Atiśa | |
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 In this twelfth-century Tibetan depiction, Atiśa holds a long, thin palm-leaf manuscript with his left hand and making the gesture of teaching with his right hand. Produced in aKadam monastery inTibet, currently held in theMetropolitan Museum of Art.[1] | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | c. 982 CE |
| Died | c. 1054 CE Nyêtang, Tibet |
| Education | |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Buddhism |
| Teachers | Jñanasrimitra |
| Senior posting | |
Students | |
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Institutional roles |
History and overview |
Atish Dipankar Shrijnan (Sanskrit transliteration: Atīśa Dīpaṅkara Śrījñāna) (c. 982–1054 CE) was aBengaliBuddhist religious teacher and leader.[2] He is generally associated with his body of work authored atVikramaśīla Monastery in modern dayBihar, India.[3] He was a major figure in the spread of 11th-centuryMahayana andVajrayana Buddhism in Asia and traveled toSumatra andTibet. Atiśa, along with this chief discipleDromtön, is regarded as the founder of theKadam school,[4] one of theNew Translation schools ofTibetan Buddhism. In the 14th century, the Kadam school was supplanted by theGelug tradition, which adopted its teachings and absorbed its monasteries.[5]
Atiśa was born as Candragarbha in c. 982 CE as the second of three sons to a ruling family inBengal in the city ofVikrampura.[6] His father was a king known as Kalyānaśrī and his mother was Prabhavati Sri.[7][8] The early part of his life was typical of noblemen of the period, and he was trained in various fields, including art.[9] He is referred to as a "Bāngāli" in his two books namedEkavirasādhanā andBalavidhi.[10]
As a young man, he began to studytantra in what is nowRajgir, where he was tutored by a monk named Rāhulaguhyavajra. Under Rāhulaguhyavajra, Atiśa was initiated intoHevajra and taught specific meditations. He then studied for seven years under a master named Avadhūtipā, where he focused onyoga and engaged in tantric feasts known asGanachakra.[9]
According to Tibetan sources, Atiśa was ordained into theMahāsāṃghika lineage at the age of twenty-eight by the Abbot Śīlarakṣita inBodh Gaya and studied almost all Buddhist and non-Buddhist schools of his time, including teachings fromVaishnavism,Shaivism, Tantric Hinduism and other practices. He also studied the sixty-four kinds of art, the art of music and the art of logic and accomplished these studies until the age of twenty-two. Among the many Buddhist lineages he studied, practised and transmitted the three main lineages were theLineage of the Profound Action transmitted byAsaṅga andVasubandhu, theLineage of Profound View transmitted byNagarjuna andCandrakīrti, and theLineage of Profound Experience transmitted byTilopa andNaropa.[11][12] Atiśa engaged with many notable teachers during this period, includingRatnākaraśānti,[13] Naropa andJitari. He also studied Dharmarakṣita at the monastery ofOdantapuri.[9]
Atiśa rose to become a senior scholar at the monastery ofVikramaśīla at a time when it had no more than one hundred ordained monks present. Tibetan hagiographies on his life have a tendency to portray him as one of the greatest scholars to stay at Vikramaśīla, who would be noted for his strict adherence to the ethics of Mahayana Buddhism. It was during this period that the King of the Tibetan polity ofGuge, Lha bla ma Ye shes 'od began to send missions to Vikramaśīla to invite scholars to visit Guge so that they could teach the "pure form of Buddhism".
Atiśa finally departed Vikramaśīla in 1040 CE. The then abbot of Vikramaśīla, Ratnakara, gave his permission for Atiśa to leave but on the condition that he return in three years.[9]
Tibetan sources record that Atiśa spent 12 years inSumatra of theSrivijaya empire, and he returned to India in 1025 CE which was also the same year whenRajendra Chola I of theChola dynasty invaded Sumatra.[14]
Upon his return, he received much attention for his teachings and skills in debate and philosophy. On three separate occasions, Atiśa was acclaimed for defeating non-Buddhist extremists in debate.[citation needed] When he came into contact with what he perceived to be a misled or deteriorating form of Buddhism, he would quickly and effectively implement reforms. Soon enough he was appointed to the position of steward, or abbot, at Vikramaśīla which was established byEmperor Dharmapala.[citation needed] He is also said to have "nourished"Odantapuri.[15]
Atiśa's return fromSuvarnabhumi, where he had been studying with Dharmakīrtiśrī, and his rise to prominence in India coincided with a flourishing of Buddhist culture and the practice of Buddhism in the region, and in many ways Atiśa's influence contributed to these developments. According to theBlue Annals, a new king ofGuge by the name ofYeshe-Ö sent his academic followers to learn and translate some of the Sanskrit Buddhist texts.[16] Among these academics was Naktso, who was eventually sent to Vikramaśīla to study Sanskrit and plead with Atiśa to come teach the Dharma in his homeland.
Travelling with Naktso and Gya Lōtsawa, Atiśa journeyed through Nepal on his way to Tolung, the capital of the Purang Kingdom. (Gya Lōtsawa died before reaching Tolung.) On his way, he is said to have met Marpa Lōtsawa. He spent three years in Tolung and compiled his teachings into his most influential scholarly work,Bodhipathapradīpa, orLamp for the Path to Enlightenment. This short text in sixty-seven verses lays out the entire Buddhist path in terms of the three vehicles: Hīnayāna, Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna, and became the model for subsequent texts in the genre ofLamrim, or theStages of the Path,[17] and was specifically the basis forTsongkhapa's Lamrim writings. Here Atiśa metDromtön, or Dromtonpa, who would become his primary disciple, regarded as both an enforcer of later propagation ethical standards and a holder of Atiśa's tantric lineage.[18]
According toJamgon Kongtrul, when Atiśa discovered the store of Sanskrit texts at Pekar Kordzoling, the library ofSamye, "he said that the degree to which the Vajrayana had spread in Tibet was unparalleled, even in India. After saying this, he reverently folded his hands and praised the great dharma kings, translators, and panditas of the previous centuries."[19]
In 2004, Atiśa was ranked 18th in theBBC's poll of thegreatest Bengalis of all time.[20][21][22]
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His writings include:
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