Madhyamakāvatāra Explained

The Madhyamakāvatāra is a text by Candrakīrti (600–c. 650) on the Mādhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy. Candrakīrti also wrote an auto-commentary to the work, called the Madhyamakāvatārabhasya.^[1]

It is traditionally considered as a commentary on the meaning of Nagarjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā and the Ten Stages Sutra (Daśabhūmika Sūtra).^{[2] [3]} As such, within the Tibetan Buddhist canon this text is classified as commentarial literature.^[4]

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.^{[5] [6]}

Commentarial literature

• The Madhyamakāvatārabhasya is Candrakīrti's own auto-commentary to the text.
• The Madhyamakāvatāraṭīkā is an elaborate 11th century commentary by the Indian scholar Jayānanda.
• 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^[7] and by Padmakara Translations in it is titled The Word of Chandra: The Necklace of Spotless Crystal ^[8]
• 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

• Fredrik Liland (trans) (2020). Madhyamakāvatāra (Bibliotheca Polyglotta) with Madhyamakāvatārabhasya and translations from Jayānanda's commentary.
• 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.
• Padmakara Translation Group (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

See also

• Je Tsongkhapa
• Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa

References

1. Web site: Fredrik Liland (trans) . Candrakīrti . Madhyamakāvatāra (Bibliotheca Polyglotta) . 2022-09-23 . www2.hf.uio.no.
2. Rigpa Shedra (January 2009). 'Introduction to the Middle Way'. Source: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Madhyamakavatara (accessed: April 10, 2009)
3. '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.
4. Gyamtso, Khenpo Tsultrim (2003) The Sun of Wisdom: Teachings on the Noble Nagarjuna's Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way, p.168
5. Keown, Damien (2004). A Dictionary of Buddhism. Oxford University Press.
6. Rigpa Shedra (January 2009). 'Introduction to the Middle Way'. Source: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Madhyamakavatara (accessed: April 10, 2009)
7. Source: https://books.google.com/books?id=68sGSKdE1OUC&dq=%22zhal+lung+dri+me+shel+phreng%22&pg=PA232 (Wednesday November 11, 2009)
8. Padmakara Translation Group (2002). Introduction to the Middle Way (Candrakirti's Madhyamakāvatāra with Mipham Rinpoche's Commentary). Shambhala

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.