{"id":6122,"date":"2026-05-19T11:48:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T11:48:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/tsongkhapa\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T09:25:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T09:25:40","slug":"tsongkhapa","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/tsongkhapa\/","title":{"rendered":"Tsongkhapa"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"6122\" class=\"elementor elementor-6122 elementor-3052 elementor-bc-flex-widget\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ff07ec5 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"ff07ec5\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d2587cd e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d2587cd\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2283551 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2283551\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c119749 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"c119749\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Tsongkhapa, Founder of the Gelug School<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7f77872 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7f77872\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Tsongkhapa Lobsang Dragpa (1357 to 1419) was a Tibetan scholar, monastic reformer and founder of the Gelug <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The passing on of knowledge and narratives across generations.\" tabindex=\"0\">tradition<\/span> (&#8220;School of the Virtuous&#8221;), which since the 17th century has been the religiously and politically dominant movement in Tibetan Buddhism.<\/p><p>From this school emerged the lineage of the Dalai Lamas and the Panchen Lamas. Tsongkhapa is regarded as one of the most important systematizers in the history of Tibetan Buddhism and shaped the scholastic tradition through his extensive body of work and through the founding of Ganden Monastery.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ab9f544 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"ab9f544\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c85aa6a elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"c85aa6a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"iwg-pill-row\"><span class=\"iwg-klasse-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"God \/ Goddess: Personified supreme power within the pantheon of a culture, with clear domains: forces of nature, fate, war, fertility. Venerated through cults, sacrifices and temple institutions.\">God<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/tibet\/\" class=\"iwg-kultur-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Tibetan Buddhist and B\u00f6n tradition: yidam, dharmap\u0101la, naga world.\">Tibet<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c9c56ca e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"c9c56ca\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-16d86f7 elementor-toc--minimized-on-tablet elementor-widget elementor-widget-table-of-contents\" data-id=\"16d86f7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;exclude_headings_by_selector&quot;:[],&quot;no_headings_message&quot;:&quot;Es wurden keine \\u00dcberschriften auf dieser Seite gefunden.&quot;,&quot;headings_by_tags&quot;:[&quot;h2&quot;,&quot;h3&quot;],&quot;marker_view&quot;:&quot;bullets&quot;,&quot;icon&quot;:{&quot;value&quot;:&quot;fas fa-circle&quot;,&quot;library&quot;:&quot;fa-solid&quot;,&quot;rendered_tag&quot;:&quot;&lt;svg class=\\&quot;e-font-icon-svg e-fas-circle\\&quot; viewBox=\\&quot;0 0 512 512\\&quot; xmlns=\\&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.w3.org\\\/2000\\\/svg\\&quot;&gt;&lt;path d=\\&quot;M256 8C119 8 8 119 8 256s111 248 248 248 248-111 248-248S393 8 256 8z\\&quot;&gt;&lt;\\\/path&gt;&lt;\\\/svg&gt;&quot;},&quot;minimize_box&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;minimized_on&quot;:&quot;tablet&quot;,&quot;hierarchical_view&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;min_height&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_tablet&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_mobile&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]}}\" data-widget_type=\"table-of-contents.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-toc__header-title\">\n\t\t\t\tTable of contents\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--expand\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__16d86f7\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Open table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-down\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M207.029 381.476L12.686 187.132c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941l22.667-22.667c9.357-9.357 24.522-9.375 33.901-.04L224 284.505l154.745-154.021c9.379-9.335 24.544-9.317 33.901.04l22.667 22.667c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941L240.971 381.476c-9.373 9.372-24.569 9.372-33.942 0z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--collapse\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__16d86f7\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Close table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-up\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M240.971 130.524l194.343 194.343c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941l-22.667 22.667c-9.357 9.357-24.522 9.375-33.901.04L224 227.495 69.255 381.516c-9.379 9.335-24.544 9.317-33.901-.04l-22.667-22.667c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941L207.03 130.525c9.372-9.373 24.568-9.373 33.941-.001z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-toc__16d86f7\" class=\"elementor-toc__body\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__spinner-container\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg class=\"elementor-toc__spinner eicon-animation-spin e-font-icon-svg e-eicon-loading\" aria-hidden=\"true\" viewBox=\"0 0 1000 1000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M500 975V858C696 858 858 696 858 500S696 142 500 142 142 304 142 500H25C25 237 238 25 500 25S975 237 975 500 763 975 500 975Z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-473c36f e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"473c36f\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-07c53db iwg-hero-image elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"07c53db\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_tibet_tsongkhapa-683x1024.