Chapter One: Introduction & The First Ground, the Very Joyful
Chandrakirti begins the first chapter of the Supplement with his moving homage to compassion, which he cites as the main cause of a bodhisattva. He further discusses compassion by differentiating its three types, which are explained thoroughly by Lama Tsongkhapa in his commentary, Illumination of the Thought.

Following that, prior to continuing with Chandrakirti's text, Lama Tsongkhapa briefly sets out the stages of progressing on the paths of the system of Arya Nagarjuna, and then justifies why Chandrakirti's explanation begins with the grounds of superiors rather than the earlier bodhisattva paths. Finally he presents the common characteristics and qualities of the ten grounds.

Chandrakirti then introduces the first ground, the Very Joyful, explaining the qualities of the bodhisattva abiding on that ground, particularly the features that beautify the bodhisattva's own continuum as well as those that outshine others' continuums. These features stem from the fact that the first ground bodhisattva has attained the initial direct realization of the ultimate truth of the profound emptiness. That accomplishment along with the bodhisattva's great compassion and desire to attain enlightenment cause the bodhisattva to outshine those on the hinayana path, the hearers and solitary realizers, by way of the special mahayana lineage that has been attained.

While discussing those of the hinayana lineage, Lama Tsongkhapa takes the opportunity to dispel any doubts as to their equal ability to correctly realize emptiness in their progress on the hearer and solitary realizer paths. Quoting extensively, primarily from Shantideva and Arya Nagarjuna, Lama Tsongkhapa thoroughly explains how liberation can only be attained by generating the wisdom realizing emptiness as set out in the Prasangika Madhyamika system of those masters. Lama Tsongkhapa concludes his discussion by addressing several objections to the assertions he has made regarding the distinctions between the hinayana and the mahayana.

Finally, Chandrakirti presents the perfection of giving, the first of the ten perfections correlated with the ten grounds. On the first ground, the perfection of giving becomes surpassing for the bodhisattva, to the point where there is not even the slightest resistance to giving away one's body, life, and resources to others in need. Chandrakirti discusses giving in general, setting out the ways that the Buddha taught generosity as the means to attain both the happiness of cyclic existence as well as the happiness of nirvana. He also elaborates on the giving of bodhisattvas in particular, discussing the benefits and importance of such actions, describing the joy that arises from gladly giving, and addressing the question as to whether or not a bodhisattva experiences suffering from giving away his body. The chapter concludes with an explanation of the divisions of the perfection of giving, followed by a summary of the excellent qualities that the bodhisattva of the first ground has attained.

Chapter Two: The Second Ground, the Stainless
On the second ground, the Stainless, the perfection of ethics has become surpassing so that the bodhisattva's morality is now sublime and pure, without the slightest fault, not only while awake but even while dreaming. Chandrakirti explains how the bodhisattva is now able to refrain from engaging in the ten non-virtuous actions and thereby accumulates all positive qualities related to the proper ethics of enacting the ten virtues.

There next follows an extensive praise of ethics, wherein Chandrakirti first sets out the necessity of practicing morality in order to attain a favorable rebirth. He explains why that is so important, namely so that one can enjoy the fruits of one's previous generosity in that life and future lives, as well as avoid the difficulty of falling into a bad migration in which it is extremely difficult to raise oneself to a higher state. Chandrakirti next sets out why the Buddha gave the discourse on ethics after that on generosity, and then proceeds to praise ethics as the cause of both the high status of happy migrations in cyclic existence as well as the definite goodness of liberation from cyclic existence. The chapter concludes with setting out the divisions of the perfection of ethics and a summary of the features of the second ground.

Chapter Three: The Third Ground, the Luminous
On the third ground of the bodhisattva, the Luminous, the perfection of patience becomes surpassing, whereby the bodhisattva is able to maintain an undisturbed mind even in the face of someone cutting his body even under the most difficult of conditions, such as cutting not just the flesh but also the bone. Chandrakirti discusses the unsuitability of anger, explaining why it is senseless and faulty, how anger is contradictory to not wanting suffering, and how it is capable of destroying extensive virtue that has been accumulated over a long period of time. In his commentary on this section, Lama Tsongkhapa thoroughly explains how anger towards bodhisattvas in particular can be especially destructive to one's own roots of virtue and can result in great suffering in the future.

Chandrakirti then encourages reflection upon the many faults of impatience and the beneficial qualities of patience, and exhorts the reader to abandon the former and observe the latter. He concludes his discussion of patience by setting out its divisions and then describing the other pure features that are obtained by the bodhisattva on the third ground.

