Dependent designation (from ; ; ) is a

doctrine Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a ...

Madhyamika Madhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; ; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ་ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no ''svabhāva'' doctrine"), refers to a tradition of Bud ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. The term was coined (or appeared to be coined) by

Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna (Sanskrit: नागार्जुन, ''Nāgārjuna''; ) was an Indian monk and Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhist Philosophy, philosopher of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school. He is widely considered one of the most importa ...

in 24:18 of the

Mūlamadhyamakakārikā The ''Mūlamadhyamakakārikā'' (), abbreviated as ''MMK'', is the foundational text of the Madhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy. It was composed by the Indian philosopher Nāgārjuna (around roughly 150 CE).Siderits and Katsura ...

. It became important for, and was championed by, the Tibetan followers of

Candrakirti Chandrakirti (; Sanskrit: चंद्रकीर्ति; ; , meaning "glory of the moon" in Sanskrit) or "Chandra" was a Buddhist scholar of the Madhyamaka school who was based out of the monastery of Nalanda. He was a noted commentator o ...

. Dependent designation is one of the 'three dependencies' asserted by the Madhyamikas, the others being

dependent arising A dependant (US spelling: dependent) is a person who relies on another as a primary source of income and usually assistance with activities of daily living. A common-law spouse who is financially supported by their partner may also be included ...

, which relates to the concept that all existents arise from causes; and dependence upon parts, the idea that all existents are composite. Each of these dependencies are used, separately and together, to help establish an understanding of sunyata, the absence of inherent existence, which is connected to anatta (no-self), the third of the

three marks of existence In Buddhism, the three marks of existence are three characteristics (Pali: ''tilakkhaṇa''; Sanskrit: त्रिलक्षण ''trilakṣaṇa'') of all existence and beings, namely '' anicca'' (impermanence), '' dukkha'' (commonly translated ...

. According to the 14th Dalai Lama,

References

Madhyamaka Buddhist philosophical concepts Chinese philosophy Indian philosophy {{Buddhist-philo-stub