Madhyamaka & Methodology: A Symposium on Buddhist Theory and Method (April 23–25, 2010 at Smith College)

This symposium addressed the question of how to read and interpret Buddhist Madhyamaka texts, extending a conversation begun in two seminal articles—one by C. W. “Sandy” Huntington, Jr.* and the other by Jay Garfield.** The crux of the issue is how to make sense of the argumentation that we find in these texts, while also taking seriously the Madhyamaka critique of all views, theses, and propositions. According to Madhyamaka proponents, all phenomena are empty of “self nature” or “essence,” meaning that they have no intrinsic, independent reality apart from the causes and conditions from which they arise.

The symposium featured more than 20 scholars from across America and Europe, each of whom had the opportunity to respond to these two papers and to present their own ideas on the topic. Presenters spoke pointedly for 15 minutes, addressing pre-circulated questions about Madhyamaka and methodology as well as the original papers by Huntington and Garfield. What ensued was a conceptually focused dialogue in which participants distilled their thinking about method, highlighted their interests and concerns, and responded to others doing the same.

We hope that this symposium will be of interest to a wide variety of scholars. The study of Madhyamaka has long been central to the study of Buddhism, guiding the methodological orientation for the field of Buddhist studies as well as its understanding of the relationship between text and practice. The question of how best to make sense of premodern texts with modern theory is surely one that confronts many scholars, and we were fortunate to have some of the best scholars in Buddhist studies addressing this problem through a series of brilliant texts that thwart any easy answer.

*Huntington, C. W. 2007. “The nature of the Mādhyamika trick.” Journal of Indian Philosophy 35 (2): 103–131:
https://static1.squarespace.com/stati...

**Garfield, Jay L. 2008. “Turning a Madhyamaka Trick: Reply to Huntington.” Journal of Indian Philosophy 36 (4): 507–527:
https://www.academia.edu/2833575/Turn...

Learn more about:
Buddhist studies at Smith College https://www.smith.edu/academics/buddhism
Jay Garfield https://jaygarfield.org/
C. W. “Sandy” Huntington http://cwhuntingtonjr.com/