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Dharmarakṣita is a c. 9th century Indian Buddhist credited with composing an important Mahayana text called the ''Wheel of Sharp Weapons'' (Tib. ''blo-sbyong mtshon-cha 'khor-lo''). He was the teacher of Atiśa, who was instrumental in establishing a second wave of Buddhism in Tibet.
''Wheel of Sharp Weapons'' is an abbreviated title for ''The Wheel of Sharp Weapons Effectively Striking the Heart of the Foe''. This text is often referenced as a detailed source for how the laws of karma play out in our lives; it reveals many specific effects and their causes. A poetic presentation, the "wheel of sharp weapons" can be visualized as something we throw out or propel, which then comes back to cut us... something like a boomerang. In the same way, Dharmarakṣita explains, the non-virtuous causes we create through our self-interested behavior come back to 'cut us' in future lives as the ripening of the negative karma such actions create. This, he explains, is the source of all our pain and suffering. He admonishes that it is our own selfishness or self-cherishing that leads us to harm others, which in turn creates the negative karma or potential for future suffering. Our suffering is not a punishment, merely a self-created karmic result. In most verses, Dharmarakṣita also offers a suggested alternative virtuous or positive action to substitute for our previous non-virtuous behavior, actions that will create positive karma and future pleasant conditions and happiness.
Despite the fact that ''Wheel of Sharp Weapons'' has come to be considered a Mahayana text, Dharmarakṣita is said to have subscribed to the Vaibhāṣika view. His authorship of the text is considered questionable by scholars for various reasons. [(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmarak%E1%B9%A3ita_(9th_century) Source Accessed May 18, 2021]) +
A fifth-century monk from Central Asia. In 405 he went to Ch'ang-an in China. He completed the Chinese translation of The Ten Divisions of Monastic Rules with Kumārajīva. Kumārajīva and Punyatāra earlier had begun to translate this work from Sanskrit into Chinese, but due to Punyatāra's death the translation had been suspended. Upon the request of the priest Hui-yüan and the ruler Yao Hsing of the Later Ch'in dynasty, Dharmaruchi, who was well versed in rules of monastic discipline, completed the translation with Kumārajīva. Later aspiring to disseminate the rules of monastic discipline to areas where they were still unknown, he embarked on a journey. His life after that is not known. ([https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/dic/Content/D/59 Source Accessed Aug 27, 2021]) +
Translator, ca. 10th-11th Century A.D. Translated the ''Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa'' (''Bodhicaryāvatāra'') along with Rin chen bzang po and Śākya blo gros. +
Dharmaśrīprabha (Tib. d+harma shrI pra b+hA; BDRC P8574) was an Indian paṇḍita of the Tibetan imperial period, active between the eighth and ninth centuries. With the Tibetan translator Dpal gyi lhun po, he translated the ''Buddhapiṭakaduḥśīlanigrahanāmamahāyānasūtra'' (Toh 220) at the Lhan kar palace, as well as Āryaśūra's ''Praṇidhānasaptati'' (''smon lam bdun cu pa'').
He is probably the same Dharmaśrīprabha named in the Derge colophon of Nāgārjuna's ''Śālistambakamahāyānasūtraṭīkā'' (Toh 3986), which he translated with Legs pa'i blo gros and Ye shes gzhon nu, with revision by Dpal brtsegs. The identification rests on the shared name and period. No catalog yet links the two records, and the collaborators differ. The Peking and Narthang Tengyurs give his name as Dharmaśrībhadra, but he should not be confused with the 10th–11th-century translator Dharmaśrībhadra, who worked with Rin chen bzang po. +
Bríona Nic Dhiarmada is the Thomas J. & Kathleen M. O'Donnell Professor of Irish Studies Emeritus. and Concurrent Professor of Film, Television, and Theatre.
Professor Nic Dhiarmada is originator, writer, producer, and executive producer of the award-winning, multi part documentary series on the Easter Rising, ''1916 The Irish Rebellion'', and its 86-minute feature version, both narrated by Liam Neeson, that were broadcast and screened internationally throughout 2016 and 2017. She is also author of the companion book ''The 1916 Irish Rebellion'', published by the University of Notre Dame Press.
Also a Concurrent Professor of Film, Television, and Theatre, Professor Nic Dhiarmada has authored over 35 screenplays and 10 documentaries. She is the author of ''Téacs Baineann, Téacs Mná: Filíocht Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill'' as well as numerous articles on Irish language literature and culture. Additionally, she is an editor of ''The Field Day Anthology'' and co-editor with Máire Ní Annracháin of ''Téacs agus Comhthéacs: Gnéithe de Chritic na Gaeilge''.
