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Indian tantric Buddhist master who was born into a brāhmaṇa family in either Orissa or northeast India near Bengal. Sources vary regarding his dates of birth and death, although most agree that he was a contemporary of the Pāla king Rāmapāla, who began his reign during the final quarter of the eleventh century. Abhayākaragupta became a Buddhist monk in response to a prophetic vision and trained extensively in the esoteric practices of tantra, while nevertheless maintaining his monastic discipline (''vinaya''). Abhayākaragupta was active at the monastic university of Vikramaśīla in Bihar and became renowned as both a scholar and a teacher. He was a prolific author, composing treatises in numerous fields of Buddhist doctrine, including monastic discipline and philosophy as well as tantric ritual practice and iconography. Many Sanskrit manuscripts of his works have been preserved in India, Nepal, and Tibet, and his writings were influential both in India and among Newari Buddhists in Nepal. Translations of his works into Tibetan were begun under his supervision, and more than two dozen are preserved in the Tibetan canon. To date, Abhayākaragupta’s writings best known in the West are his treatises on tantric iconography, the ''Vajrãvalī'' and ''Niṣpannayogāvalī'', and his syncretistic abhidharma treatise ''Munimatãlaṃkāra''. (Source: "Abhayākaragupta." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 2. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.) +
Traditionally counted among the Seventeen Great Paṇḍitas of Nālandā, Asaṅga was an illustrious Indian scholar who, along with his brother Vasubandhu, is credited with the founding of the Yogācāra school and the introduction of the associated theories of mind-only (''cittamātra''), the storehouse consciousness (''ālayavijñāna''), the three natures (''trisvabhāva''), and so forth, into the milieu of Indian Buddhist philosophical discourse. He is most famously eulogized in the Tibetan tradition for his association with the Five Dharma Treatises of Maitreya (Byams chos sde lnga), which he is reported to have received directly from the bodhisattva Maitreya. In terms of the ''Uttaratantra'', the Tibetan tradition, which divides the text into two distinct works, asserts that Asaṅga was the author of the prose commentary (''vyākhyā'') of this work, while Maitreya, himself, is the author of the actual verses of the treatise (''śāstra''). +
Atiśa, also known as Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna (982-1054), is famous for being a master from the ancient Indian Buddhist land of Bengal and for his journeys in Indonesia and Nepal. He is most well known for the last thirteen years of his life in Tibet. Atiśa was one of the most influential Indian Buddhist masters ever to set foot in Tibet. (James Apple, ''Atiśa Dīpaṃkara'', page 1).
In Tibet, Atiśa is known as Jowo Jé or Jowo Jé Palden Atisha (ཇོ་བོ་རྗེ་དཔལ་ལྡན་ཨ་ཏི་ཤ་) or Pandita Dipamkara (པཎྜིཏ་དཱི་པཾ་ཀ་ར་), where he is considered the founding father of the Kadam tradition. Born in Sāhor (modern-day Bangladesh), he became a scholar of the famous Indian university of Vikramaśila before coming to Tibet in 1042, where he taught and authored works that are still studied today.<br>
:[https://bca.tsadra.org/index.php/Articles/Ati%C5%9Ba_D%C4%ABpa%E1%B9%83kara_%C5%9Ar%C4%ABj%C3%B1%C4%81na%27s_Teaching_on_the_Bodhisattvacary%C4%81vat%C4%81ra:_One_Text_to_Rule_Them_All_(Forgues_2024) Learn more about him and his teachings on The Way of the Bodhisattva here].<br>
'''Princeton Dictionary Entry:''' Indian Buddhist monk and scholar revered by Tibetan Buddhists as a leading teacher in the later dissemination (''phyi dar'') of Buddhism in Tibet. His name, also written as Atisha, is an Apabhraṃśa form of the Sanskrit term atiśaya, meaning “surpassing kindness.” Born into a royal family in what is today Bangladesh, Atiśa studied Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy and tantra as a married layman prior to being ordained at the age of twenty-nine, receiving the ordination name of Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna. After studying at the great monasteries of northern India, including Nālandā, Odantapurī, Vikramaśīla, and Somapura, he is said to have journeyed to the island of Sumatra, where he studied under the Cittamātra teacher Dharmakīrtiśrī (also known as guru Sauvarṇadvīpa) for twelve years; he