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

Introductionto the Middle Way presents an adventure into the heart of Buddhist wisdom through the Madhyamika,or "middle way," teachings, which are designed to take the ordinaryintellect to the limit of its powers and then show that there is more.Thisbook includes a verse translation of the Madhyamakavataraby the renowned seventh-century Indian master Chandrakirti, an extremelyinfluential 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 anintroduction to the Madhyamika teachings of Nagarjuna, which are themselves asystematization 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 ofthe Buddhist view on the sutra level. With Jamgön Mipham's commentary, itis a definitive presentation of the wisdom of emptiness, a central theme of Buddhist teachings. This book is a core study text for both academic studentsand practitioners of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.