It is refreshing to find a scholar putting Nagarjuna's feet firmly on theground, right where they belong. Walser's admirable book contextualizes theorigin of the Madhyamaka in early Mahayana and its struggles withthe larger Buddhist communities. He investigates the scriptural andintellectual background and finds Nagarjuna a canny Buddhist monk, seekinglegitimacy for a new direction in Buddhist life and defending its position againstthe challenges of the day. His use of the surviving archive -- inSanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese -- fills in much of the gaps in the scholarship todate 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

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