The Middle Way: An Analysis of the Yogacara Reinterpretation of the Madhyamika Concept of Madhyama Pratipad

Abstract

This thesis examines the concept of Madhyama Pratipad in light of the interpretations given by the Yogacara thinkers Vasubandhu and Asanga and by the Madhyamikas Nagarjuna: and Candrakirti. I also discuss madhyama pratipad in relation to the concepts of Sunyata, trisvabhava, and pratitya samutpada, and attempts to show in what ways the Yogacara acaryas differ from the Madhyamikas, and in what ways they are similar.