Monlam Pavillion, Bodhgaya,
8 February 2025

How Atisha Spread the True Dharma in Ngari
While Atisha was staying in Ngari there was a chaotic religious situation that arose in Tibet. Nonetheless, he disregarded all difficulties in order to bring people into the pure dharma, teaching and giving empowerments. Additionally, he translated many sutra and tantric texts, and also wrote a few treatises himself. Many people were ordained as monastics.

His Teachings on Karmic Cause and Effect
After Atisha arrived at Toding Monastery, Jangchub Öd (the nephew of Lha Lama Yeshe Öd, previously king of the Yarlung lineage) told him how the dharma kings had established the dharma in Tibet, how Langdarma had persecuted them, and then how his predecessor had, disregarding his own life, re-established the teachings. In fact, many false teachers had mixed up the teachings. Jangchup Öd’s eyes filled with tears, and he asked, “Instead of teaching the most profound and the most amazing dharma teachings in Tibet, please teach the dharma of cause and effect.” That pleased Atisha greatly. He replied:

The most profound dharma is cause and effect. It is even superior to gain stable conviction in karma than to see the face of the yidam deity. For example, in India, a yoga who practiced Yamantaka saw his deity’s face and thought, “Because of this, there won’t be a problem,” and he used the common articles of the sangha in any which way.  Consequently, he was born as a hungry ghost in a body that looked like Yamantaka.

He also told many other such stories. Atisha accepted Jangchup Öd’s suggestion and taught Tibetans extensively about karmic cause and effect. Thus people called him “Guru Karmic Cause and Effect”. Even that very name was extremely beneficial to the teachings. 

The Writing of the Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment
When the translator Rinchen Sangpo realized how great Atisha was, he decided to follow him as his guru. Everyone encouraged him, saying “Atisha has only one year to stay in Tibet, so get all the teachings you can.” In response, the venerable Lhatsun Jangchub Öd offered a copious amount of gold and said, “In this land of Tibet, individuals with misconceptions about Buddhism who have not met authentic spiritual teachers pretend to know what they don’t know and have made up a lot of false dharma as well when they debate each other. Please dispel their doubts.”
He asked a few questions about the common vehicles: two about the transcendences, and three about the Vajrayana. He requested him to write a treatise that summarized the entire teachings of Buddhism in a few words, related to his own practice. 
‘’There are pith instructions on the Guhyasamaja Tantra by Buddhajñāna, please write a sadhana with Avalokiteshvara as the main deity of the mandala’’. He made these two requests so earnestly that Atisha replied, ‘’Nagarjuna’s String of Jewels is already in Tibetan; that is enough, you won’t find anything better. There is the Samantabhadra sadhana.’’ Then he wrote the Lamp for the Path of Enlightenment. 
The Lamp for the Path is only 67 stanzas long. As Tsongkhapa says in his longer version of the Stages of the Path, it has three features: it summarizes the points of both sutra and tantra, so the topic is complete; because it focuses on stages of taming the mind, it is easy to practice; and it is adorned with the advice of two gurus who are learned in the two traditions: (Rigpe Khujug who was learned in Nagarjuna’s tradition and Survarandivpa who was learned in Asanga’s) so it is superior to others. The greatness of its instructions is that a) one can realize that the teachings do not conflict with each other; b) it gives instruction in all scriptures; c) one can easily find the intent of the Buddha; d) misconduct will naturally stop. These are its four qualities.
It is said that because Atisha wrote this text, it was not necessary to block forcefully the false dharma and incorrect mantra that had developed in Tibet; it just stopped naturally. And when Geshe Dromtönpa meditated on its meaning, developed it in his being, and practiced it, the teachings of the Lamp for the Path became truly established.  Without someone like Dromtönpa, it would be like Kamalashila’s Stages of Meditation—something that is only studied in the monasteries. This is Dromtönpa’s contribution. Once someone asked Dromtönpa, “Would it be good to have a commentary on The Lamp?” He replied, “This is not a commentary on the words. I am a student who received it directly from the author, so I am the commentary.”
In brief, in Jowo’s life story Path of Liberation it is said that Jangchub Öd asked seven questions. Following up on this, when Atisha went to Central Tibet, Khu, Ngok and others asked, “Can one achieve buddhahood when means and prajna are divorced or not?” Atisha replied, “Jangchup Őd asked most of those questions and they are in the Lamp for the Path.”
There two questions on the paramitas and three on tantra are clear, but to know what the two on the common path are, in Panchen Lobsang Chögyen’s commentary, it mentions a commentary by Nagtso. In that, it is said each of the seven questions are given. I have read a few old commentaries by Kadampa masters out of five or six. The questions and the answers are clearly written.  Panchen Lobsang Chogyen says, “The explanations of the text are detailed, and the ways beginners should practice are excellent.” 

Returning to India After Three Years Had Passed
As I mentioned earlier, before Atisha went to Tibet, Nagtso Lotsawa had made the oath to the elder bhikshu from Vikramashila, “After three years, I will definitely bring Atisha back to India.” When the three years were close to finishing, there was nothing Nagtso could do but remind Atisha that he needed to return to India. Atisha accepted. Then Atisha and his retinue went to Purang. After arriving in Purang, Jangchup Öd asked him to once again give dharma teachings and instructions, due to which Atisha wrote the Heart Treasure for the Heroes Who Long for Liberation. 

Meeting Dromtönpa
As I mentioned yesterday, while Atisha was in India, Tara had prophesied that if he went to Tibet, he would benefit a householder. That householder turned out to be Atisha’s most famous student, Dromtönpa Gyalwai  Jungne. Many historical documents write about how after Atisha went to Purang, Dromtönpa met him for the first time. Atisha always kept Tara’s prophecy in mind, but in his travels he had met no special householder, so he felt somewhat regretful. When he had arrived in Purang, Tara prophesied, “A great lay practitioner will soon arrive.” He waited for that lay practitioner every day.  
Where was Dromtönpa at that time? Originally, he lived in the area of Kham. He heard of Atisha’s fame while in Kham and traveled from Kham gradually. When he arrived in Purang and came close to Atisha’s residence, a sponsor had invited Atisha to his home, but Atisha had not returned. The people in Atisha’s house asked Dromtönpa , “Wait a bit, Atisha will come back soon.” so he waited in the area of the sponsor’s house. 
What is amazing is, it just happened as Atisha was leaving the sponsor’s house to return, that he met Dromtönpa in a narrow street. As soon as Dromtönpa saw him, Dromtönpa did a full prostration. Atisha was overjoyed, placed his head on Dromtönpa’s head, and recited many auspicious prayers in Sanskrit. The scene was extremely similar to Atisha’s meeting with Suvarnadvipa. Dromtönpa knew Sanskrit, so they had no difficulty conversing and making a connection. From the evening they met, Atisha and Dromtönpa stayed in the same bedroom. Though it is said in the Vinaya that a layperson and monastic may not stay together within the boundary of a monastery, because Atisha had gone forth in the Mahasamghika school, it was permissible if a curtain were hung between their beds.

