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This glossary contains an alphabetical list of Buddhist terms that you may find on this website. Many of the terms now include phoneticized Sanskrit (Skt) as well as two forms of Tibetan—the phonetic version (Tib), which is a guide to pronunciation, and transliteration using the Wylie method (Wyl). Search for the term you want by entering it in the search box or browse through the listing by clicking on the letters below. Please see our Content Disclaimer regarding English terms in LYWA publications that may be outdated and should be considered in context.

Madhyamaka (Skt)

u ma (Tib); bdu ma (Wyl)

The Middle Way school, one of the two Mahayana (Great Vehicle) philosophical schools. The Middle Way school does not assert true establishment even conventionally. There are two divisions of the Middle Way school: 1) Autonomists (Skt: Svatantrika) and 2) Consequentialists (Skt: Prasangika). The Middle Way school was founded by Nagarjuna, based on the Prajnaparamita sutras of Shakyamuni Buddha, and is considered to be the supreme presentation of emptiness according to the Gelug tradition. See also Madhyamika and the four Buddhist philosophical schools.