Tsongkhapa (Tibetan: ཙོང་ཁ་པ་; Wylie: Tsong-kha-pa) (1357 - 1419) , whose name means "The Man from Onion Valley", was the founder of the Geluk (Dge-lugs) school of Tibetan Buddhism. He is also known by his ordained name Lobsang Drakpa (Blo-bzang Grags-pa) or simply as "Je Rinpoche" (Rje Rin-bo-che). This image of Je Tsongkhapa is based on the fifth vison of his diciple Khedrub Jey. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The Wylie transliteration scheme is a method for transliterating the Tibetan script using the keys on a typical English language typewriter. ... [[ == == ===Events= July 9 - Charles Bridge in Prague was founded == == ==]] Births Vincent Ferrer April 11 - King John I of Portugal Deaths May 28 - King Afonso IV of Portugal Categories: 1357 ... Events January 19 – Hundred Years War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England which brings Normandy under the control of England. ... The Geluk or Gelug (Wylie transliteration: Dge-lugs, Tibetan: དགེ་ལུགས་པ་) school of Buddhism was founded by Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), a philosopher and tibetan religious leader. ... Tibetan Buddhism is the body of religious Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet, the Himalayan region (including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim), Mongolia, Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia (Russia), and northeastern China (Manchuria: Heilongjiang, Jilin). ...

His direct source of inspiration was the Kadampa (Bka'-gdams-pa) tradition, the legacy of Atiśa. Based on Tsongkhapa's teaching, the two distinguishing characteristics of the Gelug tradition are: The Kadampa (Bka-gdams-pa) Tradition was a Tibetan Mahayana Buddhist school. ... AtiÅ›a Dipamkara Shrijnana (Bangla: অতীশ দীপঙ্কর শ্রীজ্ঞান) (982 - 1054 CE) was a Buddhist teacher who reintroduced Buddhism into Tibet after King Langdharma had nearly destroyed it. ...

• the union of Sutra and Tantra, and
• the emphasis on Vinaya (the moral code of discipline)

Sūtra (sex) (Sanskrit) or Sutta (Pāli) literally means a rope or thread that holds things together, and more metaphorically refers to an aphorism (or line, rule, formula), or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. ... Tantra (Sanskrit: weave), tantric yoga or tantrism is any of several esoteric traditions rooted in the religions of India. ... The Vinaya (a word in Pali as well as in Sanskrit, with literal meaning discipline) is the textual framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha. ...

Early years

Born in Amdo province of Tibet during 1357, Tsongkhapa received the layman ordination (skt. Upasaka) at the age of three from the 4th Karmapa, Rolpey Dorje (Rol-pa'i Rdo-rje), and was entitled "Kunga Nyingpo" (Kun-dga' Snying-po). At the age of seven he took the novice ordination (skt. Sramanera, tib. Getsul) from Chöjey Dhondup Rinchen (Chos-rje Don-'grub Rin-chen) and was entitled "Lobsang Drakpa" (Slob-bsang Graks-pa). It was to his credit then, that at such an early age, he was able to receive the empowerments of Heruka Chakrasamvara, Hevajra, and Yamantaka, three of the most prominent wrathful deities of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as being able to recite a great many sutras, not the least of which was Expression of the Names of Manjushri. Additionally, he would go on to be a great student of the Buddhist Vinaya, the doctrine of behaviour, and even later the Six Yogas of Naropa, the Kalachakra Tantra, and the acclaimed practice of Mahamudra. At the age of 24 Tsongkhapa received the ordination of a full monk (skt. Bhikshu, tib. Gelong) in the Sakya Tradition. Amdo (Tibetan: ཨ༌མདོ, Chinese: 安多, Pinyin: Ä€nduō) is considered the northern part of Tibet by Tibetans and is the place from where the present Dalai Lama comes from. ... Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་; Wylie: Bod; pronounced in the Lhasa dialect; Chinese: ; pinyin: or Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: [the two names are used with different connotations; see Name section below]) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ... [[ == == ===Events= July 9 - Charles Bridge in Prague was founded == == ==]] Births Vincent Ferrer April 11 - King John I of Portugal Deaths May 28 - King Afonso IV of Portugal Categories: 1357 ... The Karmapa (officially His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa; Tibetan: རྒྱལ་ད་ཀར་མ་པ་) is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the Kagyupa (Tib. ... Heruka is a principal Deity (Tantric Buddha) of Mother Tantra, who is the embodiment of indivisible bliss and emptiness. ... The tutelary god Hevajra is described, with all the rites and ceremonies used in his worship, in the sutra of the Hevajra tantra, which figured historically in the conversion of the Mongolian emperor Khubilai in the thirteenth century A.D. Iconography Hevajra is represented with eight heads, sixteen arms, and... Yamāntaka is a Mahāyāna Buddhist yidam or iṣṭadevatā of the Highest Yoga Tantra class in Vajrayana, popular within the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism. ... The Vinaya (a word in Pali as well as in Sanskrit, with literal meaning discipline) is the textual framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha. ... The six yogas of Naropa describe a set of advanced Tibetan Buddhist tantric meditation practices compiled in and around the time of the Indian monk and mystic Naropa (1016-1100 C.E.), and conveyed to his student Marpa the translator. ... Kālacakra (Sanskrit कालचक्र; Tibetan དུས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ་ dus kyi khor lo) is a term used in Tantric Buddhism that means time-wheel or time-cycles. It refers both to a Tantric deity (Tib. ... Mahamudra (Sanskrit: great seal or great symbol) or Chagchen (Wylie: phyag-chen) (Tibetan) is a method of direct introduction to the nature of Mind (or Buddha-nature) and the practice of stabilizing the accompanying transcendental realization. ... Categories: Buddhism-related stubs | Buddhist terms ... Sakya is one of four major schools (Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu and Gelug) in Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana). ...