How War in Nepal Blocked His Return
Nagtso thought that he must continue to bring Atisha back to India but war broke out in Nepal and they were unable to continue on their journey. They turned back to Tibet, planning to continue after the war came to an end. 
During that period, there were many Tibetans who thought that Atisha should not return to India but stay in Tibet instead, but no one was able to ask him, “Please stay.” Dromtönpa was quite skillful, and although he was unable to ask Atisha not to return to India but to stay in Tibet, every day he told him, “There are so many monasteries in Central Tibet and so many monastics.” As soon as Atisha heard this, he was delighted and said, “These days, there are not that many monastics in India. This is an extremely rare situation. If they would be pleased by my going there, I will think about traveling to Central Tibet. The reason is that I have made the commitment that in this lifetime, I shall do whatever the sangha directs me to do.” Once Dromtönpa knew the situation, he sent a letter to the important people and lamas in Central Tibet, encouraging them to invite Atisha to Central Tibet. 

Sending a Letter to India
At that time, Nagtso Lotsawa had made the promise to bring Atisha back to India, but was unable to because of the war in Nepal. He became extremely anxious, but Atisha reassured him, “Do not worry, you tried, but the situation did not turn out as you hoped. So you do not need to worry. We can send a letter to India explaining the situation.” Atisha sent a letter and a copy of his Lamp for the Path of Enlightenment together with some gold to India. The letter arrived in India, and the panditas gathered to discuss the manuscript of the Lamp for the Path of Enlightenment, but there is not enough time to discuss that today. 

Dromtönpa Sending Letters to Central Tibet
As I mentioned before, Dromtönpa had sent letters to important people and lamas in Central Tibet suggesting they invite Atisha. Dromtönpa wrote the actual names of many of these powerful lamas in the letter, including Bodhiraja and Ngok Lekpay Sherap, among others.
After the letters arrived in Central Tibet, the important people and lamas gathered and had a meeting to discuss the issue. But Dromtönpa had forgotten to write Lama Khutön’s name in the letter, so he was not invited to the meeting. Khutön was angry and said, “If you are going to ignore me like this, then I will invite him first.” He led some people and set off on horseback toward Ngari. Shortly afterward, the important people and lamas of Central Tibet also set out on the road. 
At that time, Atisha and his retinue had left Ngari heading south. When they were getting close to Central Tibet, the Tibetan great lamas came on horseback wearing cloaks and hats, looking very intimidating. Being Indian, Atisha had never seen such a sight before and exclaimed, “There are ghosts! Tibetan ghosts!” and quickly covered his head with his robe. Khutön’s party saw that the master had been frightened and were terrified. They quickly changed their robes and put on proper yellow dharma robes when they invited him to make Atisha feel comfortable. Each of the monks came before him, prostrated to him and bowed respectfully as they asked him to come to Central Tibet. Atisha smiled in delight and prostrated in reply. “The living conditions and robes of the Tibetan sangha are better than those of Indian bhikshus,” he said. 
There were so many invitations that Khutön became irate and rushed up to Dromtönpa. “In the letter you sent to the important people in Central Tibet,” he asked, “You didn’t write my name! Why?” When he was asked that so unexpectedly, Dromtönpa did not know how to reply and said, “I included your name. I wrote ‘Ngok Lotsawa et cetera,’ so you were included in the ‘et cetera.’” When he heard that, Khutön became even more irate and bellowed, “Is it right for him to include such an important person as me in an et cetera?” From then on, Khutön disliked Dromtönpa, and friction developed between the two of them. 
On the way to Central Tibet, Atisha planned to write a doha or spiritual song, but Dromtönpa said, “This is not appropriate for Tibetans.” Atisha then put it aside. Dromtönpa likely thought he must stop it because at that time incorrect mantra had spread widely, and Atisha had been invited to reform the teachings. Thus if he taught such profound mantra as this, people might possibly use it incorrectly. However, if one takes a long-term view, Atisha was learned in the tantras, and his not being able to give a good explanation of tantra at that time was a great loss for Tibet. I have heard that many scholars and practitioners say, for example, that Milarepa said how foolish Tibetans had prevented the teaching of the tantra. I wonder if this was what he meant. 

Traveling to Samye and Praising the Sage Mahabodhi
Atisha reached Central Tibet in 1047 when he was 66 years old and arrived at Samye. There is an anecdote that when Atisha was given a tour of Samye and saw the main statue of the Munendra Mahabodhi, he praised it by saying, “This is very much like the statue at the Mahabodhi in Bodh Gaya.” At that time, many Tibetan scholars heard that Atisha had gone to Samye and all went there themselves and requested a teaching on the Prajnaparamita in 25,000 Lines.

Establishing a Permanent Residence
In that period, Dromtönpa thought it necessary to establish a permanent residence for Atisha in a good location. At that time, there were four choices. One was in Yarlung, where Khutön lived, the second in the vicinity of Samye where he was staying, which was near Bodhiraja. Both Khutön and Bodhiraja shared one trait—they were both great men and therefore very proud. The third was Lhasa where Ngok Lotsawa lived. The fourth was the area of Nyetang where Bangtön lived. Comparing the latter two, the region of Nyethang was slightly better. For that reason, Dromtönpa sent a letter to Bangtön in which he wrote, “Your region of Nyethang has good land and good weather, too, so it is an appropriate place for Atisha to live permanently. Therefore, you must invite Atisha to Nyethang.” When Bangtön received the letter and saw what Dromtönpa had writte,n he announced to everyone, “This time Atisha must not go anywhere else. We all must take the responsibility and bring Atisha to Nyethang.” 
But what Dromtönpa had not thought of was that Khutön had, in secret, said to Atisha, “If Dromtönpa or someone like Bangtön provides you with a place to stay and living conditions, you will not have any opportunity to benefit beings. A person like me has the ability and resources to serve you. In addition, the region of Yarlung where I live has been the residence of many past kings. The mountains and rivers are beautiful, so you will be able to benefit many people. Not only that, but I can prepare separate summer and winter residences for you, where you will be warm in winter and cool in summer,” he promised. 

