300px, Tibetan Portrait of Atiśa
The Kadam school () of
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
was an 11th century Buddhist tradition founded by the great
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
master
Atiśa
( bn, অতীশ দীপংকর শ্রীজ্ঞান, ôtiś dīpôṅkôr śrigyen; 982–1054) was a Buddhist religious leader and master. He is generally associated with his work carried out at the Vikramashila monastery in Biha ...
(982-1054) and his students like
Dromtön
Dromtön, Drom Tonpa or Dromtönpa Gyelwé Jungné (, 1004 or 1005–1064) was the chief disciple of the Buddhist master Atiśa, the initiator of the Kadam school of Tibetan Buddhism and the founder of Reting Monastery.
Early life and education ...
(1005–1064), a Tibetan Buddhist lay master.
[Silk, Jonathan A; von Hinüber, Oskar; Eltschinger, Vincent; Bowring, Richard; Radich, Michael (2015). ''Brill's Encyclopedia of Buddhism: Vol. II Lives'', pp. 1145-1158. Brill.] The Kadampa stressed
compassion
Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is often regarded as being sensitive to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based on n ...
, pure discipline and study.
[Chokyi Dragpa (2015). ''Illuminating the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva'', Glossary. Simon and Schuster.]
The most evident teachings of that tradition were the graduated teachings on the
Mahayana
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...
path. These special presentations became known as
lojong
Lojong (, 'mind training') is a contemplative practice in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition which makes use of various lists of aphorisms or slogans which are used for contemplative practice. The practice involves refining and purifying one's motiva ...
(mind training) and
lamrim
Lamrim (Tibetan: "stages of the path") is a Tibetan Buddhist textual form for presenting the stages in the complete path to enlightenment as taught by Buddha. In Tibetan Buddhist history there have been many different versions of ''lamrim'', pres ...
(stages of the path).
Kadam masters like Atiśa also promoted the study of
madhyamaka
Mādhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no ''svabhāva'' doctrine"), refers to a tradition of Buddhist ...
philosophy. According to Ronald M. Davidson, "Atiśa's coming to Tibet in 1042 was the threshold moment in the efflorescence of Buddhism and provided a stable foundation for monastic scholarship for the next thousand years."
With the rise of new Tibetan Buddhist schools like
Sakya
The ''Sakya'' (, 'pale earth') school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat Orders along with the Nyingma and Kagyu.
Origins
Virūpa, 16th century. It depict ...
and
Gelug
file:DalaiLama0054 tiny.jpg, 240px, 14th Dalai Lama, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya, Bodhgaya (India).
The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous ...
, Kadam ceased to exist as an independent school, and its monasteries, lineages and traditions were absorbed into all major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Because of this, Kadampa lineages remained strong long after the school disappeared.
History of the Kadam tradition
The most important founding figure of the Kadam tradition is
Atiśa Dīpankara Śrījñāna (982–1054), an Indian Buddhist master who was known as a great teacher at
Vikramaśīla
Vikramashila (Sanskrit: विक्रमशिला, IAST: , Bengali:- বিক্রমশিলা, Romanisation:- Bikrômôśilā ) was one of the three most important Buddhist monasteries in India during the Pala Empire, along with ...
and traveled to
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
in 1037 on the invitation of a princeling named Jangchub O.
[Van Schaik, Sam (2016). ''The Spirit of Tibetan Buddhism,'' pp. 30-31. Yale University Press.] Atiśa's poem, the ''Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment'' (''
Bodhipathapradīpa ''Bodhipathapradīpa'' (''A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment'') is a Buddhist text composed in Sanskrit by the 11th-century teacher Atiśa and widely considered his magnum opus. The text reconciles the doctrines of many various Buddhist schools a ...
; Tib. Byang chub lam sgron'') was an influential text which laid out the stages of the path to Buddhahood.
He also helped translate some texts into Tibetan, taught Buddhism and wrote on Vajrayana practice. Atiśa's main teaching focus was on presenting a comprehensive Buddhist Mahayana system, and his numerous works explain basic topics such as
bodhicitta
In Mahayana Buddhism, bodhicitta, ("enlightenment-mind" or "the thought of awakening"), is the mind (citta) that is aimed at awakening ( bodhi), with wisdom and compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings. Bodhicitta is the defining quali ...
, the
six perfections
6 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
6 or six may also refer to:
* AD 6, the sixth year of the AD era
* 6 BC, the sixth year before the AD era
* The month of June
Science
* Carbon, the element with atomic number 6
* 6 Hebe, an asteroid
People
...
, the two truths,
dependent origination
A dependant is a person who relies on another as a primary source of income. A common-law spouse who is financially supported by their partner may also be included in this definition. In some jurisdictions, supporting a dependant may enabl ...