would later praise Dharmakīrtiśrī as a great teacher of bodhicitta. Returning to India, he taught at the Indian monastic university of Vikramaśīla. Atiśa was invited to Tibet by the king of western Tibet Ye shes 'od and his grandnephew Byang chub 'od, who were seeking to remove perceived corruption in the practice of Buddhism in Tibet. Atiśa reached Tibet in 1042, where he initially worked together with the renowned translator Rin chen bzang po at Tho ling monastery in the translation of prajñāpāramitā texts. There, he composed his famous work, the ''Bodhipathapradīpa'', or “''Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment'',” an overview of the Mahāyāna Buddhist path that served as a basis for the genre of literature known as lam rim (“stages of the path”). (Source: "Atiśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 77. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)
Aśvaghoṣa was a Sarvāstivāda Buddhist philosopher, dramatist, poet and orator from India. He was born in Saketa in northern India. He is believed to have been the first Sanskrit dramatist, and is considered the greatest Indian poet prior to Kālidāsa. He was the most famous in a group of Buddhist court writers, whose epics rivaled the contemporary Ramayana. Whereas much of Buddhist literature prior to the time of Aśvaghoṣa had been composed in Pāli and Prakrit, Aśvaghoṣa wrote in Classical Sanskrit. . . .<br> He was previously believed to have been the author of the influential Buddhist text ''Awakening of Mahayana Faith'', but modern scholars agree that the text was composed in China. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%C5%9Bvagho%E1%B9%A3a Source Accessed July 22, 2020]) +
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Vairotsana was the greatest of all Tibetan lotsawas. Together with Padmasambhava and Vimalamitra, he was one of the three main masters to bring the Dzogchen teachings to Tibet.
Vairotsana was born into the Pagor clan, and was sent to India by Trisong Detsen to study with Indian panditas. He also travelled widely in China, Khotan, Nepal, Shangshung and elsewhere. He was one of the original seven monks ordained by Shantarakshita. (Source: [https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Vairotsana Rigpa Wiki]) +
Famous Kadam scholar connected with Nartang (''snar thang'') monastery. His collected works are said to have once filled sixteen volumes and includes the earliest extant Tibetan commentary on the ''Uttaratantra'' that cites both tantric and sutric sources to corroborate the claims made in the treatise. +
Also known as Bhāviveka and Bhavya, an important Indian master of the Madhyamaka school, identified in Tibet as a proponent of Svātantrika Madhyamaka and, within that, of Sautrāntika-Svātantrika-Madhyamaka. He is best known for two works. The first is the ''Prajñāpradīpa'', his commentary on [[Nāgārjuna]]’s ''Mūlamadhyam- akakārikā''; this work has an extensive subcommentary by [[Avalokitavrata]]. Although important in its own right as one of the major commentaries on the central text of the Madhyamaka school, the work is most often mentioned for its criticism of the commentary of Buddhapālita on the first chapter of Nāgārjuna’s text, where Bhāvaviveka argues that it is insufficient for the Madhyamaka only to state the absurd consequences (''prasaṅga'') that follow from the position of the opponent . . . The other major work of Bhāvaviveka is his ''Madhyamakahṛdaya'', written in verse, and its prose autocommentary, the ''Tarkajvālā''. The ''Madhyamakahṛdaya'' is preserved in both Sanskrit and Tibetan, the ''Tarkajvālā'' only in Tibetan. It is a work of eleven chapters, the first three and the last two of which set forth the main points in Bhāvaviveka’s view of the nature of reality and the Buddhist path, dealing with such topics as bodhicitta, the knowledge of reality (''tattvajñāna''), and omniscience (''sarvajñātā''). The intervening chapters set forth the positions (and Bhāvaviveka’s refutations) of various Buddhist and non-Buddhist schools, including the śrāvaka, Yogācāra, Sāṃkhya, Vaiśeṣika, Vedānta, and Mīmāṃsā. These chapters (along with Śāntarakṣita’s ''Tattvasaṃgraha'') are an invaluable source of insight into the relations between Madhyamaka and other contemporary Indian philosophical schools, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist. (Source: "Bhāvaviveka." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 114. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.) +
