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108-521: Ratnākaraśānti (also known as Ratnākara, Śāntipa, and Śānti ) (late 10th-century CE to mid 11th-century CE) was an influential Buddhist philosopher and vajrayana tantric adept and scholar. He was the "gate scholar" of Vikramaśilā university's eastern gate (modern-day Bihar in India ), a key post in the university's leadership. Ratnākara was known by the title kalikālasarvajña ("the Omniscient One of

216-626: A body of teachings incorporating esoteric tantric techniques, may be viewed as a separate branch or tradition within Mahāyāna. The Theravāda branch has a widespread following in Sri Lanka as well as in Southeast Asia, namely Myanmar , Thailand , Laos , and Cambodia . The Mahāyāna branch—which includes the East Asian traditions of Tiantai , Chan , Pure Land , Zen , Nichiren , and Tendai  

324-628: A cognition cannot be objectified using an example of light: "as a source of light is never illuminated by another one, likewise a cognition is never cognised by another one." He also writes that a cognition is always perceived at the same time of the cognition of its content. This explanation avoids infinite regress caused if a second order cognition was needed for the first cognition. Santaraksita summarizes Dignaga's and Dharmakirtis' arguments for svasamvedana in Tattvasaṃgraha . He also discusses two additional features of svasamvedana . Svasaṃvedana

432-602: A defender of shentong. His work on the Hevajra Tantra was also influential. There is much uncertainty about the facts of Ratnākaraśānti's life since Tibetan and Sanskrit sources disagree on many issues. Many sources refer to him as a " pūrvadeśīya " born in Magadha (modern-day Bihar in India ). Abhayadatta Sri places him during the reign of the Pāla king Devapāla (c. 810-850 CE). However, modern scholars have now determined that

540-621: A major role in Asian culture and spirituality, eventually spreading to the West in the 20th century. According to tradition, the Buddha instructed his followers in a path of development which leads to awakening and full liberation from dukkha ( lit.   ' suffering or unease ' ). He regarded this path as a Middle Way between extremes such as asceticism or sensual indulgence. Teaching that dukkha arises alongside attachment or clinging ,

648-525: A phenomenon known as Greco-Buddhism . An example of this is evidenced in Chinese and Pali Buddhist records, such as Milindapanha and the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhāra . The Milindapanha describes a conversation between a Buddhist monk and the 2nd-century BCE Greek king Menander , after which Menander abdicates and himself goes into monastic life in the pursuit of nirvana. Some scholars have questioned

756-463: A substance. However, this difference is understood as [being one in] name only. Therefore, those Yogacaras and Madhyamikas who dispute with each other without any basis [to do so] are persons of very bad character. According to Ratnākara, true Mādhyamikas cannot ultimately deny reflexive awareness (Sanskrit: svasaṃvedana or svasaṃvitti). Those who deny this undermine the very epistemic force (pramāṇa) of their system and their own negative arguments. This

864-652: A technical treatise on Buddhist pramāṇa theory called the Antarvyāptisamarthana . A Sutrasamuccaya - bhasya is attributed to an author named Ratnākaraśānti . However, this treatise defends the ekayana view of buddha-nature, and thus it is likely to be by a different figure using this name, and not by Ratnākaraśānti the Yogācāra philosopher from Vikramaśīla. Buddhism Buddhism ( / ˈ b ʊ d ɪ z əm / BUUD -ih-zəm , US also / ˈ b uː d -/ BOOD - ), also known as Buddha Dharma ,

972-473: A theory of the middle way which unites the two main Indian Mahayana schools at the time. In this view, the consummate nature is seen as ultimate and changeless, while the other two natures are relative truth. The Madhyamakālaṅkāravṛtti madhyama pratipatsiddhi further explains why the three natures are the madhyamaka middle way: To say “[All dharmas] exist” is one extreme, to say “[All dharmas] do not exist”

1080-604: A tiny amount of cognitive distortion or mistakenness (bhrānti), so that they interact with and aid sentient beings. There are about 40 texts attributed to Ratnākaraśānti in the Tibetan canon. His philosophical works, generally written from a Yogācāra alikākāravāda perspective, include several commentaries to the Perfection of Wisdom literature. Three key works stand out: He also wrote three doxographical texts (two of which are commentaries to Śāntarakṣita's Madhyamākalaṃkāra ): He

1188-696: Is "the true nature of awareness itself, that is falsely apprehended as appearances." This ultimate reality is also described as having the nature of radiance ( prakāśa , ‘shining forth’), which is the true nature of all phenomena. In the Prajñāpāramitopadeśa, Ratnakara says that all dharmas which appear must have radiance (prakāśa), which is the capacity to appear (pratibhāsa), as their self-nature (ātmabhūtaḥ). Without this capacity for shining forth, that consciousness has, nothing could appear to consciousness. Ratnākara mentions buddha-nature in his * Guhyasamāja -maṇḍalavidhi-ṭīkā. He describes buddha-nature as

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1296-766: Is also discussed in the Theravadin Katthavatthu (section V.9) in a dialogue between a Theravadin and an Andhaka (the Mahasamghikas in the Andhra region). In the dialogue, the Andhaka is asked by the Theravadin if one knows an awareness of the present by that same awareness. The Andhaka first denies this, but then affirms it when asked again. In the commentary to the Katthavatthu, Buddhaghosa explains this because "continuity

1404-497: Is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha , a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE . It is the world's fourth-largest religion , with over 520 million followers, known as Buddhists , who comprise seven percent of the global population. It arose in the eastern Gangetic plain as a śramaṇa movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia. Buddhism has subsequently played