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-6123\" alt=\"Tsongkhapa - gods from the Tibetan tradition, historical and illustrative\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_tibet_tsongkhapa-683x1024.webp 683w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_tibet_tsongkhapa-200x300.webp 200w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_tibet_tsongkhapa-768x1152.webp 768w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_tibet_tsongkhapa.webp 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ec5b4e8 e-con-boxed e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"ec5b4e8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c96e6c7 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"c96e6c7\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-238d336 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"238d336\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Life and biography<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-54cceea elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"54cceea\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Tsongkhapa was born in the eastern Tibetan region of Amdo, in present-day Qinghai. His birthplace is identified with Tsongkha, which gave him the byname &#8220;the man from Tsongkha&#8221;. He completed his first <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The discipline that studies religions comparatively and without confessional commitment.\" tabindex=\"0\">religious studies<\/span> at a nearby monastery of the nyingma and kadampa lineages.<\/p><p>At the age of 16 he travelled to Central Tibet to study at the great monasteries of Sangphu and Nethang. Over the following three decades he moved between several monasteries and learned from teachers of all the traditions of importance at the time.<\/p><p>In &#8220;Life and Teachings of Tsong Khapa&#8221; (1982) Robert Thurman traced Tsongkhapa&#8217;s life in detail and showed that his educational policy deliberately aimed at integrating all the study traditions of his day.<\/p><p>His most important teacher for <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Hinduism and Buddhism, an instructional text in concise form.\" tabindex=\"0\">Sutra<\/span> studies was Drakpa Gyaltsen, while for tantric studies it was above all Khedrup Je and Gyaltsab Je. Another important teacher was the Sakya master Rendawa Shy\u00f6nnu Lodr\u00f6, who trained him in particular in Madhyamaka philosophy. This broad educational foundation shaped the later profile of the Gelug school.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f64bbb4 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"f64bbb4\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0f9ab83 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"0f9ab83\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Religious and philosophical programme<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9bbbea1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9bbbea1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Tsongkhapa&#8217;s philosophical programme aimed at a rigorous union of scholarly <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Hinduism and Buddhism, an instructional text in concise form.\" tabindex=\"0\">Sutra<\/span> tradition and tantric practice. He insisted that both paths be completed in an ordered sequence: first the foundations of the monastic rule (Vinaya), then systematic <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Hinduism and Buddhism, an instructional text in concise form.\" tabindex=\"0\">Sutra<\/span> philosophy according to Madhyamaka and Pramana standards, and finally the tantric initiations and practices.<\/p><p>This gradation became the basis of the Gelug study reform and the norm for later Tibetan monastic education.<\/p><p>His most significant work is the &#8220;Lam Rim Chenmo&#8221;, the &#8220;Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment&#8221;, completed in 1402, which sets out the spiritual path of a <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Mahayana Buddhism, an enlightened being who postpones their liberation for the sake of teaching other beings.\" tabindex=\"0\">bodhisattva<\/span> in three stages (lesser, intermediate and higher motivation).<\/p><p>Donald Lopez and Joshua Cutler translated the work into English in several volumes and explained its philosophical premises. It is regarded as the central textbook of the Gelug tradition and is memorized and commented upon in the monasteries to this day.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-157b82d e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"157b82d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5b04173 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5b04173\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Interpretation of Madhyamaka<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8154cdb elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8154cdb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In the philosophical field, Tsongkhapa is known above all for his interpretation of Nagarjuna&#8217;s Madhyamaka school. He held a so-called &#8220;prasangika-madhyamaka&#8221; position, which rejected all substantive statements about ultimate reality and consistently developed the doctrine of &#8220;emptiness&#8221; (\u015b\u016bnyat\u0101) in dialectical terms.