(470-540)
A teacher and commentator of the Prāsaṇgika branch of the Madhyamaka school. He is the author of the Mūla-madhyamaka-vṛtti, a commentary on the Mūla-madhyamaka-kārikā of Nāgārjuna, the 2nd-century founder of the school. Buddhapālita's commentary, which survives in Tibetan, contains 27 chapters and is divided into ten sections. Buddhapālita's interpretation of Madhyamaka was criticized by the Svātantrika-Madhyamaka author Bhāvaviveka who was in turn refuted by Candrakīrti, the most famous exponent of the Prāsaṇgika interpretation.
