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Je Tsongkhapa

      Je Tsongkhapa was like a mother teaching her children. A mother patiently teaches her children everything they need to know, from how to eat and how to walk, through to how to read and how to write. In the same way, Je Tsongkhapa patiently taught the Tibetans everything they needed for their spiritual development, from the initial step of entering into a spiritual practice through to the ultimate attainment of Buddhahood. Clearly and unmistakenly, he taught how to practise step by step – how to take the initial step of entering into the Buddhadharma, how then to enter into the Mahayana, and finally how to enter into the Vajrayana and attain full enlightenment; and he also showed special methods to accomplish these results swiftly. The incomparable kindness of Je Tsongkhapa was celebrated by the first Dalai Lama, Je Gendundrub, in his Song of the Eastern Snow Mountain, in which he says:

      For the fortunate people of Tibet, the Land of the Snows, your kindness, O Protector, is inconceivable.

      Especially for myself, Gendundrub,

      The fact that my mind is directed towards Dharma

      Is due solely to your kindness, O Venerable Father and Sons.

      From now until I attain enlightenment

      I shall seek no refuge other than you.

      O, Venerable Father and Sons

      Please care for me with your compassion.

      Although I cannot repay your kindness, O Protector,

      I pray that, with my mind free from the influence of attachment and hatred,

      I may strive to maintain your doctrine and cause it to flourish

      Without ever giving up this endeavour.

      Before Je Tsongkhapa appeared in Tibet there were many other high beings practising Dharma, but most of them revealed their spiritual attainments to others by displaying clairvoyance, miracle powers, and so forth. Je Tsongkhapa regarded such displays as of little value because they did not help living beings to overcome their ignorance, which is the principal cause of their suffering. If a Teacher displays clairvoyance or miracle powers to his or her disciples, by levitating in front of them for example, how does that help them? Rather than helping, it may even cause hindrances. The disciples may become suspicious or develop doubts, and some may even feel uncomfortable in the knowledge that their Teacher has the power to read their minds and discover their innermost secrets. Such worries only cause obstacles, both for the disciples and for the Teacher. In the past, practitioners who have revealed their miracle powers to others have been accused of practising black magic and some have even found themselves in danger of their lives. It was for these reasons that the Kadampa Geshes and Je Tsongkhapa made a rule forbidding their followers to display their miracle powers. In the monasteries of Je Tsongkhapa’s tradition any monk who made a public show of his miracle powers would be asked to leave.

      Other traditions regard the display of miracle powers as a sign of great attainment, but according to Je Tsongkhapa’s tradition such demonstrations have little meaning. After all, birds can fly in the sky and mice can travel beneath the ground, but they remain as deluded as before, and are no nearer to liberation or enlightenment as a result. Moreover, during our countless former lives each one of us has possessed miracle powers many times, but our minds remain clouded in ignorance and we continue to take uncontrolled rebirths in states of suffering.

      As a manifestation of the Wisdom Buddha Manjushri, Je Tsongkhapa realized that the best way to help living beings to overcome their ignorance was to set a good example and to give clear and profound teachings. Like a mother caring for her children, Je Tsongkhapa devoted his whole life to helping others eliminate their ignorance through his clear and profound teachings.

      Je Tsongkhapa’s teachings are like keys that unlock the meaning of Buddha’s Sutras and Tantras. Without Je Tsongkhapa’s works, simply by reading the scriptures we would find it impossible to discover Buddha’s intention. These days we are able to practise the stages of the path to enlightenment, Lamrim, only because of the kindness of Je Tsongkhapa. The Lamrim teachings originated from Buddha himself, but they were arranged in their systematic form by Atisha, the great Indian Buddhist Master who was invited to Tibet by the king, Jangchub Ö. Everyone regards Atisha as very kind because he founded the pure tradition known as the Kadampa Tradition and because he wrote the original Lamrim text, Lamp for the Path, but if we look at this text we will see that it is only a few pages long and that the complex meaning of all the stages of the path to enlightenment is condensed into very few words. Without explanation and commentary it is impossible for us to understand these teachings and put them into practice. It was Je Tsongkhapa who provided the essential explanations that enable us to practise Atisha’s precious instructions. In his Great, Middling, and Condensed Expositions of the Stages of the Path, Je Tsongkhapa provides a completely clear and unmistaken guide to each of the essential practices of the path to enlightenment.

      Je Tsongkhapa gave an especially clear and unmistaken explanation of profound emptiness according to the view of Protector Nagarjuna. Prior to Je Tsongkhapa’s appearance in Tibet many practitioners had developed misunderstandings with respect to Buddha’s teachings on emptiness. Unable to distinguish the precise object of negation, they fell into the extremes of permanence and nothingness. Many Tibetans felt that if phenomena were completely empty of inherent existence it would be impossible to establish the infallibility of cause and effect, and so there would be no basis for practising moral discipline or other method practices such as compassion or bodhichitta. On the other hand, they felt that if there were a basis for the method practices, phenomena would exist from their own side, and consequently emptiness would be impossible. Je Tsongkhapa showed the errors in this way of thinking and clearly established that there is no contradiction between emptiness, the lack of inherent existence of all phenomena, and non-deceptive cause and effect. In this way he was able to establish the correct view of the middle way according to Nagarjuna’s intention and thereby protect his followers from falling into the two extremes.

      Besides Lamrim, Dharma practitioners today are also able to practise the special methods of training the mind, or Lojong. These practices, which are extracted from Lamrim and given particular emphasis, are powerful methods for generating a special bodhichitta through the practice of equalizing and exchanging self with others combined with the practice of taking and giving. As with Lamrim, the original instructions on Lojong are very brief and difficult for us to understand. For example, Geshe Chekhawa’s root text, Training the Mind in Seven Points, is only two pages long. If we were to try to practise Lojong by relying upon this text alone we would find it very difficult to make progress. Je Tsongkhapa’s commentaries unlock the hidden meaning of the texts on training the mind and enable us to put them into practice. We are able to practise the instructions on training the mind today only through the kindness of Je Tsongkhapa.

      Je Tsongkhapa’s works are also indispensable for the practice of Secret Mantra. If we were to try to practise Secret Mantra by relying upon the Tantras alone we would find the scriptures indecipherable. Without Je Tsongkhapa’s commentaries to unlock their meaning, scriptures such as Vajradhara’s Root Tantra of Guhyasamaja, or his Heruka Root Tantra, which

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