<\/p><p>His main work in this field is the &#8220;Clarity of Thought&#8221; (&#8220;dgongs pa rab gsal&#8221;), in which he drew on the commentarial tradition of the Indian Madhyamika Candrakirti and defended it against divergent interpretations.<\/p><p>In &#8220;A Dose of Emptiness&#8221; (1992) Jos\u00e9 Cabez\u00f3n showed that Tsongkhapa&#8217;s understanding of Madhyamaka differed in decisive points from earlier Tibetan readings. In particular, he rejected the notion that emptiness could be understood as an independent, positively definable absolute.<\/p><p>This position provoked opposition from within the Nyingma and Sakya schools, whose representatives accused him of an overly strict negativity. The resulting &#8220;emptiness controversy&#8221; shaped Tibetan philosophy for several centuries.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3deba7c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3deba7c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ea81549 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"ea81549\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Tantric works<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e0b27c6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e0b27c6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Alongside his <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Hinduism and Buddhism, an instructional text in concise form.\" tabindex=\"0\">Sutra<\/span> studies, Tsongkhapa was a significant scholar and practitioner of the highest tantric yogas. His work &#8220;sngags rim chen mo&#8221; (&#8220;Great Treatise on the Mantras&#8221;, 1405) is the tantric counterpart to the &#8220;Lam Rim Chenmo&#8221;.<\/p><p>It arranges tantric practices into four classes (Kriya, Carya, Yoga and Anuttarayoga <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Religious-ritual tradition in Hinduism and Buddhism with a doctrine of energy polarities.\" tabindex=\"0\">Tantra<\/span>) and gives for each the prerequisites, methods and results. This systematic ordering became the basis of Gelug tantra education.<\/p><p>Tsongkhapa was moreover an important commentator on the Guhyasamaja Tantra, which he regarded as the most central Anuttarayoga Tantra. The Chakrasamvara and Yamantaka Tantras were also fields of his intensive commentarial work.<\/p><p>In his studies on Aryadeva and Candrakirti, Christian Wedemeyer showed how Tsongkhapa joined the tantra tradition with Madhyamaka philosophy into a unified overall conception.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b335914 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"b335914\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cd96f2b elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cd96f2b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Founding of Ganden Monastery and the Great Prayer<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4a857d0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4a857d0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In 1409 Tsongkhapa initiated the &#8220;Monlam Chenmo&#8221;, the &#8220;Great <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The verbal address of a person to a deity.\" tabindex=\"0\">Prayer<\/span> of Lhasa&#8221;, a 21-day monastic festival held each year at the Tibetan New Year that brought together thousands of monks and lay people.<\/p><p>This festival established Tsongkhapa&#8217;s reform movement as a visible presence in the religious life of Tibet. In the same year he founded Ganden Monastery on a mountain east of Lhasa, which became the mother monastery of the Gelug tradition.<\/p><p>A few years later came the foundings of Drepung (1416 by Jamyang Choje, a student of Tsongkhapa) and Sera (1419 by Sakya Yeshe, likewise a student). These three monasteries, the &#8220;three seats of learning&#8221;, grew into the largest monastic establishments of Tibetan Buddhism and at their height each housed several thousand monks.<\/p><p>In his works on Tibetan monastic history, Per S\u00f8rensen showed that the wave of Gelug foundings in the early 15th century brought with it an economic and political reshaping of Central Tibet.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-68a198a e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"68a198a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-31e0675 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"31e0675\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Reform of the monastic order<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-83c8358 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"83c8358\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Tsongkhapa placed particular emphasis on the strict observance of the Vinaya, the monastic rule. He criticized the mixing of monastic discipline and tantric practice that was widespread in his time and insisted that monks live celibately and adhere to the traditional dietary rules.<\/p><p>This strictness earned him the byname &#8220;the second Buddha&#8221; (&#8220;sangs rgyas gnyis pa&#8221;), which is still used in the Gelug tradition today.<\/p><p>The reform also concerned the curriculum. Tsongkhapa introduced a fixed cycle of principal studies: Vinaya, Abhidharma, Pramana, Madhyamaka and Prajnaparamita. Each course lasted several years and concluded with debates and examinations.<\/p><p>The system of &#8220;Geshe examinations&#8221; he established ultimately led to the &#8220;Geshe Lharampa&#8221;, the highest academic degree of the Gelug school. In &#8220;The Madman&#8217;s Middle Way&#8221; (2006) Donald Lopez worked out the epistemic and institutional significance of this reform.