Editing Chandrakirti (section)

== Life ==
Very little is known about Chandrakirti's life, though Tibetan sources state that he was born in [[South India]], became a Buddhist [[Bhikkhu|monk]] and was a student of Kamalabuddhi (who was the student of [[Buddhapālita|Buddhapalita]]).{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2013|loc=Entry for {{IAST|Candrakīrti}}}}<ref name=":9">Apple, James B. ''Candrakirti and Lotus sutra. Bulletin of the Institute of Oriental Philosophy'', Tōyō Tetsugaku Kenkyūjo Kiyō (The Journal of Oriental Studies), Tokyo No. 31, 2015,pp. 97-122.</ref> Tibetan sources like [[Buton Rinchen Drub|Bu ston]] and [[Taranatha]] state that Chandrakirti was active at [[Nalanda]], where he is said to have become an abbot.{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2013|loc=Entry for {{IAST|Candrakīrti}}}}<ref name=":2">Edelglass 2013</ref> 

According to Karen Lang:<blockquote>According to Bus ton and Taranatha, Candrakirti was born in south India and entered a monastery, where he mastered all the Buddhist scriptures. Taranatha adds that he was born in Samanta during the reign of King Sila, the son of Sriharsa. He took a special interest in Nagarjuna's treatises and studied them with the disciples of two rival interpreters, [[Bhāviveka|Bhavaviveka]] and [[Buddhapālita|Buddhapalita]]. He preferred Buddhapalita's interpretations of Madhyamaka teachings and defended them in a famous debate with the grammarian Candragomin, who supported the idealist position of the [[Yogachara|Vijñanavada]] (Doctrine of Consciousness) school.<ref>Lang, Karen C. (2003). ''Four Illusions: Candrakīrti's Advice for Travelers on the Bodhisattva Path,'' pp. 10-11. Oxford University Press.</ref></blockquote>

Tibetan sources further add that during the latter period of his life, he returned to the South of India, where he stayed in the region of ''Koṅkuna''. During his time here, he is said to have worked to defeat and convert many non-Buddhists.<ref name="BrillEncyc">{{cite journal |last1=Lang |first1=Karen |title=Candrakīrti |journal=Brill's Encyclopedia of Buddhism Online |url=https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/ENBO/COM-2019.xml}}</ref>

===Debate at Nalanda===
Bu ston and Taranatha both reference a debate that took place at Nalanda between Chandrakirti and the poet-lay scholar, [[Chandragomin]].<ref name=":9" /> The debate started after Chandrakirti noticed Chandragomin delivering a lecture to a large crowd on the topics of [[Pāṇini|Pāṇinian grammar]], sūtra, and tantra. Chandrakirti invited Chandragomin to come with him to Nalanda, where he could be enrolled into the [[sangha]]. However, due to a disagreement, a debate ensued between the two, with Chandrakirti arguing for the [[Madhyamaka]] position and Chandragomin taking on the [[Yogacara]] view. This debate was said to have attracted a large crowd. Over the course of the debate, Chandrakirti failed to defeat Chandragomin's position, and he began to suspect that someone was secretly teaching Chandragomin. Legend even states that Chandragomin was being tutored by the bodhisattva, [[Avalokiteśvara]] himself. Both Bu Ston and Taranatha record that the debate only ended after seven years, although neither writer specifies who the winner was.<ref name= "BrillEncyc" />