Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Department of religions and mysticism faculty of theology and islamic sciences. Azerbaijan Shahid Madani university Tabriz Iran
2
M.A. student, Department of Religions and Mysticism, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran. Email: eliza.ha90@gmail.com
10.22111/jrm.2026.52142.1293
Abstract
Madhyamika is one of the Buddhist philosophical schools and claims to be a salvationist, which presents a novel ontological and epistemological perspective by proposing the doctrine of "Shunyata" (Emptiness) and the thought of "Pratitya-Samut-pada" (the interdependence of things). One of the fundamental pre-occupations of this philosophical school is the explanation of the nature and origin of the "phenomenal world", which is called "Samsara". Therefore, the current research is formulated based on this issue: from the Madhyamika's point of view, what place does the phenomenal world from illusion to reality occupy? Research findings show that according to the doctrine of Shunyata, which is another name for "Nirvana", the phenomenal world is devoid of "determined nature and independent existence" (svabhāva) and based on the thought of Pratiya-Samut-pada, mental and objective beings are omni-directional and reciprocal, co-causers and dependents of causes. Madhyamika thinkers, such as Nagarjuna, Aryadeva and Chandrakirti, never sought the absolute negation of the phenomenal world, because according to them, "Samsara" is as real as "Nirvana". In fact, by adopting the middle ground of "Yogachara's ideology" and "Sutrantic representationalism", they consider the phenomenal world to be empty and illusory from the perspective of higher knowledge (Tathaganta/Prajna), while from the perspective of lower knowledge (Sam-Vriti-Satya) they assume it to have relative reality and therefore, in a contradictory manner, they say: "Samsara is the same Nirvana". Although the Madhyamika scholars are extremely agnostic and deny the truth of systematic doctrines, and the sharp blade of their argumentative method cuts to the root of any description of the termed reality of the world of objects (images, confirmations, feelings, as well as the objective world), they inevitably claim that the best ontological description of the phenomenal world is based on the negative doctrine of emptiness.
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