Tsongkhapa travelled extensively in search of knowledge and studied with more than 100 teachers of all the existing traditions all topics of the doctrine, including Dzogchen. In addition to his studies, he engaged in extensive meditation retreats. He is reputed to have performed millions of prostrations, mandala offerings and other forms of purification practice. Tsongkhapa had often visions of meditational deities and especially of Manjushri, with whom he could communicate directly to clarify difficult points of the scriptures. This article refers to the primordial state as considered in Tibetan Buddhism and Bon. ... Buddhist mandala Mandala (Sanskrit circle, completion) is of Hindu origin and is also used in most Dharmic religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, to refer to various tangible objects. ... Statue of Manjusri (Monju) at Senkoji in Onomichi, Japan Mañjuśrī (文殊 Ch. ...

As such an accomplished scholar and practitioner, he was therefore quite effective as a teacher in Tibetan Buddhism, and became a leading figure amongst his peers as well as his students. Most of his teachers became also his students, like Rendawa, Umapa, the Nyingma Lama Lhodrak and they taught and revered each other. Out of his strong influence, compassion, and wisdom he is referred to as like a second Buddha.

Tsongkhapa's legacy

Tsongkhapa would go on to found the Geluk (Dge-lugs-pa) order, built on the foundations of the Kadampa (Bka'-gdams-pa) tradition, with an emphasis on the Vinaya and scholarly pursuits. He had studied at Sakya (Sa-skya), Kadam (Bka'-gdams) and Drikung Kagyu monasteries, built up his knowledge, received many empowerments, and was one of the foremost authorities of Tibetan Buddhism at the time. Further, it is said that the Buddha Sakyamuni spoke of his coming as an emanation of the Bodhisattva Manjusri in the short verse from the Root Tantra of Manjushri: The Geluk or Gelug (Wylie transliteration: Dge-lugs, Tibetan: དགེ་ལུགས་པ་) school of Buddhism was founded by Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), a philosopher and tibetan religious leader. ... The Kadampa (Bka-gdams-pa) Tradition was a Tibetan Mahayana Buddhist school. ... Sakya is one of four major schools (Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu and Gelug) in Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana). ... Drigung Kagyu or Drikung Kagyu or is one of the eight minor lineages of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. ... In Buddhist thought, a bodhisattva (Pali: bodhisatta; Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: púsà; Japanese: 菩薩 bosatsu; Korean: ë³´ì‚´ bosal ; Tibetan changchub sempa (byang-chub sems-dpa); Vietnamese: Bồ Tát; Thai: พระโพธิสัตว์) is a being who is dedicated to assisting all sentient beings in achieving complete Buddhahood. ... Statue of Manjusri (Monju) at Senkoji in Onomichi, Japan MañjuÅ›rÄ« (Ch: 文殊 Wenshu or 文殊師利 Wenshushili; Jp: Monju; Tib: Jampelyang), also written Manjushri, is the bodhisattva of keen awareness in Buddhism. ...

