“Sanlun” (三論) literally means “Three Treatises,” and this name itself points directly to the heart of the school’s identity. Rather than being a merely decorative title, it signals that the entire tradition is consciously grounded in a specific triad of Madhyamaka scriptures. These three works are the *Zhonglun* (中論, “Middle Treatise”), the *Bailun* (百論, “Hundred Treatise”), and the *Shiermenlun* (十二門論, “Twelve Gate Treatise). Taken together, they form a carefully curated corpus through which the school articulates and transmits the Middle Way. The name thus functions as a constant reminder that its perspective is not free-floating speculation, but arises from sustained engagement with these particular texts.

Each of the three treatises contributes a distinct angle on the same profound inquiry into emptiness and the Middle Way. The *Zhonglun* presents the core vision of the Middle Way, the *Bailun* develops and clarifies that vision, and the *Shiermenlun* approaches it through the “twelve gates,” or analytical approaches, to insight. By naming the school after these works, the tradition makes clear that its doctrinal life is a disciplined reading and interpretation of this triad, rather than an eclectic synthesis of many unrelated sources. The significance of “Sanlun” therefore lies not only in the literal count of three texts, but in the way those texts together define the school’s curriculum, its method of inquiry, and its spiritual orientation.