1512-670: Is another extreme. The middle of these two is the Middle Way, which is the definitive realization of the [three] natures. What, then, is that [definitive realization]? That which [asserts]: All dharmas are neither existent nor non-existent, that is to say, from the perspective of the Imagined, [all dharmas] are not existent, from the perspective of the Dependent and the Consummate, they are not nonexistent. According to H. Luo understanding of Madhyamaka

1620-639: Is at the root of a major doctrinal disagreement in Indian Mahayana Buddhism. While defended by the Yogacara thinkers such as Dharmakirti and the eclectic Santaraksita , it was attacked by ' Prasangika Madhyamika ' thinkers such as Candrakirti and Santideva . Since in Mādhyamika thought all dharmas are empty of inherent essence ( Svabhava ), they argued that consciousness could not be an inherently reflexive ultimate reality since that would mean it

1728-544: Is because for Ratnākara to be able to logically refute anything there must be a foundation for one's epistemology . Thus, Ratnākara argues that as long as Mādhyamikas accept reflexive awareness as a real foundation, their intent is equal to that of nirākāravāda Yogācāra. Ratnākara called those Madhyamikas who denied the real existence of reflexive awareness “pseudo-Mādhyamikas” (Tibetan: dbu ma’i ltar snang, *madhyamakābhāsa ) and he states that they fail to understand Nāgārjuna’s true intent, which he sees as fully consistent with

1836-407: Is causeless does not depend on anything else, it would be either permanently existent or permanently nonexistent. There would be no causal capacity because capacity is defined in terms of existence; it is not possible for something non-existent to have causal capacity, The [view that] everything is only error would be attained because what is manifest is non-existent. It would then absurdly follow that

1944-478: Is concerned", thus if seen by itself a mind moment cannot know itself but in a continuous stream of mind moments it can thus be said. The Theravadin counters with the argument that the other aggregates like feeling do not feel themselves and uses similes like a knife that cannot cut itself or a needle that does not pierce itself. The Andhaka then recovers by making the following argument for his position of self cognition: But, when all phenomena are seen as impermanent,

2052-486: Is false. To them, we respond: If [everything] were just false, there would be no cause and no regularity. There would be no causal capacity, only error. Every kind of pramāṇa would be impossible. If everything were false, there would be no causes, so [everything] would arise causelessly. They would also not arise only on particular occasions (re ’ga’). [As Dharmakīrti states, in Pramanavarttika 1.35ab]: Since that which

2160-473: Is luminosity (prakāśa), the perfected nature, also termed Suchness ( tathatā ), and the transcendent wisdom of a buddha, which is empty of the imagined and the dependent natures and is always without change. Ratnākaraśānti also held that ultimate reality is an implicative negation, which is the natural luminosity (prakrti-prabhasvara) and the tathagatagarbha (i.e. buddha-nature) which is also non-dual self-awareness ( svasamvedana ). This non-dual self-awareness

2268-433: Is non-conceptual (unlike the other source of valid cognition, anumana - inference). He asserts that svasamvedana is a valid means to knowledge, just as sense-perception is. Dignaga gives three reasons for why cognition can grasp an object and itself. Dharmakirti, Dignaga's most influential follower also defended svasamvedana . He claimed that cognition and its object are the same because they are perceived together at

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2376-495: Is not a case of a single mind moment knowing itself but is a case of the mind grasping the "image" ( akara ) of itself as it is fading away. This is also part of his account of how memory works. The Buddhist philosopher Dignaga also defended a theory of svasamvedana drawing on Sautrantika and Yogacara influences. For Dignaga, svasamvedana is a kind of perception ( pratyaksa ) which is an "internal awareness of mental consciousness" and his theory of perception also entails that it

2484-554: Is not that awareness also seen as impermanent? Sarvastivada sources which discuss self-cognition mainly do so in order to refute the idea that a mind moment can know itself in that moment. These include the Jñanaprasthana and Mahavibhasa . However that does not mean the Sarvastivadins reject all theories of self cognition, they developed their own theory which argued that mind moments know themselves only reflexively in regards to

2592-568: Is often critical of the viewpoints of Madhyamikas, including Candrakīrti and Śāntarakṣita. Ratnākaraśānti composed three commentaries to the Guhyasamāja Tantra , as well as commentaries to the Hevajra Tantra and the Mahāmāyā Tantra . His three main tantric texts are: He also wrote Kusumāñjalīnāma Guhyasamājanibandha, a commentary on the Guhyasamāja . Furthermore, he also wrote

2700-614: Is predominantly practised in Nepal , Bhutan , China , Malaysia , Vietnam , Taiwan , Korea , and Japan . Tibetan Buddhism , a form of Vajrayāna , is practised in the Himalayan states as well as in Mongolia and Russian Kalmykia . Japanese Shingon also preserves the Vajrayana tradition as transmitted to China . Historically, until the early 2nd millennium , Buddhism was widely practiced in

2808-400: Is scholarly disagreement on whether insight was seen as liberating in early Buddhism or whether it was a later addition to the practice of the four jhānas . Scholars such as Bronkhorst also think that the four noble truths may not have been formulated in earliest Buddhism, and did not serve in earliest Buddhism as a description of "liberating insight". According to Vetter, the description of

2916-640: Is shown by a large increase in epigraphic and manuscript evidence in this period. However, it still remained a minority in comparison to other Buddhist schools. Mahāyāna Buddhist institutions continued to grow in influence during the following centuries, with large monastic university complexes such as Nalanda (established by the 5th-century CE Gupta emperor, Kumaragupta I ) and Vikramashila (established under Dharmapala c.  783 to 820) becoming quite powerful and influential. During this period of Late Mahāyāna, four major types of thought developed: Mādhyamaka, Yogācāra, Buddha-nature ( Tathāgatagarbha ), and

