“sNan bcas pa” and “sNan med pa” are the divisions of Indian Madhyamikas, which were posited by Ron stop Sakya rgyal mtshan, a Sa skya pa master. “sNan med pa” is defined as follows: those who accept the fact that the nonconceptual wisdom of an arya cognizes, in the deepest phase of meditative equipoise, only the reality (dharmata) such as “emptiness (sunyata)” without appearances of conventional objects. The representatives of sNan med pas are Madhyamika masters such as Bhaviveka and Candrakirti. “sNan bcas pa” is defined as those who accept the fact that the nonconceptual wisdom of an arya arises in the above-mentioned phase, cognizing appearances of conventional objects, with the aspect devoid of intrinsic nature. The representatives of sNan bcas pas are Arya-Vimuktisena and Haribhadra, who are famous for their commentaries on the Abhisamayalamkara. Haribhadra's commentary is one of the sources for the arguments of Ron ston, but he inherited, in actuality, many interpretations from his master, gYag phrug Sans rgyas dpal. As for the later developments, sakya mchog ldan, a disciple of Ron ston, dealt with the problems of the two divisons at some length. sTag tshan lo tsa ba showed that Hari-bhadra was well known as a sNan bcas pa master at least in the Sa skya Madhyamaka tradition. On the other hand, Dar ma rin chen, a dGe lugs pa master, criticized the views of Sa skya pas.
