Madhyamakāvatāra
Madhyamakāvatāra (Sanskrit: Madhyamakāvatāra; Tib. wylie: ‘’dBu-ma-la ‘Jug-pa) is a text by Candrakirti (600–c. 650) on the Middle Way school (Skt. Mādhyamaka). It is a commentary on the meaning of Nagarjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā and also the Daśabhūmikasūtra-śāstra As such, within the Tibetan Buddhist canon this text is classified as commentarial literature.
The inclusion of the text within most Geshe 'syllabus' (Tibetan: shedra) is normative.
The text
The Madhyamakāvatāra relates the Mādhyamaka doctrine of 'emptiness' (Sanskrit: śūnyatā) to the 'spiritual discipline' (Sanskrit: sadhana) of a Bodhisattva. The Madhyamakāvatāra contains eleven chapters, where each addresses one of the 'ten perfections' (Sanskrit: pāramitā) fulfilled by Bodhisattvas as they traverse the 'ten stages' (Sanskrit: bhūmi) to Buddhahood, which is the final chapter.
Quotation
Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche (1997) render's a quotation from Candrakirti's Madhyamakāvatāra thus:
- That which arises interdependently
- Is characterized as meeting and working together.
Commentarial literature
- 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
- 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.
- 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
