 | This article's factual accuracy is disputed .(September 2022) |
Chandragomin (Skt. Candragomin) was an Indian Buddhist lay scholar and poet. The Tibetan tradition believes he challenged Chandrakirti. Chandragomin was a teacher at Nalanda Monastic University during the 5th century. [1] [2]
It is unclear when Chandragomin lived, with estimates ranging between 5th to 6th-century CE, [3] [4] but his position at Nalanda signifies he lived during the 5th century. Taranatha states that Chandragomin was from the Varendra region of Eastern Bengal [5] however in the prologue of his composition, the Lokānanda, Chandragomin merely states that he was “born in the Jātukarṇa lineage in the east of India". [6] He further states that he was the son of a Jayādevi although he doesn't add anything further to this.
The Tibetan tradition details many stories of miraculous incidents that occurred in Chandragomin's life. In one story told by Taranatha, it was said that Chandragomin defeated a Charvaka by proving the doctrine of rebirth to be true: [6]
In order to prove the doctrine of rebirth, Candragomin fixed on the middle of his forehead a mark of vermillion which entered deep into the flesh, placed a pearl in his mouth and died instantly. His corpse was put in a sealed copper vessel. In accordance with his prophecy he was reborn as the son of a Paṇḍita Viśeṣaka among the Kṣatriyas. Immediately after his birth a mark of vermillion came to light on his forehead and a pearl appeared in his mouth. The corpse in the vessel was examined, but the mark and the pearl had disappeared, which convinced the Lokāyata teacher that the doctrine of rebirth is true.
The hagiographical and legendary tales however cannot be taken as historical fact. Different writers also attempted to fit Chandragomin within their narratives for example Taranatha wanted to depict Chandragomin as someone who is learned and cultured while Buton Rinchen Drub emphasised his work on grammar. [6]
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Candragomin was one of the most important Buddhist poets of India. He wrote a play called Lokānanda, which focuses on the bodhisattva king Manicūda. This is the oldest Sanskrit Buddhist play in existence and was quite popular in India. [7]
Chadragomin's other surviving Sanskrit writings include: [7]
Candragomin was also a devotee of Tara and composed several praises of the goddess. [7]
Translated from the original Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit into Tibetan is Chandragomin's ' Shurangama Mantra Sadhana (Tibetan canon Tengyur Karchag Phangthangma Toh 3096, Toh 593/2/1). It is titled Sarvatathāgataoṣṇīṣaśitātapatrā-nāmāparājitā-mahāpratyangirā-mahāvidyārājñī-nāma-dhāraṇī; Tibetan name is ['phags pa] De bshin gshegs pa'i gtsug tor nas byung ba'i gdugs dkar po can gshan gyi mi thub pa phir bzlog pa chen mo mchog tu grub pa shes bya ba'i gzungs.
Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Darjeeling, Sikkim, and Zangnan, as well as in Nepal. Smaller groups of practitioners can be found in Central Asia, some regions of China such as Northeast China, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and some regions of Russia, such as Tuva, Buryatia, and Kalmykia.
The bhavachakra or wheel of life is a visual teaching aid and meditation tool symbolically representing saṃsāra. It is found on the walls of Tibetan Buddhist temples and monasteries in the Indo-Tibetan region, to help both Buddhists and non Buddhists understand the core Buddhist teachings. The image consists of four concentric circles, held by Yama, the lord of Death, with an image of the Buddha pointing to the moon metaphorically representing the possibility for liberation from the suffering of reincarnation.
Asaṅga was one of the most important spiritual figures of Mahayana Buddhism and the founder of the Yogachara school. Traditionally, he and his half-brother Vasubandhu are regarded as the major classical Indian Sanskrit exponents of Mahayana Abhidharma, Vijñanavada thought and Mahayana teachings on the bodhisattva path. He is also traditionally considered as one of the seventeen Nalanda masters who taught at the monastery which is located in modern-day Bihar.
Chandrakirti or "Chandra" was a Buddhist scholar of the Madhyamaka school who was based out of the monastery of Nalanda. He was a noted commentator on the works of Nagarjuna and those of his main disciple, Aryadeva. He wrote two influential works on Madhyamaka, the Prasannapadā and the Madhyamakāvatāra.
Shantideva was an 8th-century CE Indian philosopher, Buddhist monk, poet, and scholar at the mahavihara of Nalanda. He was an adherent of the Mādhyamaka philosophy of Nāgārjuna. Abhayadatta Sri also lists Shantideva as one of the eighty-four mahasiddhas and is known as Bhusuku Pa (布苏固巴).
The Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra or Bodhicaryāvatāra translated into English as A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life, is a Mahāyāna Buddhist text written c. 700 AD in Sanskrit verse by Shantideva (Śāntideva), a Buddhist monk at Nālandā Monastic University in India which is also where it was composed.
