Maitrīpa

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PeopleMaitrīpa


मैत्रीप
Maitrīpa(986 - 1063) 
མཻ་ཏྲི་པ་
Rinchen Terdzö ChenmoDamngak Rinpoché DzöBuddhist Digital Resource CenterHimalayan Art Resources

Famed Indian Mahāsiddha whose influence was felt in the Tibetan tradition via his student Marpa Chökyi Lodrö, and others. In terms of the Uttaratantra he is reported to have had visionary interactions with the Bodhisattva Maitreya that led him to discover instructions related to the treatise. However, there is no mention of this in his extant writings. Nevertheless, the lineage of the instructions that reportedly descend from him would form the basis for a meditative tradition of exegesis on this work that became widespread among followers of the Kagyu school. A tradition which feature a unique Mahāmudra approach to the Uttaratantra.

Library Items

Book
A Fine Blend of Mahamudra and Madhyamaka
The collection of twenty-six texts on non-conceptual realization is the result of blending the essence and tantric mahamudra teachings of Saraha, Nagarjuna and Savaripa with a particular form of Madhyamaka philosophy, called 'non-abiding' (apratisthana), which aims at radically transcending any conceptual assessment of true reality. This goal is achieved by "withdrawing one's attention" (amanasikara) from anything that involves the duality of a perceived and perceiver. The result is a "luminous self-empowerment," Maitripa's (986–1063) final tantric analysis of amanasikara. The collection of texts on non-conceptual realization plays a crucial role, as it constitutes, together with Naropa's teachings, the main source of bKa' brgyud lineages. The edition and translation of this collection is followed by another text attributed to Maitripa, the *Mahamudrakanakamala, which was translated by Mar pa Lo tsa ba Chos kyi blo gros (11th century) into Tibetan. The *Mahamudrakanakamala picks up on the themes of the collection and shows that all aspects of Maitripa's mahamudra were indeed passed on to early bKa' brgyud masters. Besides an English translation and analysis, the present publication contains a new edition of the available Sanskrit on the basis of the editio princeps by Haraprasad Shastri, the edition of the Studying Group of Sacred Tantric Texts at Taisho University, the Nepalese manuscript NGMPP B 22/24, and the manuscript no. 151 from the Todai University Library. The Tibetan edition of all texts is based on the Derge and Peking bsTan 'gyur and the dPal spungs edition of Karmapa VII Chos grags rgya mtsho's (1454-1506) Collection of Indian Mahamudra Works (Phyag rgya chen po'i rgya gzhung). (Source Accessed Feb 11, 2020)
Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. A Fine Blend of Mahāmudrā and Madhyamaka: Maitrīpa's Collection of Texts on Non-conceptual Realization (Amanasikāra). Philosophisch-Historische Klasse Sitzungsberichte 869. Beiträge zur Kultur- und Geistesgeschichte Asiens 90. Vienna: Österreichischen Akademie Der Wissenschaften, 2015. https://austriaca.at/7786-9inhalt?frames=yes.
Text
Maitrīpa: Tattvadaśaka
In this work of ten verses on true reality, Maitrīpa presents the luminous nature of reality which is beyond any duality and apprehension. The text underscores the non-abiding and luminous nature of reality and how the instructions of the master is crucial for realising the authentic nature of Madhyamaka. Through this, Maitrīpa rules out that the True Aspectarian and False Aspectarian traditions of the Mind Only school and the scholastic Mādhyamika which do not rely on direct pith instructions of the guru can realise the true nature of reality.

On the topic of this person

Book
A Fine Blend of Mahamudra and Madhyamaka
The collection of twenty-six texts on non-conceptual realization is the result of blending the essence and tantric mahamudra teachings of Saraha, Nagarjuna and Savaripa with a particular form of Madhyamaka philosophy, called 'non-abiding' (apratisthana), which aims at radically transcending any conceptual assessment of true reality. This goal is achieved by "withdrawing one's attention" (amanasikara) from anything that involves the duality of a perceived and perceiver. The result is a "luminous self-empowerment," Maitripa's (986–1063) final tantric analysis of amanasikara. The collection of texts on non-conceptual realization plays a crucial role, as it constitutes, together with Naropa's teachings, the main source of bKa' brgyud lineages. The edition and translation of this collection is followed by another text attributed to Maitripa, the *Mahamudrakanakamala, which was translated by Mar pa Lo tsa ba Chos kyi blo gros (11th century) into Tibetan. The *Mahamudrakanakamala picks up on the themes of the collection and shows that all aspects of Maitripa's mahamudra were indeed passed on to early bKa' brgyud masters. Besides an English translation and analysis, the present publication contains a new edition of the available Sanskrit on the basis of the editio princeps by Haraprasad Shastri, the edition of the Studying Group of Sacred Tantric Texts at Taisho University, the Nepalese manuscript NGMPP B 22/24, and the manuscript no. 151 from the Todai University Library. The Tibetan edition of all texts is based on the Derge and Peking bsTan 'gyur and the dPal spungs edition of Karmapa VII Chos grags rgya mtsho's (1454-1506) Collection of Indian Mahamudra Works (Phyag rgya chen po'i rgya gzhung). (Source Accessed Feb 11, 2020)
Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. A Fine Blend of Mahāmudrā and Madhyamaka: Maitrīpa's Collection of Texts on Non-conceptual Realization (Amanasikāra). Philosophisch-Historische Klasse Sitzungsberichte 869. Beiträge zur Kultur- und Geistesgeschichte Asiens 90. Vienna: Österreichischen Akademie Der Wissenschaften, 2015. https://austriaca.at/7786-9inhalt?frames=yes.
Book
Buddha-Nature and Emptiness
An essential study of a key text that presents buddha-nature theory and its transmission from India to Tibet, this book is the most thorough history of buddha-nature thought in Tibet and is exceptional in its level of detail and scholarly apparatus. It serves as a scholarly encyclopedia of sorts with extensive appendices listing every existent commentary on the Ratnagotravibhāga (Uttaratantraśāstra), as well as covering Ngok Lotsawa's commentarial text and his philosophical positions related with other Tibetan thinkers.
Kano, Kazuo. Buddha-Nature and Emptiness: rNgog Blo-ldan-shes-rab and A Transmission of the Ratnagotravibhāga from India to Tibet. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 91. Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universität Wien, 2016.
Video
Maitripa: India's Yogi of Nondual Bliss by Klaus-Dieter Mathes
Klaus-Dieter Mathes and Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho discuss Mathes's new book "Maitripa: India's Yogi of Nondual Bliss", which has been published by Shambhala Publications.