"After I pass away
And my pure doctrine is absent,
You will appear as an ordinary being,
Performing the deeds of a Buddha
And establishing the Joyful Land, the great Protector,
In the Land of the Snows."

Although Tsongkhapa would finally pass away in 1419 at the age of sixty, he left to the world 18 volumes of collected teachings, with the largest amount being on Guhyasamāja tantra. These 18 volumes containing hundred of titles relating to all aspects of Buddhist teachings and which clarify some of the most difficult topics of sutrayana and mantrayana teachings. Events January 19 – Hundred Years War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England which brings Normandy under the control of England. ... Guhyasamāja Guhyasamaja tantra , (tib. ...

Major works among them are:

• The Great Exposition of the Stages of the Path (Lam-rim chen-mo),
• The Great Exposition of Tantras (sNgag-rim chenmo),
• The Essence of Eloquence on the Interpretive and Definitive Teachings (Drnng-nges legs-bshad snying-po),
• The Praise of Relativity (rTen-'brel bstodpa),
• The Clear Exposition of the Five Stages of Guhyasamaja (gSang-'dus rim-lnga gsal-sgron) and
• The Golden Rosary (gSer-phreng).

These scriptures are the prime source for the studies of the Gelugpa (Dge-lugs-pa) tradition and these and other teachings of Tsongkhapa endured into the modern age and are seen as a protection against misconceptions in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Relief image of the bodhisattva Kuan Yin from Mt. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Tsongkhapa founded the monastery of Ganden in 1409, and it became his main seat. He had many students, among whom Gyaltsab Dharma Rinchen (1364-1431), Khedrup Gelek Pelzang (1385-1438), Togden Jampal Gyatso, Jamyang Choje, Jamchenpa Sherap Senge and Gyalwa Gendün Drup, the first Dalai Lama (1391-1474) were the most outstanding. After Tsongkhapas passing his teaching were held and kept by Gyaltsab Dharma Rinchen and Khedrub Gelek Pälsang. from that on, his lineage has been held by the Ganden Tripas, the throne-holders of Ganden Monastery among the present is Khensur Lungri Namgyal, the 101st Ganden Tripa. Ganden monastery Ganden Monastery is one of the great three Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet, located on Wangbur Mountain, Tagtse County, 47 kilometers from Lhasa. ... Gyaltsab Je (Tibetan: རྒྱལ་ཚབ་རྗེ་; Wylie: Rgyal tshab rje) (1364 - 1432) or more elaborately, Gyaltsab Dharma Rinchen was born in the Tsang province of central Tibet. ... Khedrup Gelek Pelzang (Tibetan: ་མྷས་གྲུབ་དགེལེགས་དཔལ་བཟང་; Wylie: Mkhas-grub Rje Dge-legs Dpal-bzang-po; ZWPY: Kaichub Gêlêg Baisangbo), better known as Khedrup Je (Tibetan: མཁས་གྲུབ་རྗེ་་; Wylie: Mkhas-grub Rje), is well-known as one of the main disciples of Lama Tsongkhapa (founder of the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. ... Gendun Drup (Tibetan: དྒེ་འདུན་འགྲུབ་; Wylie: Dge-‘dun ‘Grub; ZWPY: Gêdün Chub), also spelled Gendün Drub and Gedun Drub (1391 – 1474) is retrospectively considered to be the first in the line of Dalai Lamas of Tibet, who are believed to be reincarnations. ... The 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso (1876-1933) In Tibetan Buddhism, the successive Dalai Lamas (Tibetan: ཏ་ཱལའི་བླ་མ་; Wylie: Taa-la’i Bla-ma; Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Dálài LÇŽmā) form a tulku lineage of Gelug leaders which trace back to 1391. ... The Ganden Tripa (Holder of the Ganden Throne; Wylie: Dga-ldan Khri-pa) is the title of the spiritual leader of the Gelug (Dge-lugs) school of Tibetan Buddhism, the school which controlled central Tibet from the mid-1600s until 1950. ... Ganden monastery Ganden Monastery is one of the great three Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet, located on Wangbur Mountain, Tagtse County, 47 kilometers from Lhasa. ...

