In the Root of the Middle Way, Nagarjuna presents a magical method of reasoning, inviting everyone who encounters these lucid and fearless contemplations to follow him on a journey to the heart of transcendent insight. Inspired by the Buddha's teachings on profound emptiness in the Prajnaparamita Sutras, Nagarjuna sets out to probe what appears to be the most fundamental facts of the world, challenging us to question even our most deeply ingrained ideas and what seem to be self-evident facts. In a series of unassuming and penetrating investigations, he asks basic questions such as: "What does it mean for something to occur? What is meant by 'going' or by 'coming'? Does the eye see? Does fire burn fuel? What is an example of being right? What does it mean to be wrong? Nagarjuna extends an invitation to open-minded and unprejudiced inquiry, and from his reader he asks for nothing more and nothing less than sincere and honest answers. Yet where are our answers? Once we begin to follow Nagarjuna's clear and direct steps, the gateway to the inconceivable emerges--perhaps unexpectedly. The present work contains Nagarjuna's verses on the Middle Way accompanied by Mabja Jangchub Tsondru's famed commentary, the Ornament of Reason. Active in the twelfth century, Mabja was among the first Tibetans to rely on the works of the Indian master Candrakirti, and his account of the Middle Way exercised a deep and lasting influence on the development of Madhyamaka philosophy in all four schools of Buddhism in Tibet. Sharp, concise, and yet comprehensive, the Ornament of Reason has been cherished by generations of scholar-practitioners. The late Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen Rinpoche, a renowned authority on the subject, often referred to this commentary as "the best there is." A visual outline of the commentary has been added that clearly shows the structure of each chapter and makes the arguments easier to follow.

Ornament of Reason: The Great Commentary to Nagarjuna's Root of the Middle Way, Mabja Jangchub Tsondru (Author), The Dharmachakra Translation Committee (Translator), Snow Lion Publications, Hardcover, 612 Pages, $54.95

Mabja Jangchub Tsondru, active in the twelfth century, was among the first Tibetans to rely on the works of the Indian master Candrakirti--and his account of the Middle Way exercised a deep and lasting influence on the development of Madhyamaka philosophy in all four schools of Buddhism in Tibet.

Nagarjuna, the South Indian Buddhist master who lived six hundred years after the Buddha, is undoubtedly the most important, influential, and widely studied Mahayana Buddhist philosopher.

	Contents: ORNAMENT OF REASON: The Great Commentary to Nagarjuna's Root of the Middle Way
	Foreword by H. H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama	ix
	Translator's Introduction	xi
	Insight - The Stanzas of the Root of the Middle Way	1
	Homage	3
1.	Analysis of Conditions	5
2.	Analysis of Going and Coming	8
3.	Analysis of the Sense Sources	12
4.	Analysis of the Aggregates	14
5.	Analysis of the Elements	16
6.	Analysis of Desire and the Desirous One	18
7.	Analysis of the Characteristics of the Conditioned	20
8.	Analysis of Action and Agent	25
9.	Analysis of Prior Existence	27
10.	Analysis of Fire and Fuel	29
11.	Analysis of Beginnings and Ends	32
12.	Analysis of Suffering	34
13.	Analysis of the Conditioned	36
14.	Analysis of Contact	38
15.	Analysis of Nature	40
16.	Analysis of Bondage and Liberation	42
17.	Analysis of Action and Its Results	44
18.	Analysis of Self and Phenomena	49
19.	Analysis of Time	51
20.	Analysis of the Assembly	52
21.	Analysis of Arising and Disintegration	56
22.	Analysis of the Thus-Gone	59
23.	Analysis of Error	62
24.	Analysis of the Noble Truths	66
25.	Analysis of the Transcendence of Suffering	72
26.	Analysis of Dependent Origination	76
27.	Analysis of Views	78
	Commentary: Ornament of Reason	83
	Preliminary Discussion	87
	The Meaning of the Scripture	109
	The Meaning of the Opening Lines	109
	The Meaning of the Main Part of the Treatise	122
	Ascertaining the Meaning of the Chapters	122
	Explaining the Progression of the Text	136
	1. Analysis of Conditions	137
	2. Analysis of Going and Coming	175
	3. Analysis of the Sense Sources	197
	4. Analysis of the Aggregates	205
	5. Analysis of the Elements	213
	6. Analysis of Desire and the Desirous One	221
	7. Analysis of the Characteristics of the Conditioned	230
	8. Analysis of Action and Agent	255
	9. Analysis of Prior Existence	266
	10. Analysis of Fire and Fuel	276
	11. Analysis of Beginnings and Ends	290
	12. Analysis of Suffering	296
	13. Analysis of the Conditioned	305
	14. Analysis of Contact	315
	15. Analysis of Nature	322
	16. Analysis of Bondage and Liberation	334
	17. Analysis of Action and Its Results	346
	18. Analysis of Self and Phenomena	368
	19. Analysis of Time	384
	20. Analysis of the Assembly	391
	21. Analysis of Arising and Disintegration	405
	22. Analysis of the Thus-Gone	418
	23. Analysis of Error	430
	24. Analysis of the Noble Truths	447
	25. Analysis of the Transcendence of Suffering	478
	26. Analysis of Dependent Origination	495
	27. Analysis of Views	516
	The Meaning of the Postscript	531
	Appendix: Mabja's Topical Outline	533
	Works Cited	577
	Index	583