Madhyamaka

Madhyamaka – Overview (with Chandrakīrti lens)

Madhyamaka is the Mahāyāna tradition that articulates the emptiness (śūnyatā) of all phenomena: nothing has intrinsic nature (svabhāva); everything exists only dependently (on causes, conditions, parts, and conceptual designation).

In this brain, Madhyamaka is understood primarily through Chandrakīrti’s Prāsaṅgika reading:

• All dharmas—external objects, mental states, consciousness, and even emptiness itself—are empty of intrinsic nature.
• Reasoning is used mainly in the form of prasaṅga (reductio) to expose contradictions in reified views, rather than to establish a positive ontology.
• Pramāṇa (valid cognition) is respected but restricted to the conventional level; ultimate analysis undercuts any claim to intrinsic existence.

Madhyamaka triad in this brain

Within this overall view, three figures form a core triad:

• [[thought:10fda9fe-3bf8-4d3a-b7f0-65b6c5f41ca3|Nāgārjuna]] – formulates the root dialectic of emptiness as dependent origination.
• [[thought:fb779716-6b38-4eb3-9ff6-6db5e1472964|Chandrakirti]] – provides the primary Prāsaṅgika interpretation and methodological clarification.
• [[thought:b374a860-f2c5-4b6b-ac17-4b1a993a904f|Śāntideva]] – integrates this Madhyamaka view into a bodhisattva-path of ethics, compassion, and meditation.

For an integrated treatment of how these three interrelate, see:

• [[thought:9ede6ee8-f01a-4417-a38f-aa167bad62a9|Nagarjuna–Chandrakīrti–Śāntideva – Focused Connections]]

For contrasts with other schools, see:

• [[thought:45101148-ecc8-4abf-ad01-73c174604a24|Vaibhāṣika]] – realist Abhidharma
• [[thought:f9d1e35f-f000-48b5-b444-0d1dfbcfa802|Sautrāntika]] – critical Abhidharma realism, momentariness
• [[thought:38282c87-c684-4027-847b-b21e27598caf|Cittamātra]] – mind-only / consciousness-centered
• [[thought:7724e4e3-5b12-4a0a-a85e-fc2969149769|Abhidharma]] – analytic framework critiqued and reused by Madhyamaka

See also

• [[thought:fb779716-6b38-4eb3-9ff6-6db5e1472964|Chandrakirti]] – primary Prāsaṅgika lens on Madhyamaka in this brain.
• [[thought:9ede6ee8-f01a-4417-a38f-aa167bad62a9|Nagarjuna–Chandrakīrti–Śāntideva – Focused Connections]] – triangulated overview of key Madhyamaka figures.