 Teaching Dharma in Tangpoche
Atisha and Dromtönpa then went their different ways. Dromtönpa and Bangtön went to Nyetang. Atisha went to Yarlung along with an escort sent by Khutön. When he arrived in Yarlung, Atisha and his retinue stayed in a place called Tangpoche. While there, Atisha taught the Prajnaparamita in 25,000 Lines and its commentary, The Sublime Continuum, Distinguishing Phenomena and Their Nature, and other texts. Similarly, along with Nagtso Lotsawa, he translated many secret mantra texts. However, while Atisha was staying in Tangpoche, he and his retinue suffered many hardships due to Kuton. Sometimes the people and horses did not receive food for seven days. 

Fleeing Yarlung
While Dromtönpa was staying in Nyetang, he would always worry about Atisha. He said to Bangtön, “We must bring Atisha to Nyetang. Khutön is too proud; he will not serve him well. So I will go to Yarlung first to see what the situation is and do what I can to bring Atisha to Samye. Then you can send people to bring him from Samye.” The two of them happily agreed, and Dromtönpa went to Yarlung.
The sun was about to set when Dromtönpa arrived in Tangpoche. First he looked for a student of Khutön’s whom he knew and asked where Atisha was staying. But Khutön’s students ignored him and would not tell him where Atisha stayed. At that time, a student of Atisha’s from India appeared, who was delighted to see Dromtönpa and brought him to Atisha’s residence. 
Though Atisha had not spent more than one month in Tangpoche, it was as if Atisha had suffered more than a year’s hardships. His flesh was sagging and he appeared to have great difficulties. As soon as Atisha saw Dromtönpa, he said, “Great lay person, please take me away from here soon. We are all having a hard time here. The horses are also our mother sentient beings. Khutön has as many supplies as a universal monarch, and it is as if I have been reduced to an ordinary person” and he wept. 
Dromtönpa said, “If you wish to go somewhere nice, I have a good place to stay. In the area of Nyetang, there are many leafy forests, and flowers bloom even in the winter.” 
Atisha was immediately pleased and said, “Layperson, let’s go now.” Dromtönpa said, “It wouldn’t work to do that. Not at all. Khutön is an important person, so I will look for a way for us to escape.” Atisha said, “Do not worry. I have a way to keep him from knowing. Let’s go now.” They packed that same night and left at dawn. 
A student of Khutön’s saw them fleeing and quickly went to inform Khutön. But what was strange was that on that day, it took much longer than usual for him to get to Khutön’s residence. Normally Khutön would be outside in the morning walking, but on that day, unusually, not only had he not gone outside, but the gates were shut tight. The monk got anxious and knocked on Khutön’s door and shouted, “What are you doing with the door closed? Dromtönpa has taken Atisha away!” As soon as Khutön heard this, he ran outside, prepared his horses and men, and planned to follow Atisha. 
 Khutön was rich, so he had an excellent horse that was named Tang Nak. Normally whenever he called, Tang Nak would come to him, but on that day, unusually, no matter how much Khutön called, Tang Nak just ran from here to there, and no one was able to catch him. In the end, many people worked hard and just barely managed to catch Tang Nak. Everyone mounted their horse and set off after Atisha.

Arriving at the River
Atisha and his party reached the riverbank at sunrise. Tibetan boats were small and made of leather, so not much would fit in them. Dromtönpa said to Atisha, “Let me cross first. Otherwise when Khutön comes, he will beat me.” He got in the boat and crossed first. 
The boat returned and as soon as Atisha got in it, Khutön’s horse guard came from afar, kicking up dust. Riding Tang Nak, Khutön led them all. When he arrived, he shouted, “Did you leave without telling any of my servants? Have you forgotten about me?” Atisha replied, “Didn’t you forget about me? You, a great Tibetan scholar! Now go away!” 
Just then Khutön had reached the riverbank. He was unable to stop Tang Nak. He fell into the river and was almost swept away by the current. It was lucky that his students could protect him. Khutön continued speaking, saying, “Atisha! You Indians are ungrateful. We can work things out if we talk.” Atisha requested, “Great scholar, please do not say that.” 
In the end there was nothing Khutön could do, so he said, “In that case, please give us something to worship.” Then Atisha took off his hat and threw it across the water. Khutön took the hat and asked his servants to help him get back to the bank. Then they turned back.

Atisha’s Stay in Samye
This was the way that Atisha left Yarlung and was happy to arrive in Samye. One reason is that there were many Sanskrit manuscripts in Samye, in particular many tantras of the secret mantra, which he read. He said, “Previously I thought I had read all the tantras but the tantras are as vast as an ocean. The Indian monasteries burned down three times and many scriptures were lost in the fire, but they can still be found here.” While staying there, he would sometimes read scriptures and sometimes circumambulate the temple. His retinue gathered many students to copy the manuscripts and send them back to India. 
Atisha wanted to spend a long time at Samye, but the monk-king Bodhiraja was both a king and a monk, and some in his retinue grew jealous, which prevented Atisha from spending a long time in Samye. Then Bangtön sent a horse guard of over 200 riders to escort Atisha to Nyethang. They went through Lhasa on the way from Samye to Nyethang. While there, Ngok Lekpay Sherap, one of Aisha’s three most important disciples, invited him to Lhasa, Ngok Lekpay Sherap and many others requested many empowerments and transmissions from him in Lhasa. At the same time, they translated many secret mantra texts including a Tara sadhana. In particular, at the request of Ngok Lotsawa, he translated the commentary on the essence of the Middle Way Blazing Logic.

