Exhibition on Atisha Dipankara Jnanasri*

Backgrounder
Atisha Dipankara Srijnana, the spiritual father of HH the Dalai Lama, was born in the
village Vajrayogini in Bikrampur region of Bengal, currently in Bangladesh, in 982 C! "e
was a great saintphilosopher of !"th!!th centur#$ the last among the great #ndian
teachers who went abroad for dissemination of knowledge systems!
"e is almost forgotten in #ndia over the past centuries but has been venerated for nearly
$%%% years as an outstanding personality in countries where Buddhism prevails, as a
shining symbol of peace, compassion, humanism, self&sacrifice, harmony and amity who
devoted his energies to the dissemination of 'harma to (danrapuri, Vikramasila,
)omapuri, *alanda and most of the other universities and monastic comple+es! "e
played a singular role in infusing wisdom and resurgence of Buddhism, laying a
foundation of Buddhism in all its purity!
,tisha had received, practiced, and mastered the instructions on %hera&ada$
'aha#ana $ and (ajra#ana schools of Buddhism, and non&Buddhist schools of his
time, including Vaisnavism, )aivism and -antrism, studied si+ty&four kinds of arts
including music and logic, and accomplished them by the age of twenty&two, was
ordained into the .ahasanghika lineage at the age of twenty&eight! "e was regarded
highly by all the traditions of Buddhism in #ndia at the time!
,t the age of thirty&one, ,tisha set off for a perilous journey, to )umatra in order to study
under the reputable Su&arnad&ipi Dharmakirti! )oddess %ara *as his guiding spirit
and continued to be so until the end of his life! ,tisha remained there for twelve
years! ,fter over a decade of intensive training, he returned to .agadha!
)oon he was appointed to the position of steward, or abbot, at the venerable Buddhist
uni&ersit# (ikramasila$ established b# the +ing Dharmapala of Bengal and rose to
prominence!
#n the $$th century, the -ibetan /ing Byang&chub 0(d invited ,tisha when monastic
Buddhist tradition of -ibet had been nearly wiped out after /ing 1ang&dar&ma2s intolerant
reign! "e has been an important figure for last ten centuries in the -ibetan Buddhist
tradition because he revived, refined, systemi3ed, and compiled an innovative
systemati3ed, and compiled an innovative and thorough approach to bodhichitta known
as 4mind training4 5-ib! lojong6, in such te+ts as , 1amp for the 7ath to nlightenment,
and established its primacy to the .ahayana tradition in -ibet!
,tisha spent nine years in *yetang, a town near 1hasa, where he discovered -ibetan
libraries with impressive collections written in both )anskrit and -ibetan! "e passed
away in ,' $%82 at the prophesied age of seventy&two in a village near 1hasa! "e was
enshrined near his last permanent home in the town of *yetang! ,tisha2s closest
disciple, 'romt9npa, the principal disciple of ,tisha kept his legacy, and this became
later known as the /adampa tradition of Buddhism! -his was later revived by the -ibetan
teacher -song&kha&pa, the founder of the :elug tradition!
;herever Buddhism prevails, Atisha is remembered as the highest of all &enerable!
"e was the last outstanding ,ndian Buddhist teacher *ho *ent abroad to spread
the message of the Buddha! #ndian historians have not documented his life and
activities!
-he chief disciple of ,tisha established /adampa sect which later became :elukpa the
history of 'alai 1amas can be traced back to the one who was named the first Dalai
Lama, 0:endun 'rup<, an outstanding disciple of -songkapa, who himself was a follower
of ,tisha!
-he international conference and e+hibition is a celebration of peace, compassion, love
and sacrifice, symboli3ed by Ven! ,tisha! "e preached the union of 'eans -upa#a. and
insight -prajna.,
Six /aramitas = charit#$ &irtue$ effort$ patience$ meditation and *isdom$ sun#ata$
associated with *agarjuna and Candrakirti, universal emancipation! -he first five of
these are according to ,tisha the upayas upon which one can build wisdom! ,ccording
to him moral conduct is of supreme importance for a true Buddhist! "e showed a
progressive and clear structure for a path to enlightenment!