Maitrīpāda ( 1007–1085, also known as Maitreyanātha, Advayavajra, and, to Tibetans, Maitrīpa), was a prominent

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

Mahasiddha Mahasiddha ( Sanskrit: ''mahāsiddha'' "great adept; ) is a term for someone who embodies and cultivates the "siddhi of perfection". A siddha is an individual who, through the practice of sādhanā, attains the realization of siddhis, psychic ...

associated with the Mahāmudrā transmission of

tantric Buddhism Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

.Roberts, Peter Alan, Mahamudra and Related Instructions: Core Teachings of the Kagyu Schools (Library of Tibetan Classics) 2011, p. 11-12. His teachers were

Shavaripa Shavaripa (Sanskrit: Śabara) was an Indian Buddhist teacher, one of the eighty-four Mahasiddhas, honored as being among the holders of the distant transmission of Mahamudra. He was a student of Nagarjuna and a teacher of Maitripa. He is one of t ...

and Naropa. His students include Atisha, Marpa, Vajrapani, Karopa, Natekara (also known as Sahajavajra), Devākaracandra (also known as Śūnyatāsamādhi), and Rāmapāla. His hermitage was in the

Mithila Mithila may refer to: Places * Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state ** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha * Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepal ...

region (also known as Tirhut), somewhere in northern

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

and neighboring parts of southern Nepal.

Early life

As per Tibetan and Nepalese sources, Maitripada was born into a

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...

family in

Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...

in a village near Kapilavastu during the rule of the

Pala empire The Pāla Empire (r. 750-1161 CE) was an imperial power during the post-classical period in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. It is named after its ruling dynasty, whose rulers bore names ending with the suffi ...

. His year of birth has been commonly placed 1007 C.E. as per the writings of

Taranatha Tāranātha (1575–1634) was a Lama of the Jonang school of Tibetan Buddhism. He is widely considered its most remarkable scholar and exponent. Taranatha was born in Tibet, supposedly on the birthday of Padmasambhava. His original name was Kun ...

who places him around the rule of King

Mahipala Mahipala (or Mahipala I; ) was a notable king of the Pala dynasty, which ruled over much of the eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent between the 8th and 12th centuries. He was the son and successor of Vigrahapala II. Mahipala's reign mark ...

. Prior to becoming a Buddhist, he was educated in Pāṇinian grammar and Hindu treatises for 7 years. After his education, he encountered the Buddhist siddha Naropa who engaged him in a debate. Maitripada lost the debate and subsequently converted to Buddhism and was ordained as a monk at the monasteries of Nalanda and

Vikramashila Vikramashila (Sanskrit: विक्रमशिला, IAST: , Bengali:- বিক্রমশিলা, Romanisation:- Bikrômôśilā ) was one of the three most important Buddhist monasteries in India during the Pala Empire, along wit ...

in modern-day

. During his stay at these monasteries he was taught by eminent masters such as

Ratnākaraśānti Ratnākaraśānti (also known as Śāntipa) (c. 10th-century CE) was one of the eighty-four Buddhist Mahāsiddhas and a monk at the monastic university of Vikramashila in what is now modern-day Bihar in India. At Vikramashila he was instructed by ...

Time at Nalanda and Vikramashila

Maitripada had his initial monastic ordination at Nalanda following which he dwelt in Vikramashila where he stayed for four years. While he was noted as an excellent monk, he was also said to be practicing

tantra Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...

in secret. This was followed by a dispute with his guru, Ratnākaraśānti. Nepalese sources detail that following this dispute, the bodhisattva,

Avalokiteśvara In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर, IPA: ) is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He has 108 avatars, one notable avatar being Padmapāṇi (lotus bearer). He is variably depicted, ...

appeared in Maitripada's dreams and urged him to renounce the monastic life. Supposedly, he was expelled from the monastery after the abbot,

Atiśa ( bn, অতীশ দীপংকর শ্রীজ্ঞান, ôtiś dīpôṅkôr śrigyen; 982–1054) was a Buddhist religious leader and master. He is generally associated with his work carried out at the Vikramashila monastery in Biha ...

, discovered liquor in his dorms.

Travels in South India

Following this, he travelled for four months to South India via boat where he became a disciple of

from who he received various tantric instructions. During the latter part of his life, he returned to North India where he composed numerous treaties which are now preserved in the

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

canon.

Works

Maitrīpāda composed commentaries on the Buddhist ''dohas'' of Saraha. His most important works are a collection of 26 texts on "non-conceptual realization" (''amanasikara''), which are a key Indian source of mahāmudrā in the Tibetan tradition. These works teach a synthesis of Buddhist Mahayana teachings on emptiness and 'non-abiding' (''apratisthana''), and Buddhist tantric practices, and they also teach an "instantaneous" path to awakening. Maitrīpāda's ''Amanasikara'' cycle of 26 texts is composed of the following:Mathes, Klaus-Dieter, A Fine Blend of Mahamudra and Madhyamaka: Maitripa's Collection of Texts on Non-Conceptual Realization (Amanasikara), (Sitzungsberichte Der Philosophisch-Historischen Klasse), 2016, p. 5. * ''Kudrstinirghatana'' *''Kudrstinirghatavakyatippinika'' *''Mulapattayah'' *''Sthulapattayah'' *''Tattvaratnavali'' *''Pañcatathagatamudravivarana'' *''Sekanirdesa'' *''Caturmudranvaya'' *''Sekatatparyasamgraha'' *''Vajrasattva-Pañcakara'' *''Mayanirukti'' *''Svapnanirukti'' *''Tattvaprakasa'' *''Apratisthanaprakasa'' *''Yuganaddhaprakasa'' *''Mahasukhaprakasa'' *''Tattvavimsika'' *''Mahayanavimsika'' *Nirvedhapañcaka'' *''Madhyamasatka'' *''Premapañcaka'' *''Tattvadasaka'' *''Amanasikaradhara'' *''Sahajasatka'' *''Dohanidhinamatattvopadesa'' *''Shes pa spro bsdu med par 'jog pa 'i man ngag gsang ba dam pa''

References

Notes

*"The Life of the Siddha-Philosopher Maitrīgupta" by Mark Tatz'' Journal of the American Oriental Society'' Vol. 107, No. 4, 1987, Oct. - Dec. pgs 695-711

External links

''Maitripa: India’s Yogi of Nondual Bliss'' by Klaus-Dieter Mathes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maitripada Mahasiddhas Buddhist yogis Indian Buddhists Indian scholars of Buddhism Monks of Nalanda Monks of Vikramashila 1000s births 1085 deaths 11th-century Buddhist monks