Je Tsongkhapa

Je Tsongkhapa (Tsong-kha-pa) in the fifth vision of Khedrub Jey (mkhas ’grub)

Je Tsongkhapa
Tibetan name
Tibetan	ཙོང་ཁ་པ།
Transcriptions Wylie tsong kha pa THL Tsongkhapa Tibetan Pinyin Zongkaba Lhasa IPA [tsoŋkʰapa]
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	宗哥·善慧稱
Simplified Chinese	宗哥·善慧称
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zōnggē Shànhuìchēng

Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), (Tsong-kha), referring to his birthplace in Tsongkha, Amdo; literally translating as Onion Valley and (Pa), meaning man, together is often misinterpreted to mean the 'Man from Onion Valley," however according to Tibetologist Glenn H. Mullin Tsongkhapa as a proper name, was likely never intended to be literally translated. He was a famous teacher of Tibetan Buddhism whose activities led to the formation of the Geluk school. He is also known by his ordained name Lobsang Drakpa (blo bzang grags pa) or simply as Je Rinpoche (rje rin po che).

Tsongkhapa heard Buddha’s teachings from masters of all Tibetan Buddhist traditions, and received lineages transmitted in the major schools.

His main source of inspiration was the Kadampa tradition, the legacy of Atiśa. Based on Tsongkhapa’s teaching, the two distinguishing characteristics of the Gelug tradition are:

• The union of Sutra and Tantra, and
• The emphasis on the step by step graduated way to enlightenment along the three principal aspects of the path (a genuine wish for liberation, generation of bodhicitta and insight into emptiness)

In his two main treatises (lam rim chen mo and sngags rim chen mo) Tsongkhapa meticulously sets forth this graduated way and how one establishes oneself in the sutric and tantric paths.

Early years

By a Mongolian father and a Tibetan mother, Tsongkhapa was born into a nomadic family in Amdo, Tibet in present day Xining prefecture, Gansu province in 1357, Tsongkhapa received the layman ordination (skt. Upasaka) at the age of three from the 4th Karmapa, Rolpe Dorje, and was entitled “Kunga Nyingpo” (kun dga’ snying po). At the age of seven he took the novice ordination (skt. Sramanera, tib. Getsul) from Choje Dhondup Rinchen (chos rje don ’grub rin chen) and was given the name “Lobsang Drakpa” (blo bzang grags pa). It was at this early age that 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 Manjushri-nama-samgiti. He would go on to be a great student of the Buddhist Vinaya, the doctrine of behaviour, and even later of 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.

From Zhönnu Lodrö (gzhon nu blo gros) and Rendawa (red mda’ pa) he received the lineage of the Pramanavarttika transmitted by Sakya Pandita (sa skya pandita). He mastered all the courses of study at Drikung Monastery in Central Tibet.

An emanation of Manjushri, Tsongkhapa is said to be of "one mind" with Atisha, received the Kadam lineages, and studied the major Sarma (gsar ma) Tantras (the Tantras from the “New Translation School”) under Sakya and Kagyü masters. He also studied with Nyingma siddha Legpey Dorje (Wylie: legs gyi rdo rje), and the Zalupa Chökyi-pal (zha lu pa chos kyi dpal), and his main Dzogchen master was Lodrak Drupchen Kekyi Dorje (lho brag grub chen las kyi rdo je), also known as Namkha Gyaltsen (nam mkha' rgyal mtshan, 1326-1401).

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 often had visions of meditational deities and especially of Manjushri, with whom he would communicate directly to clarify difficult points of the scriptures.

Legacy

Statue of Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelugpa school, on the altar in his temple (his birthplace) in Kumbum Monastery, near Xining, Amdo), Tibet.

