Abhayākaragupta

Abhayākaragupta (T. 'jigs med 'byung gnas sbas pa འཇིགས་མེད་འབྱུང་གནས་སྦས་པ་) (11th century) was Indian tantric master from either Orissa or northeast India near Bengal.

The Princeton Dictionary states:

Abhayākaragupta became a Buddhist monk in response to a prophetic vision and trained extensively in the esoteric practices of tantra, while nevertheless maintaining his monastic discipline (vinaya). Abhayākaragupta was active at the monastic university of Vikramaśīla in Bihar and became renowned as both a scholar and a teacher. He was a prolific author, composing treatises in numerous fields of Buddhist doctrine, including monastic discipline and philosophy as well as tantric ritual practice and iconography. Many Sanskrit manuscripts of his works have been preserved in India, Nepal, and Tibet, and his writings were influential both in India and among Newari Buddhists in Nepal.

More than two dozen of his works are preserved in the Tibetan canon. His writings include:

• Vajrãvalī and Niṣpannayogāvalī - tantric treatises
• Munimatãlaṃkāra - a treatise on the abhidharma
• Marmakaumudī (Moonlight of Points) - a commentary on the Aṣṭasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā.

He was a teacher of Suvarṇadvīpa Dharmakīrti.

Further reading

• Abhayākaragupta, Tsadra Commons
• Abhayakaragupta, Rigpa Shedra Wiki