Prāsaṇgika

(Tibetan, thal-gyur-pa). One of the major schools of Madhyamaka Buddhism whose main representatives were Buddhapālita and Candrakīrti. These authors use a reductio ad absurdum method of argumentation (prasaṇga) to derive undesired consequences from the premises of their opponents. Through the works of these philosophers, most other forms of Buddhism were subjected to extreme criticism, especially the rival Svātantrika-Madhyamaka and the Yogācāra schools. This form of Madhyamaka is the most influential in Tibetan Buddhism, especially among the Geluk school. It should be noted that the term itself is not attested in Indian Buddhist texts but has been created by modern scholars on the basis of the Tibetan exegetical term.