རྗེ་ཙོང་ཁ་པ།
Je Tsongkhapa
宗喀巴大師
Je Rinpoche; Lobsang Drakpa; Second Buddha of the Snowy Land
Biography & Significance
Je Tsongkhapa Lobsang Drakpa is one of Tibet's greatest scholar-sages and the founder of the Gelug (Way of Virtue) school. Born in Amdo in 1357, he left for Central Tibet at age 16 and spent decades studying with masters of all four schools before undergoing an extraordinary meditative retreat in which he received a vision of Manjushri and attained complete realization. Deeply concerned with the degeneration of monastic discipline and the mixture of sutra and tantra practices, Tsongkhapa undertook a thorough reform of Tibetan Buddhism, emphasising rigorous study of Madhyamaka philosophy (particularly the Prasangika interpretation), strict Vinaya adherence, and a systematic graduated path. In 1409 he founded Ganden Monastery and inaugurated the Great Prayer Festival (Mönlam Chenmo) in Lhasa. His two great works — the Lam-Rim Chenmo (Graduated Path to Enlightenment) and the Ngag-Rim Chenmo (Graduated Path of Tantra) — remain the definitive texts of the Gelug tradition.
Key Teachings 主要教法
- ▸Lam-Rim Chenmo (Great Stages of the Path)
- ▸Ngag-Rim Chenmo (Great Stages of Tantra)
- ▸In Praise of Dependent Origination
- ▸Madhyamaka Prasangika philosophy
Legacy 歷史貢獻
Founded the Gelug school and Ganden Monastery; wrote definitive systematic presentations of Sutra and Tantra; reformed Tibetan monasticism
Profile
- Period
- 1357–1419 CE
- Nationality
- Tibetan (born in Amdo)
- Role
- Founder of the Gelug School; Great Reformer of Tibetan Buddhism
- School Affiliation
- Associated Mantras