shantarakshita and padmasambhava

He did not want to infect Tibet with another of that breed. [22] He also critiques the Sautrantika and Yogacara Buddhists who held that consciousness (vijna) is truly singular and yet knows a variety of objects. Sentience leads to consciousness (vijnana), and consciousness gives rise to name and form (namarupa). Though he was loath to give up his effort to make Tibet a Buddhist country, he thought it wise to send Shantarakshita away. [6] ntarakita was a philosopher of the Madhyamaka school who studied at Nalanda monastery under Jnagarbha, and became the founder of Samye, the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet. Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche & In his Madhyamaklakra, ntarakita argues that phenomena which are "characterized only by conventionality" are those phenomena that "are generated and disintegrate and those that have the ability to function. [7] However, according to Tibetan sources like the Blue Annals, his first trip was unsuccessful and due to the activities of certain local spirits, he was forced to leave. An Indian Master who along with Shantarakshita and King Trisong Detsen established Tantric Buddhism in Tibet (8th century). His Tibetan, name is Padma Jungney, translated from the Sanskrit name Padmakara, which means "originated from a lotus." Based on this standpoint of the non-intrinsic nature of all dharmas one must know that there is no self at all even in that which is mind-only. Includes English translations of the root text of both works by Shantarakshita, with detailed commentary by the Venerable Khenpo Rinpoches, as well as Tibetan and Sanskrit versions of the root texts. Shantarakshita. Born about A.D. 569, he ascended the throne at age thirteen. He dedicated his tears to the service of humanity. One became Trhisong Detsen, another was born as Shantarakshita, the third as Padmasambhava and the fourth as Trhi-sh'er of Ba, who took charge of Shantarakshita's translation program. In the Madhyamakalamkaravritti, his commentary on his root text The Adornment of the Middle Way, Shantarakshita aims to completely clarify the position that, while ultimately reality eludes our comprehension, conventional knowledge is useful as a tool for navigating appearances all of which are no more real than the reflection of the moon in water. As a holder of the complete Nyingmapa lineage, Khenpo Tsewang Rinpoche is fully versed in the Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana schools, and is a master of Dzogchen. The great masters Shantarashita and Guru Padmasambhava came to Tibet from India to establish Buddhism. Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche, Ven. Padmasambhava was a historical teacher who is said to have converted Tibet to Buddhism. Theosophy, in its abstract meaning, is Divine Wisdom, or the aggregate of the knowledge and wisdom that underlie the Universe - the homogeneity of eternal GOOD; and in its concrete sense it is the sum total of the same as allotted to man by nature, on this earth, and no more. Technically, like "Dharmarakita" or "Devadatta", the compound `nta-rakita' is to be understood as a `ttytatpurua', or instrumental determinative compound, comprising the noun `nta-' ("peaceful [person]") in its (implicit) instrumental inflection on the one hand and the past passive participle `rakita' ("protected") on the other. Padmasambhava Buddhist Center (PBC) was established in 1989 to preserve the authentic message of Buddha Shakyamuni and Guru Padmasambhava in its entirety, and in particular to teach the traditions of the Nyingma school and Vajrayana Buddhism. He is considered one of the founding teachers of Buddhism in Tibet, along with the scholar Shantarakshita; the Tibetan emperor Tri Songdetsen invited them both to his kingdom. His studies were interrupted when his family had to escape to India. The annual Hemis Festival in Ladakh commemorates the birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava. Blumenthal, James. Namarupa in turn produces contact (sparsa), and this in turn leads to emotion (vedana). ), an area famed for its magicians. ntarakita defended a synthetic philosophy which combined Madhyamaka, Yogcra and the logico-epistemology of Dharmakirti into a novel Madhyamaka philosophical system. Instead of chasing, look inwardly and relax. Similarly, in Bhutan, the annual Tseshu festival is celebrated on the tenth day of the month in the Bhutanese lunar calendar to honour Guru Padmasambhava. He invaded China and even enthroned a new emperor who ruled briefly, and he generally secured Tibet against the outside world. Beneath it she found growing a beautiful and fragrant flower which she plucked and offered to Chenrezig on the family altar.Soon after his birth three head lamas from Jadchag monastery came to his home and recognized him as the reincarnation of Khenpo Sherab Khyentse. Ganachakra of Guru Padmasambhava & Great Master Shantarakshita, and Memorial Ceremony for Ven. Tibetans will all forevermore revere. He was one of the famous seventeen . [7] He stayed at Samye as the abbot (upadhyaya) for the rest of his life (thirteen years after completion). But he is careful not to become trapped in the classic Buddhist model of subject, object and activity. Despite his immense learning and renowned skill in dialectical disputations, he was