First class of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Sept. 1, 1994). Following introductory remarks and an overview of the syllabus for the course, this first lecture provides an overview of the course content, foundational texts, their contexts, and the figures whose writings are covered in the course.

Class #2 of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Sept. 6, 1994). The lecture begins with a discussion of Tsong-kha-pa's commentary on the sixth chapter of Candrakīrti's "Entrance to the Middle Way" (madhyamaka-avatāra; dbu ma la 'jug pa). This includes a discussion of the ten grounds (bhūmi; sa) as well as the significance of the sixth Bodhisattva "ground", the idea of a wisdom consciousness realizing emptiness in meditative equipoise (samāhita; mnyam bzhag), the role of reasoning in Indian commentaries vs. in Buddhist sūtras, and the life and prophecies of Nāgārjuna.

Class #3 of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Sept. 8, 1994). The lecture continues the discussion of the sixth chapter of Candrakīrti's "Entrance to the Middle Way" (madhyamaka-avatāra; dbu ma la 'jug pa). Topics discussed include suitable vessels for the teachings, the importance of ethics in enabling the study of emptiness, and merit and motivation in the study and teaching of emptiness.

Class #4 of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Sept. 14, 1995). Following preliminary questions and answers on readings in _Meditation on Emptiness_, the lecture begins the discussion of the second chapter of Nāgārjuna's "Fundamental Treatise on the Middle Way" (mūla-madhyamaka-karikā; dbu ma rtsa ba'i tshig le'ur byed pa) with Candrakīrti's "Clear Words" (prasannapadā; tshig gsal ba) commentary.

Class #5 of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Sept. 15, 1994). The lecture continues the discussion of the second chapter of Nāgārjuna's "Fundamental Treatise on the Middle Way" (mūla-madhyamaka-karikā; dbu ma rtsa ba'i tshig le'ur byed pa) with Candrakīrti's "Clear Words" (prasannapadā; tshig gsal ba) commentary. Ancillary topics covered include: the Prasāṅgika perspective on the difference between reasonings on emptiness between the Mahāyāna and Hinayāna schools, the difficulties of translating Nāgārjuna's root text, why Nāgārjuna might be considered nihilistic by analogy to Parmenides and Zeno.

Class #6 of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Sept. 20, 1994). The lecture continues the discussion of the second chapter of Nāgārjuna's "Fundamental Treatise on the Middle Way" (mūla-madhyamaka-karikā; dbu ma rtsa ba'i tshig le'ur byed pa) with Candrakīrti's "Clear Words" (prasannapadā; tshig gsal ba) commentary. Ancillary topics covered include: the manner in which the ultimate analysis leads to an understanding of the illusion-like nature of conventional phenomena, the necessity and compatibility of virtue with wisdom, the way of conceiving of goer and going in relation to the idea of inherent existence, being "one entity" in contrast to being "one", etc.

Class #7 of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Sept. 22, 1994). The lecture covers Trijang Lo-sang-ye-she-tan-dzin-gya-tsho's topical outline to Tsong-kha-pa's "Middle-length Exposition of Special Insight" as a way of entering into the discussion of the topic. The lecture begins with a discussion of how to delineate the view of emptiness, beginning with identifying afflictive ignorance.

Class #8 of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Sept. 27, 1994). The lecture continues the discussion of the sixth chapter of Candrakīrti's "Entrance to the Middle Way" (madhyamaka-avatāra; dbu ma la 'jug pa) with Tsong-ka-pa's commentary -- the "Illumination of the Thought" (dgongs pa rab gsal). Topics discussed include: the conception of true existence in the Prasāṅgika-mādhyamika school, the sequence of composition of Tsong-kha-pa's works on the view in Prāsaṅgika, imputation by conceptuality, objects existing conventionally without investigation or analysis vs. objects being posited upon having engaged in analysis, and understanding the example of imputing "snake" to a rope.

Class #9 of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Sept. 29, 1994). The lecture finishes the discussion of the sixth chapter of Candrakīrti's "Entrance to the Middle Way" (madhyamaka-avatāra; dbu ma la 'jug pa) with Tsong-kha-pa's commentary -- the "Illumination of the Thought" (dgongs pa rab gsal) -- and then proceeds to discuss the uncommon features of Madhyamaka as presented in Tsong-kha-pa's "Great Exposition of the Stages of the Path" (lam rim chen mo). Topics include: the view of the transitory as limited to a self of persons, the scope of 'I' and 'mine' in relation to analysis into selflessness, three types of conceptual consciousnesses, the uncommon feature of Madhyamaka and Tsong-kha-pa's critique of previous Tibetan Madhyamaka scholars, the distinction between existence and inherent existence, Prāsaṅgikas "not having a system," the law of the excluded middle in Madhyamaka, etc.

Class #10 of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Oct. 4, 1994). The lecture consists of an introduction to topics in Middle Way (Madhyamaka) Philosophy. Topics include: the sense in which conventional truths are produced by ignorance; hermeneutical issues with Nāgārjuna, Candrakīrti, and later Gelukpa scholars; the gradations of teachings with regard to emptiness; review of the four schools of tenets; selflessness vs. subtle selflessness in Prāsaṅgika, etc.

