Nagarjuna was born in 150 CE in South India. An Indian Buddhist philosopher, Nagarjuna is regarded as the founder of the Madhyamaka, or Middle Way, school of Mahayana Buddhism. His principal work, the Mulamadhyamakakarika, argues that all phenomena lack inherent existence and arise in dependence on other things, an idea expressed through the concept of emptiness. This view aimed to avoid the extremes of eternalism and nihilism. His thought deeply influenced Buddhist traditions in Tibet, China and Japan. Little is reliably known about his life, and many later legends surround him, including a story that he recovered sacred texts from the realm of the nagas. The dates given are traditional approximations.
Before and after
- 135 CEOrigins of Temple of Venus and Roma
- c. 135 CEConstruction of Castel Sant'Angelo
- 142 CEConstruction of Antonine Wall
- 142 CEOrigins of Temple of Antoninus and Faustina
- 150 CEBirth of Nagarjuna
- c. 150sPtolemy writes the Almagest
- 161 CEOrigins of Odeon of Herodes Atticus
- from 165 CE to 180 CEAntonine Plague
- from 166 CE to 180 CEMarcomannic Wars
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