Fwd: Advaita and Buddhism

[Greg Goode]

At 04:43 PM 6/21/99 -0700, Ravi wrote:
>Here is a message from Nanda.


>Actually the MAdhyamaka is much closer to Advaitam :
>
>1. Both refute the ultimate validity of the sources of knowledge - pramAnas.
>2. Both believe in the two levels of reality - samvritti or vyavahAra and
>paramArtha.
>3. Both believe that it's only due to avidhya (mAyA in the metaphysical
>sense) that nirvAna is viewed as samsAra.

I have a question about (3).  It sounds backwards.  For Nagarjuna, samsara
and nirvana are the same.  Quoting from his Mulamadhyamakakarika (Tranl.
Jay Garfield as Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way), here are Slokas
25:19-20:

19.  There is not the slightest difference
     between cyclic existence and nirvana.
     There is not the slightest difference
     Between nirvana and cyclic existence.

20.  Whatever is the limit of nirvana,
     That is the limit of cyclic existence.
     There is not even the slightest difference between them,
     Or even the subtlest thing.

Slokas 17 and 18 say that nirvana is neither existent nor nonexistent.  The
Victorious Conquerer who has passed into nirvana is also neither existent
nor nonexistent.

Regards,

--Greg Goode