3024-655: Is similar to later Tibetan views described as shentong , such as the view of Sakya Chokden . According to Karl Brunnholzl, there are two models of the three natures and their relationship to emptiness found in Indian sources: Brunnholzl argues that Ratnākaraśānti defends model one in all texts except the Sutrasamuccaya-bhasya (which is a questionable text). However, Hong Luo disagrees with this view and instead argues that model 2 (together with model 1) can be found in Prajñāpāramitopadeśa, Madhyamakālaṅkāropadeśa and in

3132-413: Is that of a lamp in a dark room which in the act of illuminating objects in the room also illuminates itself. Dzogchen meditative practices aim to bring the mind to direct realization of this luminous nature. In Dzogchen (as well as some Mahamudra traditions) Svasaṃvedana is seen as the primordial substratum or ground (gdod ma'i gzhi) of mind. Following Je Tsongkhapa 's (1357–1419) interpretation of

3240-474: Is vast, with many different textual collections in different languages (such as Sanskrit , Pali , Tibetan , and Chinese ). Buddhist schools vary in their interpretation of the paths to liberation ( mārga ) as well as the relative importance and "canonicity" assigned to various Buddhist texts , and their specific teachings and practices. Two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars: Theravāda ( lit.   ' School of

3348-477: Is what remains after all afflictive and cognitive obscurations and duality have been removed. In the Madhyamakālaṃkāravṛtti madhyamāpratipad-siddhi Ratnākaraśānti encapsulates his view of the ultimate reality as follows: "Those dharmas—which do not exist—appear Not from matter, nor from what is other, Nor from non-existence, because of two faults. Therefore, their identity is awareness." He comments that

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3456-580: The Madhyāntavibhāga and Dharmakīrti’s Pramāṇavārttika . Ratnākara's main critique is against Śāntarakṣita, whom he cites and attempts to refute in the Madhyamakālaṃkāravṛtti madhyamāpratipad-siddhi ( Proving the Middle Path: A Commentary that Ornaments Madhyamaka ). Śāntarakṣita's Madhyamakālaṃkā accepts the Yogācāra analysis of things at the conventional level, but he sees it as a view which must be superseded by Madhyamaka's anti-foundationalism at

3564-795: The Dharma of the Buddha , fójiào in Chinese, bukkyō in Japanese, nang pa sangs rgyas pa'i chos in Tibetan, buddhadharma in Sanskrit, buddhaśāsana in Pali. Svasa%E1%B9%83vedana The idea was famously defended by the Indian philosopher Dignaga , and is an important doctrinal term in Indian Mahayana thought and Tibetan Buddhism . It is also often translated as self cognition or self apperception , and by Smith as "one's own vidyā ". According to Zhihua Yao,

3672-809: The Dharmaguptaka school. The Islamic conquest of the Iranian Plateau in the 7th-century, followed by the Muslim conquests of Afghanistan and the later establishment of the Ghaznavid kingdom with Islam as the state religion in Central Asia between the 10th- and 12th-century led to the decline and disappearance of Buddhism from most of these regions. The origins of Mahāyāna ("Great Vehicle") Buddhism are not well understood and there are various competing theories about how and where this movement arose. Theories include

3780-551: The Madhyamakālaṅkāravṛtti . Luo quotes the Prajñāpāramitopadeśa which states: Therefore, all factors are mere mind (cittamātram), mere cognition (vijñānamātram), mere luminosity (prakāśamātram). There is neither external object-referent to be apprehended by cognition nor the apprehending nature of the cognition. These two, [i.e., the apprehended and the apprehending,] are the Imagined of the factors, because they are fabricated by mental speech. Where are they fabricated? In

3888-673: The Milindapanha version, expressing doubts whether Menander was Buddhist or just favourably disposed to Buddhist monks. The Kushan empire (30–375 CE) came to control the Silk Road trade through Central and South Asia, which brought them to interact with Gandharan Buddhism and the Buddhist institutions of these regions. The Kushans patronised Buddhism throughout their lands, and many Buddhist centres were built or renovated (the Sarvastivada school

3996-465: The Pali canon . The history of Indian Buddhism may be divided into five periods: Early Buddhism (occasionally called pre-sectarian Buddhism ), Nikaya Buddhism or Sectarian Buddhism (the period of the early Buddhist schools), Early Mahayana Buddhism , Late Mahayana, and the era of Vajrayana or the "Tantric Age". According to Lambert Schmithausen Pre-sectarian Buddhism is "the canonical period prior to

4104-656: The Prasaṅgika Madhyamaka view, the Gelug school completely denies both the conventional and the ultimate existence of reflexive awareness. This is one of Tsongkhapa's "eight difficult points" that distinguish the Prasaṅgika view from others. The Nyingma philosopher Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso (1846–1912) defended the conventional existence of reflexive awareness as per the Madhyamaka two truths doctrine . According to Mipham,

4212-659: The Tarim Basin . The first documented Buddhist texts translated into Chinese are those of the Parthian An Shigao (148–180 CE). The first known Mahāyāna scriptural texts are translations into Chinese by the Kushan monk Lokakṣema in Luoyang , between 178 and 189 CE. From China, Buddhism was introduced into its neighbours Korea (4th century), Japan (6th–7th centuries), and Vietnam ( c.  1st –2nd centuries). During

4320-536: The Tattvasiddhishastra , and shows that he was in a dialogue with both Sarvastivada and Mahasamghika views. Harivarman's view argues against the Mahasamghika's simultaneous model of self-cognition and instead argues that self-cognition is only seen in the course of successive moments of cognition. That is, it involves multiple mental processes which Harivarman considers as happening in the "present continuum" and

