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Śāntarakṣita

March 03, 2023

Śāntarakṣita (Sanskrit: शान्तरक्षित; Tibetan: ཞི་བ་འཚོ, 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.[6] Śāntarakṣita was a philosopher of the Madhyamaka school who studied at Nalanda monastery under Jñānagarbha, and became the founder of Samye, the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet.

Śāntarakṣita
19th-century painting depicting biographical episodes from the life of Shantarakshita.
Personal
Born
Kingdom of Zahor (eastern India)[1][2]
ReligionMahayana Buddhism
OccupationTranslator, Philosopher, Abbot

Śāntarakṣita defended a synthetic philosophy which combined Madhyamaka, Yogācāra and the logico-epistemology of Dharmakirti into a novel Madhyamaka philosophical system.[6] This philosophical approach is known as Yogācāra-Mādhyamika or Yogācāra-Svatantrika-Mādhyamika in Tibetan Buddhism.[7][6] Unlike other Madhyamaka philosophers, Śāntarakṣita accepted Yogācāra doctrines like mind-only (cittamatra) and self-reflective awareness (svasamvedana), but only on the level of conventional truth.[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).[9]

Biography

 
Asia in 800 CE, showing the Pala Dynasty in north India, patrons of Nalanda University as well as the Tibetan Empire.

There are few historical records of Śāntarakṣita, with most available material being from hagiographic sources. Some of his history is detailed in a 19th-century commentary by Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso drawn from sources like the Blue Annals, Buton and Taranatha. According to Ju Mipham, Śāntarakṣita was the son of the king of Zahor (in east India around the modern day states of Bihar and Bengal). Tibetan sources refer to him, Jñānagarbha and Kamalasila as rang rgyud shar gsum meaning the “three eastern Svātantrikas”.[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. Tibetan sources also state he studied under Jñānagarbha, and eventually became the head of Nalanda University after mastering all branches of learning.[7][12]

He was first invited to Tibet by king Trisong Detsen (c. 742–797) to help establish Buddhism there and his first trip to Tibet can be dated to 763.[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.[13] He then spent six years in Nepal before returning to Tibet.[7]

Tibetan sources then state that Śāntarakṣita later returned along with a tantric adept called Padmasambhava who performed the necessary magical rites to appease the unhappy spirits and to allow for the establishment of the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet. Once this was done, Śāntarakṣita oversaw the construction of Samye monastery (meaning: "the Inconceivable", Skt. acintya ) starting in 775 CE on the model of the Indian monastery of Uddaṇḍapura.[7][14]

He then ordained the first seven Tibetan Buddhist monastics there with the aid of twelve Indian monks (circa 779).[7] He stayed at Samye as the abbot (upadhyaya) for the rest of his life (thirteen years after completion). At Samye, Śāntarakṣita established a Buddhist monastic curriculum based on the Indian model.[7] He also oversaw the translation of Buddhist scriptures into Tibetan. During this period, various other Indian scholars came to Tibet to work on translation, including Vimalamitra, Buddhaguhya, Santigrabha and Visuddhasimha.[14] Tibetan sources state that he died suddenly in an accident after being kicked by a horse.[14]

Philosophy and teachings

 
Śāntarakṣita a.k.a. "Khenchen Bodhisattva" at Guru Lhakhang Monastery, Bouddhanath

According to Tibetan sources, Śāntarakṣita and his students initially focused on teaching the 'ten good actions' (Sanskrit: daśakuśalakarmapatha), the six paramitas (transcendent virtues), a summary of the Mahāyāna and 'the chain of dependent origination' (pratītyasamutpāda).[15][16]

Tibetan sources indicate that he and his student Kamalaśīla mainly taught a gradual path to Buddhahood (most thoroughly outlined in the Bhāvanākrama of Kamalaśīla).[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."[17]

Śāntarakṣita is best known for his syncretic interpretation of Madhyamaka philosophy which also makes use of Yogācāra and Dharmakirtian epistemology. His Madhyamaka view is most clearly outlined in his Madhyamakālaṃkāra (The Ornament of the Middle Way) and his own commentary on that text, the Madhyamakālaṃkāravṛtti (The Auto-Commentary on The Ornament of the Middle Way).[6] Śāntarakṣita is not the first Buddhist thinker to attempt a synthesis of Madhyamaka thought with Yogācāra. Though Śāntarakṣita is often regarded as the leading exponent of this approach, earlier figures such as Vimuktisena, Srigupta and Śāntarakṣita's teacher Jñānagarbha had already written from a similar syncretic perspective.[18]

Like other Indian Madhyamaka thinkers, Śāntarakṣita explains the ontological status of phenomena through the use of the doctrine of the "two truths": the ultimate (paramārtha) and the conventional (saṃvṛti). While in an ultimate or absolute sense, all phenomena as seen by Madhyamaka as being "empty" (shunya) of essence or inherent nature (svabhāva), they can be said to have some kind of conventional, nominal or provisional existence.[6] James Blumenthal summarizes Śāntarakṣita's syncretic view thus: "Śāntarakṣita advocates a Madhyamaka perspective when describing ultimate truths, and a Yogācāra perspective when describing conventional truths."[19]

According to Blumenthal, Śāntarakṣita's thought also emphasized the importance of studying the "lower" Buddhist schools. These lesser views were "seen as integral stepping stones on the ascent to his presentation of what he considered to be the ultimately correct view of Madhyamaka." This way of using a doxographic hierarchy to present Buddhist philosophy remains influential in Tibetan Buddhist thought.[9]

