Kadampa
Encyclopedia
The Kadampa tradition was a Tibetan Mahayana
Buddhist school. Dromtön
pa, a Tibetan lay master and the foremost disciple of the great India
n Buddhist Master Atisha
(982-1054), founded it and passed three lineages to his disciples. The Kadampa were quite famous and respected for their proper and earnest Dharma
practice. The most evident teachings of that tradition were the teachings on Bodhicitta
(later these special presentations became known as Lojong
(Blo-ljong)) and Lamrim
(Stages of the Path) by Atisha
.
Lama Dromtonpa transmitted the various lineages of Atisha by dividing them between The Three Noble Brothers. To one he gave the scriptural traditions, to the second the oral transmissions, and to the third the pith instructions. The Three Noble Brothers are: Geshe Potowa (Potowa Rinchen Sal), Geshe Chenngawa (Chengawa Tsultrim Bar) and Geshe Phuchungwa (Phuchungwa Shönu Gyaltsen).
Dromtonpa founded Reting Monastery
(Wylie: Rwa-sgreng) in 1056 in Reting Tsampo Valley north of Lhasa, which was thereafter the seat of the lineage. The nearby Phenpo Chu and Gyama Valleys were also home to Kadampa monasteries.
The six Kadam treatises he held are:
It is the tradition to read at the Great Prayer Festival (Monlam) the fifth of these, A Garland of Birth Stories, during the morning session. It was also the tradition of the Kadampas to teach the two texts Jatakamala and Udanavarga together and when they taught Shantideva
's Bodhisattvacharyavatara they taught the Shikshasamucchaya too.
The scriptural traditions were of two main types: those dealing with ultimate reality and the wisdom of emptiness; and those dealing with conventional reality and the vast Bodhimind (Skt. Bodhicitta
) activities.
The six Kadam treatises were mainly used to elucidate the nature of the bodhisattva
's vast activities. Those dealing with the ultimate wisdom of emptiness, the principal texts stressed here were Nagarjuna
's six treatises on emptiness philosophy, such as The Root of Wisdom (Skt. Mulamadhyamakakarika
) and so forth, together with the commentaries to them by the later Indian masters; and also Atisha's own commentaries on the middle view and on the nature of the two truths. These were the principal scriptures studied in the Old Kadam School.
. One of his students, Jayulwa, inherited a special practice lineage which was called Chenga Kague and became a part of the Dagpo Kagyu lineage.
Kagyu
lineage by Pal Tsuglak Trengwa and into the Gelug
lineage by the First Dalai Lama, Gyalwa Gedun Drup
.
, Theg-chen-blo-sbyong-gi-gdampa-pa). According to the 1st Dalai Lama
Atisha had received three lines of Lojong transmission, but there are conflicting accounts of from whom. It is agreed that he received teachings in Sumatra
, Indonesia
, from a master called Serlingpa (Wylie: gSer-gling-pa) by Tibetans. It is also agreed that he received teachings from a master named Dharmarakshita. However, sometimes Serlingpa is identified as Dharmamati of Suvarnadvipa, and sometimes as Dharmarakshita. In the former case, Dharmarakshita is identified as a scholar at the monastic university of Odantipuri. The final main Lojong teacher is the Indian master Maitriyogi. Atisha secretly transmitted them to his main disciple, Lama Dromtonpa.
During the time of The Three Noble Kadampa Brothers many of these oral teachings were collected together and compiled into the text Stages of the Doctrine (Lamrim
; tib.: sTan-rim). Yet at the time the lineages from Atisha’s Indonesian master Dharmakirti (the Lojong - Teachings on how to train in Bodhichitta) were still kept secret.
When the time was sufficiently mature, the Lojong Teachings were publicly revealed. First Geshe Kham Lungpa published Eight Sessions for Training the Mind (Tib., bLo-sbyong-thun-brgyad-ma), then Geshe Langri Tangpa
(1054–1123) wrote Eight Verses for Training the Mind (Tib., bLo-sbyong-tshig-brgyad-ma). After this, Sangye Gompa composed A Public Explanation (Tib., Tshogs-bshad-ma) and Geshe Chekhawa
(1102–1176) wrote Seven Points for Training the Mind (Tib., bLo-sbyong-don-bdun-ma).