After the founding of Ganden Monastery by Tsongkhapa, Drepung Monastery was founded by Jamyang Choje, Sera Monastery was founded by Chöje Shakya Yeshe and the Gyalwa Gendün Drup founded Tashi Lhunpo Monastery. Many Gelug monasteries were built throughout Tibet but also in China and Mongolia. Ganden monastery Ganden Monastery is one of the great three Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet, located on Wangbur Mountain, Tagtse County, 47 kilometers from Lhasa. ... Drepung monastery Drepung Monastery is one of the great three Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet. ... Sera Monastery is one of the great three Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet. ... Gedun Drub (Wylie transliteration: Dge-dun-grub), also spelled Gendun Drub and Gedun Drup (1391 – 1474) is retrospectively considered to be the first in the line of reincarnated Dalai Lamas of Tibet. ... Tashilhunpo Monastery The Thanka Wall overlooking the monastery Tashilhunpo Monastery (Tibetan: བཀྲ་ཤིས་ལྷུན་པོ་), built in 1447, is a historic and culturally important monastery in Shigatse, Tibet. ...

Among the many lineage holders of the Yellow Hat Tradition (Gelugpas) there are the successive incarnations of the Gyalwa Rinpoche (commonly known as the Dalai Lama), and the succession of the Panchen Lama as well as the Chagkya Dorje Chang, Ngachen Könchok Gyaltsen, Kyishö Tulku Tenzin Thrinly, Jamyang Shepa, Phurchok Jampa Rinpoche, Jamyang Dewe Dorje, Takphu Rinpoche, Khachen Yeshe Gyaltsen and many others. The 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso (1876-1933) In Tibetan Buddhism, the successive Dalai Lamas (Tibetan: ཏ་ཱལའི་བླ་མ་; Wylie: Taa-la’i Bla-ma; Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Dálài LÇŽmā) form a tulku lineage of Gelug leaders which trace back to 1391. ... The Panchen Lama (Chinese: 班禪喇嘛 ;Tibetan: པན་ཆེན་བླ་མ་) is the second highest ranking lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa (Dge-lugs-pa) sect of Tibetan Buddhism (the sect which controlled Tibet from the 16th century until the Communist takeover). ...

The annual Tibetan prayer festival Mönlam Chenmo (Great Prayer Festival) was established by Tsongkhapa. There he offered service to ten thousand monks. The establishment of the Great Prayer Festival is seen as one of his Four Great Deeds. It celebrates the miraculous deeds of Buddha Shakyamuni. Standing Buddha, ancient region of Pakistan, 1st century CE. Gautama Buddha was a South Asian spiritual leader who lived between approximately 563 BCE and 483 BCE. Born Siddhārtha Gautama in Sanskrit, a name meaning descendant of Gotama whose aims are achieved/who is efficacious in achieving aims, he...

See also

• New Kadampa

The New Kadampa is a synonym for the 14th Century Gelukpas (Dge-lugs-pa) school of Tibetan Buddhism, as founded by Je Tsongkhapa (Btsong-ka-pa); being great admirer of the Kadampa teachings, Tsongkhapa was an enthusiastic promoter of the 11th Century Kadampa Schools emphasis on the Mahayana principles...

Translations of Tsongkhapas' Scriptures into English

• The Great Treatise On The Stages Of The Path To Enlightenment, Vol. 1, Snow Lion, ISBN 1-55939-152-9
• The Great Treatise On The Stages Of The Path To Enlightenment, Vol. 2, Snow Lion, ISBN 1-55939-168-5
• The Great Treatise On The Stages Of The Path To Enlightenment, Vol. 3, Snow Lion, ISBN 1-55939-166-9
• Ocean of Eloquence: Tsong Kha Pa's Commentary on the Yogacara Doctrine of Mind, State University of New York Press, ISBN 0-7914-1479-5
• Ocean of Reasoning : A Great Commentary on Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-514733-2
• Tantric Ethics : An Explanation of the Precepts for Buddhist Vajrayana Practice, Wisdom Publications, ISBN 0-86171-290-0
• The Splendor of an Autumn Moon : The Devotional Verse of Tsongkhapa, Wisdom Publications, ISBN 0-86171-192-0
• The Fulfillment of All Hopes: Guru Devotion in Tibetan Buddhism, Wisdom Publications, ISBN 0-86171-153-X

References

• The Ri-Me Philosophy of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great: A Study of the Buddhist Lineages of Tibet by Ringu Tulku, ISBN 1-59030-286-9, Shambhala Publications

External links

• A Short Biography by Alexander Berzin (The Berzin Archives)
• The Histroy of Gelug Traditon by the Government of Tibet in Exile
• Biography of Lama Tsong Khapa by Geshe Sonam Rinchen
• Life and Teachings of Tsong Khapa by Professor R. Thurman
• Tsongkhapa's Biography (Ganden.org)

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