Description
Analysis of the Middle and Extremes is the first English translation
of the Chinese translation of the Madhyāntavibhāga-bhāṣya from
Sanskrit by Xuanzang (602–664). The Madhyāntavibhāga-bhāṣya
is an explanation of Mahayana Buddhist thought, intended to explicate
the full path to buddhahood via gradual advancement through
the bodhisattva stages. The text can be regarded as a kind of
detailed manual explaining the career of a successful Buddhist
practitioner—specifically a bodhisattva—from the very beginning
until their achievement of the ultimate goal, buddhahood itself.
The work is comprised of primary verses (kārikā) together with
interspersed commentary (bhāṣya). This text subsequently became
an important component within the Yogācāra corpus.
The Scripture on the Monk Nāgasena is one of two extant Chinese
counterparts to the Pāli Milindapa ha, the “Questions of Milinda,”
a debate on central themes of Buddhist doctrine between a king
called Milinda, apparently corresponding to the Bactrian Greek
King Menander (second century B.C.E.), and the Buddhist monk
Nāgasena. While the actual circumstances of the translation into
Chinese of this text are unknown, and the identity of the translator(s)
and the time of the translation work remain uncertain, it was likely
done sometime in the second or third century C.E. The actual
encounter between Nāgasena and Milinda stands in the tradition of
ancient Indian debate, where the point is not primarily to refute an
argument with sound proofs but to successfully counter a challenge
in order to win the debate and convert the opponent. The discussion
reported in the Milindapa ha and its Chinese parallels gradually
evolves from its starting point as a debate to becoming more of an
exchange between teacher and pupil, and the debates are enlivened
by the rich use of metaphors and similes.