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Entering the Middle Way
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Throughout his life, the Buddha taught countless Dharma teachings, traditionally described as the “84,000 teachings.” Among them, which teaching reveals the very heart of the Buddha’s wisdom?
Near the time of his parinirvāṇa, the Buddha left Ānanda with an especially profound instruction:
“After I enter nirvāṇa, even if you forget all my other teachings, you must never forget even a single word or phrase of the Prajñāpāramitā. You must preserve it well.”
This final instruction reveals the extraordinary importance of the wisdom of prajñā and emptiness.
Although the Buddha taught countless methods suited to different beings, the ultimate purpose of all Dharma teachings is to guide us beyond our fundamental grasping at the notions of “self” and “what belongs to self.” As long as this grasping remains, we continue to wander under the influence of attachment, aversion, and ignorance, repeatedly experiencing suffering amid cycles of pursuit and loss.
We often believe that wealth can bring security, technology can bring happiness, medicine can eliminate illness, relationships can provide support, and our own abilities can allow us to control our lives.
Yet all worldly methods, while they may improve our circumstances temporarily, cannot uproot the fundamental cause of suffering: self-grasping and ignorance.
Only by awakening the wisdom of emptiness can we truly see the illusory nature of the “self,” cut through the root of suffering, and attain genuine freedom.
As Śāntideva states in The Way of the Bodhisattva:
“Therefore, those who wish to end suffering should cultivate the wisdom of emptiness.”
The very purpose of Entering the Middle Way is to guide beings toward this profound wisdom of emptiness.
Khenpo Sodargye has emphasized:
“Without understanding the essence of Madhyamaka, one cannot reach the heart of the Buddha’s teachings.”
“A true Buddhist practitioner is someone who has some understanding of the teachings on selflessness and emptiness.”
Therefore, throughout the vast ocean of Buddhist scriptures and treatises, the Madhyamaka teachings that reveal the correct view of emptiness have long been regarded as the very heart of Mahāyāna Buddhism.
Within the Madhyamaka tradition, Nāgārjuna’s Root Stanzas of the Middle Way, Āryadeva’s Four Hundred Stanzas on the Middle Way, and Candrakīrti’s Entering the Middle Way are regarded as the three most essential Madhyamaka treatises. For centuries, they have been highly revered by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
Entering the Middle Way presents the core meaning of the Prajñāpāramitā teachings. Its author, the great master Candrakīrti, was a holder of Nāgārjuna’s lineage.
This treatise teaches the profound Dharma of emptiness. Belonging to the Mahāyāna tradition, its essential meaning lies within the teachings of prajñā. Its intended audience consists of those who have faith in the teachings on emptiness—those described in the sixth chapter of the text as beings whose hairs stand on end and whose hearts fill with great joy upon hearing teachings on emptiness.
Regarding the author of this great treatise, Candrakīrti, many extraordinary accounts have been recorded. Among them is the famous story of “the painted cow producing milk.”
According to historical accounts, Candrakīrti entered monastic life at Nālandā University when he was still very young. He mastered both the sūtra and tantra teachings. However, among the monastic community, apart from eating and sleeping, he rarely entered the main assembly hall or joined communal practices with other monks.
At the time, many people wished to expel him from the monastery. Yet his teacher never agreed. Eventually, with no other solution, they asked him to take responsibility for looking after the monastery’s cattle.
Candrakīrti, however, did not actually go out to herd the cows. Instead, he drew a picture of a cow outside the monastery. Astonishingly, the painted cow was able to provide milk for the monks.
Of course, the significance of this story is not merely the display of an extraordinary miraculous ability. Rather, it demonstrates Candrakīrti’s profound realization of Nāgārjuna’s Madhyamaka view and his direct understanding of emptiness. Having realized the nature of reality, even a painted image of a cow could manifest extraordinary functions.
Such a profound teaching has continued to be transmitted and explained by great masters throughout history, allowing later generations of practitioners to rely on these treatises and awaken their wisdom.
Khenpo Sodargye has often reflected on his own journey of study and practice, saying that Entering the Middle Way became one of the treatises to which he devoted the greatest effort throughout his years of learning, contemplation, and practice.
· 1985 — Khenpo Sodargye entered Larung Gar Five Sciences Buddhist Academy and became ordained.
· 1986 — He memorized Entering the Middle Way and studied it under His Holiness Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche and Khenpo Tepa.
· 1987 — He taught Entering the Middle Way to both Chinese and Tibetan practitioners.
· 1989 — He taught the text to several several Tibetan lamas at Larung Gar Five Sciences Buddhist Academy.
· 1990 — He gave teachings on the verses of Entering the Middle Way.
· Around 1992 — He translated Mipham Rinpoche’s teaching outline for Entering the Middle Way. This was the first formal translation he completed, and he also taught the text to a small group of Chinese practitioners.
· After 1994 — More than thirty years passed without him teaching this treatise again.
These experiences reflect the deep and lasting connection between Khenpo Sodargye and Entering the Middle Way.
Looking back on those years of study, Khenpo once recalled:
“Sometimes when I look back, I feel that I was like a ‘passionate young man’ at that time. Whenever we gathered to discuss the meaning of Madhyamaka—whether through study, debate, or exchanges of ideas—the discussions were always intense and enthusiastic.”
Those years of passionate study left a profound imprint of Madhyamaka wisdom in Khenpo’s life. Over the decades, whether through study, translation, or teaching, his connection with this profound tradition has never been interrupted.
More than thirty years after his previous teachings, in 2026, Khenpo Sodargye once again began teaching Entering the Middle Way, bringing together the accumulation of decades of study and realization.
He openly shared:
“This should probably be my final teaching of this text in this lifetime. I may not have another opportunity to teach it again, so I hope everyone will cherish this precious connection and, ideally, study the entire text from beginning to end.”
This renewed teaching of Entering the Middle Way is not only a continuation of the Dharma lineage, but also a culmination of Khenpo’s decades of study, contemplation, and practice.
For those who wish to deeply understand the Buddha’s wisdom of prajñā and explore the profound meaning of Madhyamaka emptiness, this is a rare and precious opportunity.
A journalist once asked Khenpo Sodargye:
“What are you addicted to?”
The Khenpo answered candidly:
“I’m addicted to reading books on Madhyamaka.”
Behind this simple statement lies the lifelong dedication of a great Buddhist master who has devoted himself to studying, practicing, translating, and teaching the wisdom of Madhyamaka.
What kind of wisdom could inspire such profound fascination and lifelong devotion?
Let us approach this great Madhyamaka classic that made a Buddhist scholar “addicted,” explore together the core wisdom of the Middle Way, and become, for a moment, “passionate young students of Madhyamaka.”
May we take up the sword of wisdom that realizes selflessness and emptiness, cut through the bonds of ignorance and self-grasping, and journey toward awakening and true freedom.
