Four great logical arguments of the Middle Way

Arya Nagarjuna

The four great logical arguments of the Middle Way (Tib. དབུ་མའི་གཏན་ཚིགས་ཆེན་པོ་བཞི་, umé tentsik chenpo shyi; Wyl. dbu ma'i gtan tshigs chen po bzhi) are:

1. The investigation of the cause: the Diamond Splinters
2. The investigation of the result: refuting existent or non-existent results
3. The investigation of the essential identity: ‘neither one nor many’
4. The investigation of all: the Great Interdependence

Sometimes it is said that there are ‘five great arguments of the Middle Way,’ but, according to Mipham Rinpoche, the fifth—the investigation of both the cause and the effect: refuting production according to the four alternatives—can be included within the first category, i.e., the investigation of the cause.

Further Reading

• Kangyur Rinpoche, Treasury of Precious Qualities (Boston & London: Shambhala, 2001), pages 334-338.
• Ringu Tulku, The Ri-me Philosophy of Jamgön Kongtrul the Great (Boston & London: Shambhala Publications, 2006), pages 199-202.

Internal Links

• Madhyamika

External Links

• The Four Great Logical Arguments of the Middle Way by Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche