© Columbia University Press
Nagarjuna in Context: Mahayana Buddhism and Early Indian Culture
June, 2005
Cloth, 368 pages, 2 maps
ISBN: 978-0-231-13164-3
$56.50
/ £39.00
"Nagarjuna in Context: Mahayana Buddhism and Early Indian Culture offers a significant step towards clarifying the mysteries and myths that surround the name of Nagarjuna." — Benjamin Bogin, BUDDHADHARMA
"Walser's argument and mastery of scholarly materials ensure that this work will make an enduring contribution. Highly recommended." — E. Findly, Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries
"Rich and rewarding... Walser is to be congratulated for writing a text that will surely provoke productive debate." — Richard Nance, H-Net Book review
"Nagarjuna in Context reads as a heartfelt and intelligent search." — Tom Hannes, Acta Comparanda
"This impressive study, the first of its kind, employs textual, art historical and epigraphic evidence to illuminate the social conditions in which Nagarjuna worked. Walser triumphs in exposing the complexities of a historical context which until now has been portrayed far too simply." — Sara L. McClintock, University of Wisconsin-Madison
"It is refreshing to find a scholar putting Nagarjuna's feet firmly on the
ground, right where they belong. Walser's admirable book contextualizes the
origin of the Madhyamaka in early Mahayana and its struggles with
the larger Buddhist communities. He investigates the scriptural and
intellectual background and finds Nagarjuna a canny Buddhist monk, seeking
legitimacy for a new direction in Buddhist life and defending its position against
the challenges of the day. His use of the surviving archive—in
Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese—fills in much of the gaps in the scholarship to
date and takes us to a new level of understanding." — Ronald M. Davidson, Fairfield University, author of Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement