The Positive Influences of Master Nagarjuna’s Treatises on Tibetan Culture

Abstract

The topic for my article is ‘The Positive Influences of Indian Master Nagarjuna’s Treatises on Tibetan Culture’ and I have broadly divided this article into two parts, namely: 1. The Treatises’ Influence on the Lives of Ordinary People, and 2. The Treatises’ Influence on the Lives of Monastic Community. Generally speaking, there are six volumes of Master Nagarjuna’s treatises translated into Tibetan language by Tibetan translators, but I am going to write my article mainly based on treatises like, Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way (Mulamadhyamakakarika), Entry into the Middle Way Principle, A Letter to the Friend, The Four Hundred Verses Treatise, and A Guide to the Boddhisattva’s Way of Life. The purpose of writing this article is not only to share knowledge, but also to express this ancient Indian Buddhist philosopher’s marvellous contributions to the development of Tibetan culture and its effective relevance to the entire humanity even in the 21st century. In addition, the importance of continuous preservation and study on the above-mentioned treatises is also something that seriously needs to be taken care of. The method to be adopted here would be qualitative method as I am going to refer to treatises composed by this great Indian Master and their commentaries written by Tibetan Buddhist scholars like, Gyal Tsob Dharma Rinchen, Ngulchu Thokmey Sangpo, and Je Tsongkhapa, the founder of Gelug tradition. These treatises have been used at different Tibetan Buddhist Learning Centres across the world for hundreds of years and they have tremendously given powerful impacts on the way of leading lives and the manner in which the external phenomenon is perceived. In other words, they have rendered a well-balanced space regarding the relationship between the object to be perceived and the perceiver or the person.