RELG 255 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Saguna Brahman, Mahayana, Madhyamaka

• School: McGill University
• Department: Religious Studies
• Course: RELG 255
• Professor: Jim Kanaris

Document Summary

Buddhist schools (take the buddha"s practice and translate it into philosophical discourse). Nagarjuna (c. 150- c. 205 ce), founder of the madhyamaka school of. Mahayana buddhism (the "great vehicle"), one of the three existing branches of buddhism (theravada and hinayana), developed the buddha"s idea of impermanence. Nagarjuna described this in terms of "emptiness" (sunyata), the emptiness of all things; how nothing arises or exists independently (pratutyasamutpada) an dhow everything is conditioned by thought. This is the teaching that the japanese monk kuki (774-834 ce) describes as "esoteric", a secret and profound knowledge that is culturally relative and adapt to the capacity of learners. Hindu schools that move from practice to speculation. Ex: shankara (788-820 ce) of the advaita vendanta school, also expounds an "esoteric" teaching about ultimate truth. Nirguna brahman is ultimate reality itself, beyond description, which is. Nothing can be attributed to or said about this dimension of reality.