Six Ornaments and Two Crowns (Main figures)

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(Top to bottom): Dignaga, Vasubandhu, Aryadeva, Dharmakirti, Gunaprabha, Sakyaprabha, Dorje Shugden, Nagarjuna and Asanga.

Deity: Nagarjuna (Sanskrit)
Alternative name: Ludrub (Tibetan)
Nagarjuna along with Asanga were two great pioneers of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition. Hence, they are known as the Two Crowns of the Buddhist sages and hailed from the great Nalanda Monastery in India, where they studied and lived. They both composed great commentaries to Buddha Shakyamuni’s teachings.

Nagarjuna was known to be a great scholar and abbot of Nalanda Monastery. He even became known as an accomplished alchemist who provided for the monastery with his extraordinary abilities. Once while he was giving teachings, two strangers anointed with Sandalwood appeared. After the teachings, the strangers revealed themselves to be nagas in disguise and extended a formal request to the master Nagarjuna to descend into their realm in order to give teachings. After some thought, he agreed.

While in the realm of the nagas, he was presented with the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras (Prajnaparamita), which contain teachings on emptiness (shunyata). Apparently, after they were taught, the teachings were hidden away in the realm of the nagas awaiting a great master who would transmit the teachings to human practitioners. Nagarjuna returned to the human world and brought with him the sacred texts along with a sandalwood Tara statue that spoke and some clay endowed with special qualities. Nagarjuna studied the texts, meditated on them and gained high realisations.

Nagarjuna proliferated the teachings and wrote various commentaries to the texts he brought back with him. The doctrine he expounded was called the Madhyamaka or the Middle Way philosophy, which became the main pillar of the Mahayana tradition. He also wrote several important commentaries on the Guhyasamaja Tantra along with various writings and is famous for a text called a Letter to A Friend, which was a special personal teaching to a disciple who was the king of a medieval kingdom, whom he met when he was just a child. His heart disciple, Aryadeva carried on the legacy of his teachings.

Deity: Asanga (Sanskrit)
Alternative name: Thogme (Tibetan)
Asanga is one of the most famous Indian Buddhist masters and saints. In Tibet, he is known as one of the Two Crowns, referring to two important Buddhist masters. The other of the Two Crowns is the great master Nagarjuna. Asanga lived in the 4^th Century and was the elder brother of Vasubandhu. He was born in Purusapura within the ancient Kingdom of Gandhara (which was located in what is now known as Pakistan).

He studied the treatises of the Three Baskets along with those on the Mahayana tradition and the Perfection of Wisdom. Upon receiving initiation, he entered into a long retreat at Birdsfoot Mountain. During three years of intensive practice, he did not receive a single sign of accomplishment. He became despondent and wanted to break his retreat a few times but was inspired to continue. Finally, he became despondent again and as he emerged from his cave, he chanced upon a dying female dog covered in maggots. He was immediately filled with compassion and he decided to cut a piece of his own flesh so he could transfer the maggots over to it. When he was about to use his tongue to lick the maggots off the wound, the dog suddenly disappeared and Arya Maitreya appeared before him in all his splendour.

Asanga was overjoyed and asked Maitreya why it took so long for him to appear. Maitreya said he was in the cave with Asanga all along but due to Asanga’s obscurations, Asanga was unable to perceive him. In order to prove his point, he instructed Asanga to carry him on his shoulders to the nearest town. While in town, nobody could see Maitreya and only two people saw anything at all. One saw a dead dog and the other Maitreya’s feet and as a result, they gained certain levels of worldly attainments.

Later, Maitreya brought Asanga up to Tushita pure land and there Asanga received teachings from Maitreya. These teachings were transcribed and became known as the ‘Five Treatises of Maitreya’. Together with Asanga’s own commentaries, these texts became the basis for the philosophical schools known as Yogachara or Chittamatra.

