Nagarjuna and the doctrine of "skillful means"

The role of "skillful means" is examined in relation to the important Mahay ana philosopher Nagarjuna, and it is argued that the doctrine of "emptiness " is best understood as a critical reflection on the nature of Buddhist pra xis. Whereas traditional Western scholarship sees Nagarjuna as struggling w ith certain metaphysical problems, a "skillful means" reading situates his philosophy within a debate about the nature and efficacy of Buddhist practi ce. Thus, a "skillful means" reading of Nagarjuna does not ask what it mean s for causality, the self, or consciousness to be "empty" in a very general sense, but how "emptiness" relates to the soteriological practices of Budd hism and what it means for these practices to be "empty" of inherent nature . It is argued that this situates Nagarjuna's philosophy within a highly cr itical, self-reflective movement in the Buddhist tradition.