Chapter Four: The Fourth Ground, the Radiant
The bodhisattva of the fourth ground, the Radiant, has attained the surpassing perfection of effort, which Chandrakirti describes as the cause of the two collections of merit and wisdom. He also explains how the bodhisattva now has a greater cultivation of the thirty-seven harmonies with enlightenment, which are enumerated in Lama Tsongkhapa's commentary. Chandrakirti concludes his brief discussion of the fourth ground by asserting that this bodhisattva has now extinguished the coarser conceptions that are related to an incorrect view of the self.

Chapter Five: The Fifth Ground, the Difficult to Overcome
Chandrakirti says that the bodhisattva on the fifth ground, the Difficult to Overcome, cannot be defeated by all the demons that block his progress towards higher rebirth and liberation. He further sets out that the perfection of concentration has become surpassing on this ground and, in addition, the bodhisattva has attained a higher wisdom with regard to both the subtle and coarse aspects of the four noble truths - true sufferings, true origins, true paths, and true cessations.

Chapter Six: The Sixth Ground, the Manifest
Chandrakirti's verses related to the sixth ground, the Manifest, are an extensive and elaborate explanation of the perfection of wisdom intended specifically to firmly establish in reasoning the Prasangika Madhyamika point of view regarding the ultimate truth of selflessness of both phenomena and persons as taught by Arya Nagarjuna. In his commentary, Lama Tsongkhapa takes the opportunity to supplement Chandrakirti's text with significant details on this philosophical system along with refutations of numerous other views that contradict the final thought of the Buddha's teachings on the nature of reality.

The chapter begins with an explanation of the etymology of the name of this ground, followed by homage to the perfection of wisdom, which becomes surpassing on the sixth ground. Commenting on this, Lama Tsongkhapa provides an explanation of the profound emptiness that is the object of the bodhisattva's wisdom, along with the identification of those who are suitable vessels for such an explanation and what good qualities will arise when the profound meaning is explained to them.

There follows an extensive explanation of the suchness of dependent-arisings, showing first how the meaning of reality is established in scripture and then how it is established by reasoning. Lama Tsongkhapa clearly identifies the views of both the Svatantrika Madhyamika and the Prasangika Madhyamika tenet systems, explaining how each one posits the conceptions of true existence and the examples they use to explain how reality is misconceived by worldly persons. This explanation of the first part – how the profound meaning is established in scripture – is unique to Lama Tsongkhapa’s commentary.

Then comes the heart of the sixth chapter, the explanation of the second part – how the profound meaning is further established through reasoning. Chandrakirti's text here is divided into two parts, explaining how the selflessness of phenomena and the selflessness of persons are established through reasoning. In the first part, he refutes production of phenomena from the four extremes:
(1) production from self,
(2) production from other,
(3) production from both self and other, and
(4) production from neither, that is, causeless production.
All four of these views are meticulously dissected with a thorough examination of those who hold such tenets and how they substantiate their positions. Subsequently, each of these positions is refuted through establishing absurd consequences that follow from holding to such means of inherent production.

Within the refutation of production from other, Chandrakirti explains in detail how the two truths, conventional and ultimate, are set out in the Prasangika Madhyamika system, as well as how cause and effect are still established in spite of asserting non-inherent production from other. Also in this section Chandrakirti refutes the Chittamatra (Mind Only) system, addressing their positing of the three natures through examples, their acceptance of self-cognizers, and their assertion of the non-existence of external objects. Within this there is an exploration of interpretive and definitive meanings of the sutras of the Buddha and an explanation of how such meanings are to be differentiated and discerned.

Following his refutation of production from the four extremes, Chandrakirti establishes the selflessness of persons through what has been come to be known as "the sevenfold reasoning." After stating several alternate views of a self of persons and extensively refuting the various possibilities for identification of an inherently existent self of persons, Chandrakirti uses the example of a chariot to demonstrate the sevenfold reasoning:
(1) the chariot is not inherently different from its parts,
(2) it is not the same as its parts,
(3) it is not the possessor of its parts,
(4) it does not inherently depend on its parts,
(5) the parts of the chariot do not inherently depend on it,
(6) the chariot is not the mere collection of its parts, and
(7) it is not the shape of its parts.
Chandrakirti explains how such reasoning can be applied to other phenomena besides the self of persons and refutes several arguments to firmly establish the Prasangika view of the complete emptiness of inherent existence on all levels.

There follows an explanation of the various divisions of emptiness as distinguished by the basis upon which that lack of a self is established. Chandrakirti concludes the chapter by summarizing the sixth ground, expressing the qualities of the bodhisattva at this level of the path towards buddhahood.