4428-555: The Theravada tradition had not established any deities, but were epistemologically cautious rather than directly atheist . Later Buddhist traditions were more influenced by the critique of deities within Hinduism and therefore more committed to a strongly atheist stance. These developments were historic and epistemological as documented in verses from Śāntideva 's Bodhicaryāvatāra , and supplemented by reference to suttas and jātakas from

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4536-581: The epistemological tradition of Dignaga and Dharmakirti . According to Dan Lusthaus , Mādhyamaka and Yogācāra have a great deal in common, and the commonality stems from early Buddhism. During the Gupta period (4th–6th centuries) and the empire of Harṣavardana ( c.  590 –647 CE), Buddhism continued to be influential in India, and large Buddhist learning institutions such as Nalanda and Valabahi Universities were at their peak. Buddhism also flourished under

4644-584: The Śramaṇa traditions. New ideas developed both in the Vedic tradition in the form of the Upanishads, and outside of the Vedic tradition through the Śramaṇa movements. The term Śramaṇa refers to several Indian religious movements parallel to but separate from the historical Vedic religion , including Buddhism, Jainism and others such as Ājīvika . Several Śramaṇa movements are known to have existed in India before

4752-504: The 1200s. The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism to China is most commonly thought to have started in the late 2nd or the 1st century CE, though the literary sources are all open to question. The first documented translation efforts by foreign Buddhist monks in China were in the 2nd century CE, probably as a consequence of the expansion of the Kushan Empire into the Chinese territory of

4860-556: The 6th century BCE (pre-Buddha, pre- Mahavira ), and these influenced both the āstika and nāstika traditions of Indian philosophy . According to Martin Wilshire, the Śramaṇa tradition evolved in India over two phases, namely Paccekabuddha and Savaka phases, the former being the tradition of individual ascetic and the latter of disciples, and that Buddhism and Jainism ultimately emerged from these. Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical ascetic groups shared and used several similar ideas, but

4968-664: The Bhairava Vidyapitha tantras. Ronald M. Davidson meanwhile, argues that Sanderson's claims for direct influence from Shaiva Vidyapitha texts are problematic because "the chronology of the Vidyapitha tantras is by no means so well established" and that the Shaiva tradition also appropriated non-Hindu deities, texts and traditions. Thus while "there can be no question that the Buddhist tantras were heavily influenced by Kapalika and other Saiva movements" argues Davidson, "the influence

5076-608: The Buddha advised meditation practices and ethical precepts rooted in non-harming . Widely observed teachings include the Four Noble Truths , the Noble Eightfold Path , and the doctrines of dependent origination , karma , and the three marks of existence . Other commonly observed elements include the Triple Gem , the taking of monastic vows , and the cultivation of perfections ( pāramitā ). The Buddhist canon

5184-484: The Buddhist path may initially have been as simple as the term "the middle way". In time, this short description was elaborated, resulting in the description of the eightfold path. According to numerous Buddhist scriptures, soon after the parinirvāṇa (from Sanskrit: "highest extinguishment") of Gautama Buddha, the first Buddhist council was held to collectively recite the teachings to ensure that no errors occurred in oral transmission. Many modern scholars question

5292-504: The Chinese Tang dynasty (618–907), Chinese Esoteric Buddhism was introduced from India and Chan Buddhism (Zen) became a major religion. Chan continued to grow in the Song dynasty (960–1279) and it was during this era that it strongly influenced Korean Buddhism and Japanese Buddhism. Pure Land Buddhism also became popular during this period and was often practised together with Chan. It

5400-579: The Degenerate Age") and is depicted as one of the eighty-four mahāsiddhas (great yogic masters). Ratnākara wrote over forty works which include several influential commentaries to Mahayana sutras and tantras (especially the Hevajra tantra ), treatises on Yogācāra , Madhyamaka , and Pramāṇa . Because his unique philosophy attempts to merge the insights of both Yogācāra and Madhyamaka, Ratnākara referred to it as Trisvabhāva-mādhyamaka ("the middle way of

5508-648: The Elders ' ) and Mahāyāna ( lit.   ' Great Vehicle ' ). The Theravada tradition emphasizes the attainment of nirvāṇa ( lit.   ' extinguishing ' ) as a means of transcending the individual self and ending the cycle of death and rebirth ( saṃsāra ), while the Mahayana tradition emphasizes the Bodhisattva ideal , in which one works for the liberation of all sentient beings. Additionally, Vajrayāna ( lit.   ' Indestructible Vehicle ' ),

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5616-662: The Indian subcontinent before declining there ; it also had a foothold to some extent elsewhere in Asia, namely Afghanistan , Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan , and Tajikistan . The names Buddha Dharma and Bauddha Dharma come from Sanskrit : बुद्ध धर्म and बौद्ध धर्म respectively ("doctrine of the Enlightened One" and "doctrine of Buddhists"). The term Dharmavinaya comes from Sanskrit: धर्मविनय , literally meaning "doctrines [and] disciplines". The Buddha ("the Awakened One")

5724-401: The Madhyamikas assert that the fourth [and final] yogabhumi consists of the supramundane wisdom that is absolute without stains and infinite, appearing like space, and in which, by emptiness, all phenomena are not observable and do not appear at all...the Yogacaras assert that the fundamental nature of phenomena - sheer lucidity - exists substantially, while the Madhyamikas do not even assert such

