Shanavasika

The third patriarch, Shanavasika (Skt. Śāṇavāsika; Tib. ཤ་ནའི་གོས་ཅན་, Wyl. sha na'i gos can), first taught the Dharma in Shravasti to a thousand monks who soon became arhats. Highly respected by the various noble families, he ordained hundreds of royal officers and attendants. He preached in six of the great communities of northern India, where he was well known among the common people for his ability to offer protection against dangers such as epidemics. Spending the rainy seasons in the formidable cemetery of Cool Grove at Shitavana, he once invited his followers to practise there with him to purify their minds of desire, and hundreds achieved realization.

Shanavasika ordained the son of an incense seller, Upagupta, who attained realization in a single week. After entrusting the Buddha's doctrine to Upagupta, Shanavasika passed into nirvana at Campa in eastern India.

Further Reading

• Ways of Enlightenment; Buddhist Studies at Nyingma Institute, pages 38-40. Dharma Publishing ISBN: 0-89800-255-9
• Dudjom Rinpoche, The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, The Patriarchs of the Teachings, pp.432-439. Published by Wisdom Publications ISBN: 0-86171-199-9