Ultimate Truth and neither-one-nor-many

Like other Madhyamaka thinkers, Śāntarakṣita sees the ultimate truth as being the emptiness of all phenomena (i.e., their lack of inherent existence or essence). He makes use of the "neither-one-nor-many argument" in his Madhyamakālaṃkāra as a way to argue for emptiness. The basic position is outlined by the following stanza:[6]

These entities, as asserted by our own [Buddhist schools] and other [non-Buddhist schools], have no inherent nature at all because in reality they have neither a singular nor manifold nature, like a reflected image.[20]

The main idea in his argument is that any given phenomenon (i.e. dharma), cannot be said to have an inherent nature or essence (i.e. svabhāva), because such a nature cannot be proven to exist either as a singular nature (ekasvabhāva) or as a multiplicity of natures (anekasvabhāva).[6][21]

In the Madhyamakālaṃkāra, Śāntarakṣita analyses all the different phenomena posited by Buddhist and non-Buddhist schools through the neither-one-nor-many schema, proving that they cannot be shown to exist as a single thing or as a manifold collection of many phenomena. Śāntarakṣita usually begins by looking at any phenomenon that is asserted by his interlocutor as having a truly singular nature and then showing how it cannot actually be singular.[6]

For example, when analyzing the Sāṃkhya school's doctrine of a Fundamental Nature (Prakṛti, the permanent, un-caused absolute cause of everything), Śāntarakṣita states that this permanent and fundamental nature cannot be truly singular because it "contributes to the production of successive effects." Since "each successive effect is distinct", then this fundamental nature which is contributing to all these different effects arising at different times is not really singular.[6]

After critiquing the non-Buddhist ideas, Śāntarakṣita turns his arguments against Buddhist ideas, such as the theory of svabhāva, the theory of atoms (paramanu), the theory of the person (pudgala), theories regarding space (akasa) and nirvana.[22] He also critiques the Sautrantika and Yogacara Buddhists who held that consciousness (vijñāna) is truly singular and yet knows a variety of objects.[6] In his analysis of consciousness, Śāntarakṣita concludes that it is just like other entities in the sense that it can be neither unitary nor multiple. Therefore, he (like other Madhyamikas) refuses to assign any ultimate reality to consciousness and sees it as empty of any inherent nature.[23] Furthermore, he also critiques the Yogacara theory of the three natures.[23]

Śāntarakṣita then turns to a critique of the idea that there is a truly manifold nature in phenomena. Śāntarakṣita's main argument here is that any manifold nature or essence would depend on an aggregation of singular essences. But since singular essences have been proven to be irrational, then there can also be no manifold essence. Because of this, phenomena cannot have any inherent nature or essence at all, since the very idea of such a thing is irrational.[6]

The Conventional

All Madhyamikas agree on an anti-essentialist view which rejects all permanent essences, inherent natures, or true existence. However, they do not all agree on conventional truth, that is, the best way of describing how it is that phenomena "exist" in a relative sense. In his Madhyamakālaṃkāra, Śāntarakṣita 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."[6]

According to Blumenthal, the main criteria for conventional entities given by Śāntarakṣita in his Madhyamakālaṃkāra and its commentary are the following:[6]

  1. that which is known by a mind,
  2. that which has the ability to function (i.e., that it is causally efficacious),
  3. that which is impermanent, and
  4. that which is unable to withstand analysis which searches for an ultimate nature or essence in entities.

Furthermore, causal efficacy and impermanence are qualities that conventional truths have due to the fact that they are dependently originated, that is, they arise due to causes and conditions which are themselves impermanent (and so on).[6] Also, conventional truths are described by Śāntarakṣita as being known by conceptual thought and designated based on worldly custom.[6]

One important element of Śāntarakṣita's presentation of conventional truth is that he also incorporates certain views from the Yogācāra school, mainly the idea that conventional phenomena are just consciousness as well as the concept of self-cognizing consciousness or reflexive awareness (svasamvedana).[24] The Madhyamakālaṃkāra argues in favor of the Yogācāra position on a conventional level and states that "that which is cause and result is mere consciousness only."[6] Thus, Śāntarakṣita incorporates the Yogācāra 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.[6]

Works

Around 11 works may have been written by Śāntarakṣita, some survive in Tibetan translation and others in Sanskrit. Some of his texts survive in Jain libraries, showing that he was a figure that was taken seriously even by some of his non-Buddhist opponents.[6]

His main known works include:[7]

  • *Aṣṭatathāgatastotra (D 1166/ P 2055), a short praise
  • *Śrīva-jradharasaṅgītibhagavatstotraṭīkā (D 1163/ P 2052), a short praise
  • Tattvasiddhi (D 39a1/ P 42a8), a philosophical defense of tantra, the authorship is doubtful.
  • Saṅvaraviṃśakavṛtti (D 4082/ P 5583), focuses on the training and practice of a bodhisattva and is actually a commentary on Candragomin's Bodhisattvasaṃvaraviṃśaka. It is also related to the Bodhisattvabhumi.
  • Satyadvayavibhaṅgapañjikā (D 3883/ P 5283), an extensive commentary on Jñānagarbha's Satyadvayavibhaṅga. The authorship has been questioned by various scholars, including some Tibetans like Tsongkhapa and Taranatha.
  • Paramārthaviniścaya, now lost.
  • Vādanyāyaṭīkā vipañcitārthā (D 4239/ P 5725), a commentary on Dharmakīrti's Vādanyāya
  • Tattvasaṅgraha, a massive polemical compendium of Indian philosophy covering Buddhist and non-Buddhist views. There is also a commentary on this text by Kamalaśīla.
  • Madhyamakālaṅkāra and its autocommentary, the Madhyamakālaṅkāravṛtti. This is his main exposition of his synthetic Madhyamaka views. Kamalaśīla also composed a commentary to this text, the Madhyamakālaṅkārapañjikā.

