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This paper deals with the hermeneutical relationship between scriptural language and ultimate meaning as it is conveyed in Buddhist texts. Our frame of reference is the Prajñā-Mādhyamika. In Buddhist understanding, speech and words are considered only as a means or path (mārga), to understanding, rather than reality itself. The Buddha exhorted his disciples to be cautious with scripture, not merely clinging to his words as literal, but reflecting on their interpretative meaning. The search for meaning in Buddhist scriptures is a hermeneutical endeavor which seeks to reinterpret the speaker’s intent. Buddhist commentarial traditions have tried to clarify the words of the Buddha. But the Buddha’s words are only a means or signpost to experiencing the reality of things as they truly are. In most Prajñā texts, the masters abandoned their efforts to grasp ultimate meaning through literal texts, and instead, attempted to understand through a reinterpretation of scripture. Thus, the Mādhyamika system presents a paradox between letters and meaning, in both positive and negative relationship with each other.
This paper deals with the hermeneutical relationship between scriptural language and ultimate meaning as it is conveyed in Buddhist texts. Our frame of reference is the Prajñā-Mādhyamika. In Buddhist understanding, speech and words are considered only as a means or path (mārga), to understanding, rather than reality itself. The Buddha exhorted his disciples to be cautious with scripture, not merely clinging to his words as literal, but reflecting on their interpretative meaning. The search for meaning in Buddhist scriptures is a hermeneutical endeavor which seeks to reinterpret the speaker’s intent. Buddhist commentarial traditions have tried to clarify the words of the Buddha. But the Buddha’s words are only a means or signpost to experiencing the reality of things as they truly are. In most Prajñā texts, the masters abandoned their efforts to grasp ultimate meaning through literal texts, and instead, attempted to understand through a reinterpretation of scripture. Thus, the Mādhyamika system presents a paradox between letters and meaning, in both positive and negative relationship with each other.