The Last Years of His Life
While in Nyethang, Atisha translated many tantric texts with Nagtso Lotsawa. Though Atisha had plans for spreading Buddhism in Tibet, many did not turn out as he had hoped. Atisha thought that the Sarvastivadas were too relaxed about the offense of alcohol and the Mahasamghikas were stricter, so he should establish the Mahasamghika tradition in Tibet. But the Tibetan emperors had decreed that one may not give any vows other than the Sarvastivada, and secondly, in India there were many disputes between the schools, so it was possible the same would happen in Tibet. With this in mind, Dromtönpa prevented Atisha from giving vows. 
Also Atisha wanted to spread the tantras and pith instructions of the secret mantra, but Dromtönpa asked him not to actually teach the secret mantra. It is said that Atisha was disappointed and said, “What is the point of my coming to Tibet?” Milarepa, who was essentially a contemporary of Dromtönpa’s, said to Gampopa, “A ghost has wormed its way into Tibetans’ hearts so that they won’t allow Atisha to teach the tantra. For this reason, even though the Kadmapas do have some Vajrayana teachings, they do not have pith instructions.” This criticism is recorded in Gampopa’s biography.  
After Atisha had traveled to Tibet and reached the age of 70, he came to the last years of his life in which he did not teach much dharma. Occasionally he would sing a doha and later translate those doha into Tibetan. When he had time, he would go visit the areas around his residence, viewing the mountains, rivers, flowers, and grasses of Tibet. In particular, he was delighted by how clean and pure Tibetan water was and praised it. 
"In Tibet, one may gather merit by offering water. The Indian climate is hot so the springs are not as cool as in Tibet,” he said. For that reason, Atisha would make water offerings every day. Our modern tradition of offering water bowls is said to have originated from Atisha. 
When Atisha saw poor animals, he would ask them, “Little goat, are you well? Little horse, are you well?” In particular, he loved puppies, and whenever he saw a puppy, he would pick it up and say, “Little puppy, are you well? You made a mistake to take a body like this,” and he treated them lovingly.
When Atisha was about to pass into parinirvana, he summoned his close disciples and gave each of them some advice. He told them, “In the future when I am not here, Dromtönpa has my blessings, so follow him.”
Dromtönpa asked, “If you are not here, who should I follow?” and Atisha replied, “When I am gone, make the scriptures your teacher. Likewise, do not do much to benefit beings until you achieve clairvoyance. Otherwise, do whatever you can to spread the Buddha’s teachings. Whether or not the teachings flourish depends on the sangha, and whether the sangha flourishes depends on disciplined bhikshus, so in the future, you must nurture many disciplined bhikshus,” Atisha advised. 
Some disciples asked what do with his remains when he passed, and Atisha replied, “It is fine to do as the Sutra of the Mahaparinirvana explains was done to the Buddha’s remains.”
Then Atisha passed away and his remains were cremated in Nyethang. After the cremation, while everyone was having lunch at midday, Khutön came with a metal box for Atisha’s ashes, saying, “If I do not take them now, Dromtönpa will take them all later and I won’t get even a little bit.” He took a small amount of the ashes and later used them to make many tsa-tsas that he left in various locations in Tibet. It is Khutön’s kindness that allowed Atisha’s relics to spread all throughout Tibet.
 
 

The Series of Events Leading to Atisha’s Arrival in Tibet 
7th February 2025

Before imparting the teaching, His Holiness the Gyalwang Karmapa offered gracious greetings to all of the trulkus, khenpos, teachers and spiritual friends, as well as all of the monks and nuns, generous sponsors, and all the laypeople attending the teachings and wished them well. He then continued recounting the Life Story of Atisha (Atiśa Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna). 
Before his arrival in Tibet, Atisha had already been an illustrious teacher renowned throughout India. What’s more, as is explained in Tāranātha's History of Buddhism in India, Atisha was the abbot of the great Vikramashila (Skt: Vikramaśīla) monastery and an abbot of the Odantapuri (Skt: Uddaṇḍapura) monastery. Still further, it is noteworthy, as many of Atisha’s biographies agree, that he was revered as a guru, without any dissension, by all four foundation schools that were extant in India at the time. Therefore, it is safe to say that Atisha was already very well known in India as a prominent guru with vast activity before coming to Tibet.

The Situation in Tibet
In ancient times, things functioned very differently from how they do now. It was very difficult to bring Indian panditas to Tibet or for students to travel to India to learn. This presented a strenuous endeavour and a very important part of one's life. Since Atisha was one of the most renowned Buddhist gurus of his time in India; bringing him to Tibet presented a great challenge. The Indians would not be willing to let him go very easily. 
So, in order to understand how they were able to make such a thing happen, first we have to analyse why he was brought and what circumstances aligned for him to arrive in Tibet. For this, we need to understand a fair amount of historical background.
It was a rather difficult time in terms of the political and the ritual situation in the Snow Land of Tibet in those days. 

At the beginning of the 7th century, during the time of the Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo, Buddhism began to spread into Tibet. Later, it was probably during the time of King Tri Songdetsen. The teachings of Buddha spread very widely throughout Tibet. However, four generations later, starting in 841 C.E., during the time of Langdarma Udum Tsen, the persecution of Buddhism began. These events led to a severe decline of the stainless teachings of Buddhism that had been established during the time of the earlier Dharma kings.
Langdarma had two sons, Ösung and Yumten. The prince Ösung had a nephew named De Nyima Gön. He was forced to flee central Tibet, and so he travelled to the area then called Shangshung, today known as Ngari. De Nyima Gön became the king of that area. He had three sons. Wishing to avoid conflict among them, the now King of Shangshung (Ngari) divided his kingdom into three areas - one for each of his three sons to rule. That is how the term “three regions of Ngari” originated.
One of these three areas was called Purang and it was ruled by the second son Tashi De Gön. Later the famous Guge dynasty originated in that area. The king of Purang, Tashi De Gön, had two sons. The elder son, named Song-nge eventually went forth and was given the monastic name Lha Lama Yeshe Öd. As a king (Lha) who also went forth and became a lama, he was known by the name Lha Lama or King Lama.
Lha Lama Yeshe Öd had a very strong influence on Tibetan history. He left a vast and an enduring legacy with his three main accomplishments.

