The Madhyamaka School of Indian Buddhist thought has had tremendous influence in the Buddhist world, particularly in Tibet, China and Japan: in the West it has become the subject of intense interest in the fields of comparative religion and philosophy. Many aspects of Madhyamaka thought, however, remain obscure, especially during the period when Buddhist thought was first introduced to Tibet.

Jñanagarbha's Commentary on the Distinction between the Two Truths is a concise and lucid introduction to the issues and personalities that dominated Indian Madhyamaka thought on the eve of its introduction to Tibet. As an example of the influential but little-known Svatantrika branch of the Madhyamaka School, Jñanagarbha's work shows quite vividly how the commitment to reason in the search for ultimate truth shaped not only the dialogue between Madhyamaka thinkers and members of other Buddhist schools, but also the evolution of the Madhyamaka tradition itself.

David Eckel has translated Jñanagarbha's text in its entirety and provided an introduction that situates the text clearly in its historical and philosophical context. Extensive notes, a transliterated version of the Tibetan translation, and a reproduction of the original Tibetan blockprints make this volume useful to scholars as well as to the interested general reader.