Introduction to the Middle Way
Madhyamakāvatāra · Candrakīrti (Chandrakīrti) · Madhyamaka śāstra
Siddhartha’s Intent provides Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s teachings on Candrakīrti’s Introduction to the Middle Way, with translated root verses, edited by Alex Li Trisoglio.
Related Atlas readings
Translations & sourcesEditions & translators
Siddhartha’s Intent provides Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s teachings on the text, edited by Alex Li Trisoglio. Choose the English download on the source page. The separate Shambhala edition below translates the root verses and includes Mipham’s commentary.
Siddhartha’s Intent provides Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s teachings on the text, edited by Alex Li Trisoglio. Choose the English download on the source page. The separate Shambhala edition below translates the root verses and includes Mipham’s commentary.
Edition & attribution
An introduction. Follow the links below for translated verses with teaching commentary and a separate published edition.
Introductions, reflection questions and added section headings are editorial material, separate from the attributed translation.
The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork created for Buddhist Atlas. It is an evocative companion, not a depiction of the text’s historical setting.
Free PDF · teaching commentary with translated verses
Source link checked October 13, 2026. The linked publisher provides the text and its usage terms.
Connections
Guru Viking0
No connected episodes found for this text.
People & teachers3
- Candrakīrti
Author of the Madhyamakāvatāra.
Source
- Nāgārjuna
Earlier Madhyamaka author whose thought this treatise interprets.
Source
- The Fourteenth Dalai Lama
Teaches on this text:
Traditions & history4
- Madhyamaka
Philosophical context for Candrakīrti’s treatment of emptiness.
Source
- Early transmission to Tibet
Reception context: an Indian work central to later Tibetan study.
Source
- Madhyamaka
Study context: this text is included in the Atlas guide to Madhyamaka.
- Tibetan traditions
Study context: this text is included in the Atlas guide to Tibetan traditions.
Books1
- Nāgārjuna’s Middle Way
Translation and commentary on Nāgārjuna’s foundational Root Verses; preparation for Candrakīrti’s interpretation, not a translation of this work.
Source
Topics2
- Emptiness & not-self
Explore Emptiness & not-self across the Atlas.
- Love, compassion & relationships
Explore Love, compassion & relationships across the Atlas.
Make yourself comfortable
About this textContext & reading guide
Candrakīrti’s Madhyamakāvatāra, also translated as Entering the Middle Way, brings Nāgārjuna’s Madhyamaka philosophy into an account of the bodhisattva path. It begins with compassion and follows the bodhisattva grounds, giving extensive attention to wisdom and emptiness in its sixth chapter.
The title describes entry into a philosophical tradition; the work is demanding. Begin with its opening verses and a commentary, then study the arguments slowly. The Mahāyāna study path links it with Nāgārjuna and Śāntideva, while keeping the Yogācāra works of Asaṅga and Vasubandhu in a distinct route.