King Yeshe Öd’s Threefold Legacy
Firstly, the teachings of the Buddha spread from Ngari (Upper Ngari, more precisely). This was the primary source from which the teachings of the Vinaya could spread. The reason for this is that Yeshe Öd had invited the panditas from India and established the vow transmission so that the teachings could then spread further from Upper Tibet. He also built a new monastery in Ngari called Tho Ding, the earliest monastery in the history of Ngari. And to this day, the Tho Ding monastery has been preserved to a significant degree. 
His second great legacy is that he brought Atisha to Tibet.
And the third achievement with far-reaching results is that he fostered many translators, including the great translator, Rinchen Sangpo, so that many texts of the new transmission of the Secret Mantra could be translated. 
In the one hundred years since Langdarma’s persecution of the teachings, some five generations had passed and Buddhism had declined severely. During Yeshe Öd’s rule, the area under his control, Ngari (Shangshung), was the origin of the Bön religion. Most people there followed Bön; few knew about the Dharma.
In addition, at that time in Tibet, people couldn’t distinguish the pure view and conduct so wrong views and misconduct spread far and wide throughout the country. It wasn't only the Tibetans who spread the false Dharma but many Indian panditas as well. In those days, Tibetans held everyone who came from India in exceptionally high regard, and they had a custom of offering them gold. A side-effect of such generous behaviour was that many strange panditas, knowing there were deposits of gold in Tibet, came from India and taught all sorts of Dharma. This was particularly evident in the misinterpretations of the sensitive doctrines of the Secret Mantra which led to much confusion. They weren't authentic gurus yet they came to Tibet to spread the Secret Mantra teachings, nonetheless. 
Since the King Song-nge (Lha Lama Yeshe Öd) himself studied and researched the sutras and treatises, he could see that the conduct of many people, mantra practitioners and monastics alike, was not in accord with the Dharma. Seeking to reform the Secret Mantra Vajrayana conduct and Buddhist teachings in general, he wrote many rules and decrees objecting to these improper practices. Old documents and biographies of Lha Lama Yeshe Öd attest to this. But his efforts were to no avail.
The only solution was to bring highly qualified, authentic panditas and scholars from India to remedy this issue and bring the authentic Buddhist teachings back to life.
Bringing Atisha to Tibet (Lha Lama Yeshe Öd’s second legacy) was envisaged as the antidote to all the confusion, mistakes and wrong views and conduct that had permeated Buddhism in Tibet. At that time, because the source of Dharma was India, teachers from India were revered by everyone and Tibetans showed exceptional respect to Indians above all others. Thus, if one needed a highly respected lama, they must come from India.
A teacher of that magnitude who was to bring a fundamental change had to be someone rather famous yet not so old as to be unable to withstand the perilous circumstances of the long journey to Tibet. Then, he had to be learned in both sutra and tantra. The final and most important prerequisite was that the teacher had to be truly altruistic and his conduct impeccable. He had to serve as a beacon of light to many monastics and tantra practitioners who had lost their way and good conduct.
There was no pandita better than Atisha to carry out such a momentous task.
As it happened, Yeshe Öd was ultimately unable to bring Atisha himself, nor did he get the chance to meet him. The one who, in fact, succeeded in this was Jangchup Öd. But, Yeshe Öd was the one who masterminded the plan and laid down the groundwork for this pivotal task. Some histories state that Yeshe Öd sacrificed his own life to ensure Aitisha’s arrival in Tibet; however, many contemporary historians contest this. Be that as it may, if it hadn’t been for Yeshe Öd, Atisha wouldn’t have come. 

The Persevering Delegation and the Power of Altruistic Intentions
Initially, Yeshe Öd entrusted the responsibility of bringing Atisha to Tibet to an elder translator named Gya Tsöndru Senge. However, the first attempt to invite Atisha was unsuccessful. Not long after, Yeshe Öd grew old and passed away before his wish could be fulfilled. Before his passing, he told his nephew Jangchup Öd, as his last will and testament, that he absolutely must bring Atisha to Tibet. Determent to fulfil his uncle’s wishes, Jangchup Öd sent a party headed by Nagtso Lotsawa back to India. 
When Nagtso Lotsawa and his party arrived in India, Atisha was residing at Vikramashila Monastery. This monastery was built in the eighth century by the fourth king of the Pāla dynasty, Dharmapāla. It was the second most important monastic university after Nālanda, and more specifically, a hub for the study of Vajrayana. Many of the teachings of the Unexcelled Yoga Tantra were studied here. In the past, the senior translator Gya Tsöndru Senge had spent time studying at Vikramashila, so he was intimately familiar with why their previous attempt had failed. He knew that this time around, they had to proceed more carefully and devise a meticulous plan before approaching Atisha. He said to the others: 
“At first, do not say that you are here to invite him. Pretend that you have come to study. When the time is right, I’ll tell you how to invite him.”
A year or two passed while they unassumingly waited for the favorable moment, with one-pointed perseverance. When the window of opportunity finally presented itself, they approached Atisha. They recounted all the events that led them to him and laid out the proposal to bring him to Tibet. Atisha said: 
“From your story, it appears like that Tibetan king must be a real bodhisattva. His wish was to share the teaching for the sake of sentient beings. It wouldn’t be right for me to go against a bodhisattva’s command. Now the teachings are spreading, and you have come here with much hardship, so I will definitely find a way to go to Tibet. “
Jowo Je Atisha wanted to be sure whether this undertaking would be truly beneficial for sentient beings, so he supplicated his special deity, Lady Tāra and asked her about this issue. She prophesied: 
“Going to Tibet now would be very beneficial beneficial for Buddhism and for sentient beings. In particular, it will be beneficial for one lay person.” 
And who was that lay person, you might wonder? Later, Atisha said that it was Dromtönpa Gyalwai Jungné, [Tib.འབྲོམ་སྟོན་པ་རྒྱལ་བའི་འབྱུང་གནས་] because he was like the source of all the Kadampa teachings.
Since this was an enterprise of significant proportions, he went to Bodh Gaya to make grand offerings and supplicate again as a part of his preparation. Khenpo Jñāna Śrī Mitra gave him a handful of cowrie shells and said: 
“These are for an old pale person with dreadlocks; give them to him.” 
When he arrived in Bodh Gaya, he saw this old yogi with long dreadlocks, and the man immediately requested: “Give me the cowrie shells you have brought for me.” 
Realising that this old man with dreadlocks was no ordinary person and had powers of clairvoyance, he thought he must be a ḍāka. But as Atisha was a monk, he could not  prostrate physically to a lay person,  so he prostrated mentally. He then asked whether it would be beneficial to go to Tibet, and the old man confirmed it, just as Tāra had. 
Then he asked: 
“Will such a difficult journey bring any obstacles to my life and body?” 
“If you go to Tibet, your life will be shorter” the old man responded.  
“How much shorter?”  
“If you don’t go to Tibet, you will live to 92. If you go, you will only live to 73.” 
This meant losing twenty years of his life. But Atisha thought: “If it is truly beneficial for Tibet, it doesn’t matter whether my life is shorter or not.”
Now, Atisha was adamant to go and roused great courage within.
However, there were other obstacles.

