The Central Philosophy of Buddhism: A Study of the Madhyamika System

Originally published in 1955. The Madhyamika philosophy is, in the author#xE2;#xAC;"s view, the philosophy which created a revolution in Buddhism and through that in the whole range of Indian philosophy. This volume is a study of the Madhyamika philosophy in all its important aspects and is divided into three parts: Historical: this traces the origin and development of the Madhyamika philosophy. The second part concentrates on a full and critical exposition of the Madhyamika philosophy, the structure of its dialectic, its conception of the Absolute and its ethics and religion. The last part of the book compares the Madhyamika with some of the well-known dialectical systems of the West (Kant, Hegel and Bradley) and undertakes a short study of the different absolutisms (Madhyamika, Vijnanavada and the Vedanta).

The Two Traditions in Indian Philosophy The "Silence" of the Buddha and the Beginnings of the Dialectic Development of the Two Traditions and the Emergence of the Mahyamika System The Influence of the Madhyamika Dialectic The Structure of the Madhyamika Dialectic Some Objections against the Dialectic Considered Application of the Dialectic The Madhyamika Conception of Philosophy as Prajna-Paramita Absolute and Phenomena Dialectic and Freedom Absolute and Tathgata The Madhyamika and Some Western Dialectical Systems The Madhyamika, Vijnanavada and Vedanta