Lama Atisha
Lama Atisha (982 - 1054) was born in Bengal, India. He became the most learned scholar at Nalanda Monastery in India, which is considered to have been the greatest university of Buddhist philosophy of all time.
In Tibet, there was much confusion about how to correctly practice the Buddha’s teachings. The King of Tibet, Yeshe Od, set off on the long and dangerous journey to India to invite Lama Atisha to Tibet so that he could resolve the confusion.
On the way, King Yeshe Od was captured by the hostile King Garlok, but rather than using his money to pay his own ransom, he sent a messenger to Lama Atisha. Since, without money, he could not pay his own ransom, Yeshe Od died in prison.
When Lama Atisha heard of this, he was very moved by the king’s aspiration for his people and the sacrifice that he had made. Atisha travelled to Tibet, arriving in 1042, to pass on an unbroken lineage of the Buddha’s teachings. While in Tibet, he wrote the renowned Buddhist text, Lamp on the Path to Enlightenment, which for the first time organised all of Lord Buddha’s teachings into a single path of practice.
Relic and Source
- The metal stupa contains Lama Atisha’s relics. It was given to Lama Atisha’s heart disciple, the great translator, Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo, who translated the Buddhist teachings from Sanskrit into the written Tibetan language.
- This tsa tsa (votive relief carving) of the long life deity Namgyalma was made by Lama Atisha. There is a partial handprint from Lama Atisha’s own hand on the reverse side of the tsa tsa. It was offered by Khensur Jampa Tegchok (himself a reincarnation of Jangchub Bumpa who founded Sera Me Monastery in Tibet).
- The white relics were offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche by His Holiness Sakya Jigdrol (Dagchen) Rinpoche. He received them from the Sakya storehouse of relics in Tibet.
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