The Road to Tibet
The Indian king would not let such a significant figure leave so easily. Had he spoken directly of his intentions, the monastery authorities too would have forbidden it, so Atisha pretended he was going on pilgrimage to sacred sites, and began traveling to different pilgrimage sites in India, until eventually he arrived in Nepal. 
There was an elder monk from Vikramashila monastery who began to feel a little bit uneasy about this. He was suspicious about Atisha traveling frequently with these Tibetans, so he joined the party. It was only when they arrived in Nepal that it became clear that Atisha wanted to go to Tibet.
The elder monk scolded Nagtso Lotsawa: 
“You said that you were doing studies, but you were lying through your teeth! You are kidnapping this person. It is not that we will not let Atisha go at all, but if we lose him to Tibet, there is a danger that Buddhism will be destroyed in India. For that reason, we don’t dare let him go!” 
After much discussion, in the end, Nagtso and the Vikramashila elder came to an agreement that Atisha would spend no more than three years in Tibet and then return to India. Nagtso had to make an oath to that effect with a promise to bring Atisha back himself. Only then did the elder monk agree.
So, with all these difficulties and obstacles, they were just barely allowed to bring Atisha to Tibet. 
At that time, Atisha was already in his fifties. Considering the life expectancy in those days, his fifties were considered rather old. Along with that, according to some histories, he was the abbot of Vikramashila and Odantapuri. Whether he was or not, in any case he was one of the high-ranking figures in many different important monasteries with many responsibilities, so much so that it is said he had at least eighteen keys on his belt. This is why the Indians were so reluctant to let him go to Tibet. For Indian Buddhists it was important that Atisha stay in India. For example, on one wall of Vikramashila, Nagarjuna was painted on the right and Atisha on the left. This is to say that they considered him on a par with the great Nāgārjuna.
They stayed for one whole year in Nepal and, unfortunately, during that time, the senior translator Gya Tsondru Senge, died. Atisha was discouraged and said: 
“Now the translator has died. I no longer have a tongue. Going to Tibet will not bring great benefit.” 
Nagtso pleaded: 
“There is the well-known translator Rinchen Sangpo in Tibet. He is a wonderful translator. For ordinary conversations, I can translate. Please, you absolutely must continue with your journey to Tibet.” 
After all these events, Atisha continued to Tibet and arrived in Ngari in the year 1040. He was 59 years old. 

The Grand Welcome for Atisha
At that time, Jangchup Öd (who had been ordained) had been waiting a long time for Atisha’s arrival. The welcome had long been prepared. When Atisha and his party were near Tho Ding monastery, the oral histories recount, they arranged three hundred laypeople in white robes on white horses with banners, pennants and various offerings to give a grand welcome. 
This was an especially grand welcome, and to make it even more impressive, Jangchup Öd decided to invent a new musical instrument that could be heard from a long way away. It is said that this is the origin of the great horn — rakdung (copper horn) also known as the dumar (red horn)— that we play in monasteries these days. Because of this, it is also called the “Horn for inviting translators and scholars.” 
This was the first time they had played the rakdung with its loud tone, so the people, the livestock, the horses and the wild animals on the hills all panicked and fled.
There’s a little story about this.
There was an old woman who was milking either a dri [female yak] or a dzomo [hybrid]. Then all of a sudden, they started playing the raktung. Immediately, all the animals bolted. Startled, the dri ran off, spilling all the milk. The old woman became very angry and shouted: 
“I don’t care if he’s a Jowo!  He must repay me for my milk!”
She scooped a handful of dust from the ground and angrily walked up to the procession to throw the dust at Atisha. But when she approached and laid her eyes on Jowo Je Atisha for the first time, she froze in her tracks. He was incredibly handsome, a very attractive person. The old woman completely forgot about her intention to insult him. He was so captivating.
I don't know if it's a true history or not, the Karmapa said, but it is a folk tale we like to tell.
The Gyalwang Karmapa closed the teaching for the day and announced that there would be more stories of Jowo Je Atisha’s time upon his long-awaited arrival in Tibet.

Topic: Should monastics eat meat that is pure in the three ways or not?

Monlam Pavillion
6 February, 2025

It has become customary to hold a western-style debate on two evenings during the Kagyu Monlam.  Initiated by the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa in 2013, his aim was to widen the educational experience of the monks and improve their ability in public speaking. Western debates serve as a complement to traditional Tibetan debates. They promote skill development in public-speaking and rhetoric, in a format that all listeners from all backgrounds can readily understand, without specialist training in Tibetan logic and epistemology. The focus, therefore, is on fluency in the expression of ideas and clarity of argument.

The debate was held between two teams of four monks – the proponents and the opponents- drawn from the eight shedras which had attended the Kagyu Gunchö.
Speaking in a lively and forceful way, with humour whenever possible, the monks argued their positions based on the words of the Buddha, quoting from the sutras and tantras, and using logical reasoning.

HE Zurmang Garwang Rinpoche was the convener for the debate and the moderator was Khenpo Lhakpa, the abbot of Karma Lekshey Ling College in Nepal, who said that this debate was in accordance with the way the Buddha, when he lived, used to give religious teachings in the form of questions and answers with his śrāvakas (listeners) and the bodhisattvas.

In the first round, one person from each team had ten minutes to speak to the topic. The proponents went first, and then the opponents. In the second round, each participant had three minutes to make their points in response to what had been said.
In the third round, time was reduced to one minute per participant.
Finally, one person from each team had five minutes to sum up and conclude the arguments.

The audience of khenpos, monks and a few laypeople listened intently, following the arguments from both sides, and laughing at the jokes. They clearly enjoyed the debate.

Finally, Karma Chödrak, the CEO of the Kagyu Monlam Chenmo, presented auspicious katags to the debaters and to Zurmang Garwang Rinpoche.

Becoming a Scholar and Going Forth
6 February 2025

After greeting everyone, the Gyalwang Karmapa resumed his discourse on the Life of Atisha at the point where technical difficulties the previous day had interrupted the teaching.
He began with a summary of Atisha’s life.

Atisha’s Early Life
Until Atisha reached the age of 10, he studied grammar and crafts and other common areas of knowledge. Then until the age of 21, he studied higher areas of knowledge such as grammar, epistemology and logic, and so forth. Thus, until he was 21, he was a lay devotee, holding the five precepts, and primarily a student. 
Then, from the time he was 22, he started to practice the secret mantra. He received empowerments and practised secret mantra, becoming a yogi. The first Vajrayana guru from whom he received an empowerment was called Rahulagupta. It seems probable that, as they were contemporaneous and for other reasons, this is the same Rahulagupta who was also the main guru of the scholar and siddha Khyungpo Naljor.  During the latter part of Khyungpo Naljor’s life, after he had gone to Tibet, and was performing various activities there, he had a pure vision of Rahulagupta, who had come to give him precious instructions. In this vision, Rahulagupta gave him the empowerment and initiation of Six-Armed Mahakala.
 Atisha’s main guru was Avadhutipa, whom he followed for many years, receiving many tantras and pith instructions of the secret mantra. When he had reached a high level of Vajrayana practice, he engaged in yogic awareness conduct for either six or three years. “Yogic awareness conduct” means that he took a consort to various unfixed locations whether in the middle of a forest or some other location and engaged in yogic awareness conduct. The commentaries on the tantras explain that once one has attained the level of the path of joining, one could engage in such practices. 
So, when Atisha was young, he engaged in a lot of secret mantra practices. He received many instructions on mantra and followed many gurus. So, basically, he practised yoga first, mastered the topics of mantra and studied widely. This was the opposite of other Indian Mahasiddhas of the secret mantra, who began as monastics and then later went off into the forest or isolated places to engage in yogic practice. 