(Chokle Namgyal) (1376-1451). The twenty-third abbot of Bo dong E monastery, founded in about 1049 by the Bka' gdams geshe (dge bshes) Mu dra pa chen po, and the founder of the Bo dong tradition. His collected works, said to number thirty-six titles, include his huge encyclopedic work ''De nyid 'dus pa'' ("Compendium of the Principles"); it alone runs to 137 volumes in the incomplete edition published by the Tibet House in Delhi. Phyogs las rnam rgyal (who is sometimes confused with Jo nang pa Phyogs las rnam rgyal who lived some fifty years earlier) was a teacher of Dge 'dun grub (retroactively named the first Dalai Lama) and Mkhas grub Dge legs dpal bzang, both students of Tsong kha pa. Among his disciples was the king of Gung thang, Lha dbang rgyal mtshan (1404–1463), whose daughter Chos kyi sgron me (1422–1455) became a nun after the death of her daughter and then the head of Bsam lding (Samding) monastery, which her father founded for her. The monastery is the only Tibetan monastery whose abbot is traditionally a woman; incarnations are said to be those of the goddess Vajravārāhī (T. Rdo rje phag mo), "Sow-Headed Goddess." (Source: "Bo dong Phyogs las rnam rgyal." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 139. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.) +
Karl Brunnhölzl is one of the most prolific translators of Tibetan texts into English and has worked on all of the Five Treatises of Maitreya. He was originally trained as a physician. He took Buddhist refuge vows in 1984 and, in 1990, completed a five-year training in higher Buddhist philosophy at Kamalashila Institute, Germany, receiving the traditional Kagyü title of "Dharma tutor" (Tib. ''skyor dpon''). Since 1988, he received his Buddhist and Tibetan language training mainly at Marpa Institute for Translators in Kathmandu, Nepal (director: [[Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso]] Rinpoche), and also studied Tibetology, Buddhology, and Sanskrit at Hamburg University, Germany. Since 1989, Karl served as a translator, interpreter, and Buddhist teacher mainly in Europe, India, and Nepal. Since 1999, he has acted as one of the main translators and teachers at Nitartha Institute (director: [[Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche]]) in the USA, Canada, and Germany. In addition, he regularly taught at Gampo Abbey's Vidyadhara Institute from 2000–2007. He is the author of several books on Buddhism, such as ''The Center of the Sunlit Sky'', ''Straight from the Heart'', ''In Praise of Dharmadhātu'', and ''Luminous Heart'' (all Snow Lion Publications). He has also completed several ground-breaking translations in the Tsadra Foundation series, including a three-volume work on the ''Abhisamayālaṃkāra''. He has also completed the work ''[[Prajñāpāramitā, Indian "gzhan stong pas", and the Beginning of Tibetan gzhan stong]]'' in the Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde series, and of course, ''[[When the Clouds Part]]'', a translation of the ''Gyü Lama''. In 2019 his translation of the ''Mahāyānasaṃgraha'' with Indian and Tibetan commentaries was published and won the [https://khyentsefoundation.org/2019-outstanding-translation/ Khyentse Foundation Prize For Outstanding Buddhist Translation]. +
Important early translator of Indian Buddhist texts into Chinese, also known by the Chinese translation of his name, Juexian, or "Enlightened Sage" . . . According to the "Biographies of Eminent Monks" (Gaoseng Zhuan), Buddhabhadra was born in north India and joined the saṃgha after losing both his parents at an early age. Buddhabhadra studied various scriptures and was adept in both meditation and observing the precepts; he was also renowned for his thaumaturgic talents. At the behest of a Chinese monk named Zhiyan, Buddhabhadra traveled to China along the southern maritime route. Upon learning of the eminent Kuchean monk Kumārajīva's arrival in Chang'an, Buddhabhadra went to the capital in 406 to meet him. Due to a difference of opinion with Kumārajīva, however, Buddhabhadra left for Lushan, where he was welcomed by Lushan Huiyuan and installed as the meditation instructor in Huiyuan's community; Buddhabhadra came to be known as one of the eighteen worthies of Lushan. He devoted the rest of his career to translating such scriptures as the Damoduoluo Chan Jing, ''Guanfo sanmei hai jing'', and Avataṃsakasūtra, to name just a few. Buddhabhadra also translated the Mahāsāṃghika vinaya with the assistance of Faxian and contributed significantly to the growth of Buddhist monasticism in China. (Source: "Buddhabhadra." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 150. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.) +