,
karma
Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...
, and
Madhyamaka
Mādhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no ''svabhāva'' doctrine"), refers to a tradition of Buddhist ...
philosophy.
Over time he drew several students around him, including the influential
Dromtönpa Gyelwé Jungné, who convinced Atiśa to stay in Tibet indefinitely. This Buddhist circle was part of the "later diffusion" of Buddhism in Tibet. The tradition became known as Kadampa over time. The name means those who teach the Buddhist scriptures (''bka'') through personal instructions (''gdams'').
After the death of Atiśa in 1054, his main disciple Dromtön was the main leader of the Kadam tradition. He founded
Radreng Monastery in 1056.
[Van Schaik, Sam (2016). ''The Spirit of Tibetan Buddhism,'' p. 33. Yale University Press.] Another important student was Ngog Legpai Sherab, he founded Sangpu Neutog in 1071. According to Sam Van Schaik, "both monasteries followed Atiśa's principle of combining tantric meditation practice with a firm adherence to the monastic code and with rigorous scholarship."
Reting Monastery
Reting Monastery () is an historically important Buddhist monastery in Lhünzhub County in Lhasa, Ü-Tsang, Tibet. It is also commonly spelled "Radreng."
History
Reting Monastery was founded by Atiśa's chief disciple Dromtön in 1057 in th ...
was located in
Reting Tsangpo
The Reting Tsangpo () is a river in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is the main headwater of the Lhasa River.
The river flows past Reting Monastery, founded in 1056. The terrain is geologically complex, with deeply eroded and faulted rock ...
valley north of
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
. The nearby Phenpo Chu and Gyama Valleys were also home to many large Kadampa monasteries.
Dromtön's three main students were Po to ba Rin chen gsal (Potowa), Spyan mnga’ ba Tshul khrims ’bar (Chen Ngawa), and Bu chung ba Gzhon nu rgyal mtshan (Bu chungwa). From these three come the main teaching lineages of Kadam: (1) the authoritative treatises (gzhung) lineage, (2) the essential instruction (gdams ngag) lineage, and (3) the oral instruction (man ngag) lineage, respectively.
[Buswell Jr., Robert E.; Lopez Jr., Donald S. (2013). ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism,'' p. 123. Princeton University Press.] These "three brothers" as they became known, traveled Central Tibet teaching and promoting the Kadampa order.
[Davidson, Ronald M. (2008). ''Tibetan Renaissance: Tantric Buddhism in the Rebirth of Tibetan Culture'', pp. 278-79 Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.]
During the 11th and 12th centuries especially, the monastery at Sangpu became the dominant Kadampa institution, known for its scholarship.
According to Van Schaik, "Sangpu became the centre of the renaissance in Tibetan Buddhist scholasticism." It maintained a curriculum which covered ''
Prajñāpāramita'',
pramāṇa
''Pramana'' (Sanskrit: प्रमाण, ) literally means " proof" and "means of knowledge".[vinaya
The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions remai ...]
and
abhidharma
The Abhidharma are ancient (third century BCE and later) Buddhist texts which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist ''sutras''. It also refers to the scholastic method itself as well as the f ...
.
Another influential Kadam monastery for Buddhist scholarship was
Narthang Monastery
290px, Racks of printing blocks, Narthang Monastery
Narthang Monastery (Tibetan: སྣར་ཐང་; Chin: 纳塘寺) is a monastery located west of Shigatse in Tibet. Founded in 1153 by Tumtön Lodrö Drakpa, a student of Sharawa Yonten Dr ...
, which was established in 1153 by Tumtön Lodrö Drak (ca. 1106-66). According to
Thupten Jinpa
Thupten Jinpa Langri (born 1958) is a Tibetan Buddhist scholar, former monk and an academic of religious studies and both Eastern and Western philosophy. He has been the principal English translator to the Dalai Lama since 1985. He has translated ...
, these two scholastic centers "came to dominate the study of classical Indian Buddhist learning, especially in epistemology, abhidharma psychology and phenomenology, the scholastic inquiry into the
perfection of wisdom literature, and the Middle Way philosophy of emptiness."
Due to influence and prominence of other Tibetan Buddhist schools like Sakya, Gelug and Kagyu, the Kadampa ceased to exist as an independent tradition by the end of the 16th century and their monasteries and lineages were absorbed into the other schools.
[
]
Teachings and Study
Authoritative Treatises Lineage
The Authoritative Treatises lineage of Putowa Rinchensél (1031–1106) emphasized the close study of six classic Indian Buddhist texts:
#
Asaṅga
Asaṅga (, ; Romaji: ''Mujaku'') ( fl. 4th century C.E.) was "one of the most important spiritual figures" of Mahayana Buddhism and the "founder of the Yogachara school".Engle, Artemus (translator), Asanga, ''The Bodhisattva Path to Unsurpasse ...
