Ratnākaraśānti
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Ratnākaraśānti (also known as Ratnākara, Śāntipa, and Śānti) (late-10th century to mid-11th century) was an influential Buddhist philosopher and vajrayana tantric adept and scholar. He was the "gate scholar" of Vikramaśilā university's eastern gate (modern-day Bihar in India), a key post in the university's leadership.[1][2][3] Ratnākara was known by the title kalikālasarvajña ("the Omniscient One of the Degenerate Age") and is depicted as one of the eighty-four mahāsiddhas (great yogic masters).[4]
Ratnākara wrote over forty works which include several influential commentaries to Mahayana sutras and tantras (especially the Hevajra tantra), treatises on Yogācāra, Madhyamaka, and Pramāṇa.[3] Because his unique philosophy attempts to merge the insights of both Yogācāra and Madhyamaka, Ratnākara referred to it as Trisvabhāva-mādhyamaka ("the middle way of the three natures").[5] He also known as a major defender of the "nirākāravāda" (without images") interpretation of Yogācāra.[6]
At Vikramaśilā, Ratnākara was a teacher to Atīśa, Maitrīpa, Śraddhākaravarman, and Drokmi Śākya Yeshe.[7][8] Ratnākaraśānti was influential on some Tibetan Buddhist figures. Defenders of the shentong view see him as a forerunner of this tradition and as a defender of shentong. His work on the Hevajra Tantra was also influential.[3]