Deity: Aryadeva (Sanskrit)
Alternative name: Phakpa Lha (Tibetan)
Aryadeva was the heart disciple of Nagarjuna and is also known as the 15^th Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, and as “Bodhisattva Deva” in Sri Lanka. He was the author of several important texts of the Mahayana tradition. He was born miraculously from a lotus and was cared for by a Sinhalese king and is considered one of the founding fathers of the Mahayana philosophy. He was said to have defeated Matreceta, a non-Buddhist logician in a debate, who eventually converted to Buddhism and became known as the great pandit Ashvagosha.

Deity: Vasubandhu
Alternative name: Yiknyen (Tibetan)
The great master Vasubandhu lived the 4^th Century in ancient India. He was born in Kashmir and was the younger brother of Asanga. He composed the Treasury of Abhidharma, a complete and systematic account of the Abhidharma along with many other important treatises. Following his master, he adhered to the Hinayana tradition but later followed the Mahayana Yogachara view due to his brother’s influence. Thus, he composed many Mahayana works including the Thirty Stanzas on the Mind. He had four great disciples that would eventually surpass their master in their respective fields, Sthirmati in Abhidharma, Dignaga in Pramana, Gunaprabha in the Vinaya and Vimuktisena in Paramita.

Deity: Dignaga
Alternative name: Chokyi Langpo (Tibetan)
Dignaga was one of the four great disciples of Vasubandhu. In his lifetime, he surpassed his teacher in Pramana, the teachings on ‘Valid Cognition’ or the correct source of knowledge, which is a field of Buddhist studies sometimes known as Buddhist logic. He was an excellent debater and his reputation grew when he defeated the non-Buddhist logician Sudurjaya in a debate at Nalanda Monastery. Ishvarasena was one of his disciples who later became the teacher of Dharmakirti.

Deity: Dharmakirti
Alternative name: Chokyi Drakpa (Tibetan)
Dharmakirti was born into a Brahmin family in South India. He was brought up following classical education in the Hindu Vedas, but he shifted his interest towards the Buddhist teachings. In order to receive teachings, he travelled to Nalanda Monastery and came under the tutelage of the great Vasubandhu. At that time, the old master Dharmapala was still alive and so, Dharmakirti received ordination from him. However, the great master Dignaga had passed away and so, he received teachings from Ishvarasena, a direct disciple of Dignaga. He was able to master the subtle teachings easily and surpassed his teacher. Therefore, he was a great master of Pramana and was urged by his master to compose the ‘Seven Treatises on Valid Cognition’.

Deity: Gunaprabha (Sanskrit)
Alternative name: Yonten Oed (Tibetan)
Gunaprabha was a great Indian master of the Vinaya tradition who was the disciple of the great Vasubandhu. He was born into a Brahmin family that lived in Mathura and later entered Nalanda Monastery. Needless to say, he composed the seminal text, the Vinaya Sutra, which became a widely studied treatise on monastic discipline.

Deity: Shakyaprabha (Sanskrit)
Alternative name: Shakya Oed (Tibetan)
Shakyaprabha was a disciple of Shantarakshita, who was born in Kashmir and was ordained there. He became an important lineage master of the Vinaya and his tradition lives on in Tibet.

Deity: Dorje Shugden (Tibetan)
Alternative name: Vajra Rudra (Sanskrit)
Dorje Shugden is an emanation of the Buddha of Wisdom, Manjushri. He took the form of a Dharma Protector in order to safeguard the Buddha’s teachings, especially the important teachings on the Middle Way View. Reminiscent of Manjushri’s form, Dorje Shugden carries a meandering sword and rides a snowlion that represents the fearlessness of a fully enlightened Buddha. Thus, he has great strength to overcome obstacles of the body, speech and mind, and create suitable conditions for our spiritual practice to flourish. Furthermore, he carries a jewel-spitting mongoose and a vajra hook to symbolise that he has the tremendous ability to bestow wealth and resources.

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