Atisha

Atisha was an Indian Buddhist scholar and teacher whose eleventh-century work in Tibet helped shape the later spread of Buddhism there, especially its Kadam tradition.

Dromtönpa: A Tibetan lay Buddhist teacher who became Atisha’s principal disciple and founded the Kadam tradition. He transmitted Atisha’s teachings and organized the community that became the Kadam school.
Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment: Atisha’s concise treatise organizing Buddhist practice into a graded path toward awakening. This text distills the staged approach through which Atisha presented the Buddhist path.
Vikramashila: A major Buddhist monastic university in northeastern India during the Pala period. Atisha studied and taught at this center before traveling to Tibet.
Gelug: A Tibetan Buddhist school founded by Tsongkhapa in the fifteenth century. Gelug authors adopted and expanded the Kadam tradition’s graded-path teachings.
Bon: A Tibetan religious tradition with distinct origins and practices, later interacting extensively with Buddhism. Atisha’s Buddhist mission took place in a society shaped by both Buddhist and Bon traditions.
Jangchub Ö: A ruler of western Tibet whose invitation helped bring Atisha to Tibet. His appeal and patronage set Atisha’s Tibetan mission in motion.
Kadam: A Tibetan Buddhist tradition founded by Atisha’s disciples and centered on his teachings. Dromtönpa’s community gave Atisha’s guidance a lasting institutional form.
Pala Empire: A dynasty that ruled much of eastern India from the eighth to the twelfth centuries and supported Buddhist institutions. Its patronage sustained the monastic world in which Atisha became a leading scholar.
Tsongkhapa: A Tibetan Buddhist philosopher and reformer who founded the Gelug school. His lamrim works developed themes associated with Atisha’s Lamp for the Path.
Mahayana: A broad Buddhist tradition emphasizing the bodhisattva path and universal liberation. Atisha’s teachings belong to this wider tradition and emphasize its bodhisattva ideal.

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