With the founding of the Ganden monastery in 1409, he laid down the basis for what was later named the Gelug ("virtuous ones") order. At the time of the foundation of the Ganden monastery, his followers became to be known as "Gandenbas." Tsongkhapa himself never announced the establishment of a new monastic order. Tsongkhapa’s teachings drew upon the teachings of Atisha, emphasizing the study of Vinaya, the Tripiṭaka, and the Shastras. Atisha’s Lamrim inspired Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo, which became a main text among his followers. He also practised and taught extensively the Vajrayana, and especially how to bring the Sutra and Tantra teachings together, wrote works that summarized the root teachings of the Buddhist philosophical schools, as well as commentaries on the Pratimoksha, Prajnaparamita, Candrakirti’s Madhyamakavatara, logic, and the Sarma Tantras. Tsongkhapa emphasised a strong monastic Sangha. Furthermore, he promoted the study of logic, encouraged formal debates as part of Dharma studies, and instructed disciples in the Guhyasamaja, Kalacakra, and Hevajra Tantras.

Tsongkhapa was one of the foremost authorities of Tibetan Buddhism at the time. He composed a devotional prayer called the Migtsema Prayer to his Sakya master Rendawa, which was offered back to Tsongkhapa, with the note of his master saying that these verses were more applicable to Tsongkhapa than to himself. After Tsongkhapa's passing away, several biographies were written by Lamas of different traditions, and they all agreed that he was a teacher without parallel. The 9th Karmapa, Wangchuk Dorje, praised Tsongkhapa as one "who swept away wrong views with the correct and perfect ones." The 8th Karmapa, Gyalwa Mikyö Dorje, wrote in his poem In Praise of the Incomparable Tsong Khapa:

Tsongkapa, 15th-century painting, Rubin Museum of Art

When the teachings of the Sakya, Kagyue, Kadam

And Nyingma sects in Tibet were declining,
You, O Tsong Khapa, revived Buddha's Doctrine,

Hence I sing this praise to you of Ganden Mountain.

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 (Tib. 'Jam-dpal rtsa-rgyud):

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-two, he left to the world 18 volumes of collected teachings, with the largest amount being on Guhyasamāja tantra. These 18 volumes contain hundreds of titles relating to all aspects of Buddhist teachings and clarify some of the most difficult topics of Sutrayana and Vajrayana teachings.

Major works among them are:

• The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (lam rim chen mo),
• The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra (sngags rim chen mo),
• Essence of True Eloquence (drang nges legs bshad snying po; full title: gsung rab kyi drang ba dang nges pai don rnam par phye ba gsal bar byed pa legs par bshad pai snying po),
• Ocean of Reasoning: A Great Commentary on Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika (dbu ma rtsa ba'i tshig le'ur byas pa shes rab ces bya ba'i rnam bshad rigs pa'i rgya mtsho),
• Brilliant Illumination of the Lamp of the Five Stages / A Lamp to Illuminate the Five Stages (gsang ’dus rim lnga gsal sgron),
• Golden Garland of Eloquence (gser phreng) and
• The Praise of Relativity (rten ’brel bstod pa).

These scriptures are the prime source for the studies of the Gelugpa 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. Tsongkhapa's main treatises and commentaries on Madhyamaka are based on the tradition descended from Nagarjuna as elucidated by Buddhapalita and Candrakīrti.

Tsongkapa, 15th-century painting, Rubin Museum of Art

After Tsongkhapa had founded the monastery of Ganden in 1409, 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 the first Dalai Lama, Gyalwa Gendün Drup (1391–1474), were the most outstanding. After Tsongkhapa’s passing his teachings were held and kept by Gyaltsab Dharma Rinchen and Khedrub Gelek Pälsang. From then on, his lineage has been held by the Ganden Tripas, the throne-holders of Ganden Monastery, among whom the present one is Thubten Nyima Lungtok Tenzin Norbu, the 102nd Ganden Tripa.

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 Gendün Drup founded Tashilhunpo Monastery. Many Gelug monasteries were built throughout Tibet but also in China and Mongolia. He spent some time as a hermit in Pabonka Hermitage, which was built during Songsten Gampo times, approximately 8 kilometres north west of Lhasa. Today, it is also part of Sera.

Among the many lineage holders of the Yellow Hat Tradition (Gelugpas) there are the successive incarnations 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, Trijang Rinpoche, Domo Geshe Rinpoche, and many others.

