Vikiutq at 20:52, 5 July 2025

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{{Short description|Indian Buddhist monk}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox religious biography
|name = Buddhajñānapāda
|native_name =
|native_name_lang =
|image =
|caption =
|alias =
|dharma name =
|birth_date = {{circa|770 CE}}
|birth_place =
|death_date = {{circa|820 CE}}
|death_place =
|nationality =
|religion = [[Buddhism]]
|school = {{plainlist|
* [[Vajrayana]]
}}
|lineage =
|title =
|location =
|education = {{plainlist|
* [[Vikramashila]]
* [[Nalanda]]
}}
|teacher = [[Haribhadra (Buddhist philosopher)|Haribhadra]]
|reincarnation of =
|predecessor =
|successor =
|students =
|spouse =
|children =
}}
'''Buddhajñānapāda''' (also known as '''Buddhaśrījñāna''', '''Jñānapāda''' and '''Śrījñānapāda''') (c. 770–820 CE) was an [[History of Buddhism in India|Indian Buddhist]] monk and scholar. He is associated with the transmission of the [[Guhyasamāja Tantra]] of the [[Vajrayana]] school of [[Buddhism]].

He is notable for being the first abbot of the [[mahavihara]] of [[Vikramashila]] which is now situated in the modern-day state of [[Bihar]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lopez |first1=Donald |title=Vikramaśīla |journal=The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism |date=2014 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780190681159.001.0001/acref-9780190681159-e-4826?rskey=wLU4Fm&result=2}}</ref> He was probably a guru working in the court of the [[Pala Empire]] prior to this and was a disciple of [[Haribhadra (Buddhist philosopher)|Haribhadra]] who was the preceptor of [[Dharmapala of Bengal|Dharmapala]]. His writings survive in both their original [[Sanskrit]] as well as in later [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan]] translations.<ref name="BrillEncy">{{cite journal |title=Jñānapāda |journal=Brill's Encyclopedia of Buddhism Online |doi=10.1163/2467-9666_enbo_COM_2037 |url=https://doi.org/10.1163/2467-9666_enbo_COM_2037|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
==Life==
[[File:Vikramshilauniv.jpg|thumb|The main stupa at [[Vikramashila]] monastery]]
Sources on Buddhajñānapāda come from his own treatise, entitled the Mukhāgama and also from the subsequent commentaries that followed this, some by his disciples. This work now only survives in its [[Tibetic languages|Tibetan]] translation which has therefore left some uncertainty regarding place names.<ref name= "BrillEncy" />

Buddhajñānapāda doesn't provide any information on his place of birth or ancestry. Instead, his biography begins at the still-unidentified monastery of Trikaṭuka where he studied with his teacher, [[Haribhadra (Buddhist philosopher)|Haribhadra]]. Later he travelled to and taught at [[Nalanda mahavihara]]. At Nalanda, a [[Bhikkhunī|bhikkhuni]] of noble ancestry called Guṇamitrā requested him to compose some works for her. These works likely relate to the [[Prajñāpāramitā]] as the colophon of these works on this topic mentions her name.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Davidson |first1=Ronald |title=Indian Esoteric Buddhism: Social History of the Tantric Movement |date=2004 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=9788120819917 |pages=309–312 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n_VquVQvnBwC&dq=Buddhaj%C3%B1%C4%81nap%C4%81da&pg=PA311}}</ref>
Following his stay at Nalanda, he then travelled to the region of [[Oddiyana]] where he received teachings from a monk called ''Vilāsavajra''. Hagiographic sources then identify that his next teacher was the goddess [[Lakshmi]] who instructed him for a period of eight months at a locality that has been identified as possibly the [[Wakhan corridor]]. At the time, the Wakhan region was under the occupation of the [[Tibetan Empire]].<ref name= "BrillEncy" />
After wandering at other locations in the north, he later travelled to the [[Konkan]] region in [[Western India]] where he spent nine years being instructed by a guru called ''Pālitapāda'' with whom he learnt the [[Guhyasamāja Tantra]]. However, he did not find what he learnt fulfilling enough so his next destination was the vicinity of [[Bodh Gaya]] where he stayed at [[Konch (community development block)|Konch]]. Here he studied intensively for six months for the purpose of writing the ''Mukhāgama''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Szántó |first1=Péter-Dániel |title=Early Works and Persons Related to the So-called Jñānapāda School |journal=Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies |date=2015 |volume=36/37 |pages=537–562 |url=https://www.academia.edu/15092963}}</ref> He also spent time around [[Rajgir]] where he composed further works and taught students. He also spent time around [[Rajgir]] where he composed further works and taught students. As per Buddhajñānapāda himself, he had eighteen students in his retinue at this time.<ref name= "BrillEncy" />
[[File:Guhyasamaja.jpg|thumb|Statue of Guhyasamaja in union with consort, [[Capital Museum]]]]
Buddhajñānapāda is silent at this point about his career however Tibetan sources confirm that following this, he took part in the consecration of [[Vikramashila]] and took on the role of head monk/abbot. The eleventh-century monk, Atiśa who also studied at Vikramashila during a later period writes that Buddhajñānapāda organised large rituals to honour King [[Dharmapala of Bengal|Dharmapala]] and bestowed tantric initiations on Dharamapala's son; [[Devapala of Bengal|Devapala]] for which he was given treasures in return.<ref name= "BrillEncy" />
==Works==
The [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan]] canon lists fifteen texts that have been written by Buddhajñānapāda however some of these attributions are questionable. These works include:<ref name= "BrillEncy" />

*''Saṃcayagāthāpañjikā''
*''Mahāyānalakṣaṇasamuccaya''
*''Prajñāpradīpāvalī''
*''Mukhāgama''
*''Catuṣpīṭhatantra''
*''Samantabhadrasādhana''
*''Ātmasādhanāvatāra''
*''Muktitilaka''

There are other works other than the above attributed to Buddhajñānapāda however these are smaller in scope or found to be incomplete. Buddhajñānapāda's style of writing has been described as "terse and elegant" and his rhetorical skill was noted by his contemporaries and emulated by his spiritual descendants. Buddhajñānapāda also made references to non-Buddhist religions indicating that he lived at a time when there was a lot of intellectual interaction between different religions within India. There is still an ongoing debate as to whether he fell within the [[Yogachara]] or [[Madhyamaka]] schools of thought.<ref name= "BrillEncy" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Dalton |first1=Jacob |title=Conjuring the Buddha: Ritual Manuals in Early Tantric Buddhism |date=2023 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=9780231556187 |page=125 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-GBpEAAAQBAJ&dq=Buddhaj%C3%B1%C4%81nap%C4%81da&pg=PT179}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Monks of Vikramashila]]
[[Category:Monks of Nalanda]]
[[Category:Indian Buddhist monks]]
[[Category:7th-century Buddhist monks]]
[[Category:8th-century Indian monks]]

Buddhajñānapāda - Revision history

Vikiutq at 20:52, 5 July 2025