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ATISHA – HISTORY OF
THE MAN
 The
namesake of my kennel is
Atisha Dipamkara Shrijnana.
Atisha
is considered to be one of
the most important
individuals in
Tibetan history. He
was a Buddhist teacher and
mystic from India
and was given the name
“Atisha” by the king of
Tibet when
he first traveled to the
“Land of Snow,” as Tibet was
known. Atisha is a
Tibetan reference to
“peace.”
Atisha was born in the year
980 A.D. into a royal family
from the
Bengal region of
India. The young
prince was a child
prodigy. At 18 months,
in his first public
appearance, he was
able to identify important
religious objects, at 3
years he was
proficient in Sanskrit,
astrology and writing and by
10 years of age he
was able to distinguish
between Buddhist and non
Buddhist
teachings. At 11, he
renounced his wealth and
royal standing and
ultimately left home to
dedicate himself to a
religious life.
After studying with many
famous masters, Atisha was
ordained a monk at
29 and soon became very well
known throughout Southeast
Asia. He
was a great debater and
established many institutes
of learning in
India. In addition to
his knowledge, Atisha was
renowned for his
love and compassion.
Atisha’s reputation was so
widespread
that the rulers of the “Land
of Snow” – Tibet --
begged him to come to their
country to restore Buddhism
among the
Tibetan people.
Buddhist religious knowledge
in Tibet had been
all but wiped out by a
previous king.
The new Tibetan king
who asked Atisha to help
him, in fact, gave up his
life for this
cause. Although Atisha
was hesitant to go, the
goddess Tara
appeared to him in a dream
and told him that his
journey to Tibet would
be very successful.
And, indeed it was. He
lived in Tibet
for 17 years, until his
death at age 72. While
there, he wrote or
translated more than 200
books, some of which were
exported back to
India. His work led to
the establishment of Kadam
adopted by the
Gelug, also known as the
Yellow Hat Sect – which is
one of the
four main sects of
Buddhism. The Kadam
Radreng Monastery was
established by Atisha’s
disciple Dromtonpa 17 years
after
Atisha’s death.
Atisha’s lay disciple,
Dromtonpa. was
eventually reincarnated as
the first Dali Lama.
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