The annual Tibetan prayer festival Monlam 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.

Criticism

Geshe Thupten Jinpa, the translator of the 14th Dalai Lama, notes Tsongkhapa's Madhyamaka deviated from tradition:

"The traditional Geluk understanding of these deviations in Tsongkhapa's thought attributes the development of his distinct reading of Madhyamaka philosophy to a mystical communion he is reported to have had with the bodhisattva Manjusri...It is interesting that the tradition Tsongkhapa is claiming to honour is, in a strict sense, not the existing system in Tibet; rather, it appears to be in the tradition of Manjusri as revealed in a mystic vision!"

Gorampa, a pillar of Sakya thought, insinuated Tsongkhapa conversed with a demon instead of Manjusri:

"Even as serious a scholar as Go rams pa cannot resist suggesting, for example, that Tsong kha pa's supposed conversations with Manjusri may have been a dialogue with a demon instead."

Gorampa accuses Tsongkhapa of being seized by demons and spreading demonic words:

"Gorampa, in the Lta ba ngan sel (Eliminating the Erroneous View), accuses Tsongkhapa of being "seized by demons" (bdud kyis zin pa) and in the Lta ba'i shan 'byed (Distinguishing Views) decries him as a "nihilistic Madhyamika" (dbu ma chad lta ba) who is spreading "demonic words" (bdud kyi tshig)."

Karl Brunnholzl notes that Tsongkhapa's Madhyamaka is not consistent with “any Indian text” or the other Tibetan schools:

"First, with a few exceptions, the majority of books or articles on Madhyamaka by Western - particularly North American - scholars is based on the explanations of the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism. Deliberately or not, many of these Western presentations give the impression that the Gelugpa system is more or less equivalent to Tibetan Buddhism as such and that this school's way of presenting Madhyamaka is the standard or even the only way to explain this system, which has led to the still widely prevailing assumption that this is actually the case. From the perspective of Indian and Tibetan Buddhism in general, nothing could be more wrong. In fact, the peculiar Gelugpa version of Madhaymaka is a minority position in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, since its uncommon features are neither found in any Indian text nor accepted by any of the other Tibetan schools."

"All critics of Tsongkhapa, including the Eighth Karmapa, agree that many features of his Centrism are novelties that are not found in any Indian sources and see this as a major flaw."

Sam van Schaik notes that Tsongkhapa "wanted to create something new" and that the early Gandenpas defined themselves by responding to accusations from the established schools:

"Though the Sakya had their own teachings on these subjects, Tsongkhapa was coming to realize that he wanted to create something new, not necessarily a school, but at least a new formulation of the Buddhist Path."

"As Khedrup and later followers of Tsongkhapa hit back at accusations like these, they defined their own philosophical tradition, and this went a long way to drawing a line in the sand between the Gandenpas and the broader Sakya tradition."

English translations of some of Tsongkhapa’s works

Bronze depicting Tsongkhapa, who is known and revered by Mongolians as Bogd Zonkhova.

