Kadam (Tibetan Buddhism)
According to Ronald M. Davidson, "Atiśa's coming to Tibet in 1042 was the threshold moment in the efflorescence of Buddhism and provided a stable foundation for monastic scholarship for the next thousand years.
[2] The most important founding figure of the Kadam tradition is Atiśa Dīpankara Śrījñāna (982–1054), a Bengali Indian Buddhist master who was known as a great teacher at Vikramaśīla and traveled to Tibet in 1037 on the invitation of a princeling named Jangchub O.
[7] Atiśa's main teaching focus was on presenting a comprehensive Buddhist Mahayana system, and his numerous works explain basic topics such as bodhicitta, the six perfections, the two truths, dependent origination, karma, and Madhyamaka philosophy.
[1] Over time he drew several students around him, including the influential Dromtönpa Gyelwé Jungné, who convinced Atiśa to stay in Tibet indefinitely.
According to Sam Van Schaik, "both monasteries followed Atiśa's principle of combining tantric meditation practice with a firm adherence to the monastic code and with rigorous scholarship.
[14] The Authoritative Treatises lineage of Putowa Rinchensél (1031–1106) emphasized the close study of six classic Indian Buddhist texts:[15] Furthermore, according to Thupten Jinpa, "the studies of these treatises are complemented with further Indian Buddhist classics like Nagarjuna’s (second century) Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way, his Seventy Stanzas on Emptiness, and Atisa’s Entry into the Two Truths and An Instruction on the Middle Way.
[19] Kadam madhyamika philosopher-translators from Sangpu, like Ngog Loden Sherab (1059–1109) and Chaba Chokyi Senge (1109–1169) translated and produced works on madhyamaka and on epistemology (pramāṇa).
His interpretation was based on Chandrakirti's method (which Patsab labeled thal 'gyur ba i.e. prāsaṅgika) and this differed from that of Ngog and Chaba's rang rgyud pa or svātantrika.
[26] These instructions were passed down only to one student in each generation in a single transmission until the secrecy was lifted at the time of Narthang Shönu Lodrö.
[29] Lojong teachings are also known as The Instructions for Training the Mind in the Mahayana Tradition (Wylie: theg chen blo sbyong).
During the time of the Three Noble Kadampa Brothers (Dromtön's main students), many of these oral teachings were collected together and compiled into the Lamrim.
From Khamlungpa, Langri Tangpa and Chekawa Yeshe Dorje onwards they became public and later they were integrated into all four Tibetan Buddhist Schools.
[27] The Kadam school also seems to have created their own tantric system called the “sixteen spheres” (thig le bcu drug), based on thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara as the central deity.
According to Ronald M. Davidson, the Kadampa masters pioneered popular strategies for integrating the Tibetan laity into daily Buddhist activities.
[33]Davidson further adds that the Kadampas promoted a more egalitarian ideal to counter "the elite bias of most forms of Buddhism spread throughout Tibet at the time".
This ideal was widespread throughout Indian Buddhism and given lip service in eleventh-century Tibet, but its implementation meant a fundamental change of pedagogical method, for monks would have to deliver Buddhist ideas to the populace.
Eventually the change was effected by Chennga and Potoba, who devised a style of teaching that included popular images and anecdotes in their presentations.
[34]Potoba (Putowa) in particular was known for being attentive to popular expressions and made use of stories and illustrative examples in his teaching which appealed to a mass audience.
[35] Je Tsongkhapa, a Tibetan reformer, collected all the three Kadam lineages and integrated them, along with Sakya, Kagyu and other teachings into a new synthesis.
[14] The three other Tibetan Buddhist schools (Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu) also integrated the Lojong (Wylie: blo sbyong) teachings into their lineages.
Centuries earlier, Je Tsongkhapa referred to his monastic order as "the New Kadam"[40] before the term Gelug came into use, after his death.