Tattvasaṅgraha

Śāntarakṣita's Tattvasaṅgraha (Compendium on Reality/Truth) is a huge and encyclopaedic treatment (over 3,600 verses distributed into 26 chapters) of the major Indian philosophic views of the time. In this text, the author outlines the views of the numerous non-Buddhist Indian traditions of his time.[7]

Unlike previous Madhyamaka texts which were organized around Buddhist categories to be refuted and discussed, the Tattvasaṅgraha is mainly organized around refuting non-Buddhist views which were becoming increasingly sophisticated and prominent during Śāntarakṣita's era (though space is also saved for certain Buddhist views as well, like pudgalavada i.e. "personalism").[25] In this text, Śāntarakṣita explains and then refutes many non-Buddhist views systematically, including Sāṅkhya's primordial matter Nyāya's creator god (Īśvara) and six different theories on the self (ātman).[7] He also defends the Buddhist doctrine of momentariness, rejects the Vaiśeṣika ontological categories, discusses philosophy of language and epistemology as well as Jain theories, Sarvastivada philosophy, and critiques the materialism of the Cārvākas and the scriptural views of Mīmāṃsā.[7]

A Sanskrit version of this work was discovered in 1873 by Dr. G. Bühler in the Jain temple of Pārśva at Jaisalmer. This version contains also the commentary by Śāntarakṣita's pupil Kamalaśīla.

Madhyamakālaṅkāra

Śāntarakṣita's synthesis of Madhyamaka, Yogacara, and Dharmakirtian thought was expounded in his Madhyamakālaṅkāra (Ornament of the Middle Way). In this short verse text, Śāntarakṣita critiques some key Hindu and Buddhist views and then details his presentation of the two truths doctrine. This presents Yogacara Idealism as the superior way of analyzing conventional truth while retaining the Madhyamaka philosophy of emptiness as the ultimate truth. 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. 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. Therefore, those who hold the reins of logic while riding the carriage of the two systems [Mādhyamika and Yogācāra], attain the stage of a true Mahāyānist.”[7]

Influence

Mipham lists Śāntarakṣita's main Indian students as Kamalaśīla, Haribhadra and Dharmamitra. He also notes that other Indian scholars like masters Jñanapada, and Abhayākaragupta (c. 1100 CE) "also established the view of Prajnaparamita in accordance with this tradition."[26] Furthermore, according to David Seyfort Ruegg, other later Indian scholars such as Vidyākaraprabha (c. 800 CE), Nandasri, Buddhajñāna(pāda), Jitāri, and Kambalapāda also belongs to this Yogācāra-Mādhyamaka tradition.[27]

Ju Mipham further states that this tradition was continued by Tibetan scholars such as Ngok Lotsawa, Chaba Chökyi Senge and Rongton Choje.[26] Śāntarakṣita's work also influenced numerous later Tibetan figures such as Yeshe De (ca. 8th c.), Sakya Pandita (1182–1251), Tsongkhapa (1357–1419) and Ju Mipham Gyatso (1846–1912).[6]

Śāntarakṣita's philosophy remained the main interpretation of Madhyamaka in Tibetan Buddhism from the 8th century until the time of the second dissemination in the eleventh and twelfth centuries when Candrakirti's work began to be translated. Blumenthal notes that already in the time of Patsab (12th century) "the Prasaṅgika-Madhyamaka view began to be widely taught and the privileging of Śāntarakṣita's system began to encounter serious opposition."[28] Je Tsongkhapa's (1357-1419) interpretation of Prasaṅgika Madhyamaka, and his new school, the Gelug, raised serious and influential critiques of Śāntarakṣita's position. In no small part due to his efforts, Prasaṅgika Madhyamaka replaced Śāntarakṣita's Madhyamaka as the dominant interpretation of Madhyamaka in Tibetan Buddhism.[28]

In the late 19th century, Ju Mipham attempted to promote Yogācāra-Mādhyamaka again as part of the Rimé movement and as a way to discuss specific critiques of Je Tsongkhapa's widely influential philosophy. The Rimé movement was funded by the secular authorities in Derge, Kham, and began to establish centres of learning encouraging the study of traditions different from the dominant Gelug tradition in central Tibet. This Rimé movement revitalised the Sakya, Kagyu, Nyingma and Jonang traditions, which had been by almost supplanted by the Gelug hegemony.[29]

As part of that movement the 19th century Nyingma scholar Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso wrote the first commentary in almost 400 years about Śāntarakṣita's Madhyamakālaṅkāra. According to his student Kunzang Palden, Mipham had been asked by his teacher Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo to write a survey of all the major Mahayana philosophic shastras for use in the Nyingma monastic colleges.[29] Mipham's commentaries now form the backbone of the Nyingma monastic curriculum. The Madhyamakālaṅkāra, which was almost forgotten by the 19th century,[29] is now studied by all Nyingma shedra students.