In this manner, the Lojong Oral Transmission Teachings gradually emerged and became known to the public. Before being revealed, the secret lineage was as follows: Dharmarakshita-> Atisha-> Dromtonpa -> Potowa -> Sharawa (1070–1141) -> Chekhawa (1101–1175). From Khamlungpa, Langri Tangpa
and Chekhawa onwards they became public and later they were integrated into all four Tibetan Buddhist Schools. (These Kadampa-Lojong texts were brought together into the anthology A Hundred Texts on Training the Mind (Tib. bLo-byong-brgya-rtsa)).
It is said in the Tibetan Tradition of Buddhism that the holder of the Kadam lineage have their bodies adorned with the four deities (Shakyamuni, Avalokiteshvara, Tara and Achala), their speech adorned with the three Pitakas (Vinaya
, Sutra
, Abhidharma
) and their minds adorned with the practice of the three trainings (ethical discipline, meditation and wisdom). It is said the Kadampas practiced Seven Divine Dharmas: The four deities and the three trainings of the three pitikas. The Kadampas mainly emphasised the Sutra path (the union of compassion and wisdom).
In general it can be stated the teachings of the Kadampas are upheld by the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
a reformer, collected all the three Kadam lineages and integrated them, along with Sakya
, Kagyu
and other teachings, into his presentation of the doctrine
. The pervasive influence of Tsongkhapa was such that the Kadampas that followed were known as "New Kadampa
s" (Tib. Sarma Kadampa) or, more commonly, as the Gelug
school, while those who preceded him became retroactively known as "Old Kadampas," or simply as "Kadampas."
The Kadam tradition ceased to exist as an independent tradition by the end of the 16th century. The three other Tibetan Buddhist schools (Nyingma
, Sakya
, Kagyu
) also integrated the Lojong (Blo-sbyong) teachings into their lineages. Gampopa
(Sgam-po-pa), who studied for six years within the Kadam Tradition and became later the main disciple of Milarepa
(Mi-la ras-pa), included the Lojong and Lamrim
teachings in his lineage, the Karma Kagyu (Ka-rma Bka'-brgyud) Lineage.
Nowadays the Gelug
tradition keeps and transmits the Kadam lineage of the Scriptural Traditions of the Six Canonical Texts. Together with Dagpo Kagyu Tradition they keep and transmit The Pith Instructions of the Sixteen Essences, and the Dagpo Kagyu Tradition keeps and transmits the Key Instructions of the Four Noble Truths.
One of the most important sayings of the Kadam masters is said to be
(Bskal-bzang Rgya-mtsho), a Buddhist monk trained at Sera Monastery
, a Gelug
university in Je Tsongkhapa's tradition, founded a spiritual organization which he named the "New Kadampa Tradition - International Kadampa Buddhist Union" (NKT-IKBU).
As mentioned above, Je Tsongkhapa referred to his monastic order as "the New Kadam." The term Gelug came into use only after his death. The NKT-IKBU explains that they are independent of other contemporary Tibetan Buddhist centers and Tibetan politics, although they are in the same tradition as the Gelugpas (i.e., New Kadampas). They explain that the purpose of using the term "Kadampa Buddhism" is not to introduce confusion about the origins of these teachings, but to encourage students to emulate the purity and sincerity of the ancient Kadampas.
Mahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
Buddhist school. Dromtön
Dromtön
Dromtön Gyalwe Jungney was the chief disciple of Buddhist master Atisha. He was born in Tolung at the beginning of the period of the second propagation of Buddhism in Tibet. He began preaching in the Tibetan region in 1042...
pa, a Tibetan lay master and the foremost disciple of the great India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Buddhist Master Atisha
Atisha
Atiśa Dipankara Shrijnana was a Buddhist teacher from the Pala Empire who, along with Konchog Gyalpo and Marpa, was one of the major figures in the establishment of the Sarma lineages in Tibet after the repression of Buddhism by King Langdarma .- Birth :Atisha is most commonly said to have been...
(982-1054), founded it and passed three lineages to his disciples. The Kadampa were quite famous and respected for their proper and earnest Dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
practice. The most evident teachings of that tradition were the teachings on Bodhicitta
Bodhicitta
In Buddhism, bodhicitta jang chub sem, Mongolian бодь сэтгэл) is the intention to achieve omniscient Buddhahood as fast as possible, so that one may benefit infinite sentient beings...
(later these special presentations became known as Lojong
Lojong
Lojong is a mind training practice in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition based on a set of aphorisms formulated in Tibet in the 12th century by Geshe Chekhawa...
(Blo-ljong)) and Lamrim
Lamrim
Lamrim 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, presented by different teachers of the Nyingma, Kagyu and Gelug schools...