Buddhaprabha was an Indian translator of Sanskrit texts into Tibetan, about whom little is known. Given the fact that he was a contemporary of Jinamitra, Dānaśīla, and Yeshe De, he probably lived between the late eighth and early ninth centuries. The Buddhist Digital Resource Center (TBRC.org) does not attribute a single text to him as translator (see https://www.tbrc.org/#!rid=P8268), but he is listed as the co-translator of the ''Questions of Sāgaramati Sūtra'' (Skt. ''Sāgaramatiparipṛcchāsūtra'', Tib. '' 'Phags pa blo gros rgya mtshos zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo'') along with the above figures. +
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An important Madhyamaka master and commentator on the works of Nāgārjuna and Āryadeva, associated especially with what would later be known as the Prāsaṅgika branch of Madhyamaka. Very little is known about his life; according to Tibetan sources, he was from south India and a student of Kamalabuddhi. He may have been a monk of Nālandā. He wrote commentaries on Nāgārjuna’s ''Yuktiṣaṣṭikā'' and ''Śūnyatāsaptati'' as well as Āryadeva's ''Catuḥśataka''. His two most famous and influential works, however, are his ''Prasannapadā'' (''Clear Words''), which is a commentary on Nāgārjuna's ''Mūlamadhyamakakārikā'', and his ''Madhyamakāvatāra'' (''Entrance to the Middle Way''). (Source: "Candrakīrti." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 165. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.) +
Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche (Tib. ལྕགས་མདུད་སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་, Wyl. lcags mdud sprul sku) (1930-2002), Padma Gargyi Wangchuk, was a renowned teacher of the Nyingma school. He was known and respected in the West for his teachings, and also for his melodic chanting voice, his artistry as a sculptor and painter, his limitless compassion, and his sense of humour. He was the source of treasured Nyingma lineage transmissions for the thousands of people whom he taught in North and South America, Asia, Australia, and Europe.
Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche was the fourteenth recognized Chagdud incarnation; and his root incarnation was Gyalwa Chokyang. Chagdud means 'iron knot', and is said to derive from one Sherab Gyaltsen, the first Chagdud incarnation, who folded an iron sword into a knot with his bare hands. This feat deeply impressed the emperor of Mongolia and inspired him to shower honours on Chagdud. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche demonstrated the same extraordinary power several times in his youth when he compressed stout swords into folds. ([https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Chagdud_Tulku_Rinpoche Source Accessed Feb 6, 2020]) +
Venerable Thubten Chodron is an author, teacher, and the founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey, the only Tibetan Buddhist training monastery for Western nuns and monks in the US. She graduated from UCLA, and did graduate work in education at USC. Ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun in 1977, she has studied extensively with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tsenzhap Serkong Rinpoche, and Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche. Ven. Chodron teaches worldwide and is known for her practical (and humorous!) explanations of how to apply Buddhist teachings in daily life. She is also involved in prison outreach and interfaith dialogue. She has published many books on Buddhist philosophy and meditation, and has co-authored a book with His Holiness the Dalai Lama—''Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions''. ([https://wisdomexperience.org/product/samsara-nirvana-and-buddha-nature/ Source Accessed Jan 24, 2020]) +
