ABSTRACT
The centrality of Emptiness in Buddhist theory and practice naturally made Emptiness a topic of considerable study and discussion. This gave rise to variant understanding and interpretations of Emptiness turning it into a highly controversial topic and the controversies in turn contributed to the rise of divergent philosophical schools. In this chapter, I shall draw an outline, albeit a sketchy one, of the history of controversies on Emptiness in India and Tibet in order to place Mipham in the right historical context. These controversies over the understanding of Emptiness and hermeneutics arising therefrom form the historical backdrop against which Mipham’s role must be seen as well as the scenes which precede, and to an extent lead to, his active participation in the debates.