References

  1. ^ Buswell, Robert; Lopez, Donald (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. p. 773. ISBN 9780691157863.
  2. ^ Singh, Shyam Deo Prasad (1981). "Nalanda Pandit Santarakshita-His Writings and Endeavour to Propagate Buddhism in Tibet and Nepal". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 42: 110–114. JSTOR 44141119. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  3. ^ Murthy (1989) p.18-27, 41–43
  4. ^ stanford.edu: Śāntarakṣita (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
  5. ^ Śāntarakṣita's name might be understood as a poetic way of rendering "protected by the Buddha". Technically, like "Dharmarakṣita" or "Devadatta", the compound `Śānta-rakṣita' is to be understood as a `tṛtīyātatpuruṣa', or instrumental determinative compound, comprising the noun `Śānta-' ("peaceful [person]") in its (implicit) instrumental inflection on the one hand and the past passive participle `rakṣita' ("protected") on the other.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Blumenthal (2018)
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Eltschinger (2019)
  8. ^ Blumenthal, James. "Two Topics Concerning Consciousness in Śāntarakşita's Yogācāra-Madhyamaka Syncretism" in Garfield and Westerhoff (2015) Madhyamaka and Yogācāra: Allies or Rivals?
  9. ^ a b c Blumenthal (2004), pp. 22-24.
  10. ^ Singh, Shyam Deo Prasad (1981). "Nalanda Pandit Santarakshita-His Writings and Endeavour to Propagate Buddhism in Tibet and Nepal". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 42: 110–114. JSTOR 44141119.
  11. ^ Shantarakshita & Ju Mipham (2005) pp.2–3
  12. ^ Shantarakshita & Ju Mipham (2005) p. 85.
  13. ^ a b Blumenthal (2004), p. 26.
  14. ^ a b c Banerjee, AC (1982) "Acarya Santaraksita"
  15. ^ Gzhon-Nu-Dpal, ʼgos Lo-tsā-ba; Roerich, George (1988). The Blue Annals. ISBN 9788120804715.
  16. ^ a b Dargyay, Eva M. (author) & Wayman, Alex (editor) (1977, 1998). The Rise of Esoteric Buddhism in Tibet. Second revised edition, reprint. Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt Ltd. Buddhist Tradition Series Vol. 32. ISBN 81-208-1579-3 (paper), p.7
  17. ^ Shantarakshita & Ju Mipham (2005) p. 88.
  18. ^ Ruegg, David Seyfort (1981) The Literature of the Madhyamaka School of Philosophy in India, p. 87. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden.
  19. ^ Blumenthal (2004), p. 43.
  20. ^ Blumenthal (2004), p. 24.
  21. ^ Ruegg, David Seyfort (1981) The Literature of the Madhyamaka School of Philosophy in India, p. 91. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden.
  22. ^ Ruegg, David Seyfort (1981) The Literature of the Madhyamaka School of Philosophy in India, p. 91. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden
  23. ^ a b Ruegg, David Seyfort (1981) The Literature of the Madhyamaka School of Philosophy in India, p. 92. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden
  24. ^ Blumenthal, James. "Two Topics Concerning Consciousness in Śāntarakşita's Yogācāra-Madhyamaka Syncretism" in Garfield and Westerhoff (2015) Madhyamaka and Yogācāra: Allies or Rivals?
  25. ^ Carpenter, Amber (2014) Indian Buddhist Philosophy, pp. 233-235. Routledge.
  26. ^ a b Shantarakshita & Ju Mipham (2005) p. 86.
  27. ^ Ruegg, David Seyfort (1981) The Literature of the Madhyamaka School of Philosophy in India, pp. 99-107. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden.
  28. ^ a b Blumenthal (2004) p. 27.
  29. ^ a b c Shantarakshita & Ju Mipham (2005) pp.4–5

Sources

  • Banerjee, Anukul Chandra. Acaraya Santaraksita in Bulletin of Tibetology, New Series No. 3, p. 1–5. (1982). Gangtok, Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology and Other Buddhist Studies. [1]
  • Blumenthal, James. The Ornament of the Middle Way: A Study of the Madhyamaka Thought of Shantarakshita. Snow Lion, (2004). ISBN 1-55939-205-3 – a study and translation of the primary Gelukpa commentary on Shantarakshita's treatise: Gyal-tsab Je's Remembering The Ornament of the Middle Way.
  • Blumenthal, James and James Apple, "Śāntarakṣita", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), [2].
  • Doctor, Thomas H. (trans.) Mipham, Jamgon Ju. Speech of Delight: Mipham's Commentary of Shantarakshita's Ornament of the Middle Way. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications (2004). ISBN 1-55939-217-7
  • Eltschinger, Vincent. "Śāntarakṣita" in Brill's Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Volume II: Lives (2019)
  • Ichigō, Masamichi (ed. & tr.). Madhyamakālaṁkāra of śāntarakṣita with his own commentary of Vṛtti and with the subcommentary or Pañjikā of Kamalaśīla. Kyoto: Buneido (1985).
  • Jha, Ganganath (trans.) The Tattvasangraha of Shantaraksita with the Commentary of Kamalashila. 2 volumes. First Edition : Baroda, (G.O.S. No. Lxxxiii) (1939). Reprint ; Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, (1986).
  • Murthy, K. Krishna. Buddhism in Tibet. Sundeep Prakashan (1989) ISBN 81-85067-16-3.
  • Prasad, Hari Shankar (ed.). Santaraksita, His Life and Work. (Collected Articles from "All India Seminar on Acarya Santaraksita" held on 3–5 August 2001 at Namdroling Monastery, Mysore, Karnataka). New Delhi, Tibet House, (2003).
  • Phuntsho, Karma. Mipham's Dialectics and Debates on Emptiness: To Be, Not to Be or Neither. London: RoutledgeCurzon (2005) ISBN 0-415-35252-5
  • Śāntarakṣita (author); Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso (commentator); Padmakara Translation Group (translators)(2005). The Adornment of the Middle Way: Shantarakshita's Madhyamakalankara with commentary by Jamgön Mipham. Boston, Massachusetts, USA: Shambhala Publications, Inc. ISBN 1-59030-241-9 (alk. paper)
  • Sodargye, Khenpo (索达吉堪布) (trans.) . 中观庄严论释 (A Chinese translation of the Mipham's Commentary of Ornament of the Middle Way).

