Shantarakshita
Encyclopedia
was a renowned 8th century India
n Buddhist
Brahmin
and abbot of Nalanda
University. Śāntarakṣita founded the philosophical school known as Yogacara-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka, which united the Madhyamaka
tradition of Nagarjuna
, the Yogacara
tradition of Asanga
and the logical and epistemological thought of Dharmakirti
. He was also instrumental in the introduction of Buddhism
and the Sarvastivadin
monastic ordination lineage to Tibet
which was conducted at Samye
.
Padmakara Translation Group
(2005: p. 3) ground Shantarakshita's Dharma
in Buddhism
and the Hinduism
from which it, Buddhism, seceded:
: शान्तरक्षित, also called Shantarakshita, Santaraksita, Santiraksita, Zhi-ba-tsho, and Acarya Bodhisattva) where 'zhi ba' holds the semantic field: beatitude, quiescence, inner peace, tranquility, serenity and 'tsho' holds the semantic field: complexion, comportment.
, Büton, and Taranatha
. Śāntarakṣita was the son of the king of Zahor.
Śāntarakṣita was brought to Tibet
at the instigation of King Trisong Detsen
sometime before 767 CE. One account details his first trip as unsuccessful and he spent six years in Nepal before returning to Tibet. Once established in Tibet, Śāntarakṣita oversaw the translation of a large body of scriptures into Tibetan. He oversaw the construction of the first Buddhist monastery at Samye
in 787 CE and ordained the first monastics there. He stayed at Samye for the rest of his life, another 13 years after its completion, and this was considered significant by Tibetans later that he stayed and did not return to India.
In some accounts he left Tibet for a time due to the antipathy of followers of the traditional Bön tradition and interference from local spirits.
His philosophic views were the main views in Tibet from the 8th century until it was mostly supplanted by Je Tsongkhapa
's interpretation of Prasaṅgika Madhyamaka in the 15th century. In the late 19th century, Ju Mipham attempted to promote his views again as part of the Rime movement
and as a way to discuss specific critiques of Je Tsongkhapa's interpretation of Prasaṅgika.
was expounded in his text Madhyamākalaṃkāra. Within the Yogacara in that text he also included the Sautrantika and "consciousness-only" views specifically when referring to 'conventional truth', one of the two truths doctrine
. His view is therefore categorized as "Yogacara-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka" by later Tibetans, but he did not refer to himself that way.
In his synthesis text, readers are advised to adopt Madhyamaka view and approach from Nagarjuna and Aryadeva
when analyzing for ultimacy and to adopt the mind-only views of the Yogacarans Asanga
and Vasubandhu
when considering conventional truth. He also incorporates the logic approach of valid cognition and the Sautantrika views of Dignāga
and Dharmakirti
.
Śāntarakṣita is also known for his text Tattvasamgraha
"Compendium on Reality", which is a more encyclopedic treatment of the major philosophic views of the time and survived in translation in both Tibet and China. A Sanskrit
version of this work was discovered in 1873 by Dr. G. Bühler in the Jain
Dharma
temple of Parshva
at Jaisalmer
. This version contains also the commentary by Śāntarakṣita's pupil Kamalaśīla.
revitalized the Sakya, Kagyu, and Nyingma traditions who had been by almost supplanted by the Gelug hegemony. As part of that movement the 19th century Nyingma
scholar Ju Mipham wrote the first commentary in almost 400 years about Shantarakshita's Madhyamakalankara. According to his student Kunzang Palden, Mipham had been asked by his teacher Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo
to write a survey of all the major Mahayana philosophic shastras for use in the Nyingma monastic colleges. Mipham's commentaries now form the backbone of the Nyingma monastic curriculum. Shantarakshita's Madhyamakalankara, which was almost forgotten by the 19th century, is now studied by all Nyingma shedra students.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
and abbot of Nalanda
Nalanda
Nālandā is the name of an ancient center of higher learning in Bihar, India.The site of Nalanda is located in the Indian state of Bihar, about 55 miles south east of Patna, and was a Buddhist center of learning from the fifth or sixth century CE to 1197 CE. It has been called "one of the...
University. Śāntarakṣita founded the philosophical school known as Yogacara-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka, which united the Madhyamaka
Madhyamaka
Madhyamaka refers primarily to a Mahāyāna Buddhist school of Buddhist philosophy systematized by Nāgārjuna. Nāgārjuna may have arrived at his positions from a desire to achieve a consistent exegesis of the Buddha's doctrine as recorded in the āgamas...
tradition of Nagarjuna
Nagarjuna
Nāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...
