The Emptiness of Emptiness presents the first English translation of the complete text of the Madhyamakavatara (Entry into the Middle Way) a sixth century Sanskrit Buddhist composition that was widely studied in Tibet and, presumably, in its native India as well. In his lengthy introduction to the translation, Huntington offers a judiciously crafted, highly original discussion of the central philosophy of Mahayana Buddhism. He lays out the principal ideas of emptiness and dependent origination not as abstract philosophical concepts, but rather as powerful tools for restructuring the nature of human experience at the most fundamental level.

Drawing on a variety of Indian and Western sources, both ancient and modern, Huntington gradually leads the reader toward an understanding of how it is that sophisticated philosophical thinking can serve as a means for breaking down attachment to any idea, opinion or belief. All of this on the Buddhist premise that habitual, unreflective identification with ideas, opinions, or beliefs compromises our appreciation of the ungraspable miracle that lies at the heart of everyday, conventional reality. The author shows how the spiritual path of the bodhisattva works to transform the individual personality from a knot of clinging into a vehicle for the expression of profound wisdom (prajna) and unconditional love (karuna).

Emptiness of Emptiness: An Introduction to the Early Indian Madhayamika, C. W. Huntington with Geshe Namgyal Wangchen, University of Hawaii Press, $26.95

Huntington is a scholar who specializes in Madhyamaka Buddhism. He has published widely in academic journals and is the author of a novel, Maya (Wisdom Publications 2015). The Emptiness of Emptiness is a meticulously researched study accessible to anyone with a serious interest in Buddhist thought and practice.

CONTENTS: Emptiness of Emptiness
Preface				xi
Acknowledgments				xv
PART ONE: CANDRAKIRTI AND EARLY INDIAN MADHYAMIKA
1	Methodical Considerations			5
2	Candrakirti's Historical and Doctrinal Context			17
	2.1	The Entry into the Middle Way as a Mahayana text		17
	2.2	The bodhisattva ideal and the thought of awakening		19
	2.3	The stages in the path to full awakening		20
	2.4	The perfections of the bodhisattva's path		22
3	The Philosophical Language of the Madhyamika			25
	3.1	Sources for the study of Madhyamika thought		25
	3.2	Major figures in the development of Madhyamika thought		32
	3.3	History and doctrine of the Middle Way		36
	3.4	Major philosophical themes of The Entry into the Middle Way		40
		3.4.1	Dependent Origination	41
		3.4.2	Dependent designation	50
		3.4.3	Emptiness	55
	3.5	The debate with the Yogacara		60
		3.5.1	Sources for the study of Yogacara thought	60
		3.5.2	The Yogacara doctrine of "the three marks"	61
		3.5.3	The Prasangika critique	62
4	The Ten Perfections of the Bodhisattva Path			69
	4.1	The perfection of generosity		69
	4.2	The perfection of morality		70
	4.3	The perfection of patience		72
	4.4	The perfection of energy		73
	4.5	The perfection of meditation		75
	4.6	The perfection of wisdom		83
		4.6.1	The concept of "perfect wisdom"	83
		4.6.2	The relationship of perfect wisdom to the other perfections	89
		4.6.3	Candrakirti's presentation of the Sixth Stage	92
	4.7	The perfection of skillful means		99
	4.8	The perfection of the vow		100
	4.9	The perfection of powers		103
	4.10	The perfection of knowledge		103
5	The Emptiness of Emptiness: Philosophy as Propaganda			105
	5.1	The four noble truths		105
	5.2	Wisdom and the nature of illusion		109
	5.3	Knowledge and practice		113
	5.4	Nondualistic knowledge		119
	5.5	The bodhisattva's vow		122
	5.6	Universal compassion, nonclinging, and emptiness		124
PART TWO: THE ENTRY INTO THE MIDDLE WAY
Sources for the Translation				145
1	The Joyous			149
2	The Immaculate			151
3	The Luminous			153
4	The Radiant			155
5	The Unconquerable			156
6	The Direct Facing			157
		Introduction		157
		The non-origination of all things		158
		Spontaneous production: The first alternative		158
		Production from another: The second alternative		158
		Exposition of the two truths		160
		The nature of the empirical world as expressed in the truth of the highest meaning		161
		Refutation of consciousness as an ultimate truth		162
			Cognition in the absence of an external object	162
			Cognition as the result of "ripened potentiality"	164
		The unreality of both cognition and its object		163
		Refutation of a noncognized entity (reflexive awareness) as the ultimate truth		166
		The true meaning of teachings on "mind alone"		166
		The combination of self-production and production from another: The third alternative		168
		Production unassociated with any causal factor: The fourth alternative		169
		Summary of the refutation of intrinsic being		169
		Refutation of the intrinsically existent person
			Introduction	171
			Refutation of the self as different from the psychophysical aggregates	172
			Refutation of the self as identical to the psychophysical aggregates	172
			Refutation of the self as the composite of all five psychophysical aggregates	173
			Refutation of the self as equivalent to the body	173
			Summary of the preceding arguments	174
			Refutation of the self as an inexpressible yet real substance	175
		The self is compared to a carriage cognized in dependence on its parts		175
		The self as a dependent designation		176
		Summary of the refutation of production		177
		Defense of the Prasangika's use of deconstructive analysis		178
		The sixteen examples of emptiness		179
			Introduction	179
			The examples of emptiness	180
			The four condensed explanations	183
		Conclusion		183
7	The Far Advanced			185
8	The Immovable			186
9	The Unerring Intellect			187
10	The Cloud of Dharma			188
	The Qualities and Fruits of the Ten Stages			189
		The qualities associated with the ten stages of the bodhisattva's path		189
		The qualities associated with the stage of a fully awakened buddha		190
			The sameness of all things	190
			The three bodies of a buddha	190
			The ten powers of a buddha	192
		Conclusion		194
	Epilogue			196
Notes				199
Bibliography				269
Index				281