Śāntarakṣita

Who is Śāntarakṣita?

Śāntarakṣita was a renowned 8th century Indian Buddhist Brahmin and abbot of Nalanda University. Śāntarakṣita founded the philosophical school known as Yogācāra-Svatantrika-Mādhyamika, which united the Madhyamaka tradition of Nagārjuna, the Yogācāra tradition of Asaṅga and the logical and epistemological thought of Dharmakīṛti. He was also instrumental in the introduction of Buddhism and the Sarvastivadin monastic ordination lineage to Tibet which was conducted at Samye Monastery.

Padmakara Translation Group ground Shantarakshita's Dharma in Buddhism and the Hinduism from which it, Buddhism, seceded:

Shantarakshita's writings, lost for the most part in Sanskrit but preserved in Tibetan translation, give evidence of the encyclopedic range of his learning, which embraced all the religious and philosophical currents of his time, Hindu and Buddhist alike.