September 19-20,
Fairplay Colorado.
Part One of this two-part retreat series introduced the Verses on the Middle Way by Nagarjuna. Nagarjuna is thought to have lived during the fourth century C.E. as a scholar and monk at Nalanda University.
Nagarjuna’s writings address the major philosophical issues of his time, including the nature of causality and conditionality, motion and action, the self, its suffering and bondage, nirvana, and the Buddha. Nagarjuna’s profound insights have been the subject of much debate, inviting interpretations that range from the purely metaphysical to the purely pragmatic.
Nagarjuna’s logic reveals that the way human beings think is by nature inconsistent and self-contradictory. The Verses demonstrate that deluded ways of thinking cannot be replaced with a correct understanding. Instead, the true nature of things only becomes apparent when we let go of our delusions. The ensuing peace and serenity cannot be grasped by human constructs, but it can be experienced.