Recensions
Full translations
This book includes a verse translation of the Madhyamakavatara by the renowned seventh-century Indian master Chandrakirti, an extremely influential text of Mahayana Buddhism, followed by an exhaustive logical explanation of its meaning by the modern Tibetan master Jamgön Mipham, composed approximately twelve centuries later. Chandrakirti's work is an introduction to the Madhyamika teachings of Nagarjuna, which are themselves a systematization of the Prajnaparamita, or "Perfection of Wisdom" literature, the sutras on the crucial but elusive concept of emptiness.
Chandrakirti's work has been accepted throughout Tibetan Buddhism as the highest expression of the Buddhist view on the sutra level. With Jamgön Mipham's commentary, it is a definitive presentation of the wisdom of emptiness, a central theme of Buddhist teachings. This book is a core study text for both academic students and practitioners of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. (Source: Shambhala Publications)Commentaries
Written as a supplement to Nagarjuna’s Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way, Candrakīrti’s text integrates the central insight of Nagarjuna’s thought—the rejection of any metaphysical notion of intrinsic existence—with the well-known Mahayana framework of the ten levels of the bodhisattva, and it became the most studied presentation of Madhyamaka thought in Tibet.
Completed the year before the author’s death, Tsongkhapa’s exposition of Candrakīrti's text is recognized by the Tibetan tradition as the final standpoint of Tsongkhapa on many philosophical questions, particularly the clear distinctions it draws between the standpoints of the Madhyamaka and Cittamatra schools.
Written in exemplary Tibetan, Tsongkhapa’s work presents a wonderful marriage of rigorous Madhyamaka philosophical analysis with a detailed and subtle account of the progressively advancing mental states and spiritual maturity realized by sincere Madhyamaka practitioners. (Source: Thupten Jinpa, Illuminating the Intent, 2021)Partial translations
1) A commentary to inspire faith, based on verses in praise of the Buddha’s immeasurable qualities from Sakya Paṇḍita's Clarifying the Sage's Intent.
2) Oral instructions based on Candrakīrti's Entering the Middle Way, offering a practical understanding of the Mahāyāna path as a whole.
3) A commentary on the first three chapters of Śāntideva's Way of the Bodhisattva, which includes an explanation of the ritual for the bodhicitta vow.
4) A rarely given explanation of Gorampa's profound teaching on dependent arising according to the four philosophical schools of Indian Buddhism, entitled Illumination of Saṃsāra and Nirvāṇa.
5) A detailed commentary on Samantabhadra's Noble Aspirations to Sublime Conduct, as the supreme means of dedication.
(Source: Chödung Karmo Translation Group)Teachings
1) A commentary to inspire faith, based on verses in praise of the Buddha’s immeasurable qualities from Sakya Paṇḍita's Clarifying the Sage's Intent.
2) Oral instructions based on Candrakīrti's Entering the Middle Way, offering a practical understanding of the Mahāyāna path as a whole.
3) A commentary on the first three chapters of Śāntideva's Way of the Bodhisattva, which includes an explanation of the ritual for the bodhicitta vow.
4) A rarely given explanation of Gorampa's profound teaching on dependent arising according to the four philosophical schools of Indian Buddhism, entitled Illumination of Saṃsāra and Nirvāṇa.
5) A detailed commentary on Samantabhadra's Noble Aspirations to Sublime Conduct, as the supreme means of dedication.
(Source: Chödung Karmo Translation Group)
