Candrakīrti's Introduction to the Middle Way

Madhyamakāvātra; དབུ་མ་ལ་འཇུག་པ།

taught by Khenpo Ngawang Jorden

Candrakīrti was a Buddhist master famous for his exposition of the Madhyamaka (‘Middle Way’) philosophy, generally regarded in Tibet as the pinnacle of Buddhist thought.  More than just an introduction to this philosophy, his Introduction to the Middle Way is an extensive and profound treatise studied by all traditions of Tibetan Buddhism up to the present day, aimed at revealing the view of ultimate reality.

Introduction:

Candrakīrti (7^th century) was a master of the University of Nālanda in Northern India. He stands in the tradition of Nāgārjuna, the great founder of the Madhyamaka (‘Middle Way’) school of philosophy which is generally regarded in Tibet as the pinnacle of Buddhist thought. His Introduction to the Middle Way is regarded as a most authoritative commentary on the Root Verses on the Middle Way (Mūlamadhyamaka-kārikā) by Nāgārjuna. 

 The topic:

Firstly with the thought of “I”, they cling to self,
And then with “mine”, they grow attached to things,
Helplessly, they wander like a turning waterwheel—
To compassion for these beings, I bow down!

Introduction to the Middle Way, I, 3

 It is said that beings undergo all sorts of suffering and unrest because they do not understand the true nature of reality. Being deluded and deceived by the appearance of things, clinging to them as true realities, they generate attachment to themselves and whatever serves them in any way, aversion to whatever may seem threatening, and dull indifference with regard to everything else. It is this basic ignorance that is regarded as lying at the root of all human suffering, and compassion for all naturally arises in the heart of those who recognize this truth.

Candrakīrti thus opens his treatise with a praise of compassion, the motivating force necessary for the path to perfect enlightenment. He then goes on describing the stages of realization of the Bodhisattvas, the spiritual sons and daughters of the Buddha, up to the level of the cultivation of superior insight into reality.

Based on the understanding that everything depends on causes and conditions for its arising, the profound view of the Middle Way avoids the extreme views of ‘eternalism’ (clinging to things as having their own independent nature) and ‘nihilism’ (denying the dependent nature of things and thus the workings of karma on a conventional level). It is in fact a view of reality which goes beyond all ordinary ways of conceiving of things in any way, ultimately setting the mind completely free.

The discussion of this wisdom forms the principal chapter of the treatise, clearly laying out the logical reasoning which help one understand the true nature of all things based on the model of the two truths: the conventional level of concealing truth (saṃvṛtisatya) which is the world of ordinary experience, and ultimate reality (paramārtha) where things are found to be beyond the scope of ordinary mind (i.e. the ‘no-self of phenomena’ and the ‘no-self of the person’).

Conventional truth is the method;
And the ultimate is its outcome.
Not knowing how the two truths differ,
Your thoughts will go astray.

Introduction to the Middle Way, VI, 80

The treatise then resumes the explanation of the Bodhisattva stages, completed by a presentation of the qualities of perfect enlightenment.

Benefits:

Candrakīrti's Introduction to the Middle Way is regarded in the Tibetan tradition as one of the most authoritative treatises on the philosophy of the Middle Way, and is being widely studied in all traditions up to the present day. This text provides students with many useful and profound methods of investigating the nature of reality, which, combined with the method aspect of the path, ultimately lead to the highest possible realization of truth, equivalent to perfect enlightenment.

Links and recommended readings:

Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche (2003). Introduction to the Middle Way: Chandrakirti's Madhyamakavatara with commentary by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, edited by Alex Trisoglio, Khyentse Foundation. (download here: http://khyentsefoundation.com/2004/07/original-publications/ )

Padmakara Translation Group (2002). Introduction to the Middle Way (Candrakirti's Madhyamakāvatāra with Mipham Rinpoche's Commentary), Shambhala.

(Quotes kindly provided by lotsawahouse.org and rigpawiki.org)