Born in Merseyside, England, in 1938, [Roger Jonathan Corless] began studying religion at the age of sixteen, understanding himself as being Buddhist, though attending Christian churches. He studied theology at King’s College at the University of London, receiving a Bachelor of Divinity in 1961. In wrestling with the Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible, and particularly in the sacrament of the Eucharist, Roger experienced God’s presence. He was baptized into the Roman Catholic church in 1964 after coming to the United States to pursue a PhD in Buddhist Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, from which he received that degree in 1973. From there, he joined the Department of Religion at Duke University and remained there until his retirement in 2000.<br> In 1980, Roger took refuge as a Gelugpa Buddhist under Geshela Lhundup Sopa, having first obtained permission from his Catholic spiritual director and having explained to Geshela what he was doing. His refuge or dharma name was Lhundup Tashi, ‘‘spontaneous fortune’’ or ‘‘luck.’’ Later, Roger also became a Benedictine oblate, taking Gregory as his Oblate name after Pope Gregory, whose instruction to Augustine of Canterbury was not to destroy the pagan temples, but to bring them into the church by trying to find what was good and preparatory to the Gospel. Roger understood himself as a dual practitioner, but did not seek to blend the two practices or traditions. Rather, he sought to be present to each in their own irreconcilable differences and deep riches.<br> Roger was always reflecting and writing on something, wanting to be open to the insights emerging from his studies and practices. His works are prolific. Over the past thirty years, he published three monographs (''The Art of Christian Alchemy: Transfiguring the Ordinary through Holistic Meditation'' [Paulist Press, 1981]; ''I Am Food: The Mass in Planetary Perspective'' [Crossroad, 1981, and Wipf and Stock, 2004]; and ''The Vision of Buddhism: The Space under the Tree'' [Paragon House, 1989]), one edited volume (with Paul Knitter, ''Buddhist Emptiness and Christian Trinity: Essays and Explorations'' [Paulist Press, 1990]), essays in thirty-one books, thirty-seven articles in twenty journals, articles in six encyclopedias, and twenty-seven papers. Before his death, he had also completed six additional essays, forthcoming in edited volumes, and a draft of another monograph, ''Where Do We Go from Here? The Many Religions and the Next Step''. Over the years, his works examined Buddhist teachings and practices, Christian teachings and practices, Buddhist-Christian dialogue, and interreligious dialogue; more recently his focus had turned to queer dharma topics and same-sex issues. ([https://muse.jhu.edu/article/220092/pdf Adapted from Source Jul 21, 2020])
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Devacandra was an Indian paṇḍita who traveled to Samye in the Tibetan Empire to participate in translations during the reign of Trisong Detsen in the eighth century AD. Together with Jinamitra and Jñānagarbha, he translated the ''Mahāyāna mahāparanirvāṇa sūtra'' from Sanskrit into Tibetan. ([https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devacandra Source Accessed Aug 19, 2020]) +
Founded and directed by Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche, the Dharmachakra Translation Committee is housed at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery in Boudhanath, Nepal. It was established in 2006 to facilitate and coordinate the translation efforts of a growing number of skilled translators emerging from the international shedra program run by the Rangjung Yeshe Institute.
The committee consists of a broad group of translators, editors, and graphic artists committed to the task of translating Buddhist classics into English and other languages.
For more information on this institute, please see the Buddhist Higher Education Program of this site. Tsadra Foundation grantee since 2007.
'''Translations'''<br>
Dharmachakra is presently working on various translations of central scriptures containing the Buddha’s words as they are expressed in the sutras and the tantras as well as the most pivotal Indian and Tibetan commentaries on these enlightened statements.
A major project of the committee is the translation of the so-called “Thirteen Great Scriptures” of classical Indian Buddhism together with their commentaries by the Tibetan masters Jamgön Mipham and Khenpo Shenga. The first of these volumes, ''Middle Beyond Extremes'', was published in 2007. Upcoming volumes in this series include Maitreya’s ''Ornament of the Great Vehicle Sutras'' and ''Distinguishing Phenomena and Their Intrinsic Nature''. The remaining volumes will be made available over the coming years.