(Stages of the Path) by Atisha
Atisha
Atiśa Dipankara Shrijnana was a Buddhist teacher from the Pala Empire who, along with Konchog Gyalpo and Marpa, was one of the major figures in the establishment of the Sarma lineages in Tibet after the repression of Buddhism by King Langdarma .- Birth :Atisha is most commonly said to have been...
.
Kadam lineages
After the death of Atisha (1054) his main disciple Lama Dromtonpa (Drom-tön Gyal-we Jungne, 1005–1064) organized his transmissions into the legacy known as "The Four Divinities and Three Dharmas" - a tradition whereby an individual practitioner could perceive all doctrines of the Sutras and Tantras as non-contradictory and could personally apply them all as complementary methods for the accomplishment of enlightenment. Eventually this lineage came to be known as Atisha's Kadam Tradition, the Marvellous Legacy of Seven Divine Dharmas.Lama Dromtonpa transmitted the various lineages of Atisha by dividing them between The Three Noble Brothers. To one he gave the scriptural traditions, to the second the oral transmissions, and to the third the pith instructions. The Three Noble Brothers are: Geshe Potowa (Potowa Rinchen Sal), Geshe Chenngawa (Chengawa Tsultrim Bar) and Geshe Phuchungwa (Phuchungwa Shönu Gyaltsen).
Dromtonpa founded Reting Monastery
Reting Monastery
Reting Monastery is an historically important Buddhist monastery in Lhünzhub County in the Lhasa Prefecture of central Tibet. It is also commonly spelled "Radreng."...
(Wylie: Rwa-sgreng) in 1056 in Reting Tsampo Valley north of Lhasa, which was thereafter the seat of the lineage. The nearby Phenpo Chu and Gyama Valleys were also home to Kadampa monasteries.
Scriptural traditions lineage
Geshe Putowa (1031–1106) received the transmission and responsibility to hold the teachings of the scriptural traditions, the six Kadampa treatises and hidden verbal transmission of both sutra and tantra from Dromtonpa.The six Kadam treatises he held are:
- The Bodhisattva Stages (SanskritSanskritSanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
(Skt). Bodhisattvabhumi) by AsangaAsangaAsaṅga was a major exponent of the Yogācāra tradition in India, also called Vijñānavāda. Traditionally, he and his half-brother Vasubandhu are regarded as the founders of this school... - An Ornament of the Mahayana Sutras (Skt. Mahayanasutraalamkara) by MaitreyaMaitreyaMaitreya , Metteyya , or Jampa , is foretold as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he or she is referred to as Ajita Bodhisattva.Maitreya is a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on...
/Asanga - A Compendium of Bodhisattva Trainings (Skt. Shikshasamucchaya) by ShantidevaShantidevaShantideva was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar at Nalanda University and an adherent of the Madhyamaka philosophy of Nagarjuna....
- A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way (Skt. Bodhisattvacharyavatara) by Shantideva
- A Garland of Birth Stories (Skt. Jatakamala) by AryadevaAryadevaAryadeva , was a disciple of Nagarjuna and author of several important Mahayana Madhyamaka Buddhist texts. He is also known as Kanadeva the 15th patriarch in the Zen tradition and Bodhisattva Deva in Sri Lanka where he was born as the son of a king. Some Chinese sources however, suggest he was...
, and - The Collected Sayings of the Buddha (Skt. Udanavarga) - the Tibetan Dhammapada by Dharmatrata.
It is the tradition to read at the Great Prayer Festival (Monlam) the fifth of these, A Garland of Birth Stories, during the morning session. It was also the tradition of the Kadampas to teach the two texts Jatakamala and Udanavarga together and when they taught Shantideva
Shantideva
Shantideva was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar at Nalanda University and an adherent of the Madhyamaka philosophy of Nagarjuna....
's Bodhisattvacharyavatara they taught the Shikshasamucchaya too.
The scriptural traditions were of two main types: those dealing with ultimate reality and the wisdom of emptiness; and those dealing with conventional reality and the vast Bodhimind (Skt. Bodhicitta
Bodhicitta
In Buddhism, bodhicitta jang chub sem, Mongolian бодь сэтгэл) is the intention to achieve omniscient Buddhahood as fast as possible, so that one may benefit infinite sentient beings...
) activities.
