Madhyamakāvatāra

Candrakīrti. Entering the Middle Way: The Middle Way Autocommentary of Candrakīrti. Translated by The Padmakara Translation Group. Boston: Shambhala, 2017.

Key Terms: Madhyamakāvatāra, Madhyamaka, Candrakīrti

1. Madhyamakāvatāra

Basic meaning

• Sanskrit: Madhyamakāvatāra (also written Madhyamakavatara)
• Standard English renderings:
  • Introduction to the Middle Way
  • Entering the Middle Way

Sense: “Entrance into / introduction to the Middle Way (Madhyamaka) doctrine or path.”

Etymology

• madhya – “middle”
• madhyamaka – “one who takes/holds to the middle,” hence “a follower of the Middle Way” or “the Middle Way school, Madhyamaka”
• āvatāra – from prefix ā- (“toward, into”) + avatara (“descent, entering”) → “entering,” “introduction,” “initiation”

Compound sense:

Madhyamaka + āvatāra → “Entering / introduction to the Madhyamaka (Middle Way).”

Pronunciation

• Syllables: Ma-dhya-ma-kā-va-tā-ra
• IPA (classical Sanskrit): /məd̪ʱ.jə.mə.ˈkɑː.ʋə.ˈt̪ɑː.rə/
• Anglicized guide: “mudh-yuh-muh-KAA-vuh-TAA-ruh”

2. Madhyamaka

Basic meaning

• Sanskrit: Madhyamaka
• English: “The Middle Way” (name of the philosophical school rooted in Nāgārjuna)

Etymology

• madhya – “middle”
• Suffix -maka / -yaka → often forms an adjective or agentive noun

So madhyamaka literally means:

“One who is in the middle / adheres to the middle,”

and by extension:

“Follower of the Middle Way,” “proponent of the Middle Way view,” or the “Middle Way school” of philosophy.

Pronunciation

• Syllables: Ma-dhya-ma-ka
• IPA: /məd̪ʱ.jə.mə.kə/
• Anglicized guide: “mudh-yuh-muh-kuh,” with a very light final “uh.”

3. Candrakīrti

Basic meaning

• Sanskrit: Candrakīrti (often written Chandrakirti in English)
• Literal sense: “Glory of the moon” or “He whose fame is like the moon.”

Etymology

• candra – “moon,” also “shining, luminous, beautiful”
• kīrti – “fame, renown, glory”

Compound sense:

“Moon-glory,” i.e., ‘the one whose glory is like the moon,’ a typical auspicious monastic/pandit name.

Pronunciation

• Syllables: Can-dra-kīr-ti
• IPA: /ˈt͡ɕən.d̪rɐ.ˈkiːr.t̪i/ (in many Sanskrit traditions)

(In more Anglicized pronunciation, often nearer /ˈtʃʌn.drə.ˈkiːr.ti/.)

• Anglicized guide: “CHUN-dra-KEER-tee”

Where:

• Can- → like “chun” in “chunder” (not “can”)
• -dra- → “druh”
• -kīr- → “keer” (long “ee”)
• -ti → “tee”

Quick Reference Summary

• Madhyamakāvatāra – “Entering / Introduction to the Middle Way (Madhyamaka)”

Pronounced: “mudh-yuh-muh-KAA-vuh-TAA-ruh.”

• Madhyamaka – “The Middle Way (school/view),” ‘those in the middle’

Pronounced: “mudh-yuh-muh-kuh.”

• Candrakīrti – “Moon-glory,” ‘he whose glory is like the moon’

Pronounced: “CHUN-dra-KEER-tee.”