ABSTRACT

We have seen already that when studying Madhyamaka Buddhism one is often faced by the problem of interpretive uncertainty. While the anti-realist reading of Madhyamaka that I have presented is supported by many textual passages, it need not be the only understanding that can be countenanced. Even though the anti-realist interpretation gives a credible account of many Madhyamaka texts, it is worth investigating other ways in which the Madhyamaka philosophy of emptiness might be construed. In the present chapter, I will consider an interpretation that takes Madhyamaka to be a form of scepticism, and will examine the rather different understanding of knowledge and liberation that this entails. In addition, I will argue that it is possible to find evidence for such a sceptical soteriology in the early Buddhism of the Pâli Canon as well.