Drawing on Maitripa’s autobiographical writings and literary work, this book is the first comprehensive portrait of the life and teachings of this influential Buddhist master. Klaus-Dieter Mathes also offers the first complete English translation of his teachings on nonconceptual realization, which is the foundation of Mahamudra meditation.
Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. "Maitripa: India's Yogi of Nondual Bliss." A book launch event hosted by Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, December 1, 2021. Video, 1:11:02. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyLEwfwgbdc.
Book
Maitrīpa: India's Yogi of Nondual Bliss
The first comprehensive portrait of the life and teachings of the influential Buddhist master Maitrīpa.
Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. Maitrīpa: India's Yogi of Nondual Bliss. Lives of the Masters series. Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications, 2021.
Book
Mind Seeing Mind
Roger Jackson's Mind Seeing Mind is the first attempt to provide both a scholarly study of the history, texts, and doctrines of Geluk mahāmudrā and translations of some of its seminal texts. It begins with a survey of the Indian sources of the teaching and goes on the discuss the place of mahāmudrā in non-Geluk Tibetan Buddhist schools, especially the Kagyü. The book then turns to a detailed survey of the history and major textual sources of Geluk mahāmudrā, from Tsongkhapa, through the First Panchen, down to the present. The final section of the study addresses critical questions, including the relation between Geluk and Kagyü mahāmudrā, the ways Gelukpa authors have interpreted the mahāsiddha Saraha, and the broader religious-studies implications raised by Tibetan debates about mahāmudrā. The translation portion of Mind Seeing Mind includes eleven texts on mahāmudrā history, ritual, and practice. Foremost among these is the First Panchen Lama's autocommentary on his root verses of Geluk Mahāmudrā, the foundation of the tradition. Also included is his ritual masterpiece Offering to the Guru, which is a staple of Geluk practice, and a selection of his songs of spiritual experience. Mind Seeing Mind adds considerably to our understanding of Geluk spirituality and shows how mahāmudrā came to be woven throughout the fabric of the tradition. (Source: Wisdom Publications)
Jackson, Roger R. Mind Seeing Mind: Mahāmudrā and the Geluk Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2019.
Video
On His Book When the Clouds Part by Karl Brunnhölzl
Karl Brunnhölzl discusses his motivation for writing his book on the Uttaratantra called When the Clouds Part and how the project took shape.
Brunnhölzl, Karl. “On His Book When the Clouds Part.” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, December 3, 2018. Video, 4:12. https://youtu.be/PrMMjo6fDwg

Other names

  • མངའ་བདག་མཻ་ཏྲི་པ་ · other names (Tibetan)
  • དྷརྨ་ · other names (Tibetan)
  • གཉིས་མེད་རྡོ་རྗེ་ · other names (Tibetan)
  • ཨ་ཝ་དྷུ་ཏི་པ་ · other names (Tibetan)
  • མཻ་ཏྲི་གུཔྟ་ · other names (Tibetan)
  • གཉིས་སུ་མེད་པའི་རྡོ་རྗེ་ · other names (Tibetan)
  • mnga' bdag mai tri pa · other names (Wylie)
  • d+har+ma · other names (Wylie)
  • gnyis med rdo rje · other names (Wylie)
  • a wa d+hu ti pa · other names (Wylie)
  • mai tri gup+ta · other names (Wylie)
  • gnyis su med pa'i rdo rje · other names (Wylie)
  • Advayavajra · other names
  • Maitrīpāda · other names
  • Maitrīgupta · other names
  • Avadhūtipa · other names
  • Avadhūtipāda · other names
  • Maitreyanātha · other names

Affiliations & relations

  • Sha wa ri pa · teacher
  • Nāropa · teacher
  • Mahāvajrāsana · student
  • khyung po rnal 'byor · student
  • mar pa chos kyi blo gros · student
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