Mulamadhyamakakarika: Verses from the Centre

Nagarjuna

Mulamadhyamakakarika: Verses from the Centre

by Nagarjuna

Translation by Stephen Batchelor

Sanskrit: Mula madhyamaka karika.

Tibetan: ༺དབུ་མ་རྩ་བའི་ཚིག་ལེའུ་བྱས་པ་ཤེས་རབ་ཆེས་བྱ་བ།༻ - (dbu ma rtsa ba'i tshig le'u byas pa shes rab ches bya ba)

Contents & Translation of "Mulamadhyamakakarika: Verses from the Centre"

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Preface

This document contains the romanized Tibetan text of Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika together with a literal English translation. Two Tibetan texts were consulted: the versions found in (1) The Asian Classics Input Project (ACIP), Woodblock to Laser Source CD, Release A; Produced under the direction of Khen Rinpoche Geshe Lobsang Tharchin, Washington DC, 1993 and; (2) "Dbuma Rigs Tshogs Drug: The Six Yukt Shastra of Madhyamika" (pp. 1-37) -(see dbu ma'i bstan bcos rigs pa'i tshogs drug [RY])-, edited by Prof. L.P. Lhalungpa. Delhi: 1970. The version here relies on both sources as well as the text embedded in the prose of Tsongkhapa's "An Ocean of Reason: A Great Exposition of the Root Text Verses from the Center" (rtsa she thig chen rigs pa'i rgya mtsho). Varanasi: mtho slob dge ldan spyi las khang, 1973.

Each Tibetan verse is followed by a literal English translation. This translation served as the first draft for the free poetic version published in Stephen Batchelor's "Verses from the Center: A Buddhist Vision of the Sublime". New York: Riverhead Books, 2000.

In making the English translation, the primary authority was Tsongkhapa’s fourteenth century commentary: "An Ocean of Reason: A Great Exposition of the Root Text Verses from the Center".

The following translations from Sanskrit were also consulted:

Inada, Kenneth K. - "Nagarjuna: A Translation of his Mulamadhyamakakarika with an Introductory Essay"; Tokyo: Hokuseido Press, 1970.

Kalupahana, David J. - "Nagarjuna: The Philosophy of the Middle Way". Albany: SUNY, 1986.

Streng, Frederick. - "Emptiness -- A Study in Religious Meaning". Nashville, New York: Abingdon, 1967.

As was the following translation from the Tibetan:

Garfield, Jay L. - "The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way: Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika". New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.

Any mistakes are my own.

Stephen Batchelor

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Abbreviations:

In the comments that follow some of the verses, the abbreviations refer to the works below. The number after the abbreviation refers to the page number of the editions cited.

Lha. - "Dbuma Rigs Tshogs Drug: The Six Yukt Shastra of Madhyamika" (pp. 1-37), edited by Prof. L.P. Lhalungpa. Delhi: 1970.

Ts. - Tsongkhapa. - "An Ocean of Reason: A Great Exposition of the Root Text Verses from the Center" (rTsa she tik chen rigs pa’i rgya mtsho). Varanasi: mTho slob dge ldan spyi las khang, 1973.

K. - Kalupahana, David J. - Nagarjuna: The Philosophy of the Middle Way. Albany: SUNY, 1986.

The title given in brackets below the title at the head of each chapter is the name of the poem found in Stephen Batchelor's "Verses from the Center: A Buddhist Vision of the Sublime".

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(Translator’s homage):

dbu ma rtsa ba'i tshig le'u byas pa shes rab ches bya ba bzhugs so // //
(rgya gar skad du): pra dzny'a n'a ma m'u la ma dhy'a ma ka k'a ri ka
(bod skad du): 'jam dpal gzhon nur gyur pa la phyag 'tshal lo

("Herein lie the Root Verses of the Center called “Intelligence”. In the language of India: Prajnanamamulamadhyamakakarika. In the language of Tibet: dbu ma rtsa ba'i tshig le'u byas pa shes rab ches bya ba. I prostrate to the youthful Manjushri").

