In search of Athisa [part 01]
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Atisha ,the legendary scholar of kadampa school which is the predecessor to Gelugpa school
perhaps the most legendary guru worth mentioning
The city of Vikramapura, the most probable candidate for Atisha’s birthplace, was the capital of the ancient kingdoms of Southeast Bengal. Though the city’s exact location is not certain, it presently lies in the Munshiganj District of Bangladesh, and continues to be celebrated as an early center of Buddhist cultural, academic, and political life. Similar to Shakyamuni Buddha, Atisha was born into royalty; the palace in which he was raised, aptly named the Golden Banner Palace, “had a golden victory banner encircled by countless houses and there were great numbers of bathing-pools encircled by 720 magnificent gardens, forests of Tala trees, seven concentric walls, 363 connecting bridges, innumerable golden victory banners, thirteen roofs to the central palace and thousands of noblemen”. His father was the king of Bengal known as Kalyana Shri, and his mother was Shri Prabhavati. One of three royal brothers, Atisha went by the name of Chandragarbha during the first part of his life. In fact, it was not until he traveled to Tibet and encountered the king Jangchub Ö (Byang Chub Od) that he was given the name of Atisha, a Tibetan reference to peace.
Mirroring the life of Shakyamuni Buddha, the young prince is depicted as having a natural capacity for swift learning in multiple fields and the practice of Dharma at a young age. He had become “well-versed in astrology, writing and Sanskrit” by the age of three, “able to distinguish between the Buddhist and non-Buddhist doctrines” by the age of ten, and would eventually become a master of the teachings of Mahayana, Hinayana, and Vajrayana Buddhism under the guidance of over 100 different instructors. As time elapsed Atisha’s wish to enter the religious life strengthened, but his parents identified him as the brightest of their sons and natural successor to power. Therefore, as he turned the customary age of eleven years old, surrounding him with the luxuries and extravagance of royalty, Atisha’s parents commenced the decorative courtship and matrimonial preparations so that the prince might find a bride among the kingdom’s beautiful young women of nobility.
Atisha’s response to his parents’ proposal as documented in Buddhist biographical texts evidences the level of commitment the young prince had for religious pursuit and enlightenment. On the eve of his wedding, Atisha experienced a momentous encounter with the Vajrayana goddess Tara, who would continue with him as a guiding spirit until the end of his life. Tara explained to the prince that in his past lives he had been a devout monk. Accordingly, he should not be overwhelmed by the lure of ephemeral pleasures in the world. If he should acquiesce, Tara continued, then “as an elephant sinks deeply into the swamp, [he], a hero, [would] sink in the mire of lust.” Essentially, Tara’s manifestation is symbolic for the prince’s meaningful realization of his own karmic potential. The deity’s metaphor is illuminating: as an elephant’s enormous weight prevents it from escaping the mud, so the prince’s wealth and extravagance would prevent him from spiritual awakening. With this revelation at the forefront of his consciousness, Atisha renounced his kingdom, family, and social status in order to find a spiritual teacher—or as he told his parents—to go on a hunting trip.
Buddhist sources assert that, while feigning a hunting trip, an adolescent Atisha made the acquaintance of the brahmin Jetari, a Buddhist recluse and renowned teacher. Jetari taught the young man three things: 1) taking refuge in the Three Jewels of Buddha, 2) Dharma and Sangha and 3) bodhichitta, described as the mind-oriented aspiration towards enlightenment with the intent of benefiting all sentient beings. Upon educating the young Atisha in the basic principles of Mahayana Buddhism, Jetari advised that he go to Nalanda, a Buddhist center for learning in northeastern India. In Nalanda, Atashi received once again brief instruction regarding the Bodhisattva vows under the spiritual guide Bodhibhadra, who in turn advised him to seek out a teacher renowned for his perfect meditation of perceiving emptiness, Vidyakokila.
may the merit of this post transferred to the lives lost in recent racial fighting , and no enmity and all deceased acquired the conditions for future rebirth in the Land of Ultimate Bliss
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Living Legacy of Atisha
Atisha remains an important figure in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition for several reasons. First, he refined, systematized, and compiled an innovative and thorough approach to bodhichitta known as "mind training" (Tib. lojong), in such texts as A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment, and established the primacy of bodhichitta to the Mahayana tradition in Tibet. In this sense, Atisha not only dictated a scholarly model for bodhichitta but acted as a living human example.
May the merits accrue from this helps to alleviate suffering of the hell beings burning in the avici hell
Namo Amituofo!!!