Madhyamakavatara By Khenchen, Migmar Tse

The Madhyamakavatara or Introduction to the Middle Way (Tibetan: dbu ma la jug-pa) is a text by Chandrakirti, the seventh-century Buddhist philosopher and siddha, on the Madhyamaka School of Buddhist philosophy. It is a commentary on the meaning of Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika or The Root Stanzas on the Middle Way (Tibetan: dbu ma rtsa ba shes rab) and the Sutra of the Ten Bhumis (Dashabhumika Sutra). Madhyamaka refers to the texts that express the meaning of the middle way beyond extremes, both the Buddha’s teachings of the second turning of the Wheel of Dharma and the commentaries that further elucidate their meaning. Avatara means entry or introduction. This text expresses both the profound aspect of Nagarjuna’s text, namely emptiness, as well as the vast aspect, the paths and the bhumis.