Description: Madhyamaka, or "Middle Way," philosophy came to Tibet from India and became the basis of all of Tibetan Buddhism. The Tibetans, however, differentiated two streams of Madhyamaka philosophy -- Svatantrika and Prasangika. In this collection, leading scholars in the field address this Tibetan distinction on various levels, including the philosophical import for both Indian and Tibetan Madhyamaka and the historical development of the distinction.
Brief description: Georges Dreyfus was the first Westerner to obtain the title of Geshe Lharampa, the highest degree confered within the traditional Tibetan monastic system. He earned his PhD in the History of Religions at the University of Virginia. He is presently Professor of Religion at Williams College.