Further reading

  • Śāntarakṣita (author); Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso (commentator); Padmakara Translation Group (translators)(2005). The Adornment of the Middle Way: Shantarakshita's Madhyamakalankara with commentary by Jamgön Mipham. Boston, Massachusetts, USA: Shambhala Publications, Inc. ISBN 1-59030-241-9 (alk. paper)

External links

March 03, 2023
Śāntarakṣita, sanskrit, तरक, tibetan, འཚ, wylie, tsho, whose, name, translates, into, english, protected, peace, important, influential, indian, buddhist, philosopher, particularly, tibetan, buddhist, tradition, philosopher, madhyamaka, school, studied, naland. Santarakṣita Sanskrit श न तरक ष त Tibetan ཞ བ འཚ 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 6 Santarakṣita was a philosopher of the Madhyamaka school who studied at Nalanda monastery under Jnanagarbha and became the founder of Samye the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet Santarakṣita19th century painting depicting biographical episodes from the life of Shantarakshita PersonalBornKingdom of Zahor eastern India 1 2 ReligionMahayana BuddhismOccupationTranslator Philosopher AbbotSantarakṣita defended a synthetic philosophy which combined Madhyamaka Yogacara and the logico epistemology of Dharmakirti into a novel Madhyamaka philosophical system 6 This philosophical approach is known as Yogacara Madhyamika or Yogacara Svatantrika Madhyamika in Tibetan Buddhism 7 6 Unlike other Madhyamaka philosophers Santarakṣita accepted Yogacara doctrines like mind only cittamatra and self reflective awareness svasamvedana but only on the level of conventional truth 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 9 Contents 1 Biography 2 Philosophy and teachings 2 1 Ultimate Truth and neither one nor many 2 2 The Conventional 3 Works 3 1 Tattvasaṅgraha 3 2 Madhyamakalaṅkara 4 Influence 5 References 6 Sources 7 Further reading 8 External linksBiography Edit Asia in 800 CE showing the Pala Dynasty in north India patrons of Nalanda University as well as the Tibetan Empire There are few historical records of Santarakṣita with most available material being from hagiographic sources Some of his history is detailed in a 19th century commentary by Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso drawn from sources like the Blue Annals Buton and Taranatha According to Ju Mipham Santarakṣita was the son of the king of Zahor in east India around the modern day states of Bihar and Bengal Tibetan sources refer to him Jnanagarbha and Kamalasila as rang rgyud shar gsum meaning the three eastern Svatantrikas 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 Tibetan sources also state he studied under Jnanagarbha and eventually became the head of Nalanda University after mastering all branches of learning 7 12 He was first invited to Tibet by king Trisong Detsen c 742 797 to help establish Buddhism there and his first trip to Tibet can be dated to 763 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 13 He then spent six years in Nepal before returning to Tibet 7 Tibetan sources then state that Santarakṣita later returned along with a tantric adept called Padmasambhava who performed the necessary magical rites to appease the unhappy spirits and to allow for the establishment of the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet Once this was done Santarakṣita oversaw the construction of Samye monastery meaning the Inconceivable Skt acintya starting in 775 CE on the model of the Indian monastery of Uddaṇḍapura 7 14 He then ordained the first seven Tibetan Buddhist monastics there with the aid of twelve Indian monks circa 779 7 He stayed at Samye as the abbot upadhyaya for the rest of his life thirteen years after completion At Samye Santarakṣita established a Buddhist monastic curriculum based on the Indian model 7 He also oversaw the translation of Buddhist scriptures into Tibetan During this period various other Indian scholars came to Tibet to work on translation including Vimalamitra Buddhaguhya Santigrabha and Visuddhasimha 14 Tibetan sources state that he died suddenly in an accident after being kicked by a horse 14 Philosophy and teachings Edit Santarakṣita a k a Khenchen Bodhisattva at Guru Lhakhang Monastery Bouddhanath According to Tibetan sources Santarakṣita and his students initially focused on teaching the ten good actions Sanskrit dasakusalakarmapatha the six paramitas transcendent virtues a summary of the Mahayana and the chain of dependent origination pratityasamutpada 15 16 Tibetan sources indicate that he and his student Kamalasila mainly taught a gradual path to Buddhahood most thoroughly outlined in the Bhavanakrama of Kamalasila 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 17 Santarakṣita is best known for his syncretic interpretation of Madhyamaka philosophy which also makes use of Yogacara and Dharmakirtian epistemology His Madhyamaka view is most clearly outlined in his Madhyamakalaṃkara The Ornament of the Middle Way and his own commentary on that text the Madhyamakalaṃkaravṛtti The Auto Commentary on The Ornament of the Middle Way 6 Santarakṣita is not the first Buddhist thinker to attempt a synthesis of Madhyamaka thought with Yogacara Though Santarakṣita is often regarded as the leading exponent of this approach earlier figures such as Vimuktisena Srigupta and Santarakṣita s teacher Jnanagarbha had already written from a similar syncretic perspective 18 Like other Indian Madhyamaka thinkers Santarakṣita explains the ontological status of phenomena through the use of the doctrine of the two truths the ultimate paramartha and the conventional saṃvṛti While in an ultimate or absolute sense all phenomena as seen by Madhyamaka as being empty shunya of essence or inherent nature svabhava