Atisha

Atisha

Atiśa Dīpaṃkara (T. ཨ་ཏི་ཤ་དཱི་པཾ་ཀ་ར།) (982 - 1054 CE), a.k.a. Atīśa Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna, was an Indian Buddhist scholar who is revered by Tibetan Buddhists as a leading teacher in the later dissemination (phyi dar) of Buddhism in Tibet.

The Princeton Dictionary states:

Born into a royal family in what is today Bangladesh, Atiśa studied Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy and tantra as a married layman prior to being ordained at the age of twenty-nine, receiving the ordination name of Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna. After studying at the great monasteries of northern India, including Nālandā, Odantapurī, Vikramaśīla, and Somapura, he is said to have journeyed to the island of Sumatra, where he studied under the Cittamātra teacher Dharmakīrtiśrī (also known as guru Sauvarṇadvīpa) for twelve years; he would later praise Dharmakīrtiśrī as a great teacher of bodhicitta. Returning to India, he taught at the Indian monastic university of Vikramaśīla.

Atiśa was invited to Tibet by the rulers of the Western Tibetan kingdom of Guge (Yeshe O and his nephew Jangchub O). He arrived in Tibet in 1042 and shortly afterwards composed the Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (Bodhipathapradīpa), a treatise on the stages of the path. Atisha remained in Tibet until his death in 1054 CE, teaching and translating texts. He was instrumental in reinvigorating Buddhism in Tibet after a period of persecution. His disciples founded the Kadampa school.

Thupten Jinpa states:

Atiśa’s journey to Tibet, his long and close relationship with his principal disciple Dromtönpa, his composition of the highly influential work Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment, his contributions to the translation into Tibetan of major Indian Buddhist classics, and his critical role in what came to be later defined as the “latter dissemination of Buddhism in Tibet” are all well chronicled.

Atisha's influence on the lojong teachings

According to Thupten Jinpa, the Tibetan tradition attributes the origin of the Tibetan mind training (lojong) tradition to Atisha.

Thupten Jinpa states:

One critical element of the traditional account of the origins of the mind training teaching is the story of the “three masters” from whom Atiśa is said to have received instructions on awakening mind. [...] According to this story, Atiśa received instructions on the generation of awakening mind from three different Indian masters. The first is the teacher Dharmarakṣita, a yogi who happened to uphold the philosophical standpoint of the Vaibhāṣika school and whose compassion was so great that he once cut off a piece of his own flesh and gave it to a sick man as medicine. The second is Kusalī Jr., a dedicated yogi of Maitreya, who is therefore sometimes called Maitrīyogi. Finally, there is Serlingpa Dharmakīrti, whom Atiśa is said to have deliberately sought by braving a twelve-month sea voyage to the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Atiśa’s also composed a short mind training text, entitled the Bodhisattva’s Jewel Garland.

Atisha's main students

Ringu Tulku states:

Chief among the Tibetan students of Jowo Je Atisha were Khu, Ngok, and Drom, who were renowned as emanations of the three main bodhisattvas—Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri, and Vajrapani.

The first of these was the teacher from the Khu family, Khutön Tsöndru Yungdrung. Khutön was famous for reviving the monastery of Yarlung Sölnak Thangpoche. This monastery had been established by the master Drumer, who lived during the time of the great Vinaya teacher Lu-me, at the beginning of the later spreading of the dharma in Tibet. Khu made this monastery his center and nurtured the teachings there.

The second of Atisha’s main students was Ngok Legpe Sherab. In the Iron Pig year, 1071, Ngok established the dharma center of Sangphu Neuthok and cultivated the teachings there. Later on, this institute was developed further by his nephew, the great translator Ngok Loden Sherab, and it became the source of all the Tibetan shedras, or centers for advanced study.

Atisha’s third main student was the teacher from Drom named Dromtön Gyalwe Jungne. He established Radreng Monastery in the north, and he nurtured the dharma there. He had countless students, but the main ones were the great spiritual masters Putowa, Chengawa, and Phuchungwa, who were called the Three Kadampa Brothers.

