness, can also check out “how to see yourself as you really are” by dalai lama, which greg goode has also written a commentary (findable on his website) based on that text

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    [11:32 PM, 8/20/2018] Soh Wei Yu: Ok
    [11:34 PM, 8/20/2018] John Tan: How u see yourself as u really r is a good read too
    [11:34 PM, 8/20/2018] Soh Wei Yu: Dalai Lama?
    [11:34 PM, 8/20/2018] Soh Wei Yu: Ya I read before. It’s good
    [11:34 PM, 8/20/2018] John Tan: Yes
    [11:35 PM, 8/20/2018] Soh Wei Yu: TOP recommendation by Greg lol
    [11:35 PM, 8/20/2018] Soh Wei Yu: He also made a commentary on that text
    [11:35 PM, 8/20/2018] John Tan: Is it?
    [11:35 PM, 8/20/2018] John Tan: Lol
    [10:25 AM, 8/22/2018] John Tan: After mmk, I realized it is all just anatta...lol although going in-depth on mmk helps to provide deeper understanding.
    [10:25 AM, 8/22/2018] John Tan: 🤣
    [11:36 AM, 8/22/2018] Soh Wei Yu: What do u mean
    [11:37 AM, 8/22/2018] Soh Wei Yu: The way Hong wen Liang explain mmk also like Anaya
    [11:37 AM, 8/22/2018] Soh Wei Yu: Anatta
    [11:38 AM, 8/22/2018] John Tan: It is anatta but don't want to say to much lah
    [11:38 AM, 8/22/2018] John Tan: Lol
    [11:41 AM, 8/22/2018] John Tan: It however provides us deeper insights and can clear those tendencies that relates to mind obscuration to a great extend especially on the issue of production and existence.
    [11:45 AM, 8/22/2018] Soh Wei Yu: Oic..
    [11:47 AM, 8/22/2018] John Tan: Anatta is experiential insight but certain mind obscurstion tendencies are difficult to see and r brought to light through ultimate analysis. This helps a lot.
    [11:48 AM, 8/22/2018] Soh Wei Yu: Ic..
    [6:28 PM, 8/22/2018] Soh Wei Yu: Btw
    [6:28 PM, 8/22/2018] Soh Wei Yu: U remember what Greg Goode wrote about his experience with madhyamika
    [6:29 PM, 8/22/2018] John Tan: No
    [6:29 PM, 8/22/2018] Soh Wei Yu: It led to anatta sort of insight and experience
    [6:29 PM, 8/22/2018] Soh Wei Yu: His contemplation on prior entity
    [6:29 PM, 8/22/2018] John Tan: Can't remember
    [6:30 PM, 8/22/2018] Soh Wei Yu: "It
    looks your Bahiya Sutta experience helped you see awareness in a
    different way, more .... empty. You had a background in a view that saw
    awareness as more inherent or essential or substantive?
    I
    had an experience like this too. I was reading a sloka in Nagarjuna's
    treatise about the "prior entity," and I had been meditating on
    "emptiness is form" intensely for a year. These two threads came
    together in a big flash. In a flash, I grokked the emptiness of
    awareness as per Madhyamika. This realization is quite different from
    the Advaitic oneness-style realization. It carries one out to the
    "ten-thousand things" in a wonderful, light and free and kaleidoscopic,
    playful insubstantial clarity and immediacy. No veils, no holding back.
    No substance or essence anywhere, but love and directness and intimacy " - http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com.au/.../greg-goode...
    [6:31 PM, 8/22/2018] John Tan: Ic
    [6:33 PM, 8/22/2018] John Tan: Mmk helps me a lot on clear the obscuration on existence and production. Not so much in experiential experience. Experience remains the same, more on karmic obscuration that blinds me on these aspects.
    [6:34 PM, 8/22/2018] John Tan: But there e lots of confusions due to the usages of certain terms across the different schools. Need quite some time to clarify all these terms.
    [6:36 PM, 8/22/2018] Soh Wei Yu: Oic..
    [6:36 PM, 8/22/2018] Soh Wei Yu: Maybe because u already realise anatta. When Greg read madhyamika he was still stuck with one mind subsuming
    [6:37 PM, 8/22/2018] John Tan: Possibly

 

1 Response
  1. >But there e lots of confusions due to the usages of certain terms across the different schools. Need quite some time to clarify all these terms.

    That's very important, it takes a lot of time just seen clear what some crucial words mean in different schools, not easy. And even worse, it doesnt seem so, you may think they mean the same everywhere so you look for THE meaning... but no. That's an error, there's no such thing as THE meaning, it varies...

    With time I found that what the main point for understanding, for example, Dakpo Tashi Mahamudra, was understanding properly what is meant for some terms. Even Emptiness!