Atisha Becomes a Monk
Then, just as Shakyamuni Buddha went forth at the age of 29, Atisha also went forth when he was 29. He entered the sangha and from thence forth was a committed monastic.
Initially, he had believed he could reach buddhahood in one lifetime, solely through tantric practice, so he had devoted himself to the life of a yogi.  However, there were so many different signs and visions that encouraged him to go forth.
One night he had a vision of an heruka, who appeared in the sky in front of him and said: “Child of noble family, if you keep doing the practice of Avadhutipa’s conduct, that will not be enough for you to get anywhere. So, you need to go forth and become a monastic, and if you do, then in the future, you will foster many monastic students.”  
That was one of the omens that showed him he should go forth.
Atisha had a further dream. This time he was in a big temple where the Buddha Bhagavan Shakyamuni was seated at the head of a large sangha of bhikshus eating their midday meal. Atisha himself was at the end of the row. While he was sitting there, at the end of the row, the Buddha saw Atisha and pointed his finger at him, saying, “Something happened to that person, so he didn’t go forth.” 
That dream was another sign that he should go forth.
Then he dreamt that he saw Maitreya in a temple. Normally, Maitreya wears the attributes of a bodhisattva but in Atisha’s dream he was clothed as a monk. As Atisha approached Maitreya, Maitreya scolded him saying, “This is a place for monastics. It's not a place where you householders can come. You aren't allowed in here.”
These signs made Atisha think that he should become a monk, otherwise nothing would succeed.
At that time in India there were many Foundation Vehicle schools, so Atisha was unsure where he should be ordained. He asked his landlord in Nalanda, a layperson who knew dharma well, for advice as to which was the best school in which to ordain. The landlord asked him, “Are you going to continue your tantric Vajrayana practice or not?” “I’m going to become a monk but I’m also going to continue tantric practice,” replied Atisha. “Then among all the different schools, it’s best for you to enter the Mahāsāṃghika school,” the landlord advised, probably thinking that this  school was a little less strict.
And so, at the age of 29, Atisha was ordained at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya by Master Shilarakshita, a great vinaya master of the Mahāsāṃghika vinaya. There were many subdivisions within the Mahāsāṃghika school, and Shilarakshita was in the lineage of Master Buddhajñāna.  Atisha received the ordination name of Dīpaṃkara Śrī Jñāna.  Dipam means ‘lamp’ and kara means ‘to do’, or ‘doer’, so dipamkara means ‘lighter of the lamp’.  Śri means ‘glorious’; and jñāna means ‘wisdom’. The last part is according to the tradition where the ordinand also receives the last name of the lineage holder. The Khenpo who named him was in the tradition of Master Buddhajñāna so all the people in that lineage had the word jñāna as the last part of their name. 

Dromtönpa’s praise of Atisha says:
Without attachment to sensory pleasures,
He left the wealth of royalty
And became a bhikshu of the Mahāsāṃghika school.
I supplicate glorious Atisha.
There are many different rules for monastics, and from then on, Atisha refrained from breaking even the smallest rules, let alone the major ones. For example, he would not eat flour that had been stored in a clay pot. The reason for this is that clay pots were also used for fermenting beer, and the Mahāsāṃghika considered abstaining from alcohol one of the root vows. They practised that very strictly.  Even if there were no leftover beer in the pot, there was still a possibility there might be some remnants.
This is what is said. Usually, though, we speak of the four root vows plus abstaining from alcohol, and when I looked in Chinese translations of the Mahāsāṃghika vinaya texts, I could find no mention of abstaining from alcohol as one of the root vows.

Atisha’s Various Names
Next the Gyalwang Karmapa discussed the other names that Atisha is known by.
His ordination name was Dīpaṃkara Śrī Jñāna, but the most common name that he is known by in Sanskrit is Atisha [Skt. Atīśa]. In English, the name means “pre-eminent” or “the best”.
There are, however, several different explanations of its meaning. Some would say ati means “excellence,” and āśya means “intention” so his name means “the one with the most excellent intentions”, meaning someone who has great altruism.
Another explanation is that ati means “extremely” and śanti means “peaceful,” so put together Atisha means “extremely peaceful”. 
Yet another explanation is that the first syllable of his name, A, means “great yogi”; ti means “great pandita”, and śa means “great bhikshu”. The A could be understood as in avadhutipa—a great yogi—ti refers to pandita, and śa could be understood as śramaṇa, the Sanskrit term for a great practitioner.
How was he given this name “Atisha”?  There are two different explanations of this. One comes from from Panchen Sodrak’s history of the Kadampa, the Ornament of the Mind. It says that the name was given by the king Jangchup Öd who saw that Atisha had superior knowledge and compassion, was a greater scholar than others and was even superior to the other panditas and had the ability to greatly illuminate the precious teachings of the Buddha.  So Jangchup Öd called him “Atisha” to describe his greatness. A second explanation comes from Sakyapa Kunga Sonam’s history of the Kadampa which relates how King Dharmapāla [from the Pāla dynasty centred in north-eastern India and parts of Nepal] acknowledged Atisha’s superiority among all the panditas and siddhas in India, invited him to Vikramaśīla, and gave him the title “Atisha”. However, this is doubtful because the dates conflict. Dharmapāla was active during the 9th century CE, and Atisha lived more than a century later.
This is an area requiring further research, His Holiness concluded.
In Tibet, the best-known name for Atisha is Jowo Je
In Central Tibet, in Lhasa, there are the two Jowo statues; these are a particular type of statue of Buddha Shakyamuni in saṃbhogakāya form with ornaments. Also, in Tibet, the term ‘Jowo’ is used for the king or leader. Sometimes Jowo is used to address people who are older or senior to you. The eldest son, your big brother is called Ajo or Jo-la.
In any case, in Tibet, Jowo is a word of praise. It means the supreme person; someone whom you consider to be extremely important. So, for the people for whom you have great regard, whether they are humans or gods, you use the term Jowo Je. It shows that you are really treasuring that person.
Hence, Atisha is known in Tibet as Jowo Je because of his great importance and the immense kindness he showed to Tibetans. He’s like an elder brother or a great being. This use of Jowo Je shows how close Tibetans feel to him, and how much gratitude for his kindness and the great respect they have for him.

Studies at Vikramaśīla and Odantapurī
Once he had been ordained, at the age of 29, until he was 31, Atisha studied both the Foundation Vehicle texts and Mahayana texts with many different gurus. He stayed mainly at Vikramaśīla Mahavira, as well as at Odantapurī Mahavira. These were the two most well-known monastic universities in India at that time and were both sponsored by the kings of the Pāla dynasty. In those days, Vikramaśīla was at its height and more famous than Nālandā. 
So at Vikramaśīla, Atisha primarily studied the Vinaya of the four root schools of the Foundation Vehicle: the Mahāsāṃghika, Sthaviravāda, Saṃmitīya and the Sarvāstivāda .Each had its own, slightly different, individual practices, but Atisha was able to understand them all and knew the distinctive features of each school.