determined to explain the fundamentals of Buddha's teachings to Tibetans. All rights reserved. PBC includes over 20 centers in the U.S.A., India, Puerto Rico, Latvia, and Russia, as well as monastic institutions in India, the U.S.A., and Russia. Songtsen Gampo also married a Chinese princess who was a Buddhist, and she brought an image of Gautama Buddha, originally made in Magadha, and a temple was built for it. Shantarakshita. [6] Lotus Born Bookstore The 2021 calendars have arrived! [7][14], He then ordained the first seven Tibetan Buddhist monastics there with the aid of twelve Indian monks (circa 779). [25] In this text, ntarakita explains and then refutes many non-Buddhist views systematically, including Skhya's primordial matter Nyya's creator god (vara) and six different theories on the self (tman). There is a stupa in Nepal associated with the central figures in Shantarakshita's life. Two of them became daughters of Indra, but one fell out of heaven and was reborn as the daughter of a chicken-keeper in Nepal. Online Video Resources to Enrich Your Practice! Ganashakra of Guru Padmasambhava & Great Master Shantarakshita, with Memorial Ceremony for Ven. The great Shantarakshita incorporated this Mind Only view of conventional reality in the Yogachara Madhyamaka school, which therefore describes relative reality in precisely the same manner as the Mind Only school. He was instrumental in establishing Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet and Bhutan and is popularly known as Guru Rinpoche means the Precious Master among his followers, Tibet Press reported. According to several stories, Padmasambhava, the Lotus-Born, was the son of King Indrabhuti of Uddiyana and husband of Mandarava, Shantarakshita's sister. [26] ntarakita's work also influenced numerous later Tibetan figures such as Yeshe De (ca. Some strongly supported the king, whilst others backed the Bon resistance to any change in Tibetan culture. Tibetan history credits Guru Padmasambhava as one of the founding fathers of Buddhism in Tibet along with Acharya Shantarakshita from India. Ganashakra of Guru Padmasambhava & Great Master Shantarakshita, with Memorial Ceremony for Ven. If you would like to contribute to the feast offering, Click here to join the live webcast Monday, February 22 @ 3:30 pm EST. In the last verses of this text, he summarizes his approach as follows: Based on the standpoint of mind-only one must know the non-existence of external entities. degree in 1975. Two generations before King Trisong Detsen invited Shantarakshita and Padmasambhava to Tibet, King Songtsen Gampo cultivated the nation for its transformation, clearing pathways for the dharma to enter and ultimately permeate Tibetan culture. Dudjom Rinpoche at the Yeshe Nyingpo Center in New York. Medium Copper alloy. They erected the Miracle Stupa in Shravasti, India, and rebuilt Gochen monastery in Tibet.Khenchen Rinpoche has co-authored over 35 Dharma books in English with Venerable Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche and authored many other texts in Tibetan. Marie Friquegnon is an emeritus professor of philosophy and of Asian studies at William Paterson University. Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche Quietly, he sent emissaries to Nalanda to seek help. The arrival and teachings of Padmasambhava in Tibet mark the beginning of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Khenpo Tsewang Rinpoche! PBC includes over 20 centers in the U.S.A., India, Puerto Rico, Latvia, and Russia, as well as monastic institutions in India, the U.S.A., and Russia. When the king discussed the deteriorating situation with Shantarakshita, he expressed concern for the monk's safety. ntarakita ( Sanskrit: ; Tibetan: , Wylie: zhi ba tsho, [3] 725-788), [4] whose name translates into English as "protected by the One who is at peace" [5] was an important and influential Indian Buddhist philosopher, particularly for the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. [16][13] Ju Mipham writes that when he came to Tibet, "he set forth the ten good virtues, the eighteen dhatus, and the twelve fold chain of dependent arising. He had renounced an ascetic but comfortable existence at Nalanda, where many disciples could appreciate his exceptional intellectual gifts, and like Buddha among the masses, had come to an alien land to raise the edifice of the doctrine and discipline from the beginning. He brought water mills, silkworms and mulberry trees, paper and ink, from China and adapted the Chinese calendar, but he turned to India for a system of writing. He knew that the monks surviving from Songtsen Gampo's time were lax in respect to practices and austerities and often shockingly dissolute. There is an early second millennium Tibetan text which claims that Padmasambhava is the brother-in-law of Shantarakshita and that they traveled together from Kanchipuram in south-east India to Tibet in the 8th century. He taught the king about the eighteen states of corporeal existence and expounded the eight fundamental prohibitions. Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche to bestow several of the Dudjom Tersar Empowerments at ODD in California, 618 Buddha Highway, Sidney Center, NY 13839. This page was last edited on 1 April 2023, at 04:54. They are the. Khenpo Sherab Khyentse, who had been the former head abbot lama at Gochen Monastery, was a renowned scholar and practitioner who lived much of his life in retreat.Rinpoches first Dharma teacher was his father, Lama Chimed Namgyal. In this seminal 8th century text he deconstructs, elucidates and defends Madhayamaka as the essence and central philosophical bases of Mahayana, as elaborated by Nagurjunawhich work preceded the advent of a Buddhist age over much of Asia for a 1000 years. Even though Chinese Buddhists had supported Trhisong Detsen's attempts to bring Shantarakshita to Tibet, they inclined to a lackadaisical view of monastic discipline and angrily resented the monks who followed Shantarakshita. Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche, Ven. When Kamalashila challenged them to debate, the king himself chose to preside over it. Though there had been ascetics among the adherents of the Bon tradition and even Buddhist monks of a kind, Shantarakshita saw to it that his disciples followed the proper vinaya rules. No Tibetan had ever become . Dudjom Rinpoches mahaparinirvana in 1987, Rinpoche continued working closely with him, often traveling as his translator and attendant.In 1988, Ven. Soon the people, cunningly guided by the Bon priests, cried out against Shantarakshita, and the king's ministers urged Trhisong Detsen to expel him. The deputies sent to interview Shantarakshita did not understand his language and considerable consternation resulted. Copyright Padmasambhava Buddhist Center at Padma Samye Ling. All rights reserved. [10][11], Most sources contain little information about his life in India, as such all that can be known is that he was an Indian monk in the Mulasarvastivada lineage in the Pala Empire. Beginning his schooling at the age of five, he entered Gochen Monastery. Tibetan sources also state he studied under Jnagarbha, and eventually became the head of Nalanda University after mastering all branches of learning. Though ntarakita is often regarded as the leading exponent of this approach, earlier figures such as Vimuktisena, Srigupta and ntarakita's teacher Jnagarbha had already written from a similar syncretic perspective. Copyright 2018 Padmasambhava Buddhist Centers at Palm Beach Dharma Center. Difficult as it is to imagine under the adverse circumstances of the time, within a few years Shantarakshita had overseen the translation of most of the over forty-five hundred texts which came to constitute the Tibetan canon, the Kangyur and the Tengyur, the scriptures and the commentaries. He held this position of abbot for seventeen years, dedicating all his time and energy to ensure the survival and spread of the Buddhas teachings.Ven. These holy men of unwavering kindness "Two Topics Concerning Consciousness in ntarakita's Yogcra-Madhyamaka Syncretism" in Garfield and Westerhoff (2015). [6] Thus, ntarakita incorporates the Yogcra school's analysis into his Madhyamaka framework as a useful way of understanding conventional reality and as a stepping stone to the highest view of emptiness of all phenomena. Studied inaction is a denial of discriminative wisdom, and without it, meditation is little more than a swoon. He makes use of the "neither-one-nor-many argument" in his Madhyamaklakra as a way to argue for emptiness. He is revered today as one of the great patriarchs of Tibetan Buddhism and the founder of the Nyinmapa school as well as the builder of Tibet's first monastery. There are no upcoming events at this time. Tibetan tradition holds that at that time Shantarakshita was Upadhyaya of the great university and monastic community, though he was met by the Tibetans in Nepal. Om ah hung benza guru pema siddhi hung. Padmasambhava accepted the invitation, understood the situation in Tibet, and engaged in magical combat with the aroused demons. The Chinese monks argued that all action produces karma and that it is better to do nothing rather than perform good deeds. ISBN-13: 978-1887276917 "Scripture, without a logic that is based on the evidence of things, will not satisfy even faithful followers." Shantarakshita "Shantarakshita follows in the footsteps of Buddha Shakyamuni who stated that no one should accept his view without testing it as a goldsmith tests gold. Special Opportunity to Live and Serve at Padma Samye Ling for a Year! [8][9] According to James Blumenthal, this synthesis is the final major development in Indian Buddhist philosophy before the disappearance of Buddhism from India (c. 12-13th centuries). The light of holy religion spread even to the frontiers. The ceaselessly changing tension between attraction and repulsion initiates the condition of existence (bhava), and this makes necessary birth (jati). Named "the academy for obtaining the heap of unchanging meditation", Samye became the repository of many Indian texts brought by Shantarakshita, and a number of them survive today. Though Buddhist thought and practice waned and fell into degradation after the death of Songtsen Gampo, traditions hint at a much older stream of Bodhi Dharma, the secret Wisdom Religion, that had abided in the Himalayas and the Gobi Desert from the beginning of man's spiritual awakening. Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche will lead the PBC Sanghas 10th Day practices as we remember the precious legacy and blessings of this great hidden yogis joy, devotion, courage, and committment.