ADMIN: Please stop discussions on Madhyamaka

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

The threads on Madhyamaka have run their course now and worse are
degenerating into name-calling so we must regretfully ask the participants
to take them to email or some other forum.

We do not like to practice censorship.  The list works best when people
are free to express their opinions on the particular subjects they are
interested in.  The only restriction is that the topic should be related
to Advaita Vedanta.  It is the responsibility of every one of us to
exercise some self-control in this regard and also in the manner in which
we address our fellow list members[1].

Although some list members were against it from the beginning I didn't see
anything wrong in the comparison.  Various forms of Buddhism have had an
impact on Advaita Vedanta's earlier history and it is common for people to
mix up Buddhist and Vedantic ideas so it is quite legitimate to wonder
about the relationship between the two.  Knowing that Nanda has studied
the subject in depth I was confident he could do justice to it.  I would
like to thank him and all those who responded to him.  I feel I have
learned a lot from the exchange.

But after all the many messages that have gone back and forth I think it
is safe to say the central theses "Madhyamaka is the negative side of
Advaita Vedanta" has not been proven.  Whether Buddhists believed in a
contentless self, no self, or just equivocated on the subject this is a
far cry from Advaita Vedanta which most assuredly does posit the existence
of an eternal self of the nature of truth, pure consciousness and
bliss.  And it doesn't just grudgingly accept the atma out of practical
necessity but makes it the very linchpin of its theory.

It's not that the subject isn't fascinating but it is now deemed beyond
the scope of this list.  Please feel free to carry on in some other forum
or privately if you like.

If you have any questions or comments please email
listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org

--
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
on behalf or Ravi and Vaidya

[1] long-time members will note the irony of me giving this particular
lecture. :-)

--
bhava shankara deshikame sharaNam

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