His principal guru at Odantapurī was Dharmarakṣita, with whom he studied the Great Exposition Treatise (Skt. Abhidharma Mahāvibhāṣa Śāstra) the 800-fascicle text written by the Arhat Upagupta, said to be the basis for all four Foundation schools. This huge text normally takes twelve years of study to complete, but Atisha worked so diligently that he completed his studies in seven. 
As to the Mahayana, he studied Mahayana texts with the pandita Shantipa, who was the guardian of the eastern gate at Vikramaśīla, while Naropa was the guardian of the northern gate. Shantipa was known as “The omniscient one of an age of strife.”  Many of the Tibetan masters who had visited India, such as Marpa Lotsawa, had studied with him, thus he had a very great connection with Tibet. He was also viewed as the second most well-known scholar, after Naropa.
At that time in India, there was a great inter-mixing and overlap between Buddhist and non-Buddhist views, and there were many Buddhist masters who were unable to clearly distinguish between the two. Atisha said that there were only two people who knew the difference between Buddhists and non-Buddhists, Atisha and Shantipa. 

Studies with Many Gurus
Atisha’s studies were not restricted to Vikramaśīla and Odantapurī; he travelled extensively and studied with many gurus. His namthar say that he sailed across the oceans to visit Sumatra and Sri Lanka (Copper Island), He also studied in Central India, and underwent many difficulties in order to study with different gurus. According to various accounts of his life, he studied with any number between 30 and 157. Of these, there were 12 gurus who were both scholars and realised practitioners, and of these there were three gurus who had actually seen the truth.  These three were Guru Avadhūtipa (there are two Avadhūtipas, Elder and Younger, and this was probably the Younger); Kamalarakshita, who was a practitioner of Yamantaka; and Naropa’s student the Younger Dombhipa, again there was an Elder and a Younger Dombhipa. 
He studied the Middle Way view with Avadhūtipa. With Kamalarakshita he studied the Autonomist Yogachara Middle Way school. Kamalarakshita had initially been a Mind Only scholar but became a Middle Way master when he reached the path of seeing. 
As to Dombhipa the Younger, Atisha never actually met him in person. However, he had supplicated him sincerely and, for that reason, he encountered Dombhipa through a strange dream in which he saw three people, the guru and his two monk students. They were each holding a kapāla—a skull cup made from a human cranium. And from these skull cups, they were eating human flesh. Instantly, Atisha lost faith.
“This isn’t good,” he said. “If you hold monastic vows and wear robes and you’re holding a skull cup and eating human flesh, isn’t that a serious offense?” he questioned. 
“Does the Buddha have any confusion?” Dombhipa asked. 
“He does not,” Atisha replied. 
Then he dreamt that Dombhipa gave him a piece of human flesh, a finger, to eat, and so he ate it. Immediately, he entered the state of samādhi, which lasted after he woke up until noon of the next day; he enjoyed the bliss of samādhi and stayed resting in equipoise.
However, Atisha still had some doubt. “Are these the blessings of buddhas and bodhisattvas or of Dombhipa?” he wondered.
Later, when a mantra practitioner touched Dombhipa’s feet, Dombhipa said, “You and I have no karmic connection. There is a student of mine whose name contains the word ‘jñāna’. I gave him some blessings.  You should go to see him, because he’s the one you have the karmic connection with.” The mantric practitioner did as Dombhipa told him, went to Atisha and supplicated him for teachings. Atisha asked who had sent him, and the mantric practitioner recounted the story of his meeting with Dombhipa. Only then did Atisha know that the samādhi had been the blessing of Dombhipa. So, although Atisha never met Dombhipa in person, because he had been blessed by him in a dream, he considered him to be one of his gurus.

Bodhichitta
Among all of his gurus, Atisha had three gurus in particular who taught him bodhichitta, Dharmarakṣita, Maitriyogi, and Suvarṇadvīpa. All three had reached very high levels in the practice of bodhichitta. Dharmarakṣita and Maitriyogi are the sources for the mind-training teachings in the Kadampa tradition.
As for the first, Dharmarakṣita, according to the oral histories, there was a man who became ill and needed human flesh and blood for medicine to cure his illness. So, this guru, without any hesitation, cut some flesh off his body and gave it to him. For us, such an amazing story is difficult to get our heads around. In any case, Dharmarakṣita did not merely train in exchanging self for other but was able to give his own flesh and blood. He was at a very high level of mind-training practice.
Maitriyogi was also a great master of bodhichitta. Once someone was beating a dog with an iron rod. When Maitriyogi saw the man abusing the dog, he had such great compassion for the dog that he took the dog's suffering, all of its pain, onto himself, so that the dog was freed of any sensation of suffering. There had been welts on the dog’s body from the beating, but they disappeared and reappeared on Maitriyogi’s body instead, where they exuded blood and pus. From this story, we can understand how high the level of Maitriyogi’s practice of loving kindness and compassion was. 
The third was Suvarṇadvīpa, and he was said to be the embodiment of bodhichitta, so it was if the guru himself was a living bodhichitta. Because of this, the level of Suvarṇadvīpa’s realisation of loving-kindness, compassion, and bodhichitta, or his level or practice was at an extremely high level. Among all the gurus Atisha followed, out of the 150 or so, he was the one for whom he had the greatest faith and devotion and the deepest connection. When he heard the names of his other gurus, Atisha would join his palms at his heart like this. [The Gyalwang Karmapa demonstrated the namaskar of respect at this point.] But whenever he heard Suvarṇadvīpa’s name, he would immediately raise his joined his palms to his forehead and shed tears. Just hearing or thinking of his guru’s name would cause him to shed tears.
Later, in Tibet, when Atisha was asked why out of all of his gurus, he had such great faith and devotion for Suvarṇadvīpa, his response was that it wasn’t because some were better or worse, or that there were higher or lower qualities among them, but that Suvarṇadvīpa 
put bodhichitta at the core of his practice and achieved the pinnacle of altruism. 
All of his gurus had great qualities of learning; they were all great masters, were considered to be the greatest scholars, and were respected by the masters of all the Buddhist schools. 
Before he left for Tibet, Atisha himself was highly regarded. Even Naropa told him, “These days, the master of the teachings is you.” 
The teaching concluded at this point with the Aspiration for the Stages of the Path.