Nagarjuna's Middle Way: The Mulamadhyamakakarika (Classics of Indian Buddhism): The Mulamadhyamakakarikas

“Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyakamakarika has long been one of the most important works in the Asian philosophical traditions, but access to it is difficult for Western philosophers and scholars. Katsura and Siderits’ translation and commentary renders the work accessible in an outstanding fashion. The scholarship is of the very highest quality, the translation is authoritative, and the commentary provides a picture that is vivid and illuminating.” –Graham Priest, author of Logic: A Very Short Introduction

“This is an amazing book. It provides a refined translation of Nagarjuna’s text and creates a lucid synthesis of the traditional commentaries, pointing us on our way, challenging every step and at the same time pushing us to our own intimate insight into the fundamental matter. If a book could ever be a Zen teacher, this comes as close as we’re likely to find. Every Zen student should read it, return to the pillow, then return to the text, again, and again. And again.” –James Ishmael Ford, coauthor of The Book of MU

Professor Shoryu Katsura received his training in Sanskrit and Buddhist Studies at Kyoto University and the University of Toronto. From 1974 to 2004 he taught in the Department of Indian Philosophy at Hiroshima University; from 2004 he was Professor of Buddhist Philosophy at Ryukoku University, Kyoto, until his retirement in 2012. He remains active at Ryukoku University, where he is Director of their Research Center for Buddhist Cultures in Asia. He is the author or editor of seven books, and has published over sixty articles on various facets of classical Indian Buddhist thought. He is perhaps best known for his work on Buddhist epistemology-the thought of Dignaga, Dharmakirti, and their commentators-but has also made important contributions to the study of Madhyamaka, Abhidharma, and later Mahayana thought. In addition he serves as chief priest of Kodaiji, a small Jodo-shinshu temple in Shiga Prefecture.