debate

Buddhist traditions of debate have their origins in the early encounters between Buddhists and non-Buddhist philosophers and later within rival Buddhist groups. By the 6th century ce, philosophical sophistication led to a codification of all matters involved in debate such as valid and invalid modes of argument, acceptable sources and means of valid knowledge, as well as logic in general. The rules and traditional Indian techniques and procedures for debate have been preserved in Tibet and form a key part of the Gelukpa monastic curriculum, based especially on the works of Dignāga and Dharmakīrti. Gelukpa monks frequently engage one another in debate as part of their monastic training.

A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2003, 2004 (which is available in electronic version from answer.com)

debate : (m.) vivāda. (v.i.) vivadati; kāraṇaṃ dasseti. (pp.) vivadita.

A.P. Buddhadatta Mahathera, Concise Pali-English and English-Pali Dictionary [available as digital version from Metta Net, Sri Lanka]