Madhyamakahṛdaya

Bhavaviveka.

Madhyamaka-hṛdaya (T. dbu ma’i snying po དབུ་མའི་སྙིང་པོ་), or The Heart of the Middle Way, is a Madhyamika treatise by Bhavaviveka. Its auto-commentary is called the Blaze of Reason (Tarkajvālā).

The Princeton Dictionary states:

The other major work of Bhāvaviveka is his Madhyamakahṛdaya, written in verse, and its prose autocommentary, the Tarkajvālā. The Madhyamakahṛdaya is preserved in both Sanskrit and Tibetan, the Tarkajvālā only in Tibetan. It is a work of eleven chapters, the first three and the last two of which set forth the main points in Bhāvaviveka’s view of the nature of reality and the Buddhist path, dealing with such topics as bodhicitta, the knowledge of reality (tattvajñāna), and omniscience (sarvajñātā). The intervening chapters set forth the positions (and Bhāvaviveka’s refutations) of various Buddhist and non-Buddhist schools, including the śrāvaka, Yogācāra, Sāṃkhya, Vaiśeṣika, Vedānta, and Mīmāṃsā. These chapters (along with Śāntarakṣita’s Tattvasaṃgraha) are an invaluable source of insight into the relations between Madhyamaka and other contemporary Indian philosophical schools, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist.

Outline

Chapters 1-3 present Bhavaviveka's own philosophy:

1. Not Relinquishing the Mind of Awakening

2. Taking the Vow of an Ascetic

3. Seeking the Knowledge of Reality

Chapters 4 and 5 present the views of his Buddhist opponents:

4. Introduction to the Analysis of Reality According to the Śrāvakas

5. Introduction to the Analysis of Reality According to the Yogācāras

Chapters 6-9 present the views of his Hindu opponents:

6. Introduction to Reality According to the Sāṃkhyas

7. Analysis of Reality According to the Vaiśeṣikas

8. Analysis of Reality According to the Vedanta

9. Introduction to the Analysis of Reality According to the Mīmāṃsā

The text concludes with a brief account of Jain views of omniscience and four verses in praise of the Buddha.

10. Exposition of the Realization of Omniscience

11. Exposition of Praise and Characteristics

Sources

• Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University 
• Eckel, Malcolm David (2009), Bhaviveka and His Buddhist Opponents: Chapters 4 and 5 of the verses on the Heart of the Middle Way (Madhyamakahrdayakarikah), Harvard University Press