Q0661

“Whatever is dependently co-arisen, that is explained to be emptiness. That, being…” — Nagarjuna (Mūlamadhyamakakārikā 24.18 (Garfield))

Verified English quotation. Primary source: Mūlamadhyamakakārikā 24.18 (Garfield). Theme: philosophy.

English

Whatever is dependently co-arisen, that is explained to be emptiness. That, being a dependent designation, is itself the middle way.
Thinker Nagarjuna
School Mahayana Buddhism
Source Mūlamadhyamakakārikā 24.18 (Garfield)
Theme Browse all themes
Another quotation More from this thinker

Source and attribution

The archive attributes this English wording to Mūlamadhyamakakārikā 24.18 (Garfield) and files it under Mahayana Buddhism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.

About Nagarjuna

Nāgārjuna (traditionally c. 2nd–3rd century CE) is the foundational Madhyamaka philosopher of Mahāyāna Buddhism.

How to read this passage

This passage is indexed under . Those labels identify the concepts it can illuminate; they do not replace the argument surrounding it in Mūlamadhyamakakārikā 24.18 (Garfield).

How to cite this quotation

APA: Nagarjuna. (n.d.). Whatever is dependently co-arisen, that is explained to be emptiness. That, being a dependent designation, is itself the middle way. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0661

MLA: Nagarjuna. “Whatever is dependently co-arisen, that is explained to….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0661.

Chicago: Nagarjuna. “Whatever is dependently co-arisen, that is explained to….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0661.

Frequently asked questions

What is the source of the quotation “Whatever is dependently co-arisen, that is explained to…”?

The passage is attributed to Nagarjuna, Mūlamadhyamakakārikā 24.18 (Garfield). The archive attributes this English wording to Mūlamadhyamakakārikā 24.18 (Garfield) and files it under Mahayana Buddhism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.

What does Nagarjuna mean by philosophy?

This passage is indexed under . Those labels identify the concepts it can illuminate; they do not replace the argument surrounding it in Mūlamadhyamakakārikā 24.18 (Garfield).

Same thinker

More from Nagarjuna

  1. Neither from itself nor from another, nor from both, nor without a cause, does anything whatever, anywhere arise.
  2. There is not the slightest difference between cyclic existence and nirvana. There is not the slightest difference between nirvana and cyclic existence.
  3. Something that is not dependently arisen — such a thing does not exist. Therefore a non-empty thing does not exist.

All quotations by Nagarjuna

Same theme

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  1. It is through wonder that people both now begin and first began to philosophize.
  2. A person's character is their destiny.
  3. What is opposed brings together; from what differs comes the finest harmony.
  4. Death is nothing to us: for what has been dissolved has no sensation, and what has no sensation is nothing to us.
  5. Pleasure is the beginning and end of the happy life — not the pleasures of profligates, but freedom from pain in the body and from disturbance in the soul.

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