8 Special Features of the Middle Way Consequence View
Geshe Yeshe Thabkhe
The views of the Middle Way Consequence School on the ultimate reality are held by all Tibetan Buddhist traditions. There are eight uncommon features that distinguish this school from all the other Buddhist philosophical schools that first emerged in India and whose writings have been vigorously debated in Tibet ever since. Focusing on them draws out the key points that the teachings on emptiness are compatible with conventional reality.
In The Middle Way Consequence School, the ultimate truth of emptiness, that nothing exists intrinsically from its own side, exists in perfect harmony with the conventional truth, that everything is dependently originated. This undermines the root of all suffering, the fundamental ignorance that grasps at an intrinsically existing self, while at the same time allowing for the infallible unfolding of cause and effect. By meditating on this Middle Way between nihilism and eternalism, practitioners overcome all forms of ego-grasping and open the door to enlightenment.