Fifteenth-century Buddhist scholar Gorampa challenged his contemporaries - thinking about the fundamental concept of "emptiness," pioneering an approach that avoided what he critiqued as the traps of eternalism and nihilism. Freedom from Extremes is his powerful polemic on the subject. This critical edition of a book renowned for its conciseness, lucidness, and profundity provides students and scholars with direct access to Gorampa's own words. The authors offer illuminating context in an extensive introduction on his life and work, along with an overview of Tibetan polemical literature.

Freedom from Extremes: Gorampa's "Distinguishing the Views" and the Polemics of Emptiness, Wisdom Publications, Paperback, 414 Pages, $32.95

Jos Ignacio Cabezn is Professor of Tibetan Buddhism and Cultural Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara. He studied physics as an undergraduate at Caltech, trained as a monk at Sera Monastery in India, translated for the Dalai Lama into Spanish, and in 1987 earned his PhD from the University of WisconsinMadison. Before coming to Santa Barbara, he was on the faculty of the Iliff School of Theology in Denver from 19892001. Cabezn is the author or editor of a dozen books and many more articles on various aspects of Tibetan religion and religious studies, with research interests as diverse as Madhyamaka philosophy, Buddhism and sex, and Tibetan ritual. His latest publication, the Sera Project, is a peer-reviewed database of essays, over 1400 images, and an interactive map of Sera Monastery in Lhasa, Tibet.

	Contents: Freedom from Extremes: Gorampa's "Distinguishing the Views" and the Polemics of Emptiness
	Preface by Jose Ignacio Cabezon	vii
	In Memoriam: Geshe Lobsang Dargay (1935-94) by Eva Neumaier	xi
	Introduction	1
	DISTINGUISHING THE VIEWS OF EMPTINESS: MOONLIGHT TO ILLUMINATE THE MAIN POINTS OF THE SUPREME PATH
	Thematic Subdivisions of the Text	63
	Chapter 1 Three Ways of Understanding the Madhymaka	69
	Chapter 2 The Refutation of Dol po pa	97
	Chapter 3 The Refutation of Tsong kha pa	115
	Chapter 4 The Middle Way as Freedom from Extremes	203
	Abbreviations	239
	Notes	243
	Bibliography	337
	Index	383