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(Nagarjuna’s homage):

gang gis rten cing 'brel par 'byung//
'gag pa med pa skye med pa//
chad pa med pa rtag med pa//
'ong pa med pa 'gro med pa//
tha dad don min don gcig min//
spros pa nyer zhi zhi bstan pa//
rdzogs pa'i sangs rgyas smra rnams kyi//
dam pa de la phyag 'tshal lo/

("I bow down to the most sublime of speakers, the completely awakened one who taught contingency (no cessation, no birth, no annihilation, no permanence, no coming, no going, no difference, no identity) to ease fixations").

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Contents & Translation of "Mulamadhyamakakarika: Verses from the Centre":

1. Investigation of Conditions (Conditions)

2. Investigation of Coming and Going (Walking)

3. Investigation of the Sense Organs (Seeing)

4. Investigation of the Aggregates (Body)

5. Investigation of the Elements (Space)

6. Investigation of Desire and the Desirous One (Addiction)

7. Investigation of Birth, Abiding and Perishing (Birth)

8. Investigation of Act and Actor (Actors)

9. Investigation of the Presence of Something Prior (Already)

10. Investigation of Fire and Firewood (Fire)

11. Investigation of Extremes of Before and After (Before)

12. Investigation of Anguish (Anguish)

13. Investigation of Samskaras (Change)

14. Investigation of Connections (Connection)

15. Investigation of Essences (Essence)

16. Investigation of Bondage and Freedom (Life)

17. Investigation of Actions and Fruits (Acts)

18. Investigation of Self and Things (Self)

19. Investigation of Time (Time)

20. Investigation of Combination (Combination)

21. Investigation of Rising and Passing (Disappearance)

22. Investigation of the Tathagata (Buddhanature)

23. Investigation of Error (Confusion)

24. Investigation of the Ennobling Truths (Awakening)

25. Investigation of Nirvana (Nirvana)

26. Analysis of the Twelve Links of Becoming (Contingency)

27. Investigation of Views (Opinion)

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[Colophon]

dbu ma rtsa ba'i tshig le'u byas pa shes rab ches bya ba theg pa chen po'i chos mngon pa rnam par gzhag pa /
don dam pa'i de kho na yang dag par ston pa /
shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa'i tshul gsal bar byed pa /
slob dpon bdag nyid chen po 'phags pa klu sgrub mi 'phrogs pa'i mkhyen rab dang thugs rjer ldan pa /
de bzhin gshegs pa'i theg pa bla na med pa'i tshul gsal bar byed pa /
rab tu dga' ba'i sa bsgrubs nas /
bde ba can gyi zhing du gshegs pa /
'jig rten gyi khams dang ba'i 'od ces bya bar /
de bzhin gshegs pa ye shes 'byung gnas 'od ces bya bar 'gyur bas mdzad pa rdzogs so // //

dbang phyug dam pa'i mnga' bdag rgyal po chen po dpal lha btsan po'i bka' lung gis /
rgya gar gyi mkhan po chen po dbu ma pa /
dzny'a na garbha dang /
zhu chen gyi lo tstsha ba dge slong cog ro klu'i rgyal mtshan gyis bsgyur cing zhus te gtan la phab pa /
'di la rab tu byed pa nyi shu rtsa bdun /
shloo ka bzhi brgya bzhi bcu rtsa dgu yod /
bam po ni phyed dang gnyis su byas so /
slad kyis kha che'i grong khyer dpe med kyi dbus /
gtsug lag khang rin chen sbas pa'i dbus su /
kha che'i mkhan po ha su ma ti dang /
bod kyi sgra bsgyur gyi lo tstsha ba pa tshab nyi ma grags kyis mi'i bdag po 'phags pa lha'i sku ring la 'grel pa tshig gsal ba dang bstun nas bcos pa'o // //

slad kyis ra sa 'phrul snang gi gtsug lag khang du /
rgya gar gyi mkhan po ka na ka dang /
lo tstsha ba de nyid kyis zhu chen bgyis pa'o // //

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.O
~^~ RWB

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--Richard 15:36, 8 October 2009 (UTC)