Lama Guru Tsongkhapa

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Lama Je Tsongkhapa is the father of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism and considered one of the greatest Buddhist teachers in history.
Born in a nomadic family in Amdo – Tibet, Tsongkhapa received the ordination at the age of three from the 4th Karmapa Rolpe Dorje. During his early age he was able to receive the empowerments of Heruka Chakrasamvara, Hevajra, and Yamantaka, three of the most prominent wrathful deities of Tibetan Buddhism.
During his life he traveled extensively in search of knowledge, studying with more than 100 teachers of all the existing traditions and famous disciplines like the six yogas of Naropa, the Kalachakra Tantra, Mahamudra and Dzogchen.

Although Tsongkhapa passed away at the age of sixty-two, he left to the world several volumes of teachings that he collected during his life. These volumes contain hundreds of titles relating to all aspects of Buddhist teachings and it is believed that many of these texts were composed through the instruction and inspiration of deities that he saw in visions, particularly Manjusri.
Throughout his life, Tsongkhapa placed great emphasis on the need for study and the importance of the preliminary practice like prostrations, mandala offerings and other forms of purification rituals.
He emphasized the combined paths of Sutra and Tantra, and especially the uniting of the view of the middle way school with the practice of the Highest Yoga Tantra.

In this thangka painting Je Tsongkhapa has the appearance of a monastic scholar with the typical yellow hat of the Gelug tradition and the orange robes with patchworks decorated with gold. He is depicted performing Dharmachakra mudra, the gesture of Dharma teaching with both hands at the heart, while holding the stems of two lotus flowers supporting on his left the book of Prajnaparamita sutra and on his right a sword, weapon of the Bodhisattva Manjushri and symbol of wisdom.

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