In addition to the works of Khenpo Shenga and Jamgön Mipham, the committee also translates selected texts from the writings of the Karmapas as well as the works of the masters of the Rimé Tradition: Jamgön Kongtrul, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, and Chokgyur Lingpa.
'''Current Projects as a Tsadra Foundation Grantee'''<br>
''No current projects''
'''Completed Projects as a Tsadra Foundation Grantee'''<br>
*''Luminous Essence: A Guide to the Guhyagarbha Tantra'', Jamgön Mipham
*''Ornament of Reason'', Mabja Jangchub Tsondru
*''Distinguishing Phenomena and Their Intrinsic Nature'', Maitreya-Asanga, commentaries by Khenpo Shenga and Jamgön Mipham
*''Ornament of the Great Vehicle Sutras'' (''Mahayanasutralamkara''), Maitreya-Asanga, commentaries by Khenpo Shenga and Jamgön Mipham
*''Vajra Wisdom: Deity Practice in Tibetan Buddhism'', Shechen Gyaltsap
'''Dharmachakra Translation Committee Memberts:'''
*Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche, Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery
*Khenpo Trogpa Tulku
*Khenpo Urgyen Tenpel
*Lama Tenzin Sangpo
*Karma Ozer Lama, Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery
*Dr. Andreas Doctor, Rangjung Yeshe Institiute/Kathmandu University
*Dr. James Gentry, Harvard University
*Dr. Joseph McClennan
*Dr. Mattia Salvini, Mahidol University
*Dr. Thomas Doctor, Kathmandu University
*Ven. Ani Jinpa (Eugenie De Jong)
*Alex Yiannopoulos
*Anders Bjornback
*Anna Zilman, Rangjung Yeshe Institute
*Benjamin Cassard, Rangjung Yeshe Institute
*Benjamin Collett
*Catherine Dalton, Rangjung Yeshe Institute/ Dharmachakra Translation Center /UC Berkeley
*Guillaume Avertin
*Heidi Koppl
*Miguel Fares Sawaya, Rangjung Yeshe Institute
*Nika Jovic
*Ryan Damron, UC Berkeley/Rangjung Yeshe Gomde California
*Timothy Hinkle
*Wiesiek Mical, Kathmandu University
*Zachary Beer, UC Berkeley
To learn more, visit [https://dharmachakra.net/ Dharmacharkra.net]
Dharmagupta. (C. Damojiduo; J. Darumagyüta; K. Talmagüpta 達摩笈多) (d. 619). A South Indian monk-translator who traveled to China during the Sui dynasty; sometimes known by his abbreviated name Jiduo. Arriving in the Chinese Capital of Chang'an in 590, he set to translating several scriptures into Chinese, including sūtras on the buddha Bhaiṣajyaguru, one of the later recensions of the ''Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra'', which he cotranslated with Jñānagupta, and Vasubandhu's commentary on the ''Vajracchedikāprajñāpāramitāsūtra''. Some ten different translations are attributed to him. He should be distinguished from the Dharmagupta (c. third century BCE) who was the eponymous founder of the Dharmaguptaka school. (Source: "Dharmagupta." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 245. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.) +
Indian Buddhist monk who was an early translator of Buddhist materials into Chinese. A scion of a brāhmaṇa family from India, Dharmakṣema became at the age of six a disciple of Dharmayaśas (C. Damoyeshe; J. Donmayasha) (d.u.), an Abhidharma specialist who later traveled to China c. 397-401 and translated the ''Śãriputrãbhidharmaśãstra''. Possessed of both eloquence and intelligence, Dharmakṣema was broadly learned in both monastic and secular affairs and was well versed in mainstream Buddhist texts. After he met a meditation monk named "White Head" and had a fiery debate with him, Dharmakṣema recognized his superior expertise and ended up studying with him. The monk transmitted to him a text of the ''Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra'' written on bark, which prompted Dharmakṣema to embrace the Mahāyāna. Once he reached the age of twenty, Dharmakṣema was able to recite over two million words of Buddhist texts. He was also so