5832-416: The Theravada Majjhima Nikaya and Sarvastivada Madhyama Agama contain mostly the same major doctrines. Richard Salomon , in his study of the Gandharan texts (which are the earliest manuscripts containing early discourses), has confirmed that their teachings are "consistent with non-Mahayana Buddhism, which survives today in the Theravada school of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, but which in ancient times

5940-422: The Vinaya (monastic rule), and this caused a split with the conservatives who rejected this change, they were called Mahāsāṃghikas . While most scholars accept that this happened at some point, there is no agreement on the dating, especially if it dates to before or after the reign of Ashoka. Buddhism may have spread only slowly throughout India until the time of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka (304–232 BCE), who

6048-406: The age of 80 in Kushinagar , India. The Buddha's teachings were propagated by his followers, which in the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE became various Buddhist schools of thought , each with its own basket of texts containing different interpretations and authentic teachings of the Buddha; these over time evolved into many traditions of which the more well known and widespread in

6156-690: The ancient religion Jainism , is also claimed to be ksatriya by his early followers. ) According to early texts such as the Pali Ariyapariyesanā-sutta ("The discourse on the noble quest", MN 26) and its Chinese parallel at MĀ 204, Gautama was moved by the suffering ( dukkha ) of life and death, and its endless repetition due to rebirth . He thus set out on a quest to find liberation from suffering (also known as " nirvana "). Early texts and biographies state that Gautama first studied under two teachers of meditation, namely Āḷāra Kālāma (Sanskrit: Arada Kalama) and Uddaka Ramaputta (Sanskrit: Udraka Ramaputra), learning meditation and philosophy, particularly

6264-410: The consummate/perfected nature is true: "there is nothing which establishes luminosity, because it is undifferentiated, and because, [otherwise,] there will be an undesirable infinite regress. Thus, since luminosity as such cannot be erroneous to itself, it is valid knowledge." The text then states that the other two natures "like hairs in the sky, are erroneous." Thus, for Ratnākara, what is truly real

6372-467: The development of different schools with their different positions". The early Buddhist Texts include the four principal Pali Nikāyas (and their parallel Agamas found in the Chinese canon) together with the main body of monastic rules, which survive in the various versions of the patimokkha . However, these texts were revised over time, and it is unclear what constitutes the earliest layer of Buddhist teachings. One method to obtain information on

6480-399: The dharmas, the apparent relative phenomena, are not truly existent since they are non-dual, "they lack a nature which is singular or multiple." They do not arise from matter "because appearances are established through awareness alone", nor from something other than awareness, "because phenomena could not manifest in a field of experience from which they are separate." Thus, the only real thing

6588-423: The disposition (gotra) to become bodhisattvas (but not sravakas or pratyekabuddhas ). This is why he says in his Muktāvalī that "all bodhisattvas are Buddha-nature (tathāgatagarbha)". According to Ratnākaraśānti, Buddhahood is the merging of a transcendent awareness with a pure mundane awareness (which is ultimately free of ākāras - representations). Out of their great compassion, all Buddhas deliberately retain

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6696-562: The earliest Mahāyāna sūtras to include the first versions of the Prajnaparamita series, along with texts concerning Akṣobhya , which were probably composed in the 1st century BCE in the south of India. There is no evidence that Mahāyāna ever referred to a separate formal school or sect of Buddhism, with a separate monastic code (Vinaya), but rather that it existed as a certain set of ideals, and later doctrines, for bodhisattvas. Records written by Chinese monks visiting India indicate that both Mahāyāna and non-Mahāyāna monks could be found in

6804-475: The early texts, which has led most scholars to conclude that Gautama Buddha must have taught something similar to the Four Noble Truths , the Noble Eightfold Path , Nirvana , the three marks of existence , the five aggregates , dependent origination , karma and rebirth . According to N. Ross Reat, all of these doctrines are shared by the Theravada Pali texts and the Mahasamghika school's Śālistamba Sūtra . A recent study by Bhikkhu Analayo concludes that

6912-448: The ending of the mental defilements ( asavas ), the ending of suffering, and the end of rebirth in saṃsāra . This event also brought certainty about the Middle Way as the right path of spiritual practice to end suffering. As a fully enlightened Buddha , he attracted followers and founded a Sangha (monastic order). He spent the rest of his life teaching the Dharma he had discovered, and then died, achieving " final nirvana ", at

7020-417: The error as being two, [however,] exists; [every dharma which has] as its nature the emptiness of [the two also exists]. That is accepted as the Middle Way. The three natures are named the Imagined, the Dependent, and the Consummate, because, thus in sequence, the Imagined is superimposed as an error, the Dependent arises from the causes, the Consummate is changeless. In this way, Ratnākaraśānti seeks to provide

7128-534: The five kinds of Buddha wisdom (such as ādarśajñāna, mirror-like wisdom, and the rest) which are completely pure, abide in sentient beings "forever, throughout beginningless and endless time", and are merely veiled by adventitious stains but always remain unchanged. Ratnākara calls the buddha-nature the seed of a Bodhisattva (*bodhisattvabīja), and the “spiritual disposition” of a Buddha, or the Tathāgata-family (tathāgatagotra). Thus, Ratnākara argues that only some sentient beings have buddha-nature, mainly, those who have

7236-445: The historicity of this event. However, Richard Gombrich states that the monastic assembly recitations of the Buddha's teaching likely began during Buddha's lifetime, and they served a similar role of codifying the teachings. The so called Second Buddhist council resulted in the first schism in the Sangha . Modern scholars believe that this was probably caused when a group of reformists called Sthaviras ("elders") sought to modify

