PHIL 2010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Middle Way, Mahayana
2 Jan 2016
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1st century philosopher (500 years after buddha) Concerned with attaining individual enlightenment and becoming arhato. Opponent: if we are being deceived then there must be things doing the deceiving. All things lack entity hood since change is perceived. If things have essences, then change is not possible. 1: things do change; change is possible. 3. therefore, things cannot have essences ; all things are empty. By saying all things are empty, nagarjuna posits emptiness as essence. Change required subject, a subject of that change. Change = retaining identity but changing properties. Milk = persisting subject + cords = persisting subject. Matter to maintain identity from time1 to time2; it cannot lose or gain even one atoms if it does, it is a different mass of matter. No because it is not the same parts. Yes because it is the same form. If suffering wasn"t empty, it could not change, if it could not change, it could not cease.