they can be said to have some kind of conventional nominal or provisional existence 6 James Blumenthal summarizes Santarakṣita s syncretic view thus Santarakṣita advocates a Madhyamaka perspective when describing ultimate truths and a Yogacara perspective when describing conventional truths 19 According to Blumenthal Santarakṣita s thought also emphasized the importance of studying the lower Buddhist schools These lesser views were seen as integral stepping stones on the ascent to his presentation of what he considered to be the ultimately correct view of Madhyamaka This way of using a doxographic hierarchy to present Buddhist philosophy remains influential in Tibetan Buddhist thought 9 Ultimate Truth and neither one nor many Edit Like other Madhyamaka thinkers Santarakṣita sees the ultimate truth as being the emptiness of all phenomena i e their lack of inherent existence or essence He makes use of the neither one nor many argument in his Madhyamakalaṃkara as a way to argue for emptiness The basic position is outlined by the following stanza 6 These entities as asserted by our own Buddhist schools and other non Buddhist schools have no inherent nature at all because in reality they have neither a singular nor manifold nature like a reflected image 20 The main idea in his argument is that any given phenomenon i e dharma cannot be said to have an inherent nature or essence i e svabhava because such a nature cannot be proven to exist either as a singular nature ekasvabhava or as a multiplicity of natures anekasvabhava 6 21 In the Madhyamakalaṃkara Santarakṣita analyses all the different phenomena posited by Buddhist and non Buddhist schools through the neither one nor many schema proving that they cannot be shown to exist as a single thing or as a manifold collection of many phenomena Santarakṣita usually begins by looking at any phenomenon that is asserted by his interlocutor as having a truly singular nature and then showing how it cannot actually be singular 6 For example when analyzing the Saṃkhya school s doctrine of a Fundamental Nature Prakṛti the permanent un caused absolute cause of everything Santarakṣita states that this permanent and fundamental nature cannot be truly singular because it contributes to the production of successive effects Since each successive effect is distinct then this fundamental nature which is contributing to all these different effects arising at different times is not really singular 6 After critiquing the non Buddhist ideas Santarakṣita turns his arguments against Buddhist ideas such as the theory of svabhava the theory of atoms paramanu the theory of the person pudgala theories regarding space akasa and nirvana 22 He also critiques the Sautrantika and Yogacara Buddhists who held that consciousness vijnana is truly singular and yet knows a variety of objects 6 In his analysis of consciousness Santarakṣita concludes that it is just like other entities in the sense that it can be neither unitary nor multiple Therefore he like other Madhyamikas refuses to assign any ultimate reality to consciousness and sees it as empty of any inherent nature 23 Furthermore he also critiques the Yogacara theory of the three natures 23 Santarakṣita then turns to a critique of the idea that there is a truly manifold nature in phenomena Santarakṣita s main argument here is that any manifold nature or essence would depend on an aggregation of singular essences But since singular essences have been proven to be irrational then there can also be no manifold essence Because of this phenomena cannot have any inherent nature or essence at all since the very idea of such a thing is irrational 6 The Conventional Edit All Madhyamikas agree on an anti essentialist view which rejects all permanent essences inherent natures or true existence However they do not all agree on conventional truth that is the best way of describing how it is that phenomena exist in a relative sense In his Madhyamakalaṃkara Santarakṣita 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 6 According to Blumenthal the main criteria for conventional entities given by Santarakṣita in his Madhyamakalaṃkara and its commentary are the following 6 that which is known by a mind that which has the ability to function i e that it is causally efficacious that which is impermanent and that which is unable to withstand analysis which searches for an ultimate nature or essence in entities Furthermore causal efficacy and impermanence are qualities that conventional truths have due to the fact that they are dependently originated that is they arise due to causes and conditions which are themselves impermanent and so on 6 Also conventional truths are described by Santarakṣita as being known by conceptual thought and designated based on worldly custom 6 One important element of Santarakṣita s presentation of conventional truth is that he also incorporates certain views from the Yogacara school mainly the idea that conventional phenomena are just consciousness as well as the concept of self cognizing consciousness or reflexive awareness svasamvedana 24 The Madhyamakalaṃkara argues in favor of the Yogacara position on a conventional level and states that that which is cause and result is mere consciousness only 6 Thus Santarakṣita incorporates the Yogacara 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 6 Works EditAround 11 works may have been written by Santarakṣita some survive in Tibetan translation and others in Sanskrit Some of his texts survive in Jain libraries showing that he was a figure that was taken seriously even by some of his non Buddhist opponents 6 His main known works include 7 Aṣṭatathagatastotra D 1166 P 2055 a short praise Sriva jradharasaṅgitibhagavatstotraṭika D 1163 P 2052 a short praise