Professor Nic Dhiarmada taught courses on film and literature, with some emphasis on Ireland's west coast. In Fall 2019, she led a community course at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center on "Screening the Irish Troubles." ([https://irishstudies.nd.edu/scholars/emeritus-faculty/briona-nic-dhiarmada/ Source Accessed July6, 2023]) +
Charles DiSimone's research interests include the applications of philological and critical analysis of Buddhist sūtra manuscripts and literature, both Mahāyāna and Mainstream, in order to explore issues of intertextuality, translation, and canonicity. ([https://ugent.academia.edu/CharlesDiSimone Source Accessed Feb 22, 2021]) +
Mike Dickman is a long-time practitioner of Buddhism and has translated many texts of the Nyingma and 'Drigung Ka'gyü schools of Tibetan Buddhism as well as Saying of Old Cheng, published by Cool Grove Press. He lives in Paris, France. ([https://www.coolgrove.com/book_module/cheng_module.html Source Accessed Oct 17, 2025]) +
Siglinde Dietz PhD, born 1937, is a classical philologist and Indologist. She was a research assistant at the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen from 1980-2002. Her areas of work include Buddhist studies and lexicography. ([https://www.suhrkamp.de/autoren/siglinde_dietz_7404.html Adapted from Source Feb 22, 2021]) +
Dignāga. [alt. Diṅnāga] (T. Phyogs glang; C. Chenna; J. Jinna; K. Chinna) (c. 480-c. 540). Indian monk regarded as the formalizer of Buddhist logic (nyāya; hetuvidyā). Dignāga was an influential innovator in Buddhist inferential reasoning or logical syllogisms (prayoga; sādhana), an important feature of Indian philosophy more broadly, which occupies a crucial place in later Indian and Tibetan philosophical analysis. The Indian Nyāya (Logic) school advocated that there were five necessary stages in syllogistic reasoning: (1) probandum or proposition (pratijñā), "The mountain is on fire"; (2) reason (hetu), "because there is smoke," (3) analogy (udāharana), "Whatever is smoky is on fire, like a stove, but unlike a lake"; (4) application (upanāya), "Since this mountain is smoky, it is on fire"; (5) conclusion (nigamana), "The mountain is on fire." Using the same example, Dignāga by contrast reduced the syllogism down to only three essential steps: (1) probandum or proposition (pakṣa), "the mountain is on fire"; (2) reason (hetu), "because there is smoke"; (3) exemplification (dṛṣṭānta), "whatever is smoky is on fire, like a stove," and "whatever is not on fire is not smoky, like a lake," or, more simply, "like a stove, unlike a lake." Dignāga is also the first scholiast to incorporate into Buddhism the Vaiśeṣika position that there are only two valid means of knowledge (pramāṇa): direct perception (pratyakṣa, which also includes for Buddhists the subcategory of Yogipratyakṣa) and inference (anumāna). Dignāga’s major works include his Pramāņasamuccaya ("Compendium on Valid Means of Knowledge"), Ālambanaparīkṣā ("Investigation of the Object"), and Nyāyamukha ("Primer on Logic"), which is available only in Chinese translation. (Source: "Dignāga." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 259. 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]) +
Abbot of Ri bo dge rgyas dgon in Mongolia. Teacher was Zhabs drung chos rje ngag dbang tshe ring. ([https://www.tbrc.org/#!rid=P1KG10437 Source Accessed Feb 9, 2023]) +
A student of Khenpo Drakpa Bum, Khenchen Dewa Pal, Lopön Tukjé Palzang, Lopön Chöden Palzang, etc. A teacher of Joden Khenpo Sönam Drakpa, Butön Rinchen Drup, Zhangtön Sönam Drak, etc. Kadam master; important figure in the transmission lineage of both the kha che tradition of the vinaya and the gzhung pa transmission of the lam rim. ([https://library.bdrc.io/show/bdr:P2130 Source Accessed Feb 8, 2023]) +
A student of Tenpai Nyima and Ngakchen Palden Drakpa. A teacher of Sengchen Lobzang Tenzin Paljor, Lachiwa Lobzang Chökyi Gyatso, and Lhachö Khentri Drupwang Tulku Lobzang Tsöndru Gyatso. +
Andreas Doctor (PhD 2004, University of Calgary) is the director of the Dharmachakra Translation Committee and the editorial co-director of 84000.
For a number of years, Andreas has studied Buddhist history and philosophy under the guidance of Tibetan monks and lamas, mostly in Nepal at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery. As a founding member of Rangjung Yeshe Institute, he spent fifteen years teaching at the Institute and for most of this period he served as director of studies at Kathmandu University’s Centre for Buddhist Studies, located at Rangjung Yeshe Institute.