's "''Bodhisattvabhūmi''", a section of his ''
Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra''
#
Maitreya-nātha
Maitreya-nātha (c. 270–350 CE) is a name whose use was pioneered by Buddhist scholars Erich Frauwallner, Giuseppe Tucci, and Hakuju Ui to distinguish one of the three founders of the Yogacara school of Buddhist philosophy, along with Asanga ...
's ''
Mahāyāna-sūtrālamkāra-kārikā
''Mahāyāna-sūtrālamkāra-kārikā'' (Verses on the Ornament of the Mahāyāna Sūtras) is a major work of Buddhist philosophy attributed to Maitreya-nātha which is said to have transmitted it to Asanga (ca. 320 to ca. 390 CE).Payne, Richard ...
'', a
Yogacara
Yogachara ( sa, योगाचार, IAST: '; literally "yoga practice"; "one whose practice is yoga") is an influential tradition of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through t ...
work
#
Shantideva
Shantideva (Sanskrit: Śāntideva; ; ; mn, Шантидэва гэгээн; vi, Tịch Thiên) was an 8th-century CE Indian philosopher, Buddhist monk, poet, and scholar at the mahavihara of Nalanda. He was an adherent of the Mādhyamaka philo ...
's ''
Śikṣāsamuccaya
Shantideva (Sanskrit: Śāntideva; ; ; mn, Шантидэва гэгээн; vi, Tịch Thiên) was an 8th-century CE Indian philosopher, Buddhist monk, poet, and scholar at the mahavihara of Nalanda. He was an adherent of the Mādhyamaka philo ...
''
#Shantideva's ''
Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra
The ''Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra'' or ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'' ( sa, बोधिसत्त्वाचर्यावतार; Tibetan: བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་སྤྱོད་པ་ལ་འཇུག་པ་ ''b ...
''
#The ''
Jātakamālā'' of Aryaśura
#The ''
Udānavarga''
Furthermore, according to Thupten Jinpa, "the studies of these treatises are complemented with further Indian Buddhist classics like Nagarjuna’s (second century) ''Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way'', his ''Seventy Stanzas on Emptiness'', and Atisa’s ''Entry into the Two Truths'' and ''An Instruction on the Middle Way''."
Scholarship
Atiśa was a follower of the
Madhyamaka
Mādhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no ''svabhāva'' doctrine"), refers to a tradition of Buddhist ...
school and he introduced the complementary study of the works of Candrakīrti and
Bhāviveka
Bhāviveka, also called Bhāvaviveka (; ), and Bhavya was a sixth-century (c. 500 – c. 570) madhyamaka Buddhist philosopher.Qvarnström 1989 p. 14. Alternative names for this figure also include Bhavyaviveka, Bhāvin, Bhāviviveka, Bhagavadviv ...
. Atiśa’s Madhyamaka philosophy was a synthesis which drew on the works of Bhāviveka and Candrakīrti. Atiśa taught Madhyamaka by using Bhāviveka's ''Tarkajvālā'' and ''Madhyamakaratnapradīpa'' as an introduction and then taught advanced students Candrakīrti’s ''
Madhyamakāvatāra
The ''Madhyamakāvatāra'' () is a text by Candrakīrti (600–c. 650) on the Mādhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy. Candrakīrti also wrote an auto-commentary to the work, called the ''Madhyamakāvatārabhasya.''
It is traditionally considere ...
''.
Later Kadampas (especially at Sangpu) continued the scholastic study of Indian Buddhist philosophy. At Sangpu, Kadampas also studied Indian Buddhist pramāṇavāda philosophers like
Dharmakirti
Dharmakīrti (fl. c. 6th or 7th century; Tibetan: ཆོས་ཀྱི་གྲགས་པ་; Wylie: ''chos kyi grags pa''), was an influential Indian Buddhist philosopher who worked at Nālandā.Tom Tillemans (2011)Dharmakirti Stanford ...
. However, unlike Dharmakirti and other Tibetan Buddhists who followed the Yogacara-Madhyamaka of
Śāntarakṣita
(Sanskrit; , 725–788),stanford.eduŚāntarakṣita (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)/ref> whose name translates into English as "protected by the One who is at peace" was an important and influential Indian Buddhist philosopher, particul ...
(725–788), the Kadampas (following Candrakirti) instead defended a form of realism regarding conventional truth. Thus they accepted the existence of external objects conventionally.
[Emmanuel, Steven M. (2015) ''A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy,'' p. 405. John Wiley & Sons.]
Kadam madhyamika philosopher-translators from Sangpu, like
Ngog Loden Sherab (1059-1109) and Chaba Chokyi Senge (1109-1169) translated and produced works on madhyamaka and on epistemology (''pramāṇa''). These philosophical works were influential on later Tibetan Buddhist philosophy.