, the Yogacara
Yogacara
Yogācāra is an influential school of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing phenomenology and ontology through the interior lens of meditative and yogic practices. It developed within Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism in about the 4th century CE...
tradition of Asanga
Asanga
Asaṅga was a major exponent of the Yogācāra tradition in India, also called Vijñānavāda. Traditionally, he and his half-brother Vasubandhu are regarded as the founders of this school...
and the logical and epistemological thought of Dharmakirti
Dharmakirti
Dharmakīrti , was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian philosophical logic. He was one of the primary theorists of Buddhist atomism, according to which the only items considered to exist are momentary states of consciousness.-History:Born around the turn of the 7th century,...
. He was also instrumental in the introduction of Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and the Sarvastivadin
Sarvastivada
The Sarvāstivāda were an early school of Buddhism that held to 'the existence of all dharmas in the past, present and future, the 'three times'. Vasubandhu's states:-Name:...
monastic ordination lineage to Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
which was conducted at Samye
Samye
The Samye Monastery or Samye Gompa is the first Buddhist monastery built in Tibet, was most probably first constructed between 775 and 779 CE under the patronage of King Trisong Detsen of Tibet who sought to revitalize Buddhism, which had declined since its introduction by King Songtsen Gampo in...
.
Padmakara Translation Group
Padmakara Translation Group
Padmakara was founded in 1987, in Dordogne, France and is directed by Tsetul Pema Wangyal Rinpoche and Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche. As a department of SONGTSEN, Padmakara is responsible for the preservation, translation and publication of Tibetan texts...
(2005: p. 3) ground Shantarakshita's Dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
in Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and the Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
from which it, Buddhism, seceded:
Shantarakshita's writings, lost for the most part in Sanskrit but preserved in Tibetan translation, give evidence of the encyclopedic range of his learning, which embraced all the religious and philosophical currents of his time, Hindu and Buddhist alike.
Nomenclature, orthography and etymology
(DevanagariDevanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
: शान्तरक्षित, also called Shantarakshita, Santaraksita, Santiraksita, Zhi-ba-tsho, and Acarya Bodhisattva) where 'zhi ba' holds the semantic field: beatitude, quiescence, inner peace, tranquility, serenity and 'tsho' holds the semantic field: complexion, comportment.
History
There are few historical records of Śāntarakṣita, with most available material being from hagiographic sources. Some of his history is detailed in a 19th century commentary by Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso drawn from sources like the Blue AnnalsBlue Annals
The Blue Annals completed in 1476, authored by Gö Lotsāwa Zhönnu Pel , is a Tibetan historical survey with a marked 'ecumenical' view, focusing upon the dissemination of various sectarian spiritual traditions throughout Tibet.An English translation by George de Roerich with help from Gendun...
, Büton, and Taranatha
Taranatha
Tāranātha was a Lama of the Jonang school of Tibetan Buddhism. He is widely considered its most remarkable scholar and exponent....
. Śāntarakṣita was the son of the king of Zahor.
Śāntarakṣita was brought to Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
at the instigation of King Trisong Detsen
Trisong Detsen
Trisong Detsän or Trisong Detsen ཁྲི་སྲོང་ལྡེ་བཙན , was the son of Me Agtsom and one of the emperors of Tibet and ruled...
sometime before 767 CE. One account details his first trip as unsuccessful and he spent six years in Nepal before returning to Tibet. Once established in Tibet, Śāntarakṣita oversaw the translation of a large body of scriptures into Tibetan. He oversaw the construction of the first Buddhist monastery at Samye
Samye
The Samye Monastery or Samye Gompa is the first Buddhist monastery built in Tibet, was most probably first constructed between 775 and 779 CE under the patronage of King Trisong Detsen of Tibet who sought to revitalize Buddhism, which had declined since its introduction by King Songtsen Gampo in...
in 787 CE and ordained the first monastics there. He stayed at Samye for the rest of his life, another 13 years after its completion, and this was considered significant by Tibetans later that he stayed and did not return to India.
In some accounts he left Tibet for a time due to the antipathy of followers of the traditional Bön tradition and interference from local spirits.
He then thought that a teacher possessed of super-natural powers and mystic charms would be able to move deeply the people of Tibet, steeped in sorcery exorcism and the like. Accordingly, he advised the King to invite the celebrated Buddhist teacher PadmasambhavaPadmasambhavaPadmasambhava ; Mongolian ловон Бадмажунай, lovon Badmajunai, , Means The Lotus-Born, was a sage guru from Oddiyāna who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighbouring countries in the 8th century...
to Tibet and subdue the Tibetan devils and demi-gods..