As director of the Dharmachakra Translation Committee, Andreas has participated in numerous translation projects, most recently in translating sūtras and tantras from the Tibetan canon. He is also a founding member of Rangjung Yeshe Gomde, Denmark. ([https://www.khyentsevision.org/team/dr-andreas-doctor/ Adapted from Source Oct 1, 2022]) +
Thomas Doctor received his BA and MA degrees in Tibetan Studies from the University of Copenhagen and his Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from the University of Lausanne. He has studied Buddhist philosophy at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery since the late 1980s and serves as a senior translator for the lamas and scholars there. Thomas’ main research interests are the pāramitā and mantra views and practices of Buddhism in India and Tibet. He has translated several classics of Buddhist philosophy, including Speech of Delight (Ju Mipham's commentary to the Madhyamakālaṃkāra) and Ornament of Reason (Mabja Jangchub Tsöndrü's commentary to the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā). Thomas contributes to the 84000, an ongoing project to translate the Tibetan collection of the Buddha's words and associated treaties into English. He is currently teaching several courses on the MA program at RYI. (Source: [http://www.ryi.org/faculty Rangjung Yeshe Institute]) +
Thierry Dodin is a Tibetologist who has taught at the University of Bonn and recently served as director of the Tibet Information Network in London. ([https://wisdomexperience.org/content-author/thierry-dodin/ Source Accessed Oct 25, 2025]) +
Aleksa Dokic received a PhD in Buddhist Studies from the University of Delhi in 2001. The dissertation was titled "Samādhirāja Sūtra: An English Translation of Chapters I-XX of the Sanskrit Text with Critical Notes." The supervisor for the dissertation was Karam Tej Singh Sarao. Dokic is currently Assistant Director, Government Office for Human Rights and Rights of National Minorities, Croatia. +
Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche was born in the Dhoshul region of Kham in eastern Tibet on June 10, 1950. On that summer day in the family tent, Rinpoche’s birth caused his mother no pain. The next day, his mother, Pema Lhadze, moved the bed where she had given birth. Beneath it she found growing a beautiful and fragrant flower which she plucked and offered to Chenrezig on the family altar.
Soon after his birth three head lamas from Jadchag monastery came to his home and recognized him as the reincarnation of Khenpo Sherab Khyentse. Khenpo Sherab Khyentse, who had been the former head abbot lama at Gochen Monastery, was a renowned scholar and practitioner who lived much of his life in retreat.
Rinpoche’s first dharma teacher was his father, Lama Chimed Namgyal Rinpoche. Beginning his schooling at the age of five, he entered Gochen Monastery. His studies were interrupted by the Chinese invasion and his family's escape to India. In India his father and brother continued his education until he entered the Nyingmapa Monastic School of Northern India, where he studied until 1967.
He then entered the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, which was then a part of Sanskrit University in Varanasi, where he received his B.A. degree in 1975. He also attended Nyingmapa University in West Bengal, where he received another B.A. and an M.A. in 1977.
In 1978 Rinpoche was enthroned as the abbot of the Wish-fulfilling Nyingmapa Institute in Boudanath, Nepal by [[H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche]], and later became the abbot of the Department of Dharma Studies, where he taught poetry, grammar, philosophy and psychology. In 1981, H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche appointed Rinpoche as the abbot of the Dorje Nyingpo Center in Paris, France. In 1982 he was asked to work with H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche at the Yeshe Nyingpo Center in New York. During the 1980s, until H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche’s mahaparinirvana in 1987, Rinpoche continued working closely with him, often traveling as his translator and attendant.
In 1988, Rinpoche and his brother founded the Padmasambhava Buddhist Center. Since that time he has served as a spiritual director at the various Padmasambhava centers throughout the world. He maintains an active traveling and teaching schedule with his brother, Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche.
Khenpo Tsewang Rinpoche has authored two books of poetry on the life of Guru Rinpoche, including ''Praise to the Lotus Born: A Verse Garland of Waves of Devotion'', and a unique two-volume cultural and religious history of Tibet entitled ''The Six Sublime Pillars of the Nyingma School'', which details the historical bases of the dharma in Tibet from the sixth through ninth centuries. At present, this is one of the only books written that conveys the dharma activities of this historical period in such depth. Khenpo Rinpoche has also co-authored a number of books in English on dharma subjects with his brother Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche, including ''Ceaseless Echoes of the Great Silence: A Commentary on the Heart Sutra''; ''Prajnaparamita: The Six Perfections''; ''Door to Inconceivable Wisdom and Compassion''; ''Lion's Gaze: A Commentary on the Tsig Sum Nedek''; and ''Opening Our Primordial Nature''. ([http://www.padmasambhava.org/teach/longkhenpo.html Source Accessed Jan 29, 2015])
Khenpo Jampal Dorje (mkhan po 'jam dpal rdo rje, b. ca. 1970) is a teacher at Ari Dza Monastery in Dzachukha, Kham. (Source: Enlightened Vagabond) +
Khenpo Jampal Dorje (mkhan po 'jam dpal rdo rje, b. ca. 1970) is a teacher at Ari Dza Monastery in Dzachukha, Kham. (Source: Enlightened Vagabond) +