Chapter Seven: The Seventh Ground, the Gone Afar
On the seventh ground, the Gone Afar, the bodhisattva easily enters into and arises from the absorption of cessation, a meditative absorption on the profound emptiness. Chandrakirti indicates that the respective perfection on this ground is the perfection of method, or skill in means, which Lama Tsongkhapa identifies as the twelve types of skill in means that are completely purified on this level. These twelve consist of the six internal types of skill in means that commence the accomplishing of the qualities of a buddha, and the six external types of skill in means that begin to ripen sentient beings.

Chapter Eight: The Eighth Ground, the Immovable
The bodhisattva on the eighth ground, the Immovable, is distinguished by being irreversible from great enlightenment. Chandrakirti indicates that the bodhisattva can now attain higher and higher virtue surpassing that on the previous grounds and, having attained the surpassing perfection of prayer, his countless prayers are thoroughly purified. Furthermore, Chandrakirti says that this bodhisattva has thoroughly abandoned all the afflictions together with their roots, that is, the obscurations to liberation, and thus ceases circling in cyclic existence by the power of contaminated actions and afflictions. Yet this bodhisattva, through having attained the ten controls, which allow him to display various bodies to the beings still migrating in cyclic existence, is able to thoroughly complete the collections of merit and wisdom.

Chapter Nine: The Ninth Ground, Good Intelligence
For the bodhisattva on the ninth ground, Good Intelligence, the perfection of power becomes surpassing and his infinite powers are completely purified. Lama Tsongkhapa explains these powers as the ten powers that are taught in sutra, such as the power of thought. Chandrakirti says that this bodhisattva has also attained the four individual correct knowledges.

Chapter Ten: The Tenth Ground, the Cloud of Doctrine
Chandrakirti says that on the Cloud of Doctrine, the tenth and final ground, the bodhisattva attains the supreme empowerment of the great light rays from the buddhas of the ten directions - he attains the surpassing perfection of exalted wisdom. Then, just as rain falls from rain clouds to increase crops, so too does a rainfall of Dharma descend spontaneously from the tenth ground bodhisattva.

Chapter Eleven: The Qualities of the Ten Grounds
In this chapter, Chandrakirti sets out the various qualities that are attained individually on the various grounds. Beginning with the first ground, the qualities are explained in "twelve sets of one hundred," such as the first set wherein the bodhisattva sees a hundred buddhas in a brief instant. Chandrakirti next describes how, on the second through seventh grounds, each of these twelve sets of qualities is increased exponentially. On the first two of the three pure grounds - the eighth and ninth grounds - the qualities are enumerated in terms of particles existing in various world systems, while on the last of the pure grounds, the tenth, the qualities are said to be more inexpressible than the inexpressible buddha lands.

Chapter Twelve: The Resultant Ground
The explanation of the resultant ground of buddhahood begins with a description of how the bodhisattva on the tenth ground, realizing the suchness of phenomena as one taste in emptiness, attains the exalted wisdom comprehending all objects of knowledge and becomes a completely omniscient buddha within a single instant. Arguments related to that realization of suchness and the existence of such an exalted knower follow, and are refuted with extensive reasoning in Lama Tsongkhapa's commentary.

Following this, Chandrakirti presents the bodies of a buddha - the truth body, the complete enjoyment body, and the emanation body - after which he sets out the qualities of the ten powers of a buddha, such as the exalted knowledge of sources and non-sources. Chandrakirti indicates that the myriad qualities of a buddha cannot be expressed, but that one will attain them by understanding the mode of the profound - emptiness - and the vast - the qualities of the grounds, the powers, and so forth.

Next is Chandrakirti’s proof of the Buddha having taught a single vehicle - that all migrating beings obtain the final result of complete buddhahood - and his explanation of the duration of manifest enlightenment. Concluding the chapter is Chandrakirti’s inspiring description of the compassion of the buddhas who care for sentient beings with endless activities, aiming to remove them from suffering and bring them to the state of perfect complete enlightenment.

Chapter Thirteen: Conclusion
In the concluding verses, Chandrakirti explains how he has expressed the Prasangika Madhyamika system in this treatise in accordance with the scripture of the definitive meaning sutras of the Buddha and the unmistaken instructions of Arya Nagarjuna. He asserts that he has revealed the true meaning of the profound as taught by Arya Nagarjuna, which is difficult to fathom for those who are proponents of tenets such as the Chittamatra and so forth, after which he admonishes the reader to accept the view of suchness as he has presented it and to abandon the views of those other systems that are mere contrivances of their own minds. The text ends with Chandrakirti's beautiful dedication of the virtue from having composed this treatise so that all the worlds of sentient beings may realize the profound suchness and quickly progress to enlightenment.