Anandagarbha
Anandagarbha (Skt. Ānandagarbha; Tib. Kun dga' sNying po) is a major East-Indian scholars of the Buddhist Mantrayana and especially of Yoga Tantra.[1] The translators of the second dissemination of Buddhism to Tibet consider him, together with Buddhaguhya and Shakyamitra (Skt. Śākyamitra; Tib. ShA kya bShes gnyen) as one of the Three Experts on Yoga (Tib. yo ga la mi mkhas pa gsum).[2]
Taranatha says that he was born in a Vaishya family in Magadha, studied at Vikramashila and belonged to the Mahāsāṃghika sect. Taranatha places his life during the reign of king Mahipala (Skt. Mahīpāla), who lived in the 9th century.[3] A short colophon note in one of Anandagarbha’s works suggests that Anandagarbha’s main teacher was Vajravaram from Shri Lanka.[4]
Anandagarbha is known for his commentaries, ritual manuals and sadhanas on the Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṃgraha (Skt. Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṃgraha), Sarvabuddhasamayoga (Skt. Sarvabuddhasamāyoga), Māyājāla (Skt. Māyājāla), Sarvadurgatiparishodhana (Skt. Sarvadurgatipariśodhana), Guhyasamāja and Paramādya (Skt. Paramādya). The Tengyur attributes 21 works to Anandagarbha.[5] There is furthermore one sadhana, the Vajrajvalodaya-sadhanopayika (Skt. Vajrajvālodayā-sādhanopayikā), still available in Sanskrit, which was not translated into Tibetan.[6] Interestingly this sadhana was not found in India, but rather in Samye in Tibet. Most of Anandagarbha’s works were translated during the second dissemination, particularly by Rinchen Zangpo.[7]
Notes
- ↑ Sanderson, Alexis, The Influence of Śaivism on Pāla Buddhism, Lecture at the University of Toronto at Mississauga, 26 February 2010.
- ↑ Dalai Lama, Yoga Tantra: Paths to Magical Feats, (New York: Snow Lion, 2005): 18.
- ↑ Chattopadhyaya, Debiprasad, ed., Taranatha's History of Buddhism in India, (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1990): 284 – 287.
- ↑ Skorupski, Tadeusz, The Sarvadurgatipariśodhana Tantra - Elimination of All Evil Destinies, (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1983): xxv.
- ↑ Plus, one additional commentary (D 1917), which was mistakenly attributed to Ānandagarbha.
- ↑ Szántó, Peter-Daniel & Arlo Griffiths, "Sarvabuddhasamāyogaḍākinījālaśaṃvara", In Brill Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Vol. I Literature and Languages, (Leiden: Brill 2015): 368.
- ↑ Roerich, George N. The Blue Annals. Calcutta: Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1949: 352.
Further Reading
- Chattopadhyaya, Debiprasad, ed. Taranatha's History of Buddhism in India. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1990: 284 – 287. =
- Skorupski, Tadeusz. The Sarvadurgatipariśodhana Tantra - Elimination of All Evil Destinies. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1983: xxv.
- Sanderson, Alexis. The Influence of Śaivism on Pāla Buddhism. Lecture at the University of Toronto at Mississauga, 26 February 2010. Nine-page handout.
- Dalai Lama. Yoga Tantra: Paths to Magical Feats. Translated by Hopkins Jeffrey. New York: Snow Lion, 2005.
- Roerich, George N. The Blue Annals. Calcutta: Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1949: 352.