His philosophic views were the main views in Tibet from the 8th century until it was mostly supplanted by Je Tsongkhapa
Je Tsongkhapa
Tsongkhapa , whose name means “The Man from Onion Valley”, was a famous teacher of Tibetan Buddhism whose activities led to the formation of the Geluk school...
's interpretation of Prasaṅgika Madhyamaka in the 15th century. In the late 19th century, Ju Mipham attempted to promote his views again as part of the Rime movement
Rime movement
Rimé is a Tibetan word which means "no sides", "non-partisan" or "non-sectarian". In a religious context, the word ri-mé is usually used to refer to the "Eclectic Movement" between the Buddhist Nyingma, Sakya, and Kagyu traditions, along with the non-Buddhist Bön religion, wherein practitioners...
and as a way to discuss specific critiques of Je Tsongkhapa's interpretation of Prasaṅgika.
Teachings
We know that Śāntarakṣita focused his early teachings in Tibet directed to the 'seven that were tested' upon the 'ten virtues' and 'the chain of casual relation' (Sanskrit: pratītyasamutpāda). The ten virtues are the opposite of the 'ten non-virtues' .Views
Śāntarakṣita's synthesis of Madhyamaka, Yogacara, and PramanaPramana
Pramana is an epistemological term in Hindu and Buddhist dialectic, debate and discourse.Pramāṇavāda and Hetuvidya can be glossed in English as Indian and Buddhist Epistemology and Logic, respectively.-In Hinduism:...
was expounded in his text Madhyamākalaṃkāra. Within the Yogacara in that text he also included the Sautrantika and "consciousness-only" views specifically when referring to 'conventional truth', one of the two truths doctrine
Two truths doctrine
The Buddhist doctrine of the two truths differentiates between two levels of truth in Buddhist discourse: a "relative" or commonsense truth , and an "ultimate" or absolute, spiritual truth...
. His view is therefore categorized as "Yogacara-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka" by later Tibetans, but he did not refer to himself that way.
In his synthesis text, readers are advised to adopt Madhyamaka view and approach from Nagarjuna and Aryadeva
Aryadeva
Aryadeva , was a disciple of Nagarjuna and author of several important Mahayana Madhyamaka Buddhist texts. He is also known as Kanadeva the 15th patriarch in the Zen tradition and Bodhisattva Deva in Sri Lanka where he was born as the son of a king. Some Chinese sources however, suggest he was...
when analyzing for ultimacy and to adopt the mind-only views of the Yogacarans Asanga
Asanga
Asaṅga was a major exponent of the Yogācāra tradition in India, also called Vijñānavāda. Traditionally, he and his half-brother Vasubandhu are regarded as the founders of this school...
and Vasubandhu
Vasubandhu
Vasubandhu was an Indian Buddhist monk, and along with his half-brother Asanga, one of the main founders of the Indian Yogācāra school. However, some scholars consider Vasubandhu to be two distinct people. Vasubandhu is one of the most influential figures in the entire history of Buddhism...
when considering conventional truth. He also incorporates the logic approach of valid cognition and the Sautantrika views of Dignāga
Dignaga
Dignāga was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian logic.He was born into a Brahmin family in Simhavakta near Kanchi Kanchipuram), and very little is known of his early years, except that he took as his spiritual preceptor Nagadatta of the Vatsiputriya school, before being...
and Dharmakirti
Dharmakirti
Dharmakīrti , was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian philosophical logic. He was one of the primary theorists of Buddhist atomism, according to which the only items considered to exist are momentary states of consciousness.-History:Born around the turn of the 7th century,...
.
Śāntarakṣita is also known for his text Tattvasamgraha
Tattvasamgraha
For the tantra of the same name, see Tattvasa%E1%B9%83graha_TantraThe Tattvasamgraha is a text written by the 8th Century Indian Buddhist pandit Śāntarakṣita. The text belongs to the 'tenets' genre and is an encyclopedic survey of Buddhist and non-Buddhist philosophical systems...
"Compendium on Reality", which is a more encyclopedic treatment of the major philosophic views of the time and survived in translation in both Tibet and China. A Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
version of this work was discovered in 1873 by Dr. G. Bühler in the Jain
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
Dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
temple of Parshva
Parshva
Pārśva or Paras was the twenty-third Tirthankara "Ford-Maker" in Jainism . He is the earliest Jain leader generally accepted as a historical figure. Pārśva was a nobleman belonging to the Kshatriya varna....
at Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer
Jaysalmer , nicknamed "The Golden City", is a town in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital Jaipur. It was once known as Jaisalmer state. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone, crowned by a fort, which contains the palace and several ornate Jain...
