- Taranatha
Tāranātha (1575-1634) was a
Lama of theJonang school ofTibetan Buddhism . He is widely considered its most remarkable scholar and exponent.Early life
Taranatha was born in Drong,
Tibet , supposedly on the birthday ofPadmasambhava . His original name was Kun-dga'-snin-po, which means Anandagarbha. He reportedly used a Sanskrit name as an indication of the value he placed on his Sanskrit scholarship in an era when mastery of the language had become much less common in Tibet than it had once been. His exceptional qualities are said to have been recognized by others at a young age, as is often the case with great masters. He studied under such masters as Je Draktopa, Yeshe Wangpo, Kunga Tashi and Jampa Lhundrup, although his primary teacher was an Indian,Buddhagupta .Taranatha was recognized by Khenchen Lungrik Gyatso as the rebirth of Krishnacarya and the Khenchen's own teacher, Jetsun Kunga Drolchok.
Works
Taranatha was a prolific writer and a renowned scholar. His best known work is the 143-folio "History of Buddhism in India" (dpal dus kyi 'khor lo'i chos bskor gyi byung khungs nyer mkho) of 1608 [http://www.thdl.org/texts/reprints/bot/bot_05_03_notes.pdf Synopsis by Nalinaksha Dutt, Chap. I-XIII] , [http://www.thdl.org/texts/reprints/bot/bot_06_01_notes.pdf Chap. XIV-XXVI
Nagarjuna ,Asanga ,Vasubandhu ,Dharmakirti ,Shantideva and ShriHarsha ] , [http://www.thdl.org/texts/reprints/bot/bot_06_02_03.pdf Chap. XXVII-XLIV Accounts ofPala ,Sena kings,Vikramshila ,Turushka s and status of Buddhism in India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia] , which has been published in English. His other major work, "The Golden Rosary, Origins of the Tantra of the Bodhisattva Tara" of 1604 has also been translated into English.In 1614 Taranatha founded the important Jonangpa centerPuntsokling Monastery , in theTsangpo Valley about 200 miles west ofLhasa . After the take-over by theGelug in 1642, it became known as Ganden Puntsokling.Later life
Probably not long after 1614, Taranatha went to Mongolia, where he reportedly founded several monasteries. He passed away probably in Urga, Mongolia. His rebirth became known as
Zanabazar , the First Bogd Gegen, or Jetsun Dampa of Mongolia. His current reincarnation is known asKhalkha Jetsun Dampa .References
ources
*
Taranatha (auth.), Hopkins, Jeffery (trans)."The Essence of Other-Emptiness" Snow Lion(2007). ISBN 1559392738*Stearns, Cyrus. "The Buddha from Dolpo: A Study of the Life and Thought of the Tibetan Master Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen". State University of New York Press (1999). ISBN 0-7914-4191-1 (hc); ISBN 0-7914-4192-X (pbk). -(contains fairly extensive information on Taranatha)
ee also
*
Jonang
*Shentong
*Kalachakra External links
* [http://www.zanabazar.mn/Life/zanabazar.11.html The Life of Zanabazar]
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