Mañjuśrīmitra (d. 740 CE) () was an Indian

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

scholar. He became the main student of

Garab Dorje Garab Dorje (c. 665) () was the first human to receive the complete direct transmission teachings of Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen. The circumstances of his birth are shrouded in different interpretations, with some accounts describing a miraculous ...

and a teacher of

Dzogchen Dzogchen ( 'Great Completion' or 'Great Perfection'), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Bön aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. The goal ...

Nomenclature and etymology

Mañjuśrī-mitra was his ordination-name—before ordination he was named "

Siddhi In Indian religions, (Sanskrit: '; fulfillment, accomplishment) are material, paranormal, supernatural, or otherwise magical powers, abilities, and attainments that are the products of Yoga, yogic advancement through sādhanās such as medit ...

-garbha" and "

Samvara ''Samvara'' (''saṃvara'') is one of the '' tattva'' or the fundamental reality of the world as per the Jain philosophy. It means stoppage—the stoppage of the influx of the material karmas into the soul consciousness. The karmic process in ...

-garbha" His mother's name was Kuhanā.

Birth and early life

The exact location of Mañjuśrīmitra's birth is unknown. Mañjuśrīmitra, the son of an upper class

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

from a village to the west of

Bodh Gaya Bodh Gayā is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple complex, situated in the Gaya district in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Bihar. It is famous for being the place where Gautam ...

, was initially schooled at home. Later he was a resident at

Nalanda University Nālandā University (informally NU; or ISO: Nālandā Vishwavidyalaya) is a central research university located in the ancient city of Rajgir in the state of Bihar, India. Designated as an Institute of National Importance (INI) and excelle ...

where he became a respected

Yogācāra Yogachara (, IAST: ') is an influential tradition of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through the interior lens of meditation, as well as philosophical reasoning (hetuvidyā). ...

scholar and practitioner.

Works

Many of Mañjuśrīmitra's works deal with a tantric text

Mañjuśrīnāmasamgīti The ''Mañjuśrī-Nāma-Saṃgīti'' () (hereafter, ''Nama-samgiti'') is considered amongst the most advanced teachings given by the Shakyamuni Buddha. It represents the pinnacle of all Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings, being a tantra of the nondu ...

. He was the person who divided the

teachings into three series of

Semde Semde (; Sanskrit: , "mind division", "mind class" or "mind series" is the name of one of three scriptural and lineage (Buddhism), lineage divisions within the Dzogchen (Great Perfection) tradition. The Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism tradition ...

Longdé Longdé (, ) is the name of one of three scriptural divisions within Dzogchen, which is itself the pinnacle of the Yana (Buddhism)#The nine yanas, ninefold division of practice according to the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. The name "longd ...

and

Manngagde In Tibetan Buddhism and Bon, Menngagde (, ), is the name of one of three scriptural and lineage divisions within Dzogchen (''Great Perfection'' ). Dzogchen is itself the pinnacle of the ninefold division of practice according to the Nyingma s ...

. In the Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayana tradition, Mañjuśrīmitra is held to have transmitted the Dzogchen teachings to

Sri Singha Sri Singha (Sanskrit: , ) was the teacher of Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra, and Vairotsana. He was a principal student and dharma-son of Mañjuśrīmitra in the Dzogchen lineage, and is credited by the Nyingma school with introducing Dzogchen to Tib ...

. The "Six Meditation Experiences" (Tibetan: ''Gomnyam Drukpa'') concealed in a jewelled casket was Mañjuśrīmitra's "quintessential testament" to Sri Singha, his principal disciple. One of the main works of Mañjuśrīmitra is ''Gold refined from ore''. Manjushrimitra discusses the

Mindstream Mindstream (Pali: ''citta-santāna'', Sanskrit: ''citta-saṃtāna;'' Ch: ''xin xiangxu'' 心相續) in Buddhist philosophy is the moment-to-moment continuum of sense impressions and mental phenomena ( citta), which is also described as continui ...

(Sanskrit: ''citta-santana'') in the ''Bodhicittabhavana'', a seminal early text of

Ati Yoga Dzogchen ( 'Great Completion' or 'Great Perfection'), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Bön aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. The goal ...

: "The mental-continuum (citta-santana) is without boundaries or extension; it is not one thing, nor supported by anything." In this work, Manjushrimistra counters and tempers the

Madhyamaka Madhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; ; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ་ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the Śūnyatā, emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no Svabhava, ''svabhāva'' d ...

Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna (Sanskrit: नागार्जुन, ''Nāgārjuna''; ) was an Indian monk and Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhist Philosophy, philosopher of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school. He is widely considered one of the most importa ...

into what developed into the Mindstream Doctrine. Manjushrimitra makes it clear that

intellectualism Intellectualism is the mental perspective that emphasizes the use, development, and exercise of the intellect, and is identified with the life of the mind of the intellectual. (Definition) In the field of philosophy, the term ''intellectualism'' in ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

do not lead to realization and that "Those who seek the Truth must turn to direct yogic experience, should they hope to acquire realization." Vajranatha (2007) contextualises Manjushrimitra and mentions

Chittamatra Yogachara (, IAST: ') is an influential tradition of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through the interior lens of meditation, as well as philosophical reasoning (hetuvidy� ...

Yogachara Yogachara (, IAST: ') is an influential tradition of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through the interior lens of meditation, as well as philosophical reasoning (hetuvidyā). ...

Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma Buddhist Doctrinal Classification refers to various systems used by Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhist traditions to classify and organize the numerous texts and teachings that have developed over the history of Buddhism. According to Buddhist studies ...

, and

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manjusrimitra Dzogchen lamas Nyingma lamas Tibetan Buddhists from India Year of birth missing Year of death missing Indian Buddhists

Nomenclature and etymology

Birth and early life

Works

See also

Notes

References