Vikramashila, ancient seat of tantric Buddhism

"One Tibetan source describes the monastery: 'Shri Vikramashila was built on the bank of the Ganges in the north of Magadha on top of a hill. At its center was a temple, which housed a life-size copy of the Mahabodhi image. Around this were 53 small temples for the study of the Guhyasamaja Tantra and another 54 ordinary ones, all surrounded by a wall. Thus the number of temples was 108. He [Dharmapala] also provided requisites for 108 pandits.'

"From other sources we also know that there was a huge courtyard big enough to hold 8,000 monks, that at the entrance to the main temple were two statues, one of Nagarjuna and another of Atisha, and that the monastery's perimeter wall had six gates. At the main entrance there was a dharmasala to accommodate those who arrived after the gates had been locked at night.

"At its height, between the seventh and ninth centuries, Vikramashila attracted numerous teachers and students – it is said that during the time of King Ramapala there were 160 teachers and 1,000 students. Students flocked to the university from all over north India as well as Kashmir, Java, Nepal and Tibet. But by the eleventh century the golden age was over. When Tsultrim Gyalwa came to India to invite Atisha to Tibet there were only 53 monks at Odantapuri and 300 at Vikramashila.

"Vikramashila's connection with Tibet is well known, its connection with Sri Lanka less so. However, tantra flourished in Sri Lanka for about 300 years and teachers from Vikramashila were sometimes invited to the island. The Caturasitisiddhapravritti says that Shantipa, one of the legendary 84 mahasiddhas and a teacher at Vikramashila, visited Sri Lanka at the invitation of its king and stayed for three years. Nor was the movement one-way. Lankajayabadhara, famous for his expositions of the Guhyasamaja Tantra, was one of the great Sri Lankan tantric scholars who taught at the monastery.

"Some tantric practitioners had a reputation for unconventional behavior but such things were not tolerated at Vikramashila. It is recorded that a monk named Maitrigupta was expelled for bringing wine into the monastery. As was the custom, he was ejected over the wall rather than being allowed to leave through the main gate!"

This article can be read in its entirety in Mandala