Atiśa
Atiśa or Atish Dipankar (c. 982–1054) was a Buddhist religious leader and master from Bengal. He is generally associated with his work carried out at the Vikramashila monastery in Bihar. He was one of the major figures in the spread of 11th-century Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism in Asia and inspired Buddhist thought from Tibet to Sumatra. He is recognised as one of the greatest figures of medieval Buddhism. Atiśa's chief disciple, Dromtön, was the founder of the Kadam school, one of the New Translation schools of Tibetan Buddhism, later supplanted by the Gelug tradition in the 14th century which adopted its teachings and absorbed its monasteries.
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Atish Dipankar | |
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This portrait of Atish Dipankar originated from a Kadam monastery in Tibet and was gifted to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1993. In this depiction, Atish Dipankar holds a long, thin palm-leaf manuscript with his left hand, probably symbolising one of the many important texts he wrote, while making the gesture of teaching with his right hand. | |
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| Born | c. 982 CE Bajrayogini, Vikrampura, Pala Empire |
| Died | c. 1054 CE Nyêtang, Tibet |
| Religion | Buddhism |
| Education | Odantapuri, Madhyamaka |
| Senior posting | |
Students | |
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In 2004, Atish Dipankar was ranked 18th in the BBC's poll of the greatest Bengalis of all time.