Ratnākaraśānti (also known as Śāntipa) (c. 10th-century CE) was one of the eighty-four

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 ...

Mahāsiddhas and a monk at the monastic university of

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 what is now modern-day

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. At Vikramashila he was instructed by Nāropa, and taught both Atīśa and Maitrīpa. His texts include several influential commentaries to Buddhist

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 India ...

s, as well as works of philosophy and logic. He was known ''kalikālasarvajña'' meaning “Omniscient One of the Degenerate Age”.

Life

Little is known about his life; in the ''Biography of the Eighty-Four Siddhas'',

Abhayadatta Sri Abhayadatta Sri (also known as Abhayadattaśrī or Abhayadāna) was a 12th-century Indian Buddhist monk notable for composing the ''Caturaśītisiddhapravrtti'' (the lives of the eighty-four mahasiddhas) which detailed the backgrounds of the mahasi ...

records that "King Kapina" invited Ratnākaraśānti to Śrī Laṇka during the reign of the Pāla king Devapāla (c. 810-850 CE). However, according to Keith Dowman, "As history of Śrī Laṇkā the legend is incomprehensible. There is no King Kapina in the lists of Siṇghala kings… ndthere is no evidence of a Śāntipa contemporary with the Pāla Emperor Devapāla."

Tāranātha 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 Ku ...

provides a more realistic date, placing him during the reign of King Canaka (955-83 CE). Ratnākaraśānti composed three commentaries to the

Guhyasamāja Tantra The ''Guhyasamāja Tantra'' (Sanskrit: ''Guhyasamājatantra''; Tibetan: ''Gsang ’dus rtsa rgyud'', Toh 442; ''Tantra of the Secret Society or Community''), also known as the ''Tathāgataguhyaka (Secrets of the Tathagata),'' is one of the most ...

, as well as commentaries to the Hevajra Tantra and the Mahāmāyā Tantra. His exoteric works, generally written from a

Yogācāra Yogachara ( sa, योगाचार, IAST: '; literally "yoga practice"; "one whose practice is yoga") is an influential tradition of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through t ...

perspective, include several commentaries to the

Perfection of Wisdom A Tibetan painting with a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra at the center of the mandala Prajñāpāramitā ( sa, प्रज्ञापारमिता) means "the Perfection of Wisdom" or "Transcendental Knowledge" in Mahāyāna and Theravāda B ...

literature, such as his ''Sāratamā'' and ''Pith Instructions for the Perfection of Wisdom'' (''Prajñāpāramitābhāvanopadeśa''). He is also the author of two commentaries to Śāntarakṣita's Madhyamākalaṃkāra, and a technical treatise on the formal logic of

pramāṇa ''Pramana'' (Sanskrit: प्रमाण, ) literally means " proof" and "means of knowledge".Yogācāra Yogachara ( sa, योगाचार, IAST: '; literally "yoga practice"; "one whose practice is yoga") is an influential tradition of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through t ...

philosopher who defended the Alikākāravāda view of Yogacara as well as the compatibility of

Madhyamaka Mādhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no ''svabhāva'' doctrine"), refers to a tradition of Buddhis ...

with this Yogacara view.Komarovski, Yaroslav'', Visions of Unity: The Golden Paṇḍita Shakya Chokden’s New Interpretation of Yogācāra and Madhyamaka''. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 2011, p. 79.

Notes

References

* Abhayadhatta and Robinson, James (trans.) (1979). ''Buddha's Lions: The Lives of the Eighty-Four Siddhas''. Berkeley: Dharma Publishing. *Dowman, Keith (1986). ''Masters of Mahamudra: Songs and Histories of the Eighty-four Buddhist Siddhas''. Albany: State University of New York Press. *

, Lama Chimpa and Chattopadhyaya, Alaka (trans.) (1970). ''Tāranātha’s History of Buddhism in India''. Simla: Indian Institute of Advanced Study. *Tatz, Mark (1998). “Maitrī-pa and Atiśa,” in ''Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the 4th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies'', ed. Helga Uebach and Jampa L. Panglung. Munchen: Kommission für Zentralasiatische Studien Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften.

External links

The Antarvyāptisamarthana of RatnākaraśāntiThe ''Āloka'' of Haribhadra and the ''Sāratāma'' of Ratnākaraśānti: A Comparative Study of the Two Commentaries of the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā''Luminosity: Reflexive Awareness in Ratnākaraśānti's Pith Instructions for the Ornament of the Middle Way
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratnakarasanti Tibetan Buddhist spiritual teachers Indian scholars of Buddhism History of Bihar Monks of Vikramashila Yogacara Vajrayana Mahayana Buddhism writers Mahasiddhas

Life

See also

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References

External links