skilled in casting spells that he earned the sobriquet "Great Divine Spell Master" (C. Dashenzhou shi). Carrying with him the first part of the ''Mahãparinirvãṇasūtra'' that he received from "White Head," he left India and arrived in the Kucha kingdom in Central Asia. As the people of Kucha mostly studied hīnayāna and did not accept the Mahāyāna teachings, Dharmakṣema then moved to China and lived in the western outpost of Dunhuang for several years. Juqu Mengxun, the non-Chinese ruler of the Northern Liang dynasty (397-439 CE), eventually brought Dharmakṣema to his capital. After studying the Chinese language for three years and learning how to translate Sanskrit texts orally into Chinese, Dharmakṣema engaged there in a series of translation projects under Juqu Mengxun's patronage. With the assistance of Chinese monks, such as Daolang and Huigao, Dharmakṣema produced a number of influential Chinese translations, including the ''Dabanniepan jing'' (S. ''Mahāparinirvãṇasūtra''; in forty rolls), the longest recension of the sūtra extant in any language; the ''Jinguangmingjing'' ("Sūtra of Golden Light"; S. Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra; in four rolls); and the ''Pusa dichi jing'' (S. ''Bodhisattvabhūmisūtra''; in ten rolls). He is also said to have made the first Chinese translation of the ''Laṅkāvatārasūtra'' (C. ''Ru Lengqie jing'', but his rendering had dropped out of circulation at least by 730 CE, when the Tang Buddhist cataloguer Zhisheng (700-786 CE) compiled the ''Kaiyuan Shijiao lu''. The Northern Wei ruler Tuoba Tao, a rival of Juqu Mengxun's, admired Dharmakṣema's esoteric expertise and requested that the Northern Liang ruler send the Indian monk to his country. Fearing that his rival might seek to employ Dharmakṣema's esoteric expertise against him, Juqu Mengxun had the monk assassinated at the age of forty- nine. Dharmakṣema's translation of Indian Buddhist texts into Chinese had a significant impact on Chinese Buddhism; in particular, the doctrine that all beings have the buddha-nature (''foxing''), a teaching appearing in Dharmakṣema's translation of the ''Mahāparinirvãṇasūtra'', exerted tremendous influence on the development of Chinese Buddhist thought. (Source: "Dharmakṣema". In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 247–48. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27)
Divākara (地婆訶羅, 613–87), or Rizhao (日照) in Chinese, was born in central India in the Brahmin Caste.
He became a Monk when he was just a child, and he spent many years at the Mahābodhi Temple and the Nālandā Monastery. He was an accomplished Tripiṭaka master, excelled in the five studies and especially in Mantra practices.
Already in his sixties, Divākara went to Chang-an (長安), China, in 676, the first year of the Yifeng (儀鳳) years of the Tang Dynasty (618–907).
Emperor Gaozong (唐高宗) treated him as respectfully as he had treated the illustrious Tripiṭaka master Xuanzang.
In 680, the first year of the Yonglong (永隆) years, the emperor commanded ten learned Monks to assist Divākara in translating sūtras from Sanskrit into Chinese.
In six years Divākara translated eighteen sūtras, including the ''Sūtra of the Buddha-Crown Superb Victory Dhāraṇī'' (T19n0970), the ''Sūtra of the Great Cundī Dhāraṇī'' (T20n1077), and the ''Mahāyāna Sūtra of Consciousness Revealed'' (T12n0347).
Longing to see his mother again, he petitioned for permission to go home.
Unfortunately, although permission was granted, he fell ill and died in the twelfth month of 687, the third year of the Chuigong (垂拱) years, at the age of seventy-five.
Empress Wu (武后則天) had him buried properly at the Xiangshan Monastery (香山寺) in Luoyang (洛陽).
([http://www.chinabuddhismencyclopedia.com/en/index.php?title=Div%C4%81kara Source Accessed Aug 18, 2020]) +
