Rangtong

Nāgārjuna (, ; ) was an Indian philosopher and Mahāyāna Buddhist monk of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school. Nāgārjuna is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers. He was the founder of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy and a defender of the Mahāyāna movement. His Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Root Verses on Madhyamaka, MMK) is the most important text on the Madhyamaka philosophy of emptiness. The MMK inspired a large number of commentaries in Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan, Korean and Japanese and continues to be studied today.

Śūnyatā ( ; ; "emptiness", "voidness", "vacuity") is an Indian philosophical concept In Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, and other Indian philosophical traditions. The concept has multiple meanings depending on its doctrinal context; an ontological feature of reality, a meditative state, or a phenomenological analysis of experience.

thumb|240px|An illustration of Je Tsongkhapa, the founder, and his two principal students (Kédrup and Gyeltsap) on his left and right with other lineage teachers and protectors of the Gelug tradition thumb|240px|14th Dalai Lama|The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 [[Kalachakra ceremony, Bodhgaya (India)]]

Madhyamaka (; ; , chữ Nôm: ; ) also known as Madhyamika () refers to a tradition of Buddhist philosophy and practice founded by the Indian Buddhist monk and philosopher Nāgārjuna (). The foundational text of the Mādhyamaka tradition is Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā ("Root Verses on the Middle Way"). More broadly, Madhyamaka also refers to the ultimate nature of phenomena as well as the non-conceptual realization of ultimate reality that is experienced in meditation.

Tibetan Buddhist monk, philosopher, and guru (c. 1357–1419)