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dharmapāla
dharmapāla (Skt., Dharma-protector). Supernatural beings who act as protectors or guardians of the Dharma and its adherents from all negative forces. In Tibetan Buddhism (see Tibet), they comprise two categories: those who are manifestations of enlightened beings such as Mahākāla, and the so-called ‘oath-bound’ unenlightened beings who have been coerced into acting as protectors by magicians like Padmasambhava and others.
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DAMIEN KEOWN. "dharmapāla." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DAMIEN KEOWN. "dharmapāla." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-dharmapla.html DAMIEN KEOWN. "dharmapāla." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-dharmapla.html |
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Dharmapāla
Dharmapāla. One of the leading exponents of the Yogācāra school in India, a contemporary of Bhāvaviveka, active during the early decades of the 7th century ce and dying young at the age of 32. Eventually based at Nālandā, he initially travelled widely and studied both Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna throughout India, with Dignāga numbered among his teachers. Unlike classical Yogācāra, his interpretation tends towards idealism and it was through the connections his student Śīlabhadra had with Hsüan-tsang that this understanding of Yogācāra was eventually transmitted to China.
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Cite this article
DAMIEN KEOWN. "Dharmapāla." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DAMIEN KEOWN. "Dharmapāla." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-Dharmapla.html DAMIEN KEOWN. "Dharmapāla." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-Dharmapla.html |
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Dharmapāla
Dharmapāla (Skt., ‘guardian of the dharma’).
1. Vajrayāna Buddhist deities, called on by Vajrayāna to protect the dharma wherever it is under threat. 2. Yogācāra Buddhist philosopher (c.7th cent. CE), who was abbot of the Mahābodhi monastery at Bodhgayā. Almost all his commentary writing has been lost, apart from Chinese trs. |
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Cite this article
JOHN BOWKER. "Dharmapāla." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Dharmapāla." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Dharmapla.html JOHN BOWKER. "Dharmapāla." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Dharmapla.html |
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