The Gelug is the newest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It was founded by Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), a Tibetan philosopher, tantric yogi and lama and further expanded and developed by his disciples.
The Kadam school of Tibetan Buddhism, or Kadampa was an 11th century Buddhist tradition founded by the great Bengali master Atiśa (982–1054) and his students including Dromtön (1005–1064), a Tibetan Buddhist lay master. The Kadampa stressed compassion, pure discipline and study. By the 15th century, Tsongkapa is credited with synthesizing and folding Kadampa lineages into the Gelug school.
Nalanda was a renowned Buddhist mahavihara in ancient and medieval Magadha, eastern India. Widely considered to be among the greatest centres of learning in the ancient world, and often referred to as "the world's first residential university", it was located near the city of Rajagriha, roughly 90 kilometres (56 mi) southeast of Pataliputra. Operating for almost a thousand years from 427 CE until around 1400 CE, Nalanda played a vital role in promoting the patronage of arts and academics during the 5th and 6th century CE, a period that has since been described as the "Golden Age of India" by scholars.
Oṃ maṇi padme hūm̐ is the six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. It first appeared in the Mahayana Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra, where it is also referred to as the sadaksara and the paramahrdaya, or "innermost heart" of Avalokiteshvara. In this text, the mantra is seen as the condensed form of all Buddhist teachings.
Lamrim is a Tibetan Buddhist textual form for presenting the stages in the complete path to enlightenment as taught by Buddha. In Tibetan Buddhist history there have been many different versions of lamrim, presented by different teachers of the Nyingma, Kagyu and Gelug schools. However, all versions of the lamrim are elaborations of Atiśa's 11th-century root text A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (Bodhipathapradīpa).
Tsongkhapa was an influential Tibetan Buddhist monk, philosopher and tantric yogi, whose activities led to the formation of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.
The Bodhisattva vow is a vow taken by some Mahāyāna Buddhists to achieve full buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings. One who has taken the vow is nominally known as a bodhisattva. This can be done by venerating all Buddhas and by cultivating supreme moral and spiritual perfection, to be placed in the service of others. In particular, bodhisattvas promise to practice the six perfections of giving, moral discipline, patience, effort, concentration and wisdom in order to fulfill their bodhicitta aim of attaining buddhahood for the sake of all beings.
Geshe or geshema is a Tibetan Buddhist academic degree for monks and nuns. The degree is emphasized primarily by the Gelug lineage, but is also awarded in the Sakya and Bön traditions. The equivalent geshema degree is awarded to women.
Āryadeva, was a Mahayana Buddhist monk, a disciple of Nagarjuna and a Madhyamaka philosopher. Most sources agree that he was from "Siṃhala", which some scholars identify with Sri Lanka. After Nagarjuna, he is considered to be the next most important figure of the Indian Madhyamaka school.
The Abhisamayālaṅkāra "Ornament of/for Realization[s]", abbreviated AA, is one of five Sanskrit-language Mahayana śastras which, according to Tibetan tradition, Maitreya revealed to Asaṅga in northwest India circa the 4th century AD. Those who doubt the claim of supernatural revelation disagree whether the text was composed by Asaṅga himself, or by someone else, perhaps a human teacher of his.
The Samādhirāja Sūtra or Candrapradīpa Sūtra is a Buddhist Mahayana sutra. Some scholars have dated its redaction from the 2nd or 3rd century CE to the 6th century, but others argue that its date just cannot be determined. The Samādhirāja is a very important source for the Madhyamaka school and it is cited by numerous Indian authors like Chandrakirti, Shantideva and later Buddhist authors. According to Alex Wayman, the Samādhirāja is "perhaps the most important scriptural source for the Madhyamika." The Samādhirāja is also widely cited in Tantric Buddhist sources, which promote its recitation for ritual purposes. A commentary to the sutra, the Kīrtimala, was composed by the Indian Manjushrikirti and this survives in Tibetan.
The Madhyamakāvatāra is a text by Candrakīrti on the Mādhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy. Candrakīrti also wrote an auto-commentary to the work, called the Madhyamakāvatārabhasya.
David Ross Komito is a professor of Asian Philosophy and author on the subjects of Mādhyamaka Buddhist philosophy, meditation and the psychology of religion.
Maitrīpāda, was a prominent Indian Buddhist Mahasiddha associated with the Mahāmudrā transmission of tantric Buddhism. His teachers were Shavaripa and Naropa. His students include Atisha, Marpa, Vajrapani, Karopa, Natekara, Devākaracandra, and Rāmapāla. His hermitage was in the Mithila region, somewhere in northern Bihar and neighboring parts of southern Nepal.
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