Tattvasiddhi D 39a1 P 42a8 a philosophical defense of tantra the authorship is doubtful Saṅvaraviṃsakavṛtti D 4082 P 5583 focuses on the training and practice of a bodhisattva and is actually a commentary on Candragomin s Bodhisattvasaṃvaraviṃsaka It is also related to the Bodhisattvabhumi Satyadvayavibhaṅgapanjika D 3883 P 5283 an extensive commentary on Jnanagarbha s Satyadvayavibhaṅga The authorship has been questioned by various scholars including some Tibetans like Tsongkhapa and Taranatha Paramarthaviniscaya now lost Vadanyayaṭika vipancitartha D 4239 P 5725 a commentary on Dharmakirti s Vadanyaya Tattvasaṅgraha a massive polemical compendium of Indian philosophy covering Buddhist and non Buddhist views There is also a commentary on this text by Kamalasila Madhyamakalaṅkara and its autocommentary the Madhyamakalaṅkaravṛtti This is his main exposition of his synthetic Madhyamaka views Kamalasila also composed a commentary to this text the Madhyamakalaṅkarapanjika Tattvasaṅgraha Edit Santarakṣita s Tattvasaṅgraha Compendium on Reality Truth is a huge and encyclopaedic treatment over 3 600 verses distributed into 26 chapters of the major Indian philosophic views of the time In this text the author outlines the views of the numerous non Buddhist Indian traditions of his time 7 Unlike previous Madhyamaka texts which were organized around Buddhist categories to be refuted and discussed the Tattvasaṅgraha is mainly organized around refuting non Buddhist views which were becoming increasingly sophisticated and prominent during Santarakṣita s era though space is also saved for certain Buddhist views as well like pudgalavada i e personalism 25 In this text Santarakṣita explains and then refutes many non Buddhist views systematically including Saṅkhya s primordial matter Nyaya s creator god isvara and six different theories on the self atman 7 He also defends the Buddhist doctrine of momentariness rejects the Vaiseṣika ontological categories discusses philosophy of language and epistemology as well as Jain theories Sarvastivada philosophy and critiques the materialism of the Carvakas and the scriptural views of Mimaṃsa 7 A Sanskrit version of this work was discovered in 1873 by Dr G Buhler in the Jain temple of Parsva at Jaisalmer This version contains also the commentary by Santarakṣita s pupil Kamalasila Madhyamakalaṅkara EditSantarakṣita s synthesis of Madhyamaka Yogacara and Dharmakirtian thought was expounded in his Madhyamakalaṅkara Ornament of the Middle Way In this short verse text Santarakṣita critiques some key Hindu and Buddhist views and then details his presentation of the two truths doctrine This presents Yogacara Idealism as the superior way of analyzing conventional truth while retaining the Madhyamaka philosophy of emptiness as the ultimate truth 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 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 Therefore those who hold the reins of logic while riding the carriage of the two systems Madhyamika and Yogacara attain the stage of a true Mahayanist 7 Influence EditMipham lists Santarakṣita s main Indian students as Kamalasila Haribhadra and Dharmamitra He also notes that other Indian scholars like masters Jnanapada and Abhayakaragupta c 1100 CE also established the view of Prajnaparamita in accordance with this tradition 26 Furthermore according to David Seyfort Ruegg other later Indian scholars such as Vidyakaraprabha c 800 CE Nandasri Buddhajnana pada Jitari and Kambalapada also belongs to this Yogacara Madhyamaka tradition 27 Ju Mipham further states that this tradition was continued by Tibetan scholars such as Ngok Lotsawa Chaba Chokyi Senge and Rongton Choje 26 Santarakṣita s work also influenced numerous later Tibetan figures such as Yeshe De ca 8th c Sakya Pandita 1182 1251 Tsongkhapa 1357 1419 and Ju Mipham Gyatso 1846 1912 6 Santarakṣita s philosophy remained the main interpretation of Madhyamaka in Tibetan Buddhism from the 8th century until the time of the second dissemination in the eleventh and twelfth centuries when Candrakirti s work began to be translated Blumenthal notes that already in the time of Patsab 12th century the Prasaṅgika Madhyamaka view began to be widely taught and the privileging of Santarakṣita s system began to encounter serious opposition 28 Je Tsongkhapa s 1357 1419 interpretation of Prasaṅgika Madhyamaka and his new school the Gelug raised serious and influential critiques of Santarakṣita s position In no small part due to his efforts Prasaṅgika Madhyamaka replaced Santarakṣita s Madhyamaka as the dominant interpretation of Madhyamaka in Tibetan Buddhism 28 In the late 19th century Ju Mipham attempted to promote Yogacara Madhyamaka again as part of the Rime movement and as a way to discuss specific critiques of Je Tsongkhapa s widely influential philosophy The Rime movement was funded by the secular authorities in Derge Kham and began to establish centres of learning encouraging the study of traditions different from the dominant Gelug tradition in central Tibet This Rime movement revitalised the Sakya Kagyu Nyingma and Jonang traditions which had been by almost supplanted by the Gelug hegemony 29 As part of that movement the 19th century Nyingma scholar Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso wrote the first commentary in almost 400 years about Santarakṣita s Madhyamakalaṅkara According to his student Kunzang Palden Mipham had been asked by his teacher Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo to write a survey of all the major Mahayana philosophic shastras for use in the Nyingma monastic colleges 29 Mipham s commentaries now form the backbone of the Nyingma monastic curriculum The Madhyamakalaṅkara which was almost forgotten by the 19th century 