Kumārajīva and Nāgārjuna on the Refutation of Annihilationism: A Comparative Inquiry into Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā and Kumārajīva’s Translation
This article examines the refutation of the extreme view of annihilation in the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (MK) and how it is represented in Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation together with an appended commentary, titled Zhonglun 中論. The extreme of annihilationism as defined in the MK 15.10, is the commitment to nonexistence, but nonexistence is rendered by Kumārajīva as dingwu 定無, “absolutely nothing” or “absolute nonexistence.” In his translation of the commentary on this verse, annihilationism is held as invalidating causal continuity (相續 saṃtāna/saṃtati), alluding to the idea that there are two kinds of tenets of nonexistence—one absolutizes nonexistence and denies the continuity of cause and effect, and therefore falls into the extreme of annihilationism; the other only rejects eternity and accepts continuity, and therefore avoids annihilationism. This viewpoint is also supported by Kumārajīva’s peculiar interpretation of MK 17.20, where he understands the opponents’ argument of neither-eternal-nor-annihilation existence as Nāgārjuna’s assertion, despite that the doctrine of causal continuity is explicitly denied in chapters seventeen and twenty-one of the MK. Due to the influences of Kumārajīva and his associates, the refutation of annihilationism through the acceptance of causal continuity has been widely accepted in Chinese Buddhism.
目次
Abstract Nāgārjuna’s Definition of Annihilationism 75 Nāgārjuna’s Rejection of the Presupposition of Existence 76 Nāgārjuna’s Refutation of Causal Continuity 78 Kumārajīva’s Rendition of Asti and Nāsti 80 Kumārajīva’s Atittude Towards Causal Continuity 81 Conclusion 84 References 88