• Life and Teachings of Tsongkhapa, Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 2006, ISBN 978-8186470442
• 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
• The Medium Treatise On The Stages Of The Path To Enlightenment - Calm Abiding Section translated in "Balancing The Mind: A Tibetan Buddhist Approach To Refining Attention", Shambhala Publications, 2005, ISBN 978-1-55-939230-3
• The Medium Treatise On The Stages Of The Path To Enlightenment - Insight Section translated in "Life and Teachings of Tsongkhapa", Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 2006, ISBN 978-8186470442
• Golden Garland of Eloquence - Volume 1 of 4: First Abhisamaya, Jain Pub Co, 2008, ISBN 0-89581-865-5
• Golden Garland of Eloquence - Volume 2 of 4: Second and Third Abhisamayas, Jain Pub Co, 2008, ISBN 0-89581-866-3
• Golden Garland of Eloquence - Volume 3 of 4: Fourth Abhisamaya, Jain Pub Co, 2010, ISBN 0-89581-867-1
• Golden Garland of Eloquence - Volume 4 of 4: Fourth Abhisamaya, Jain Pub Co, 2013, ISBN 978-0-89581-868-3
• Ocean of Reasoning: A Great Commentary on Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-514733-2
• Essence of True Eloquence, translated in The Central Philosophy of Tibet, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-69102-067-1
• The Fulfillment of All Hopes: Guru Devotion in Tibetan Buddhism, Wisdom Publications, ISBN 0-86171-153-X
• Tantric Ethics: An Explanation of the Precepts for Buddhist Vajrayana Practice, Wisdom Publications, ISBN 0-86171-290-0
• The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra - Chapter 1 of 13, translated in Tantra in Tibet, Shambhala Publications, 1987, ISBN 978-0-93-793849-2
• The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra - Chapter 2 & 3 of 13, translated in Deity Yoga, Shambhala Publications, 1987, ISBN 978-0-93-793850-8
• The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra - Chapter 4 of 13, translated in Yoga Tantra, Shambhala Publications, 2012, ISBN 978-1-55-939898-5
• Brilliant Illumination of the Lamp of the Five Stages, Columbia University Press, 2011, ISBN 978-1-93-501100-2
• A Lamp to Illuminate the Five Stages, Library of Tibetan Classics, 2013, ISBN 0-86171-454-7
• The Six Yogas of Naropa: Tsongkhapa's Commentary, Snow Lion Publications, ISBN 1-55939-234-7
• The Splendor of an Autumn Moon: The Devotional Verse of Tsongkhapa Wisdom Publications, ISBN 0-86171-190-0
• Three Principal Aspects of the Path, Tharpa Publications
• Guided Tour Through the Seven Books of Dharmakirti, translated in A Millennium of Buddhist Logic, Motilal Barnasidass, 1999, ISBN 8-12081-646-3
• 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
• The Medium Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Calm Abiding Section) translated in B. Alan Wallace, Dissertation, 1995, (Wylie: byang chub lam gyi rim pa chung ba)
• Apple, James B. Stairway to Nirvāṇa: A Study of the Twenty Saṃghas based on the works of Tsong-kha-pa (State University of New York Press, 2008).

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.
• Essence of Refined Gold by the Third Dalai Lama: with related texts by the Second and Seventh Dalai Lamas. (1978) Translated by Glenn H. Mullin. Tushita Books, Dharamsala, H.P., India.
• Crystal Mirror VI, Annual of Tibetan Buddhism, Dharma Publishing, ISBN 0-913546-59-3
• Life & Teachings of Tsongkhapa by Robert Thurman, LTWA
• Heart Jewel: The Essential Practices of Kadampa Buddhism by Kelsang Gyatso, Tharpa Publications (2nd. ed., 1997) ISBN 978-0-948006-56-2
• Great Treasury of Merit: How to Rely Upon a Spiritual Guide by Kelsang Gyatso, Tharpa Publications (1992) ISBN 978-0-948006-22-7
• Tharpa Publications, Commentaries to Lama Tsongkhapa’s major works
• Wallace, B. Alan (1995). 'The Cultivation of Sustained Voluntary Attention in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism.' Thesis.. Source: [2] (accessed: Sunday January 31, 2010) NB: this thesis gives an extended treated to Tsongkhapa and includes a translation and the original Tibetan of 'Small Exposition of the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment' (Wylie: byang chub lam gyi rim pa chung ba)

External links

• Tsongkhapa, at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Life and Teachings of Tsong Khapa by R. Thurman
• A Short Biography by Alexander Berzin (The Berzin Archives)
• A talk regarding Gelugpa and Tsong Khapa’s legacy by the 14th Dalai Lama
• The History of Gelug Tradition by the Government of Tibet in Exile
• Biography of Je Tsongkhapa by Kelsang Gyatso
• Biography of Lama Tsong Khapa by Sonam Rinchen
• Dictionary Definition of Tsong Khapa
• Tsongkhapa – Bogd Zonkhova to Mongolians
• The Works of Tsongkhapa:English Translations