The Wise One in the Prasannapadā

Abstract

<p>This study examines the notion of the wise one in the Prasannapadā, a seventh century Indian Buddhist text, with the aim of clarifying the special position of those wise in the Buddhist way' in the context of Mādhyamika thought. It will be shown that the wise one, according to Nāgārjuna and candrakīrti, has cultivated an extraordinary awareness of the real, of man's propensity toward mistaking the epithets of ordinary language for the real, and of his own ability to appreciate the truth of things by overcoming the limitations of conventional thought.</p>