Four extremes

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Four extremes (Skt. catuṣkoṭi; Tib. མཐའ་བཞི་, ta shyi; Wyl. mtha’ bzhi)

  • existence (ཡོད་མཐའ་, Wyl. yod mtha' )
  • non-existence (མེད་མཐའ་, Wyl. med mtha' )
  • both existence and non-existence (ཡོད་མེད་མཐའ་, Wyl. yod med mtha' )
  • neither existence nor non-existence (ཡོད་མེད་མིན་, Wyl. yod med min)

Example of this logic is for example in Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamaka-karika, verse 55:

Everything is real and is not real,
Both real and not real,
Neither real nor not real.
This is Lord Buddha’s teaching.