Editing or creating: An inquiry into the source of verses in the eighteenth chapter of the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā

Lecture by Saerji

Topic

The main theme of the eighteenth chapter of the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā is the interpretation of ultimate reality (tattva) and how to realize it. With the help of Bhāviveka’s Prajñāpradīpamūlamadhyamakavṛtti and other materials, we can discover that in this chapter, Nāgārjuna mainly cites Āgama and Mahāyāna scriptures to explain ultimate reality. Clarifying this point not only helps us better understand the context of this chapter in the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā but also helps us understand the inheritance and development of Mahāyāna thought in the context of so-called “mainstream” Buddhism. 

Speaker

Saerji is a Full Professor at the Department of South Asian Studies at Peking University, School of Foreign Languages, and a Doctoral Supervisor at Tibet University (part-time). He currently serves as the Director of the Center for South Asian Studies at Peking University and the dean of the Department of South Asian Studies at Peking University, School of Foreign Languages. His main research areas include Buddhist philology, Buddhist philosophy, and Indo-Tibetan cultural exchanges. He has published a monograph titled “A Study on the Mahāvaipulya-mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra,” edited “Sanskrit Manuscripts Preserved in the Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Art and Archaeology at Peking University,” and co-authored “Xinjiang Manuscripts Preserved in the National Library of China: Tibetan Fragments.” He has collaborated in translating the seven-volume Indo-Tibetica by Giuseppe Tucci into Chinese, and has published over 60 articles.

Registration

Please register by September 30, 2024 at office.ikga(at)oeaw.ac.at if you wish to attend the lecture.

To participate online, please register here:
https://oeaw-ac-at.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5Ikc-msqDkuGNQEk_C6HUYM98ywwproMW_l

The lecture is funded by FWF project Esp. 125.