Favorite Madhyamika Book

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Terma
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Favorite Madhyamika Book

Post by Terma »

What is your favorite Madhyamika book? What one has helped you to understand this topic the most and helped you to bring it into practice? It could be a text, commentary, teaching, etc.

I seem to be fond of Chandrakirti. There are numerous commentaries available in English and some of them are quite challenging. For myself, there is a transcript of a multi-year teaching series on the Madhyamikavatara given by DJKR a number of years ago which was made into an ebook and available through Siddhartha's Intent.

What is yours?
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Aemilius
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Re: Favorite Madhyamika Book

Post by Aemilius »

Aryadeva's Four Hundred Stanzas on the Middle Way,

same with Candrakirti's commentary, Four Illusions: Candrakirti's Advice to Travelers on the Bodhisattva Path
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Wayfarer
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Re: Favorite Madhyamika Book

Post by Wayfarer »

K Venkata Ramanan ‘Nāgārjuna’s Philosophy’ - translation of Chinese MMK with commentary.
'Only practice with no gaining idea' ~ Suzuki Roshi
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Queequeg
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Re: Favorite Madhyamika Book

Post by Queequeg »

I found Fahuaxuani by Zhiyi, and its study by Paul Swanson helpful, in conjunction with Tientai Buddhism and Early Madhyamika by Ng Yu-Kwan. Though not about Nagarjuna directly, they discuss Nagarjuna through the lens of Tiantai thought.

Though not a deliberate discussion of Madhyamika, I like Nagarjuna's Precious Garland as a practical counsel on how to apply the teachings for oneself and others.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
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Josef
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Re: Favorite Madhyamika Book

Post by Josef »

The bodhicaryavatara and Khenpo Kunpal's commentary on it, The Nectar of Manjushri's Speech.
"All phenomena of samsara depend on the mind, so when the essence of mind is purified, samsara is purified. Since the phenomena of nirvana depend on the pristine consciousness of vidyā, because one remains in the immediacy of vidyā, buddhahood arises on its own. All critical points are summarized with those two." - Longchenpa
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Rick
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Re: Favorite Madhyamika Book

Post by Rick »

This was recommended to me by Vasana and a few others in this forum: Center of the Sunlit Sky, by Karl Brunnhölzl.
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ItsRaining
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Re: Favorite Madhyamika Book

Post by ItsRaining »

Ju Mipham's commentary on the Madhyamakavatara is very good, it covers the basic arguments of the Madhymaka and applies to various opponents as well as go in depth about a common and serious misunderstanding of emptiness - thta things are empty of something external to them.

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

https://www.amazon.com.au/Introduction- ... B007ZE7YNU
passel
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Re: Favorite Madhyamika Book

Post by passel »

Jay Garfield, Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way
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zerwe
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Re: Favorite Madhyamika Book

Post by zerwe »

Introduction to the Middle Way (Madhyamakavatara), Candrakirti w/ Ju Mipham's commentary

Meditation on Emptiness, Jeffery Hopkins

Maps of the Profound--Jamyang Shepa's Great Exposition on Buddhist on Non-Buddhist views on the Nature of Reality, trans. Jeffery Hopkins

The Two Truths-Guy Newland

Jan Westerhoff's, The Madhyamaka concept of svabh ̄ava: ontological and cognitive aspects, as well as, various other of his writings pertaining to the middle way

UMA and Jeffery Hopkins have translated a wealth of monastic textbook material free to download

...

Some sort of study of Tenets--

Jetsun Chokyi Gyaltsen;s root text--Presentation of Tenets and various modern commentaries

Appearance and Reality, The Two Truths in the Four Buddhist Tenet Systems--Guy Newland

...

Shaun :namaste:
dharmafootsteps
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Re: Favorite Madhyamika Book

Post by dharmafootsteps »

I've not read it yet but I did hear a fascinating talk from Prof. Komarovski partly around the same topic as this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Visions-Unity- ... ref=sr_1_2

Seems like it would be an interesting read to go along with the usual suspects on Madhyamaka.

He's also translated three of Shakya Chokden texts: https:/'s/www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Texts-Madhyamaka ... ref=sr_1_1
passel
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Re: Favorite Madhyamika Book

Post by passel »

zerwe wrote: Tue Aug 07, 2018 3:09 am
UMA and Jeffery Hopkins have translated a wealth of monastic textbook material free to download

...

Shaun :namaste:
Where is this available?
"I have made a heap of all that I have met"- Svetonious
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Re: Favorite Madhyamika Book

Post by haha »

passel wrote: Thu Aug 09, 2018 5:17 am Where is this available?
http://uma-tibet.org/indexlisted.php
or
http://uma-tibet.org/index-2a.html
Check out Hopkins Audio Archive, too. It has the excellent resources.
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Re: Favorite Madhyamika Book

Post by passel »

Great! Thx
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PeterC
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Re: Favorite Madhyamika Book

Post by PeterC »

Gendun Chopel's Ornament of the Thought of Nagarjuna, translated by Lopez as "The Madman's Middle Way"
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Josef
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Re: Favorite Madhyamika Book

Post by Josef »

Steering clear of Tibetan polemics is a good way to go as well.
"All phenomena of samsara depend on the mind, so when the essence of mind is purified, samsara is purified. Since the phenomena of nirvana depend on the pristine consciousness of vidyā, because one remains in the immediacy of vidyā, buddhahood arises on its own. All critical points are summarized with those two." - Longchenpa
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Matt J
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Re: Favorite Madhyamika Book

Post by Matt J »

If some one came and took all of my Madhyamaka books (and I have many), I would fight to keep at least two:

Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness by Khenpo Tsultrum Gyamtso Rinpoche and the attendant commentary by Andy Karr called Contemplating Reality. They are both very accessible and practical. However, they are most applicable to Kagyu/Mahamudra practice.

I also think Douglas Duckworth's Jamgon Mipam: His Life and Teachings is excellent, although it is less practical than the first two. This is more of a Nyingma/Dzogchen point of view.

Although not really Madhyamaka, I also find Shabkar's Flight of the Garuda to be a great book generally, but it is restricted (or ought to be be Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche). Very practical, and he goes through the fundamentals of Madhyamaka. The best translation, hands down, is by Erik Pema Kunsang.
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Arupajhana7
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Re: Favorite Madhyamika Book

Post by Arupajhana7 »

Mine is Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso's "The Sun of Wisdom"
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kirtu
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Re: Favorite Madhyamika Book

Post by kirtu »

Treasury of Precious Qualities, Jigme Lingpa, Commentary by Kangyur Rinpoche

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Zen Master Seung Sahn said, “That’s simple. Atomic bombs come from the mind that likes this and doesn’t like that.”

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