Mūlamadhyamakakārikā

Why it’s on the list: Nāgārjuna’s verses on emptiness and dependent origination — the root text of Madhyamaka Buddhism, and an argument that nothing has independent existence, including the argument.

Where I saw it: A reply to @SpencrGreenberg’s question on X, June 5, 2025 — “What non-fiction book taught you the most about how the world (or how humanity or society) really works?” — recovered from that thread and saved to Kyle’s Apple Note “Books To Read”. Thread: https://x.com/spencrgreenberg/status/1930639380424577198

Composed around the second century CE; source_published is omitted rather than guessed at a translation’s date.

Connections

• A question for you — What non-fiction… (tweet) — the saved thread this recommendation came from.
• Religion · Complexity — where this sits in the corpus.