The six Kadam treatises were mainly used to elucidate the nature of the bodhisattva
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
's vast activities. Those dealing with the ultimate wisdom of emptiness, the principal texts stressed here were Nagarjuna
Nagarjuna
Nāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...
's six treatises on emptiness philosophy, such as The Root of Wisdom (Skt. Mulamadhyamakakarika
Mulamadhyamakakarika
The Mūlamadhyamakakārikā , or Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way, is a key text by Nagarjuna, one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.-Competing interpretations:...
) and so forth, together with the commentaries to them by the later Indian masters; and also Atisha's own commentaries on the middle view and on the nature of the two truths. These were the principal scriptures studied in the Old Kadam School.
Oral transmissions lineage
Geshe Chenngawa (Chengawa Tsultrim Bar) received the transmission and responsibility to hold the oral tradition of instructions (oral transmission). These teachings were mainly dealing with the Four Noble TruthsFour Noble Truths
The Four Noble Truths are an important principle in Buddhism, classically taught by the Buddha in the Dharmacakra Pravartana Sūtra....
. One of his students, Jayulwa, inherited a special practice lineage which was called Chenga Kague and became a part of the Dagpo Kagyu lineage.
Pith instructions lineage
Geshe Phuchungwa (Phuchungwa Shönu Gyaltsen) received the transmission and responsibility to hold the teachings of the pith instructions of the Sixteen Circles of the Kadampa. As a support he received also the empowerments, instructions, and secret teachings of the Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (Skt: Bodhi Pradipa, Tib: byang chhub lam gi rdon mey). The pith instructions lineage has its root in the secret oral teachings of Atisha and are embodied in The Precious Book of the Kadampa Masters: A Jewel Rosary of Profound Instructions on the Bodhisattva Way. This text is seen as the main text of the Kadampas. 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 KamtsangKarma Kagyu
Karma Kagyu , or Kamtsang Kagyu, is probably the largest and certainly the most widely practiced lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, Mongolia, India, Nepal, and Bhutan, and current...
Kagyu
Kagyu
The Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today regarded as one of six main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other five being the Nyingma, Sakya, Jonang, Bon and Gelug...
lineage by Pal Tsuglak Trengwa and into the Gelug
Gelug
The Gelug or Gelug-pa , also known as the Yellow Hat sect, is a school of Buddhism founded by Je Tsongkhapa , a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader...
lineage by the First Dalai Lama, Gyalwa Gedun Drup
Gendun Drup, 1st Dalai Lama
Gendun Drup , also known as Gendun Drub and Kundun Drup, is considered retrospectively to be the first of the Dalai Lamas of Tibet, who are believed to be reincarnations of Chenresig , the Bodhisattva of Compassion.Gendun Drup was born in a cowshed in Gyurmey Rupa, near Sakya in the Tsang region of...
.
Lojong lineage
These oral tradition teachings are generally known as The Instructions for Training the Mind in the Mahayana Tradition (TibetanTibetan language
The Tibetan languages are a cluster of mutually-unintelligible Tibeto-Burman languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering the Indian subcontinent, including the Tibetan Plateau and the northern Indian subcontinent in Baltistan, Ladakh,...
, Theg-chen-blo-sbyong-gi-gdampa-pa). According to the 1st Dalai Lama
Gendun Drup, 1st Dalai Lama
Gendun Drup , also known as Gendun Drub and Kundun Drup, is considered retrospectively to be the first of the Dalai Lamas of Tibet, who are believed to be reincarnations of Chenresig , the Bodhisattva of Compassion.Gendun Drup was born in a cowshed in Gyurmey Rupa, near Sakya in the Tsang region of...
Atisha had received three lines of Lojong transmission, but there are conflicting accounts of from whom. It is agreed that he received teachings in Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, from a master called Serlingpa (Wylie: gSer-gling-pa) by Tibetans. It is also agreed that he received teachings from a master named Dharmarakshita. However, sometimes Serlingpa is identified as Dharmamati of Suvarnadvipa, and sometimes as Dharmarakshita. In the former case, Dharmarakshita is identified as a scholar at the monastic university of Odantipuri. The final main Lojong teacher is the Indian master Maitriyogi. Atisha secretly transmitted them to his main disciple, Lama Dromtonpa.
During the time of The Three Noble Kadampa Brothers many of these oral teachings were collected together and compiled into the text Stages of the Doctrine (Lamrim
Lamrim
Lamrim 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, presented by different teachers of the Nyingma, Kagyu and Gelug schools...