Their work had a lasting impact on Tibetan Buddhist scholasticism and by the 12th century, their study curriculum had become part of mainstream Buddhist study in
Central Tibet
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
. It was also at Sangpu that
Sonam Tsemo
Sonam Tsemo (; 1142–1182) (or Lobpon Rinpoche Sonam Tsemo), an important Tibetan sprititual leader and Buddhist scholar, was the second of the so-called Five Venerable Supreme Sakya Masters of Tibet, the founding fathers of the Sakya tradition ...
(1142–1182), one of the founders of the
Sakya
The ''Sakya'' (, 'pale earth') school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat Orders along with the Nyingma and Kagyu.
Origins
Virūpa, 16th century. It depict ...
tradition, studied under Chapa Chokyi Senge.
Another important commentator on madhyamaka,
Patsab Nyima Drakpa Patsab Nyima Drakpa (Tib. པ་ཚབ་ཉི་མ་གྲགས་པ་, Wyl. ''pa tshab nyi ma grags pa'') (1055-1145?) was a Tibetan Buddhist scholar and translator of the Sarma (New Translation) era. He was a monk at Sangpu monastery and t ...
(1055-1145?), was also a Sangpu monastery monk who had studied in
Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
as well.
[Davidson, Ronald M. (2008). ''Tibetan Renaissance: Tantric Buddhism in the Rebirth of Tibetan Culture'', p. 279. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.] Patsab's commentary on Nagarjuna's ''
Mulamadhyamakakarika'' seems to be the first Tibetan commentary on this work. His interpretation was based on
Candrakirti
Chandrakirti (; ; , meaning "glory of the moon" in Sanskrit) or "Chandra" was a Buddhist scholar of the madhyamaka school and a noted commentator on the works of Nagarjuna () and those of his main disciple, Aryadeva. He wrote two influential w ...
's method (which Patsab labeled ''thal 'gyur ba'' i.e.
''prāsaṅgika'') and this differed from that of Ngog and Chaba's ''rang rgyud pa'' or ''svātantrika''.
One of Patsab's students,
Mabja Changchub Tsöndrü, became known for his influential commentary on Nagarjuna's ''Mulamadhyamakakarika''.
Oral transmissions and essential instructions
Two other important early Kadampa lineages were the Kadam oral transmissions (''man ngag'') lineage entrusted to Phu-chungwa Shönu Gyaltsen (1031-1106) and the Kadam essential instructions (''gdams ngag'') lineage obtained by Chengawa Tsültrim Bar (1033-1103). According to Jinpa "Chengawa’s Kadam lineage of essential instructions emphasizes an approach whereby Atisa's essential instructions, rather than classical treatises, are the key basis for practice. These instructions include the guide on the four truths as transmitted through Chengawa, the guide on the two truths as transmitted through Naljorpa, and the guide on dependent origination as transmitted through Phuchungwa."
[Jinpa, Thupten (2014) ''The Book of Kadam: The Core Texts,'' p. 9. Simon and Schuster.]
Phu-chungwa's oral transmission lineage focused on studying the teachings found in ''The Book of Kadam''.
These instructions were passed down only to one student in each generation in a single transmission until the secrecy was lifted at the time of Narthang Shönu Lodrö. Later these teachings were incorporated into the
Karma Kamtsang Kagyu lineage by Pal Tsuglak Trengwa and into the
Gelug
file:DalaiLama0054 tiny.jpg, 240px, 14th Dalai Lama, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya, Bodhgaya (India).
The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous ...
lineage by the
1st Dalai Lama
Gedun Drupa (; 1391–1474) was considered posthumously to have been the 1st Dalai Lama.
Biography
Gedun Drupa was born in a cow-shed in Gyurmey Rupa near Sakya in the Tsang region of central Tibet, the son of Gonpo Dorjee and Jomo Namkha ...
.
Lamrim
The Kadam school was also known for their gradual step by step schema to the Mahayana Buddhist path, which are recorded in texts known as
“steps of the path” (''lam rim'') or “stages of the doctrine” (''bstan rim''). They typically divided Buddhist practitioners into three types, culminating with
tantra
Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...
and
Buddhahood
In Buddhism, Buddha (; Pali, Sanskrit: 𑀩𑀼𑀤𑁆𑀥, बुद्ध), "awakened one", is a title for those who are awake, and have attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point out ...
. Atiśa’s ''
Bodhipathapradīpa ''Bodhipathapradīpa'' (''A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment'') is a Buddhist text composed in Sanskrit by the 11th-century teacher Atiśa and widely considered his magnum opus. The text reconciles the doctrines of many various Buddhist schools a ...
'' is the