________________
Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
BUDDHISM IN KASHMIR
ed in the expression of his opinions in the Bbāsya, and which elicited vehement criticisms from Sanghabhadra who was a staunch Sarvāstivādin and wrote two treatises to refute Vasubandhu's later views.'
Guņaprabha and Vimalamitra are the two other teachers whose names occur in the Records of Yuan Chwang. Gunaprabha is mentioned by Tāranātha and Bu-ston as a great authority on the Vinaya of the Mūlasarvāstivādins and as the author of several works.” Yuan Chwang refers to the monastery at Matipur where he composed his treatises. As regards Vimalamitra, Yuan Chwang' writes that he "was a natives of Kashmir and an adherent of the Sarvata (i.e. Sarvāstivāda) school having made a profound study of canonical and heterodox scriptures, and had travelled in India to learn the mysteries of the Tripitaka.”
Reverses met by Buddhism
(5th century A.C. and after) Some time after the Kushan rule, Buddhism again fell on evil days. Tāranātha' reports that a mleccha faith called 'Ardho' appeared for the first time in India and secured many followers. The mleccha religion was perhaps confined to Makha' and did not
1 Bu-ston, II, p. 144; Watters, I, p. 325; Schicfner, p. 126. 2 Watters, I, p. 327
3 One of his disciples Mitrasena was met by Yuan Chwang, I, p. 328. Bu-ston (II, p. 161) says that one of the disciples of Gunaprabha was Dharmamitra.
4 Schiefner, p. 79. Tib., p. 63, 1.3: 511 5 16!" D R ཆོས་དང་ པོར་ བྱང་ བའང་ ཡིན་ དེ། །
Tib. Kla. Klo may be Mleccha or Tukhāras. Cf. Mmk., p. 621-2 Schiefner, pp. 78, 304: They killed cows by uttering Bismilla.
5 "Makha" is mentioned by Bu-ston (II, p. 171) as one of the countries where Buddhism spread and disappeared. It is perhaps Mecca (Schiefner, p. 80); the founder of the religion is Mamathar (=Muhammad ?) and the teacher is called Paikhampa (=Payagambar ?).
For Private and Personal Use Only