7344-434: The idea that it began as various groups venerating certain texts or that it arose as a strict forest ascetic movement. The first Mahāyāna works were written sometime between the 1st century BCE and the 2nd century CE. Much of the early extant evidence for the origins of Mahāyāna comes from early Chinese translations of Mahāyāna texts, mainly those of Lokakṣema . (2nd century CE). Some scholars have traditionally considered

7452-404: The imagination of the unreal, [which] arises through the strength of the impregnation of the attachment to the Imagined, [and which] contains the image of an object-referent despite the non-existence of object-referent. The imagination of the unreal is the Dependent of the factors, [it is] an error (bhrāntiḥ), a perverseness (viparyāsaḥ), a false cognition (mithyājñānam). Thus, in the [imagination of

7560-444: The imagined (parikalpita) nature. Ratnākaraśānti summarizes his interpretation of the three natures theory and how it relates to the two truths theory of Madhyamaka in the following verse (found in his Madhyamakālaṅkāropadeśa and in his Madhyamakālaṅkāravṛtti madhyama pratipatsiddhi ): Every dharma which has as its nature the two, [i.e., the apprehended and the apprehending,] does not exist; [every dharma which] has as its nature

7668-421: The level of ultimate truth. This is because Śāntarakṣita thinks that the dependent nature, the Yogācāra explanation of the ultimate reality, cannot be defended as being either a single thing or as manifold (and thus, it cannot be ultimately real). According to Daniel McNamara, Ratnākaraśānti criticizes this view, holding that "there must be a substratum—the other-dependent nature—and that this does indeed survive

7776-610: The maintenance of a political state during succession and wars to resist invasion. During the Middle Ages, Buddhism slowly declined in India, while it vanished from Persia and Central Asia as Islam became the state religion. The Theravada school arrived in Sri Lanka sometime in the 3rd century BCE. Sri Lanka became a base for its later spread to Southeast Asia after the 5th century CE ( Myanmar , Malaysia , Indonesia , Thailand , Cambodia and coastal Vietnam ). Theravada Buddhism

7884-412: The meditative attainment of "the sphere of nothingness" from the former, and "the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception" from the latter. Finding these teachings to be insufficient to attain his goal, he turned to the practice of severe asceticism , which included a strict fasting regime and various forms of breath control . This too fell short of attaining his goal, and then he turned to

7992-573: The meditative practice of dhyana . He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree—now called the Bodhi Tree —in the town of Bodh Gaya and attained "Awakening" ( Bodhi ). According to various early texts like the Mahāsaccaka-sutta, and the Samaññaphala Sutta , on awakening, the Buddha gained insight into the workings of karma and his former lives, as well as achieving

8100-430: The middle of his life when became acting head of Vikramaśīla and attracted many offers to teach abroad and this allowed him to secure many donations for the upkeep of Vikramaśīla. Several sources mention that Ratnākaraśānti lived long and was still at Vikramaśīla when Adhīśa ( Atisha ) when to Tibet in 1041. Sources seem to indicate that he died sometime before 1050 CE. Ratnākaraśānti was a Yogācāra philosopher who defended

8208-478: The modern era are Theravada , Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Historically, the roots of Buddhism lie in the religious thought of Iron Age India around the middle of the first millennium BCE. This was a period of great intellectual ferment and socio-cultural change known as the "Second urbanisation" , marked by the growth of towns and trade, the composition of the Upanishads and the historical emergence of

8316-426: The most likely dating for Ratnākaraśānti's birth (based on philological, philosophical and biographical evidence) is in the late tenth century, "slightly before Jñānaśrīmitra , Ratnakīrti , and Atiśa ." Tāranātha says that he took his post at Vikramaśīla during the reign of King Canaka (active in the early 11th century). Naktso Lotsāwa Tsultrim Gyelwa, a Tibetan student of Ratnākaraśānti, states that Ratnākaraśānti

8424-400: The neither-one nor-many argument." Ratnākaraśānti argues that Śāntarakṣita's position is untenable epistemically (since there would be no foundation for pramāṇas and thus, for knowledge) and metaphysically (since pure negation cannot explain dependent arising and causality ). Ratnākaraśānti states: Now, some do not accept that the imagination of the unreal exists; they posit that everything

8532-788: The nirākāravāda ("without images", also known as alikākāravāda) view of Yogācāra as well as the compatibility of Madhyamaka with this Yogācāra view. His works, like the Prajñāpāramitopadeśa, state that the Yogācāra and Madhyamaka schools are congruent, having the same ultimate intent and final realization, even if they describe it somewhat differently. Due to his unique doctrinal view, which draws on both Yogācāra and Madhyamaka, Tibetan authors like Taranatha labelled Ratnākara's position "Vijñapti-madhyamaka" (rNam rig gi dbu ma). Modern scholars have also described his position with other terms including just "nirākāravāda", "nirākāravāda yogācāra-mādhyamika" and trisvabhāva-mādhyamika. H. Luo notes that various texts by Ratnākara show that he associated his view with

8640-596: The oldest core of Buddhism is to compare the oldest extant versions of the Theravadin Pāli Canon and other texts. The reliability of the early sources, and the possibility to draw out a core of oldest teachings, is a matter of dispute. According to Vetter, inconsistencies remain, and other methods must be applied to resolve those inconsistencies. According to Schmithausen, three positions held by scholars of Buddhism can be distinguished: According to Mitchell, certain basic teachings appear in many places throughout

8748-627: The origins of early Vajrayana has been taken up by various scholars. David Seyfort Ruegg has suggested that Buddhist tantra employed various elements of a "pan-Indian religious substrate" which is not specifically Buddhist, Shaiva or Vaishnava. According to Indologist Alexis Sanderson , various classes of Vajrayana literature developed as a result of royal courts sponsoring both Buddhism and Saivism . Sanderson has argued that Buddhist tantras can be shown to have borrowed practices, terms, rituals and more form Shaiva tantras. He argues that Buddhist texts even directly copied various Shaiva tantras, especially