Class #11 of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Oct. 6, 1994). The lecture continues the discussion of what is imputed in selflessness. Topics include: the refutation of "true establishment" (bden par grub pa) and its meaning in Prāsaṅgika and Svātantrika, non-defective awareness and the four superficial causes of error, the two truths, and the meaning of "conventional" (saṃvṛtti).

Class #12 of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Oct. 11, 1994). The lecture covers the distinctiveness of Candrakīrti, the identification of true existence in the Svātantrika school and its contrast with the object(s) of negation in Cittamātra, and unique Prāsaṅgika perspectives on the object of negation.

Class #14 of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Oct. 20, 1994). The lecture discusses the textual source for the object of negation in Svāntantrika, the distinction between the two truths in terms of ontology and epistemology, the basis of division into the two truths, thoughts on the impact of translation equivalent selection.

Class #15 of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Oct. 25, 1994). The lecture discusses production and the four possibilities (from self, other, both, and neither), relationship between cause and effect, production according to Prasāṅgika, and worldly notions of production from other.

Class #16 of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Oct. 27, 1994). The lecture discusses the analyses of the four types of production; assumptions of inherent existence in desire, hatred, and ignorance; different styles of talking about emptiness; Saṃkhyā notions of self-production, and popular conceptions of self-production.

Class #17 of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Nov. 1, 1994). The lecture begins with a brief introduction to Tsong-kha-pa's presentation of the sixteen problems solved by not asserting inherent existence, and the eighteen distinctive features of the Prasāṅgika system in the Geluk presentation, such as the denial of the existence of self-cognition (svasaṃvedana; rang rig), etc. The lecture then resumes the analyses of the four types of production, proceeding to a discussion of "real" and "unreal" with regard to a worldly consciousness.

Class #18 of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Nov. 3, 1994). The lecture begins with a brief presentation of the critique by Richard Robinson of Nāgārjuna and his characterization of the Madhyamaka reasonings as "a shell game," followed by a discussion of the manner in which the Madhyamaka reasonings function according to Gelukpa scholars. This is followed by a discussion of the different ways of defining inherent existence and avoiding a definition of the object of negation that is too narrow. The lecture concludes with reminiscences about Richard Robinson.

Class #19 of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Nov. 14, 1994). The lecture addresses questions related to Guy Newland's _The Two Truths_ such as the relationship between emptiness, true cessations, ultimate truths, and nirvāṇa in the opinions of 'Jam-dbyangs-bzhad-pa (1648-1721/1722) and Paṇ-chen Bsod-nams-grags-pa (1478-1554); objects of comprehension (gzhal bya) vs. objects that are found (rnyed don) by a conventional valid cognition; and, the epistemological vs. ontological approaches to emptiness.

Class #20 of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Nov. 10, 1994). The lecture begins with a discussion of the emptiness of emptiness, and proceeds on to omniscience and the perceptions of a Buddha, and how that relates to tantric visualizations during Generation Stage practices. The lecture then begins summarizing the unique assertions of the Middle Way Consequence School according to 'Jam-dbyangs-bzhad-pa (1648-1721/1722), including the existence of external objects and a mind-basis-of-all (alayavijñāna), and the two selflessnesses.

The lecture begins with a dicussion of T.R.V. Murti's ideas about the two truths, proceeds to discuss the difference between analysis that is involved in constructing a philosophical system with analysis in a meditative context, and then continues the discussion of the unique assertions of the Middle Way Consequence School according to 'Jam-dbyangs-bzhad-pa (1648-1721/1722). After reviewing the topic of the ālaya-vijñāna in the context of unique tenets of Prāsaṅgika-madhyamaka, the discussion moves on to conventional valid cognition (and the etymology of pramāṇa), conceptual mental direct perception, yogic direct perception by ordinary persons, subtlty of the object of negation, the three times being implicitly established as functioning things, disintegrateness being a functioning thing, etc.

The lecture begins with a discussion of B.K. Matilal's ideas about Madhyamaka and what it means to "have tenets" in Madhyamaka, and then continues the discussion of the unique assertions of the Middle Way Consequence School according to 'Jam-dbyangs-bzhad-pa (1648-1721/1722), covering the non-assertion of autonomous syllogisms (svātantra; rang rgyud) and self-consciousness (svasaṃvedana; rang rig), and that perception (pratyakṣa; mngon gyur) refers to objects not subjects (mngon sum), and true cessations (nirodha-satya; 'gog bden).

Class #23 of Jeffrey Hopkins's "Madhyamaka Seminar" (Nov. 29, 1994). The lecture reviews the significance of the unique perspective of Candrakīrti as highlighted by Tsong-kha-pa, and then concludes the discussion of the unique assertions of the Middle Way Consequence School according to 'Jam-dbyangs-bzhad-pa (1648-1721/1722), covering nirvāṇa with and without remainder, and predispositions and non-afflictive ignorance being obstructions to omniscience (and incidentally, the afflictive obstructions and obstructions to omniscience in Cittamātra and Svātantrika).

The lecture concludes the course by discussing the ontology of the Madhyamaka school in terms of the organization of phenomena, beginning with "the selfless" (bdag med, nairatmya).