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Nagarjuna and Asanga are referred to as the Two SupremeOnes,
while Aryadeva, Vasubandhu, Dignaga, Sakyaprabha,Dharmakirti and
Gunaprabha are known as the SixOrnaments. During the development of
Buddhism in India,the influence of these eight masters was
unparalleled.
History of Gunaprabha
Gunaprabha, who was born in the 7th Century to a Brahmanfamily
in Mathura, is one of the Indian masters depicted on the
Sakya Monastery walls of the shrine room. If you look up,along
the sides you will see lovely artwork depicting themasters,
illuminated by light, as a testimony to their greatness.During
Gunaprabha's youth, as he studied the Vedas, the oldestscriptural
texts of Hinduism, he distinguished himself by hisbrilliance. When
he reached maturity, he developed a deepunderstanding of the
Buddhist Dharma and received fullmonastic ordination. As one of the
four main disciples ofAcharya Vasubandhu, he possessed great
knowledge of boththe Hinayana and the sutras of the Mahayana,
becoming ascholar in the Vinaya (Discipline). He recited from
memory the
Collection of a Hundred Thousand Vinayas daily. Becoming agreat
teacher, he resided at a monastery in Mathura, along with5,000
other monks who are said to have kept their monasticvows perfectly.
Many of them were vastly learned in theAbhidharma, and about 500 of
them could recite the Collectionof a Hundred Thousand Vinayas by
heart. Aside from themonks, there were many great masters who were
disciples ofGunaprabha including Dharmamitra of Tukharistan*,
who
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became a master in the Vinaya, and Gunamati (also a disciple
ofAsanga's brother Vasubandhu?), who attained proficiency inthe
Abhidharma and transmitted the Vinaya lineage togenerations of
disciples. Gunaprabha also became aninspiration to a warrior king
who was born in Maru andconquered all the kingdoms of the Western
region. One time,the king had the eyes of his minister gouged out
as a royalpunishment, but the blind minister regained his sight
through acombination of Gunaprabha's prayers, pure moral conduct,
andhealing medicinal abilities. After witnessing this miracle,
theking accepted Gunaprabha as his preceptor, appointed him as
his Guru and gave him wealth and numerous offerings.Gunaprabha
dedicated all of his offerings from the king and thelaity to the
merit of all sentient beings, and distributed the giftsto the
needy. It is stated that he spent his riches for virtuouspurposes
and never allowed himself to fall from the humblepractices of a
monk. Gunaprabha wrote many great texts, suchas: the One Hundred
Actions, a Commentary on the Chapter onMorality of Asangas
Bodhisattvabhumi (Byang-chub sems-dpai sa,Bodhisattva Stages of
Mind), and the Basic teachings of theDiscipline Code, most famously
known as the Mula VinayaSutra.
* Tukharistan Bactria is a historical region of Greater Iran.
Known bythe ancient Greeks as "Bactriana" the region is located
between therange of the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya (Oxus); in
later times,the region became known as Tukharistan. The name of the
region hassurvived to present time in the name of Afghan province
"Balkh".
ca. 180 BCE
Resources for this article included:
1. Taranatha's History of Buddhism In India (translated from
Tibetanby Lama Chimpa, Alaka Chattopadhyaya; edited by
DebiprasadChattopadhyaya)
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2. The History of Buddhism in India and Tibet by Bu-ston, one of
fourdisciples of Vasubandhu, (translated from Tibetan by Dr.
E.Obermiller)
3. Indian Buddhist Pandits from The Jewel Garland of Buddhist
History(translated from Tibetan by Lobsang Norbu Tsonawa)
4. Crystal Mirror, Vol. 5Many thanks to H.H. Jigdal Dagchen
Sakya, Dr. Jeffrey Schoening,Professor Tom Yarnell and Sakya
Monastery Librarians for providingthe information resources which
made this article possible.
by Amy Farrington, from the Eight Indian Masters Series.
Sakya News, Summer 2007 Edition. Seattle