8856-639: The precise dates are uncertain, although the 5th century BCE seems to be the best estimate. Early texts have the Buddha's family name as "Gautama" (Pali: Gotama), while some texts give Siddhartha as his surname. He was born in Lumbini , present-day Nepal and grew up in Kapilavastu , a town in the Ganges Plain , near the modern Nepal–India border, and he spent his life in what is now modern Bihar and Uttar Pradesh . Some hagiographic legends state that his father

8964-454: The previous mind moments. As Zhihua Yao states, "in other words, the mind knows itself through a reflection of the past mind". The Sarvastivadins use their metaphysical theory of the real existence of the past, present and future to allow for a present mind to take a past mind as itself. Sautrantika authors also discussed the theory. It was extensively covered by the Harivarman, the author of

9072-402: The same monasteries, with the difference that Mahāyāna monks worshipped figures of Bodhisattvas, while non-Mahayana monks did not. Mahāyāna initially seems to have remained a small minority movement that was in tension with other Buddhist groups, struggling for wider acceptance. However, during the fifth and sixth centuries CE, there seems to have been a rapid growth of Mahāyāna Buddhism, which

9180-512: The same time. If one could not perceive cognition, one could not perceive its content either. He argues that cognition cannot be cognized by another cognition because that would lead to infinite regress: the second cognition would require a third cognition to cognize it and so on. In the Vākyapadīya, Bhartṛhari writes regarding svasamvedana , but he argues that a cognition cannot be the content of another cognition. In verse 3.1.106 he explains why

9288-593: The schisms, each Saṅgha started to accumulate their own version of Tripiṭaka (triple basket of texts). In their Tripiṭaka, each school included the Suttas of the Buddha, a Vinaya basket (disciplinary code) and some schools also added an Abhidharma basket which were texts on detailed scholastic classification, summary and interpretation of the Suttas. The doctrine details in the Abhidharmas of various Buddhist schools differ significantly, and these were composed starting about

9396-467: The society he grew up in may have been invented and interpolated at a later time into the Buddhist texts. Various details about the Buddha's background are contested in modern scholarship. For example, Buddhist texts assert that Buddha described himself as a kshatriya (warrior class), but Gombrich writes that little is known about his father and there is no proof that his father even knew the term kshatriya . ( Mahavira , whose teachings helped establish

9504-639: The support of the Pāla Empire (8th–12th centuries). Under the Guptas and Palas, Tantric Buddhism or Vajrayana developed and rose to prominence. It promoted new practices such as the use of mantras , dharanis , mudras , mandalas and the visualization of deities and Buddhas and developed a new class of literature, the Buddhist Tantras . This new esoteric form of Buddhism can be traced back to groups of wandering yogi magicians called mahasiddhas . The question of

9612-401: The term "Rang bzhin gsum gyi dbu ma pa" which can be reconstructed in Sanskrit as *Trisvabhāva-mādhyamika ("the middle way of the three natures"). The term indicates that he saw himself as a follower of Nagarjuna's mādhyamaka thought who also defended the yogacara school's doctrine of the three natures (trisvabhāva). Ratnākaraśānti's Prajñāpāramitopadeśa states: The Yogacaras and likewise

9720-521: The theory was first presented by the Mahasamghika school. Their view was preserved in the Sarvastivada compendium of Abhidharma called Maha-Vibhasa and states: It is the nature ( svabhava ) of awareness ( jñana ) and so forth to apprehend, thus awareness can apprehend itself as well as others. This is like a lamp that can illuminate itself and others owing to its nature of luminosity. The issue

9828-680: The third century BCE and through the 1st millennium CE. According to the edicts of Aśoka , the Mauryan emperor sent emissaries to various countries west of India to spread "Dharma", particularly in eastern provinces of the neighbouring Seleucid Empire , and even farther to Hellenistic kingdoms of the Mediterranean. It is a matter of disagreement among scholars whether or not these emissaries were accompanied by Buddhist missionaries. In central and west Asia, Buddhist influence grew, through Greek-speaking Buddhist monarchs and ancient Asian trade routes,

9936-509: The three Vedic sacrificial fires, reinterpreting and explaining them as ethical conduct. The Śramaṇa religions challenged and broke with the Brahmanic tradition on core assumptions such as Atman (soul, self), Brahman , the nature of afterlife, and they rejected the authority of the Vedas and Upanishads . Buddhism was one among several Indian religions that did so. Early Buddhist positions in

10044-429: The three natures"). He also known as a major defender of the "nirākāravāda" (without images") interpretation of Yogācāra. At Vikramaśilā, Ratnākara was a teacher to Atīśa , Maitrīpa , Śraddhākaravarman , and Drokmi Śākya Yeshe. He was also a contemporary of Vāgīśvarakīrti . Ratnākaraśānti was influential on some Tibetan Buddhist figures. Defenders of the shentong view him as a forerunner of this tradition and as

10152-493: The truth of anything via epistemology - including basic Buddhist theories like dependent arising. Ratnākaraśānti defends the importance of the Yogācāra three natures theory for Mahayana Buddhism and for understanding the ultimate truth. Following closely the Madhyāntavibhāga and the Triṃśikā , Ratnākaraśānti maintains that the perfected or consummate nature (pariniṣpanna svabhava) is the dependent (paratantra) nature's emptiness of

