The Madhyamaka (Middle Way) school is one of the most important and profound philosophical traditions of Mahāyāna Buddhism and is key to the understanding of emptiness (śūnyatā). The Indian master Nāgārjuna (ca. 2^nd c.) is traditionally considered to be the founder of the Madhyamaka school. Nāgārjuna’s writings became the basis for a vast commentarial tradition, giving rise to different philosophical schools based on diverging interpretations of his ideas. These traditions were eventually transmitted to Tibet, where competing understandings of Madhyamaka emerged within the different Tibetan schools.

Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), the founder of the Geluk school, became one of the most important and prolific commentators on Madhyamaka, seeking to clarify doubts about the views of the great Indian Madhyamaka masters. Tsongkhapa argued that the Prāsaṅgika-Madhyamaka (Middle Way Consequentialist) view (as taught by Nāgārjuna, Āryadeva, Buddhapālita, and Candrakīrti) was the highest view, distinguishing it from the Svātantrika-Madhyamaka (Middle Way Autonomist) views of masters such as Bhāvaviveka, Kamalaśīla, and Śāntarakṣita.

Below are selections of translated works by these masters.

Indian Madhyamaka Masters