. This version contains also the commentary by Śāntarakṣita's pupil Kamalaśīla.
Ju Mipham's Revival of Śāntarakṣita's Tradition
In the 19th century, a movement funded by the secular authorities in Derge, Kham began to establish centers of learning encouraging the study of traditions different from the dominant Gelug tradition in central Tibet. This now called rime movementRime movement
Rimé is a Tibetan word which means "no sides", "non-partisan" or "non-sectarian". In a religious context, the word ri-mé is usually used to refer to the "Eclectic Movement" between the Buddhist Nyingma, Sakya, and Kagyu traditions, along with the non-Buddhist Bön religion, wherein practitioners...
revitalized the Sakya, Kagyu, and Nyingma traditions who had been by almost supplanted by the Gelug hegemony. As part of that movement the 19th century Nyingma
Nyingma
The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...
scholar Ju Mipham wrote the first commentary in almost 400 years about Shantarakshita's Madhyamakalankara. According to his student Kunzang Palden, Mipham had been asked by his teacher Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo
Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo
Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo , also known as Pema Ösal Do-ngak Lingpa, was a renowned teacher, scholar and tertön of 19th century Tibet. He was a leading figure in the nonsectarian Rime movement.-Biography:...
to write a survey of all the major Mahayana philosophic shastras for use in the Nyingma monastic colleges. Mipham's commentaries now form the backbone of the Nyingma monastic curriculum. Shantarakshita's Madhyamakalankara, which was almost forgotten by the 19th century, is now studied by all Nyingma shedra students.
Sources
- Banerjee, Anukul Chandra. Acaraya Santaraksita in Bulletin of Tibetology, New Series No. 3, p. 1-5. (1982). Gangtok, Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology and Other Buddhist Studies. http://www.thdl.org/texts/reprints/bot/bot_1982_03_01.pdf
- Blumenthal, James. The Ornament of the Middle Way: A Study of the Madhyamaka Thought of Shantarakshita. Snow Lion, (2004). ISBN 1559392053 - a study and translation of the primary Gelukpa commentary on Shantarakshita's treatise: Gyal-tsab Je's Remembering The Ornament of the Middle Way.
- Doctor, Thomas H. (trans.) Mipham, Jamgon Ju. Speech of Delight: Mipham's Commentary of Shantarakshita's Ornament of the Middle Way. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publicaions (2004). ISBN 1559392177
- Ichigō, Masamichi(ed. & tr.). Madhyamakālaṁkāra of śāntarakṣita with his own commentary of Vṛtti and with the subcommentary or Pañjikā of Kamalaśīla". Kyoto: Buneido (1985).
- Jha, Ganganath (trans.) The Tattvasangraha of Shantaraksita with the Commentary of Kamalashila. 2 volumes. First Edition : Baroda, (G.O.S. No. Lxxxiii) (1939). Reprint ; Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, (1986).
- Murthy, K. Krishna. Buddhism in Tibet. Sundeep Prakashan (1989) ISBN 8185067163.
- Prasad, Hari Shankar (ed.). Santaraksita, His Life and Work. (Collected Articles from "All India Seminar on Acarya Santaraksita" held on August 3–5, 2001 at Namdroling Monastery, Mysore, Karnataka). New Delhi, Tibet House, (2003).
- Phuntsho, Karma. Mipham's Dialectics and Debates on Emptiness: To Be, Not to Be or Neither. London: RoutledgeCurzon (2005) ISBN 0415352525
- ShantarakshitaShantarakshita' was a renowned 8th century Indian Buddhist Brahmin and abbot of Nalanda University. Śāntarakṣita founded the philosophical school known as Yogacara-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka, which united the Madhyamaka tradition of Nagarjuna, the Yogacara tradition of Asanga and the logical and epistemological...
(author); Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso (commentator); Padmakara Translation GroupPadmakara Translation GroupPadmakara was founded in 1987, in Dordogne, France and is directed by Tsetul Pema Wangyal Rinpoche and Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche. As a department of SONGTSEN, Padmakara is responsible for the preservation, translation and publication of Tibetan texts...
(translators)(2005). The Adornment of the Middle Way: Shantarakshita's Madhyamakalankara with commentary by Jamgön Mipham. Boston, Massachusetts, USA: Shambhala Publications, Inc. ISBN 1-59030-241-9 (alk. paper) - Sodargye, Khenpo (索达吉堪布) (trans.) . 中观庄严论释 (A Chinese translation of the Mipham's Commentary of Ornament of the Middle Way). online version