Traditional stories about Atisha

On integrating the teachings

Ringu Tulku states:

After he arrived in Tibet, Atisha asked his translator what he had studied. The translator gave a long list of the sutras, tantras, and commentaries he had received. Atisha was very impressed and wondered why the Tibetans had felt a need to invite him to their country. Then, Atisha asked the translator how he practiced all those teachings, and the translator replied that he practiced each one according to the instructions in that particular teaching. When he heard this, Atisha realized that Tibetans certainly did need him, because they didn’t understand how all the teachings are practiced with the same view.

A good teacher knows that all the Buddhist teachings are valid ways of working with the mind. The teacher sees how they fit together, and that there is no contradiction between them. Someone with this understanding sets the right example.

Atisha's six questions for Chenrezik

According to the Kagyu tradition of Gampopa, Atisha once had a student who had clear visions of Avalokiteshvara, or Chenrezik in Tibetan. Atisha advised the student to ask Chenrezik six questions.

Ringu Tulku states:

Gampopa tells a very nice story. Once there was a novice monk in India who went to the great siddha Dombipa, one of the eighty-four mahasiddhas.1 Dombipa is renowned for riding a tiger in the sky. When the monk went to see Dombipa, he made prostrations, offered a mandala, and supplicated Dombipa, who asked him, “What do you want?”

The novice monk said, “Please give me some instructions.”

Dombipa replied, “No, I’m sorry. You have no karmic connection with me. Go to my student Atisha and ask him for instructions. You do have a karmic link with him.”

So, the novice monk went to Atisha Dipankara, the great teacher who is known in Tibet as Jowo Je. The monk said, “Your teacher Dombipa said I should come to you. Kindly give me some instructions.”

Atisha gave him a small sadhana, or liturgical practice, of Chenrezik, along with instructions on how to practice it. The monk practiced this sadhana so well that he had all the signs of accomplishing Chenrezik. He had visions of Chenrezik, he heard sound as Chenrezik, and he could touch Chenrezik. He became so accomplished in his practice that he could ask questions to Chenrezik, which Chenrezik would answer.

After a while, the monk went back to Atisha Dipankara and said, “It’s like this: I can talk to Chenrezik and question him about anything. But what should I ask?”

Atisha told the monk to ask these six questions:

1. What is the essence of all dharma practice?

2. What causes obstacles?

3. What should we emphasize in practice?

4. Among all the views, which view is the most important?

5. How many consciousnesses are there?

6. What causes the perfection of the accumulations?

The student thanked Atisha, went and meditated on Chenrezik, and asked the questions. In reply, Chenrezik answered them one by one.

Chenrezik gave the following responses to each question:

1. The essence of all dharma practice is bodhichitta.
2. Obstacles are caused by ripening karmic effects. Even the tiniest ordinary action becomes a hindrance when it ripens.
3. The emphasis in practice should be on karmic cause and result.
4. Among all the views, the most important view is the right view.
5. As for the number of consciousnesses, you could say there are six or you could say there are eight. Or, if they are grouped together, you could say there is one. For example, consciousness is like a monkey inside a house with many windows.
6. The accumulations are perfected by the paramita of wisdom.

On karma, acknowledging mistakes, and regret

Ringu Tulku states:

Another important point about karma is connected with regret. When you do something wrong, regret is the most important aspect for purification. But sometimes students confuse regret with being hard on themselves. It is important to recognize that what you did was wrong, and clearly see that you shouldn’t do it again. But punishing yourself does not purify anything. Rather than being focused on negativity, purification happens from doing positive things, from creating positive karma. This is a much better approach.

The instruction is this: recognize what you have done wrong, make a resolution not to do it again, and then do something positive to purify the wrongdoing. You need to let go of the negativity. Just as in Vajrasattva practice, letting go of negative deeds and negative feelings becomes a strong purification.

There is a story about this from the time of Atisha Dipankara. When Atisha came to Tibet, he was asked by one of the monks, “If I do something wrong and break one of my vows, what should I do?” Atisha asked him, “Where are you living now?” The monk said he was living in retreat in a cave. Atisha said, “Okay, if you break a vow, go to Sangphu Monastery and publicly say, ‘I have broken this vow.’ Then go to Samye Monastery and again say to everyone, ‘I have broken this vow.’ Then go to Lhasa and say, ‘I have broken this vow.’ After that, go back to your retreat place and act as if you had never broken the vow.”

