The Founder of Madhyamaka – Nagarjuna
Nagarjuna (Main figure)
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(Top to bottom): Manjushri, Nagarjuna and Dorje Shugden.
The Buddhist master Nagarjuna was born to a Brahmin family in the land of Beda, South India. When he was born, it was prophesied that Nagarjuna would only live for 10 days, however due to the offerings made by his father, it was then prophesied that Nagarjuna would live until the age of seven. When he was seven, his parents sent him away on a pilgrimage because they could not bear to see his corpse when he died. He found his way to the great monastic academy of Nalanda. While at Nalanda Monastery, he was ordained and initiated into the mandala of Amitayus by the master Saraha (Rahulabhadra) and thereby freed himself from an early death. Thereafter, Nagarjuna studied and grew up to become one the greatest philosophers, scholars and masters of ancient India.
As he grew up, Nagarjuna’s comprehension of the subtleties of the Buddha’s teachings became deeper and this is expressed in a number of commentaries on the doctrine of shunyata or emptiness and the great Middle Way. His teachings were especially revered and formed the backbone of what would become known as Mahayana Buddhism and more specifically, the philosophy of the Madhyamaka School.
Nagarjuna spent much of his life teaching and at some point, had many supernatural beings come to his teachings. These included the serpentine Nagas who were said to have disguised themselves as humans and anointed themselves with sandalwood to mask the smell of human beings, as they are adverse to it. The Nagas invited the master into their world and offered him a great treatise containing a rare teaching from Shakyamuni Buddha. Today, we know this teaching as the One Hundred Thousand Verse Prajnaparamita Sutra which until that time had never been revealed in the human world before.
Aside from teaching and composing great treatises, Nagarjuna was a great patron of many Buddhist temples, monasteries and stupas. He was also a fierce debater and defeated countless non-Buddhists in great debates. In the Indian dialectical tradition, losing a religious debate would require one to convert to the faith of the victor. It is said that Nagarjuna’s spent the remainder of his life in meditation at Shri Parvata. It is also said that his death was due to a stalk of Kusha grass, which was used to decapitate him. This causes for this was the negative karma Nagarjuna had created decapitating an insect. Nagarjuna’s heart disciple, Aryadeva became his successor in continuing the legacy of his teachings and philosophy.
Dorje Shugden is said to wear the round yellow hat to denote that his main activity is to protect Lama Tsongkhapa’s special lineage of Nagarjuna’s view of emptiness. Blessed by Manjushri, Lama Tsongkhapa was able to distil the essence of Nagarjuna’s philosophy and thereby impart a special lineage following which many have gained special insight rapidly. Hence, Dorje Shugden is a very special protector to safeguard this lineage.
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Thank you for this sharing its truly a beautiful art paintings of Nagarjuna , Manjushri and Dorje Shugden. Nagarjuna is one of the most famous Buddhist philosophers and was even considered as the greatest Buddhist philosopher.