Four Masters of the Indian Centrist Way

As I mentioned in my second posting on this summer blog, the Indian Buddhist master Chandrakirti’s Entry to the Centrist Way (or Introduction to the Middle Way) is one of a few books I’ve brought along to Asia for this summer. Ironically, I barely read any of it while in Tibet. Instead, the little reading I did while in Tibet was from Gary Snyder’s The Practice of the Wild and Aelred’s Spiritual Friendship. But now that I’m back in Malaysia, it’s time to return to Chandrakirti. As a way of establishing “auspicious interdependence,” I thought I’d blog a bit on Chandrakirti and the Centrist Way (Madhyamaka).

Of the great masters of the Indian Centrist Way, four figures stand out – Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Shantideva and Chandrakirti. Nagarjuna is of course the purported founder of the Centrist Way system who definitively expressed the heart of the Buddha’s teachings in his important text, Root Verses on the Centrist Way (Mulamadhyamaka-karika). Tibetans thus regard Nagarjuna’s Root Verses as the most incisive presentation of the View of the Centrist Way. Nagarjuna is so revered in Mahayana tradition that he is often referred to as the “Second Buddha.” Following Nagarjuna was Aryadeva. Aryadeva was Nagarjuna’s disciple and foremost successor. Aryadeva was the one who successfully clarified, defended and propagated Nagarjuna’s teachings in the face of challenges from adherents of Buddhist and non-Buddhist philosophical systems. In particular, Aryadeva’s Four Hundred Verse Treatise (Catuhsataka) most clearly presents the Meditation approach of the Centrist School. The third major figure in the Indian Centrist Way is Shantideva who composed Entry into Bodhisattva’s Way (Bodhicharyavatara). In particular, his Entry into Bodhisattva’s Wayis well-known for clearly delineating the Conduct aspect of the Centrist School. Finally, Chandrakirti who lived more than half a millennium after Nagarjuna composed Entry to the Centrist Way (Madhyamakavatara) – a Centrist text that succinctly presents the complete View, Meditation and Conduct of the Centrist Way. Most traditional curriculum for mastering the Centrist Way begins with the study of Chandrakirti’s Entry to the Centrist Way. Entry to the Centrist Way is a good introduction to the Centrist Way since it covers all the important points taught by masters of the Centrist Way, equally treating all three aspects of View, Meditation and Conduct. In this sense, it provides a grand overview of the Centrist Way. Furthermore, rather than presenting the Centrist Way’s understanding of “emptiness” in an extensive manner, it takes a more manageable (especially for beginners) analysis of the subject. Instead of employing a plethora of examples (like Nagarjuna), Chandrakirti takes the approach of a more focused or centered analysis. For these two main reasons, Entry to the Centrist Way is especially suitable for those desiring to study the Centrist Way approach via listening, contemplating and practicing.