; tib.: sTan-rim). Yet at the time the lineages from Atisha’s Indonesian master Dharmakirti (the Lojong - Teachings on how to train in Bodhichitta) were still kept secret.
When the time was sufficiently mature, the Lojong Teachings were publicly revealed. First Geshe Kham Lungpa published Eight Sessions for Training the Mind (Tib., bLo-sbyong-thun-brgyad-ma), then Geshe Langri Tangpa
Langri Tangpa
Geshe Langri Tangpa is an important figure in the lineage of the Kadampa and Gelug schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in Central Tibet, as Dorje Senge . His name derives from Langtang, the area in which he is said to have lived...
(1054–1123) wrote Eight Verses for Training the Mind (Tib., bLo-sbyong-tshig-brgyad-ma). After this, Sangye Gompa composed A Public Explanation (Tib., Tshogs-bshad-ma) and Geshe Chekhawa
Geshe Chekhawa
Geshe Chekhawa was a great Kadampa Buddhist meditation master who was the author of the celebrated root text, Training the Mind in Seven Points which is an explanation Buddha's instructions on training the mind or Lojong in Tibetan...
(1102–1176) wrote Seven Points for Training the Mind (Tib., bLo-sbyong-don-bdun-ma).
In this manner, the Lojong Oral Transmission Teachings gradually emerged and became known to the public. Before being revealed, the secret lineage was as follows: Dharmarakshita-> Atisha-> Dromtonpa -> Potowa -> Sharawa (1070–1141) -> Chekhawa (1101–1175). From Khamlungpa, Langri Tangpa
Langri Tangpa
Geshe Langri Tangpa is an important figure in the lineage of the Kadampa and Gelug schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in Central Tibet, as Dorje Senge . His name derives from Langtang, the area in which he is said to have lived...
and Chekhawa onwards they became public and later they were integrated into all four Tibetan Buddhist Schools. (These Kadampa-Lojong texts were brought together into the anthology A Hundred Texts on Training the Mind (Tib. bLo-byong-brgya-rtsa)).
Atisha's legacy
Je Atisha had three chief students. Besides the famous Dromtonpa (Drontön Gyalwe Jungne), who established the Radreng monastery, there were Khu (Khutön Tsöndru Yungdrang) and Ngok (Ngok Legpe Sherap). Ngok established the dharma center of Sangphu Neuthok and this institute was later developed further by his nephew, the translator, Ngok Loden Sherap and it became the source of all the Tibetan centers for advanced study (Shedra). Ngatso Lotsawa Tsultrim, a translator who brought Atisha to Tibet, and served him for 19 years was another important student of Atisha. Ngatso Lotsawa Tsultrim received teachings from Atisha, Jnana Akara and others, and his main lineage is called the Ngatso Kagyu.It is said in the Tibetan Tradition of Buddhism that the holder of the Kadam lineage have their bodies adorned with the four deities (Shakyamuni, Avalokiteshvara, Tara and Achala), their speech adorned with the three Pitakas (Vinaya
Vinaya
The Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...
, Sutra
Sutra
Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
, Abhidharma
Abhidharma
Abhidharma or Abhidhamma are ancient Buddhist texts which contain detailed scholastic and scientific reworkings of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist Sutras, according to schematic classifications...
) and their minds adorned with the practice of the three trainings (ethical discipline, meditation and wisdom). It is said the Kadampas practiced Seven Divine Dharmas: The four deities and the three trainings of the three pitikas. The Kadampas mainly emphasised the Sutra path (the union of compassion and wisdom).
In general it can be stated the teachings of the Kadampas are upheld by the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
Later developments
Tsongkhapa (Btsong-ka-pa)Je Tsongkhapa
Tsongkhapa , whose name means “The Man from Onion Valley”, was a famous teacher of Tibetan Buddhism whose activities led to the formation of the Geluk school...
a reformer, collected all the three Kadam lineages and integrated them, along with Sakya
Sakya
The Sakya school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug...
, Kagyu
Kagyu
The Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today regarded as one of six main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other five being the Nyingma, Sakya, Jonang, Bon and Gelug...
and other teachings, into his presentation of the doctrine
Doctrine
Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...