29 is now studied by all Nyingma shedra students References Edit Buswell Robert Lopez Donald 2014 The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism Princeton University Press p 773 ISBN 9780691157863 Singh Shyam Deo Prasad 1981 Nalanda Pandit Santarakshita His Writings and Endeavour to Propagate Buddhism in Tibet and Nepal Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 42 110 114 JSTOR 44141119 Retrieved 31 January 2021 Murthy 1989 p 18 27 41 43 stanford edu Santarakṣita Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Santarakṣita s name might be understood as a poetic way of rendering protected by the Buddha Technically like Dharmarakṣita or Devadatta the compound Santa rakṣita is to be understood as a tṛtiyatatpuruṣa or instrumental determinative compound comprising the noun Santa peaceful person in its implicit instrumental inflection on the one hand and the past passive participle rakṣita protected on the other a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Blumenthal 2018 a b c d e f g h i j k l Eltschinger 2019 Blumenthal James Two Topics Concerning Consciousness in Santaraksita s Yogacara Madhyamaka Syncretism in Garfield and Westerhoff 2015 Madhyamaka and Yogacara Allies or Rivals a b c Blumenthal 2004 pp 22 24 Singh Shyam Deo Prasad 1981 Nalanda Pandit Santarakshita His Writings and Endeavour to Propagate Buddhism in Tibet and Nepal Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 42 110 114 JSTOR 44141119 Shantarakshita amp Ju Mipham 2005 pp 2 3 Shantarakshita amp Ju Mipham 2005 p 85 a b Blumenthal 2004 p 26 a b c Banerjee AC 1982 Acarya Santaraksita Gzhon Nu Dpal ʼgos Lo tsa ba Roerich George 1988 The Blue Annals ISBN 9788120804715 a b Dargyay Eva M author amp Wayman Alex editor 1977 1998 The Rise of Esoteric Buddhism in Tibet Second revised edition reprint Delhi India Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt Ltd Buddhist Tradition Series Vol 32 ISBN 81 208 1579 3 paper p 7 Shantarakshita amp Ju Mipham 2005 p 88 Ruegg David Seyfort 1981 The Literature of the Madhyamaka School of Philosophy in India p 87 Harrassowitz Wiesbaden Blumenthal 2004 p 43 Blumenthal 2004 p 24 Ruegg David Seyfort 1981 The Literature of the Madhyamaka School of Philosophy in India p 91 Harrassowitz Wiesbaden Ruegg David Seyfort 1981 The Literature of the Madhyamaka School of Philosophy in India p 91 Harrassowitz Wiesbaden a b Ruegg David Seyfort 1981 The Literature of the Madhyamaka School of Philosophy in India p 92 Harrassowitz Wiesbaden Blumenthal James Two Topics Concerning Consciousness in Santaraksita s Yogacara Madhyamaka Syncretism in Garfield and Westerhoff 2015 Madhyamaka and Yogacara Allies or Rivals Carpenter Amber 2014 Indian Buddhist Philosophy pp 233 235 Routledge a b Shantarakshita amp Ju Mipham 2005 p 86 Ruegg David Seyfort 1981 The Literature of the Madhyamaka School of Philosophy in India pp 99 107 Harrassowitz Wiesbaden a b Blumenthal 2004 p 27 a b c Shantarakshita amp Ju Mipham 2005 pp 4 5Sources EditBanerjee Anukul Chandra Acaraya Santaraksita in Bulletin of Tibetology New Series No 3 p 1 5 1982 Gangtok Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology and Other Buddhist Studies 1 Blumenthal James The Ornament of the Middle Way A Study of the Madhyamaka Thought of Shantarakshita Snow Lion 2004 ISBN 1 55939 205 3 a study and translation of the primary Gelukpa commentary on Shantarakshita s treatise Gyal tsab Je s Remembering The Ornament of the Middle Way Blumenthal James and James Apple Santarakṣita The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Spring 2018 Edition Edward N Zalta ed 2 Doctor Thomas H trans Mipham Jamgon Ju Speech of Delight Mipham s Commentary of Shantarakshita s Ornament of the Middle Way Ithaca Snow Lion Publications 2004 ISBN 1 55939 217 7 Eltschinger Vincent Santarakṣita in Brill s Encyclopedia of Buddhism Volume II Lives 2019 Ichigō Masamichi ed amp tr Madhyamakalaṁkara of santarakṣita with his own commentary of Vṛtti and with the subcommentary or Panjika of Kamalasila Kyoto Buneido 1985 Jha Ganganath trans The Tattvasangraha of Shantaraksita with the Commentary of Kamalashila 2 volumes First Edition Baroda G O S No Lxxxiii 1939 Reprint Motilal Banarsidass Delhi 1986 Murthy K Krishna Buddhism in Tibet Sundeep Prakashan 1989 ISBN 81 85067 16 3 Prasad Hari Shankar ed Santaraksita His Life and Work Collected Articles from All India Seminar on Acarya Santaraksita held on 3 5 August 2001 at Namdroling Monastery Mysore Karnataka New Delhi Tibet House 2003 Phuntsho Karma Mipham s Dialectics and Debates on Emptiness To Be Not to Be or Neither London RoutledgeCurzon 2005 ISBN 0 415 35252 5 Santarakṣita author Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso commentator Padmakara Translation Group translators 2005 The Adornment of the Middle Way Shantarakshita s Madhyamakalankara with commentary by Jamgon Mipham Boston Massachusetts USA Shambhala Publications Inc ISBN 1 59030 241 9 alk paper Sodargye Khenpo 索达吉堪布 trans 中观庄严论释 A Chinese translation of the Mipham s Commentary of Ornament of the Middle Way online versionFurther reading EditSantarakṣita author Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso commentator Padmakara Translation Group translators 2005 The Adornment of the Middle Way Shantarakshita s Madhyamakalankara with commentary by Jamgon Mipham Boston Massachusetts USA Shambhala Publications Inc ISBN 1 59030 241 9 alk paper External links EditThe Tattvasangraha with commentary English translation by Ganganatha Jha 1937 includes glossary Blumenthal James Santarakṣita In Zalta Edward N ed Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Santarakṣita amp oldid 1106602950, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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