Detailed Outline

Here’s a detailed outline of The Emptiness of Emptiness: An Introduction to Early Indian Madhyamika based on the provided document:

Front Matter

• Title Page [[1]], [[3]]
• Dedication [[5]]
• Contents [[7]], [[9]]
• Preface [[11]], [[13]]
• Acknowledgments [[15]], [[16]]

Part One: Candrakīrti and Early Indian Madhyamika

1. Methodological Considerations [[21]]–[[31]]

1. Historical Background of Asian Religious Studies in the West
   • Nineteenth-century European philology roots.
   • Philology and historiography in Buddhist studies.
   • The parallel "proselytic" approach.
2. Description of Two Main Models
   • Philological/Text-critical Model
     • Rigorous critical editions, annotated translations, historical contextualization.
     • Focus on defining a coherent tradition; meaning often sidelined [[22]].
   • Proselytic Model
     • Less rigorous philology.
     • Reliance on single sources, uncritical historical accounts.
     • Focus on recovering a supposed timeless meaning [[22]]–[[23]].
3. Commonalities of Both Models
   • Presume an objectively present tradition.
   • Dependence on approved methodology [[23]].
4. Critiques from Hermeneutics and Philosophy
   • Gadamer’s hermeneutics; rejection of objectivism [[23]]–[[24]].
   • Nietzsche, James, Dewey, Wittgenstein, Derrida, Foucault.
   • Ruegg’s caution against anachronism [[24]].
5. The Concept of “Aesthetic Depth”
   • Becker’s idea: need to reconstruct the original context beyond translation [[25]]–[[26]].
6. Madhyamika’s Unique Challenges
   • Rejection of foundational empirical propositions [[26]].
   • Need for alternative questions when engaging claims.
   • Wittgenstein parallels; shifting conceptualizations [[27]].
7. Holistic Interpretation
   • Intellectual, ethical, and practical aspects of Madhyamika [[28]].
   • Crossing disciplinary boundaries; critique of philology’s hegemony [[28]]–[[29]].
8. Soteriological Context
   • Relationship of philosophy to liberation from fear and suffering [[31]].
   • Avoiding fixation on “one Truth” or “one Reality”.

2. Candrakīrti's Historical and Doctrinal Context

1. The Entry into the Middle Way as a Mahayana Text [[7]]
2. Bodhisattva Ideal and Thought of Awakening
3. Stages in the Path to Full Awakening
4. Perfections of the Bodhisattva’s Path

3. Philosophical Language of the Madhyamika

1. Sources for Study of Madhyamika Thought
2. Major Figures in Its Development
   • Nāgārjuna: works like Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, Vigrahavyāvartanī [[48]].
3. History and Doctrine of the Middle Way
4. Major Philosophical Themes in The Entry into the Middle Way
   • Dependent Origination
   • Dependent Designation
   • Emptiness [[38]]
5. Debate with Yogācāra
   • Yogācāra doctrine of “three marks” [[254]].
   • Prāsaṅgika critique.

4. The Ten Perfections of the Bodhisattva Path

• Relationship of perfect wisdom to other perfections.
• Distinction between mundane and supramundane perfection [[219]].
• Avoidance of reified thought (being vs. nonbeing).
• Purpose of emptiness to calm conceptual diffusion [[221]].

5. Detailed Philosophical Analysis

1. Linguistic Interpretation Phase in Western Scholarship
   • Move away from ontological/epistemological debates [[46]]–[[47]].
   • Gimello’s nonreferential language insight.
2. Prāsaṅgika Approach to Language
   • Truth as context-dependent usage.
   • Avoidance of external, ahistorical reference points [[51]].
3. Analysis of Causation
   • Critique of necessary connection concepts [[57]]–[[58]].
   • Feyerabend on “natural interpretations” [[62]].
4. Soteriological Implications
   • Emptiness as practical liberation.
   • Avoidance of nihilism and absolutism [[46]].

6. Commentary on The Entry into the Middle Way

• Refutation of Consciousness as Ultimate Truth
• Refutation of Reflexive Awareness
• Refutation of Intrinsically Existent Person
  • Carriage analogy [[192]], [[276]]–[[277]].
• Summary of Refutation of Production
• Defense of Prāsaṅgika’s Deconstructive Method
• Sixteen Examples of Emptiness [[195]]
• Stages of the Bodhisattva Path
  • Far Advanced
  • Immovable
  • Unerring Intellect
  • Cloud of Dharma
• Qualities and Fruits of Ten Stages

Part Two: Translation of Candrakīrti’s Madhyamakāvatāra

• Refutation of Production from Self, Other, Both, or Neither [[175]]
• Analysis of Seven Alternatives for Self and Carriage
• Dependent Designation as Conventional Truth
• Refutation of Intrinsic Being [[185]]
• Examples and Analogies
  • Ophthalmia
  • Counterfeit bill [[101]]
• Sixteen Emptinesses [[195]]
• Bodhisattva Stages and Qualities [[207]]

Epilogue [[212]]

1. Candrakīrti’s unique approach within Madhyamika.
2. Misinterpretations due to fear of profundity.
3. Importance of prior meditative practice for comprehension.
4. Rejection of fascination with external philosophical theses.
5. Dedication of merit to liberation of all beings.

Notes [[215]]–[[279]]

• Extensive citations of primary sources in Sanskrit, Tibetan, and modern scholarship.
• Cross-references to key stanzas in Madhyamakāvatāra and other Madhyamika works.
• Commentary on translation choices, philosophical parallels, and textual variants.

Bibliography [[213]]

• Comprehensive list of editions, translations, and secondary literature.

Index [[213]]

Inference Note:

Some subsections (e.g., sections 2–4 in Part One) are reconstructed from the table of contents and scattered references, as the full text for those sections was not present in the excerpts. The outline integrates these inferred components with the detailed philosophical discussion available in the provided pages.