Madhyamakāvatāra

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The Madhyamakāvatāra (Wylie: dbu ma la 'jug-pa) is a text by Candrakīrti (600–c. 650) on the Mādhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy. It is a commentary on the meaning of Nagarjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā and the Ten Stages Sutra.^[1]^[2] As such, within the Tibetan Buddhist canon this text is classified as commentarial literature.^[3]

The text[]

The Madhyamakāvatāra relates the Mādhyamaka doctrine of śūnyatā to the "spiritual discipline" (Sanskrit: sādhanā) of a bodhisattva. The Madhyamakāvatāra contains eleven chapters, where each addresses one of the ten pāramitās or "perfections" fulfilled by bodhisattvas as they traverse the 'ten stages' (Sanskrit: bhūmi) to buddhahood, which is the final chapter.^[4]^[5]

Commentarial literature[]

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Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso (1846–1912) wrote a commentary on the Madhyamakavatara entitled: dbu ma la 'jug pa'i 'grel pa zla ba'i zhal lung dri me shel phreng; the title has been rendered into English by Duckworth (2008: p. 232) as: Immaculate Crystal Rosary^[6] and by Padmakara Translations in it is titled The Word of Chandra: The Necklace of Spotless Crystal ^[7]

Khenpo Shenga, dbu ma la 'jug pa'i 'grel mchan legs par bshad pa zla ba'i 'od zer
Khenpo Ngawang Palzang, dbu ma 'jug pa'i 'bru 'grel blo gsal dga' ba'i me long
Jeffrey Hopkins (1980). Compassion in Tibetan Buddhism. Ithaca: Snow Lion. (first five chapters based on Tsongkhapa’s commentary)
Rendawa Shonnu Lodro (1997). Commentary on the Entry into the Middle, Lamp which Elucidates Reality, translated by Stotter-Tillman & Acharya Tashi Tsering, Sarnath, Varanasi.

English translations[]

Geshe Rabten (translator, commentator) Stephen Batchelor (translator, editor) (1983). Echoes of Voidness, London : Wisdom Publications
Huntington, C. W. (1989). The Emptiness of Emptiness. University of Hawaii Press
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Ocean of Nectar: Wisdom and Compassion in Mahayana Buddhism. London: Tharpa Publications, 1995.
(2002). Introduction to the Middle Way (Candrakirti's Madhyamakāvatāra with Mipham Rinpoche's Commentary). Shambhala
Introduction to the Middle Way: Chandrakirti's Madhyamakavatara with commentary by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, edited by Alex Trisoglio, Khyentse Foundation, 2003
A translation of the Madhyamakavatara and its Auto-Commentary by Chandrakirti with additional commentary by Khenpo Namdrol Rinpoche

References[]

^ Rigpa Shedra (January 2009). 'Introduction to the Middle Way'. Source: [1] (accessed: April 10, 2009)
^ 'Sutra of the Ten Bhumis' (Skt. Daśabhūmika-sūtra, Wyl. phags pa sa bcu pa'i mdo), the nomenclature given to the thirty-first chapter of the Avatamsaka Sutra.
^ Gyamtso, Khenpo Tsultrim (2003) The Sun of Wisdom: Teachings on the Noble Nagarjuna's Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way ISBN 1-57062-999-4, p.168
^ Keown, Damien (2004). A Dictionary of Buddhism. Oxford University Press.
^ Rigpa Shedra (January 2009). 'Introduction to the Middle Way'. Source: [2] (accessed: April 10, 2009)
^ Source: [3] (Wednesday November 11, 2009)
^ Padmakara Translation Group (2002). Introduction to the Middle Way (Candrakirti's Madhyamakāvatāra with Mipham Rinpoche's Commentary). Shambhala ISBN 978-1-57062-942-6

Further reading[]

Huntington, C. W.(1983). "The system of the two truths in the Prasannapadā and The Madhyamakāvatāra: A study in Mādhyamika soteriology." Journal of Indian Philosophy 11 (1): pp: 77-106.

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