In other words, when you have done something wrong, you shouldn’t agonize over it for the rest of your life. Dwelling on it doesn’t help. This can make you uptight and worried about doing every little thing wrong. This makes it difficult to practice. Practice should not be a burden; practice should be a joy. If you get distressed about making a mistake, your practice will never be a joy. So you need to make a confession, then let it go and act as if it never happened.

We need to be realistic and keep our feet on the ground. It’s important to form the resolve not to do a negative deed again, but it’s also important to recognize that everyone makes mistakes. This doesn’t mean that what you do is inconsequential. It’s important to recognize that negative deeds are not good for yourself and not good for others. So, do take care. But when a negative thought comes into your mind, you don’t need to panic. It can’t be the first negative thought you ever had! Okay, it appeared. So what? Let it come and let it go. Let it go as quickly as possible. Then, it’s okay.

On having multiple teachers and identifying your root guru

Ringu Tulku states:

Sometimes people ask, “How can I tell who is my root guru?” I would say that your root guru is whoever has given you the teachings and guidance that have helped you the most. There is a story about Atisha Dipankara, who had fifty different teachers. When anyone would mention his teachers, he would immediately fold his hands and bow his head in respect. But when anyone mentioned the name of Serlingpa, his teacher from Indonesia, Atisha would bow down and shed tears. People asked him why he did that, and he said, “It is because Serlingpa was the one who helped me to generate bodhichitta. It is due to his teachings and guidance that compassion has arisen in me. I have the greatest respect for him. This is what makes him my root guru.”

Another question I often hear in the West is whether you should have only one root guru, because if you were to have many gurus, you might get confused. From my point of view, you are not limited to only one lama. It’s not like dating several women but being allowed to marry only one. It’s fine to receive teachings from only one lama, but if you receive teachings from two lamas, it might be even better.

The main reason I don’t believe in having only one guru is that I personally have many root gurus. I have received many teachings, not only from Kagyu lineage lamas but from Nyingma, Sakya, and Geluk lamas. In all that time, I have not heard contradictory teachings from any of them. The genuine dharma is without contradiction.

It is also okay to have only one root teacher. If you find a very good teacher, and you remain with that teacher, there is nothing wrong with that. If you like to study with many teachers, and you find more than one root teacher, that is also fine.

Writings

Atisha's most notable books are:

• Bodhipathapradīpa (Lamp for the Path of Awakening)
• Bodhipathapradīpa-pañjīka-nama (his auto-commentary of Lamp for the Path of Awakening)
• Bodhisattvamaṇyāvalī (The Bodhisattva’s Garland of Jewels)
• Charyasamgrahapradipa (contains some kirtan verses composed by Atiśa)
• Satyadvayavatara
• Madhyamakaratnapradipa
• Mahayanapathasadhanasangraha
• Shiksasamuccaya Abhisamya
• Prajnaparamitapindarthapradipa
• Ekavirasadhana
• Vimalaratnalekha, a Sanskrit letter to Nayapala, king of Magadha.

Sources

• Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University 
• Patrul Rinpoche (1998), Words of My Perfect Teacher, translated by Padmakara Translation Group, Altamira Press 
• Ringu Tulku (2006), The Ri-Me Philosophy of Jamgon Kungtrul the Great, Shambhala 
• Ringu Tulku (2012), Confusion Arises as Wisdom, Shambhala 

Further reading

• Atiśa Dīpaṃkara, Treasury of Lives

• Atiśa, Tsadra Foundation Commons
• Atisha, Wikipedia
• Media related to Atisha at Wikimedia Commons
• Atiśa Dipamkara on Banglapedia
• Atisha, Wikipedia
• Alaka Chattopadhyaya (1981), Atisa and Tibet: Life and Works of Dipamkara Srijnana, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
• Khenpo Konchog Gyaltsen, Great Kagyu Masters: The Golden Lineage Treasury, Snow Lion Publications
• Geshe Sonam Rinchen, Atiśa's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment, Snow Lion Publications
• Khyentse, Dilgo (1993). 'Enlightened Courage. Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 1-55939-023-9.