Introduction to the Middle Way: Chandrakirti's Madhyamakavatara with Commentary by Ju Mipham

by Candrakīrti, Jamgön Mipham, Padmakara Translation Group (Translator)

An adventure into the heart of Buddhist wisdom through the Madhyamika—or Middle Way—teachings

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.

Genres: Buddhism, Philosophy, Spirituality

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1912

About the author

[A] khenpo of Nālandā Mahāvihāra and a disciple of Nāgārjuna and a commentator on his works and those of his main disciple, Āryadeva. Candrakīrti was the most famous member of what the Tibetans came to call the dbU-ma thal-'gyur, an approach to the interpretation of Madhyamaka philosophy sometimes back-translated into Sanskrit as Prāsaṅgika Madhyamaka or rendered in English as the "Consequentialist" or "Dialecticist" school.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandrak...)

Reviews

[Levy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book and an excellent introduction to Chandrakirti's fascinating thought, with very clear and understandable commentary by Mipham Rinpoche. While Chandrakirti's work should of course be read and enjoyed in its dialectical entirety, there are verses scattered throughout the volume which flicker like small gems. The famous chapter six contains (among many other things) a beautiful explication of Nagarjuna's arguments against inherent causality and an extensive, analytical criticism of yogacara, while chapter eleven (which closes the text) is quite esoteric, consisting of poetic analogies which attempt to fathom a Buddha's inconceivable powers, while also paradoxically containing a passage which seems to deny the existence of the Buddha's mind,

"11.17 The tinder of phenomena is all consumed,
And this is peace, the dharmakaya of the Conquerors.
There is no origin and no cessation.
The mind is stopped, the kaya manifests.

11.18 This peaceful kaya, radiant like the wish-fulfilling tree,
Is like the wishing jewel that without forethought lavishes
The riches of the world on beings till they gain enlightenment. [nirvana? boddhi?]
It is perceived by those who are beyond conceptual construction." (page 99, ebook edition)

Jan Westerhoff sometimes paraphrases Chandrakirti (in this interpretation) as positing that "there is nothing what it's like to be a Buddha".

Mipham's commentary also contains an astute and enjoyable polemic against the Svatantrika interpretation of Madhyamaka,

"The conclusion at which they [the Svatantrika] arrive, therefore—namely, that a man is not empty of himself but of a true existence extraneous to him—strikes them as a highly satisfactory solution. This, however, drives a wedge between the two truths; and conventional phenomena, existing according to their characteristics, end up by not being empty. Indeed, they become truly existent. Failing to understand this crucial point, our opponents say that phenomena lack true existence, but all the time they are whispering to themselves: “How can things really lack true existence?” Chandrakirti said that the Svatantrikas were content with tenets that are only verbally coherent. The very same criticism applies here to our opponents." (page 176, ebook edition)

Recommended to all those who wish to enter the Middle Way.

[March]

I’m not sure I can rate this text… but I enjoyed it and will be studying it for the next month.

[Scott]

This is a 15th century commentary on a 2nd century text translated in the 21 century into English. The root text is likely one of the most complicated or esoteric philosophical ideas of the last two millenium. It's like taking your brain apart and putting it back together piece by piece. Be careful when you dip into this casual text.

[r0b · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The relative and the ultimate do not exclude each other; and it should be understood that it is precisely due to their own nature (emptiness) that conventional phenomena are able to appear."
p. 214
Wonderful! :)

[Subbu Allamaraju · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I found the first half of the book with the commentary of Chandrakirti’s Madhyamakavatara relevant and useful, the rest of the text is long-winded poorly structured notes. The book could be condensed.

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential.

[Acharya Samantabhadra]

hello my dear dharma friend
can you make me availaible the original tibetan script of this text?
thank you
your in dharma
samantabhadra

[Chaseton Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be sure to have three bookmarks if you read this because flipping between the outline, root verses, and commentary is super helpful.

[Andrew Roxby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chandrakīrti shows a pathway back to common sense realism compatible with Buddhism. Mipham's commentary is as definitive and useful as ever.

[Everett Grandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

middle-way

is a means by which one may distill ones corporeal tribalistic perspective thus truing ones presence within tonkic fabric of omnipotent consciousness

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mind-expanding and challenging - not recommended for beginners to the Middle Way

[David Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect primer for a study on Tibetan Buddhism. This edition included a terrific Introduction. Loved it.