This challenges our usual ways of thinking. Nagarjuna suggests that nothing is absolutely permanent or completely impermanent in a fixed way; both concepts are ultimately dependent and relative.
Quote by Nagarjuna: “Neither permanence nor impermanence exists.”
Neither permanence nor impermanence exists.
Insight
Historical Context
This statement is a direct assault on the extremes of eternalism (permanence) and nihilism (impermanence) prevalent in various Indian philosophical schools. Nagarjuna's Middle Way avoids these two fixed views.
About the Author
Indian Buddhist philosopher of the second century CE whose Mulamadhyamakakarika established the Madhyamaka school of philosophy, one of the most influential strands of Buddhist thought. He developed the concept of sunyata (emptiness) with rigorous logical precision, arguing that all phenomena lack inherent existence. His work shaped Mahayana Buddhism across Asia.
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