10260-499: The unreal], the image of the apprehending as well as the image of the apprehended are indeed unreal. By the power of confusion (viplavavaśāt), [which arises] only through the strength of error (bhrāntivaśāt), the imagination of the unreal manifests. Therefore, the form (rūpam) of the [imagination of the unreal] is unreal. What is the real? [It is] mere luminosity. Furthermore, the Madhyamakālaṅkāropadeśa also argues that only

10368-457: The āryas, who do not [see] delusory things, would not see [anything]. Moreover, if everything were an error, there would be no valid direct perception or inference, and so everything without exception would be non-pramāṇa. Thus, according to Ratnākara, "pseudo-Madhyamikas" undermine their own arguments when they reject a foundation like the dependent nature. For Ratnākara, without some ultimate reference point which really exists, one cannot establish

10476-563: The Śramaṇa traditions also drew upon already established Brahmanical concepts and philosophical roots, states Wiltshire, to formulate their own doctrines. Brahmanical motifs can be found in the oldest Buddhist texts, using them to introduce and explain Buddhist ideas. For example, prior to Buddhist developments, the Brahmanical tradition internalised and variously reinterpreted the three Vedic sacrificial fires as concepts such as Truth, Rite, Tranquility or Restraint. Buddhist texts also refer to

10584-647: Was a Śramaṇa who lived in South Asia c. 6th or 5th century BCE. Followers of Buddhism, called Buddhists in English, referred to themselves as Sakyan -s or Sakyabhiksu in ancient India. Buddhist scholar Donald S. Lopez asserts they also used the term Bauddha , although scholar Richard Cohen asserts that that term was used only by outsiders to describe Buddhists. Details of the Buddha's life are mentioned in many Early Buddhist Texts but are inconsistent. His social background and life details are difficult to prove, and

10692-468: Was a king named Suddhodana , his mother was Queen Maya. Scholars such as Richard Gombrich consider this a dubious claim because a combination of evidence suggests he was born in the Shakya community, which was governed by a small oligarchy or republic-like council where there were no ranks but where seniority mattered instead. Some of the stories about the Buddha, his life, his teachings, and claims about

10800-615: Was a public supporter of the religion. The support of Aśoka and his descendants led to the construction of more stūpas (such as at Sanchi and Bharhut ), temples (such as the Mahabodhi Temple ) and to its spread throughout the Maurya Empire and into neighbouring lands such as Central Asia and to the island of Sri Lanka . During and after the Mauryan period (322–180 BCE), the Sthavira community gave rise to several schools, one of which

10908-419: Was a student of * Dharmakīrtiśrī (a.k.a. Bla ma Gser ling pa, *Dharmakīrti of Suvarṇadvīpa). Tibetan sources also state he was a student of Nāropa , though it is hard to say how reliable this claim is as many of these sources are unreliable historically. In the early stages of his career, Ratnākaraśānti received his ordination at the monastery of Odantapuri . He seems to have gained much fame and status during

11016-491: Was also during the Song that the entire Chinese canon was printed using over 130,000 wooden printing blocks. During the Indian period of Esoteric Buddhism (from the 8th century onwards), Buddhism spread from India to Tibet and Mongolia . Johannes Bronkhorst states that the esoteric form was attractive because it allowed both a secluded monastic community as well as the social rites and rituals important to laypersons and to kings for

11124-905: Was apparently mutual". Already during this later era, Buddhism was losing state support in other regions of India, including the lands of the Karkotas , the Pratiharas , the Rashtrakutas , the Pandyas and the Pallavas . This loss of support in favor of Hindu faiths like Vaishnavism and Shaivism , is the beginning of the long and complex period of the Decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent . The Islamic invasions and conquest of India (10th to 12th century), further damaged and destroyed many Buddhist institutions, leading to its eventual near disappearance from India by

11232-480: Was particularly favored), especially by Emperor Kanishka (128–151 CE). Kushan support helped Buddhism to expand into a world religion through their trade routes. Buddhism spread to Khotan , the Tarim Basin , and China, eventually to other parts of the far east. Some of the earliest written documents of the Buddhist faith are the Gandharan Buddhist texts , dating from about the 1st century CE, and connected to

11340-478: Was represented by eighteen separate schools." However, some scholars argue that critical analysis reveals discrepancies among the various doctrines found in these early texts, which point to alternative possibilities for early Buddhism. The authenticity of certain teachings and doctrines have been questioned. For example, some scholars think that karma was not central to the teaching of the historical Buddha, while other disagree with this position. Likewise, there

11448-492: Was self validating and therefore not characterized by emptiness . In Tibetan Buddhism there are various competing views regarding svasaṃvedana (Tibetan: Ranggi rig pa). In the Nyingma school's Dzogchen tradition, svasaṃvedana is often called 'the very nature of mind' (sems kyi chos nyid) and metaphorically referred to as ' luminosity ' ( gsal ba ) or 'clear light' ( 'od gsal ). A common Tibetan metaphor for this reflexivity

11556-584: Was the Theravada school which tended to congregate in the south and another which was the Sarvāstivāda school, which was mainly in north India. Likewise, the Mahāsāṃghika groups also eventually split into different Sanghas. Originally, these schisms were caused by disputes over monastic disciplinary codes of various fraternities, but eventually, by about 100 CE if not earlier, schisms were being caused by doctrinal disagreements too. Following (or leading up to)

11664-635: Was the dominant religion in Burma during the Mon Hanthawaddy Kingdom (1287–1552). It also became dominant in the Khmer Empire during the 13th and 14th centuries and in the Thai Sukhothai Kingdom during the reign of Ram Khamhaeng (1237/1247–1298). The term "Buddhism" is an occidental neologism, commonly (and "rather roughly" according to Donald S. Lopez Jr. ) used as a translation for

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