. The pervasive influence of Tsongkhapa was such that the Kadampas that followed were known as "New Kadampa
New Kadampa
The term New Kadampa is a synonym for the 14th century Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism, as founded by Je Tsongkhapa . Being a great admirer of the Kadampa teachings, Tsongkhapa was an enthusiastic promoter of the 11th century Kadampa school's emphasis on the graded path to enlightenment and...
s" (Tib. Sarma Kadampa) or, more commonly, as the Gelug
Gelug
The Gelug or Gelug-pa , also known as the Yellow Hat sect, is a school of Buddhism founded by Je Tsongkhapa , a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader...
school, while those who preceded him became retroactively known as "Old Kadampas," or simply as "Kadampas."
The Kadam tradition ceased to exist as an independent tradition by the end of the 16th century. The three other Tibetan Buddhist schools (Nyingma
Nyingma
The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...
, Sakya
Sakya
The Sakya school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug...
, Kagyu
Kagyu
The Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today regarded as one of six main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other five being the Nyingma, Sakya, Jonang, Bon and Gelug...
) also integrated the Lojong (Blo-sbyong) teachings into their lineages. Gampopa
Gampopa
Gampopa Sonam Rinchen "Sonam Rinchen from Gampo" — who was equally well known in Tibet as Dagpo Lhaje , Nyamed Dakpo Rinpoche , and Da'od Zhonnu , — establishedthe Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism today, as an...
(Sgam-po-pa), who studied for six years within the Kadam Tradition and became later the main disciple of Milarepa
Milarepa
Jetsun Milarepa , is generally considered one of Tibet's most famous yogis and poets. He was a student of Marpa Lotsawa, and a major figure in the history of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.- Life :...
(Mi-la ras-pa), included the Lojong and Lamrim
Lamrim
Lamrim 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, presented by different teachers of the Nyingma, Kagyu and Gelug schools...
teachings in his lineage, the Karma Kagyu (Ka-rma Bka'-brgyud) Lineage.
Nowadays the Gelug
Gelug
The Gelug or Gelug-pa , also known as the Yellow Hat sect, is a school of Buddhism founded by Je Tsongkhapa , a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader...
tradition keeps and transmits the Kadam lineage of the Scriptural Traditions of the Six Canonical Texts. Together with Dagpo Kagyu Tradition they keep and transmit The Pith Instructions of the Sixteen Essences, and the Dagpo Kagyu Tradition keeps and transmits the Key Instructions of the Four Noble Truths.
One of the most important sayings of the Kadam masters is said to be
New Kadampa Tradition
To emphasize that he was training in the same spirit as Atisha's original disciples, Je Tsongkhapa named his school "the New Kadampa" (Tib. Kadam Sarma). In 1991, Kelsang GyatsoKelsang Gyatso
Kelsang Gyatso is a Buddhist monk, "meditation master, scholar, and author" of 22 books based on the teachings of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism...
(Bskal-bzang Rgya-mtsho), a Buddhist monk trained at Sera Monastery
Sera Monastery
Sera Monastery is one of the 'great three' Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet, located north of Lhasa. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Drepung Monastery. The origin of the name 'Sera' is attributed to a fact that the site where the monastery was built was surrounded by wild roses in...
, a Gelug
Gelug
The Gelug or Gelug-pa , also known as the Yellow Hat sect, is a school of Buddhism founded by Je Tsongkhapa , a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader...
university in Je Tsongkhapa's tradition, founded a spiritual organization which he named the "New Kadampa Tradition - International Kadampa Buddhist Union" (NKT-IKBU).
As mentioned above, Je Tsongkhapa referred to his monastic order as "the New Kadam." The term Gelug came into use only after his death. The NKT-IKBU explains that they are independent of other contemporary Tibetan Buddhist centers and Tibetan politics, although they are in the same tradition as the Gelugpas (i.e., New Kadampas). They explain that the purpose of using the term "Kadampa Buddhism" is not to introduce confusion about the origins of these teachings, but to encourage students to emulate the purity and sincerity of the ancient Kadampas.
Further reading
- Joyful Path of Good Fortune: The Complete Buddhist Path to Enlightenment, Tharpa PublicationsTharpa PublicationsTharpa Publications is "a major international and multilingual publisher of Buddhist books" by world renowned Buddhist author and scholar Geshe Kelsang Gyatso...
(2nd. ed., 1995) ISBN 978-0-948006-46-3 - Heart Jewel: The Essential Practices of Kadampa Buddhism, Tharpa PublicationsTharpa PublicationsTharpa Publications is "a major international and multilingual publisher of Buddhist books" by world renowned Buddhist author and scholar Geshe Kelsang Gyatso...
(2nd. ed., 1997) ISBN 978-0-948006-56-2