The philosophical tradition systematized by Nāgārjuna that avoids the extremes of eternalism and nihilism, disclosing reality free from all extremes. +
A common property shared by particular things. In Dharmaklrti s system of valid cognition, universals are simply unreal, conceptual constructs that are incapable of performing a function, in contrast to particulars. +
One of the three main sections of the Buddhist canon containing philosophy, cosmology, and psychology. An important feature of the philosophical analysis found in these texts is that complex phenomena are explained in terms of their more fundamental constituents, or elements (''dharmas''), that are held to compose reality. +
(1) A genre of text attributed to the Buddha, or another enlightened being, that gives extraordinary teachings in mythological settings; (2) the Vajrayāna, a direct path to become a buddha that contrasts with the path of sutra. +
The lowest among the four main philosophical systems in Tibet; this Lesser Vehicle philosophical school holds the view that irreducible material particles and indivisible moments of mind are substantially existent. +
A Middle Way view, mainly associated with the Jonang school, that claims that the ultimate truth (the content of authentic experience) is not empty of its own essence but is only empty of what is extrinsic to it (i.e., relative phenomena, or the content of inauthentic experience). +
Author of the ''Introduction to the Middle Way'' and a pivotal figure who is identified with the Consequence School of interpretation of the Middle Way. +
Objective, ultimate, or real existence; the quality of something that essentially exists on its own. last wheel of Dharma: One of three sets of sutras that contain teachings of buddha-nature and the Mind-Only School. +
Among the four philosophical systems, one of the Lesser Vehicle schools that asserts that irreducible particles of matter and indivisible moments of mind are substantially existent. Unlike the Great Exposition School, this tradition upholds reflexive awareness and attributes ultimate status only to functional particulars, +
The traditions of the "new schools" of translation (e.g., Sakya, Jonang, Kagyü, Geluk) of Buddhist texts into Tibet, which developed from the eleventh century onward, as opposed to the old school (Nyingma) that traces its history in Tibet to the eighth century. +
A conceptual framework; the working assumption of the threefold conceptualization of agent, object, and action, which serves to prevent the attainment of complete buddhahood. +