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-29b3008 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"29b3008\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-890b427 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"890b427\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Death and afterlife<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1fb4c24 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1fb4c24\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Tsongkhapa died in 1419 at Ganden Monastery. His embalmed body was preserved there in a stupa and, until the destruction of the monastery during the Cultural Revolution, was regarded as one of the most important places of <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A religiously motivated journey to a sacred site.\" tabindex=\"0\">pilgrimage<\/span> in Tibetan Buddhism.<\/p><p>His work was collected in 18 volumes and published in the 17th century as a complete corpus in the famous Lhasa edition. Over the following centuries numerous scholars commented on his works; the &#8220;Lam Rim Chenmo&#8221; alone has produced more than 100 Tibetan commentaries.<\/p><p>Tsongkhapa&#8217;s day, the 25th day of the 10th Tibetan month, is still celebrated as &#8220;Ganden Ngamch\u00f6&#8221; with great butter-lamp festivals. In modern Tibetan Buddhism his figure is not confined to the Gelug school; he is esteemed as a major scholar in other traditions too, even where his philosophical positions are rejected.<\/p><p>Geoffrey Samuel has pointed out that, as an institutional key figure of Tibetan Buddhism, Tsongkhapa occupies a position as foundational as that of <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Italian theologian (1225-1274); principal work Summa Theologiae; Aristotelian synthesis of Christian philosophy.\" tabindex=\"0\">Thomas Aquinas<\/span> in the Catholic tradition or Maimonides in rabbinic Judaism.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-91d3352 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"91d3352\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-432921e elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"432921e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">International reception<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d15be08 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d15be08\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In Western Tibetology and <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The discipline that studies religions comparatively and without confessional commitment.\" tabindex=\"0\">religious studies<\/span>, Tsongkhapa has been studied intensively since Giuseppe Tucci&#8217;s works in the first half of the 20th century.<\/p><p>David Snellgrove, Robert Thurman, Donald Lopez, Jos\u00e9 Cabez\u00f3n and Jan-Ulrich Sobisch have examined his work in several fundamental studies. Tsongkhapa&#8217;s &#8220;Lam Rim Chenmo&#8221; is now fully available in English translation, and selected tantric texts are accessible in critical editions.<\/p><p>In the modern Tibetan exile, Tsongkhapa serves as a figure of identification for the Gelug tradition and as a guarantor of institutional continuity.<\/p><p>The 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso has, in numerous lectures and books, especially in his commentaries on the &#8220;Lam Rim Chenmo&#8221;, underscored Tsongkhapa&#8217;s relevance for present-day Buddhist practice. Beyond the specifically Buddhist reception, Tsongkhapa has been received in European and American academic philosophy as one of the most important non-Western systematizers.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8d55238 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"8d55238\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f9b9305 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f9b9305\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Body of writings and history of editions<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-80b5746 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"80b5746\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Tsongkhapa&#8217;s &#8220;gsung &#8216;bum&#8221; (&#8220;Collected Works&#8221;) comprises eighteen volumes in the traditional Tashilhunpo edition, containing some 210 independent works and letters.<\/p><p>Besides the &#8220;Lamrim Chenmo&#8221; (&#8220;Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment&#8221;, 1402) and the &#8220;Ngakrim Chenmo&#8221; (&#8220;Great Treatise on the Stages of <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sacred syllable or formula repeatedly recited in Hinduism and Buddhism.\" tabindex=\"0\">Mantra<\/span>&#8220;, 1405), the most influential texts include the &#8220;Drang-nges legs-bshad snying-po&#8221; (&#8220;Essence of Distinguishing the Provisional and the Definitive&#8221;, 1408), the &#8220;Rigs pa&#8217;i rgya mtsho&#8221; (&#8220;Ocean of Reasoning&#8221;, a commentary on N\u0101g\u0101rjuna&#8217;s M\u016blamadhyamakak\u0101rik\u0101) and the &#8220;Lhag mthong chen mo&#8221; (the section on insight from the Lamrim Chenmo).<\/p><p>In &#8220;Tsongkhapa&#8217;s Speech of Gold in the Essence of True Eloquence&#8221; (Princeton 1984) Robert A. F. Thurman presented a complete English translation of the &#8220;Drang-nges legs-bshad snying-po&#8221; with an extensive apparatus on the history of <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The academic discipline that studies religions comparatively and without confessional commitment.\" tabindex=\"0\">religion<\/span>; in &#8220;A Dose of Emptiness&#8221; (Albany 1992) Jos\u00e9 Ignacio Cabez\u00f3n provided a translation of mKhas-grub-rje&#8217;s commentary on Tsongkhapa&#8217;s Madhyamaka teaching.<\/p><p>The text-critical study of Tsongkhapa&#8217;s works has advanced considerably in recent decades through the &#8220;Sera Jey Library&#8221; and the &#8220;Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center&#8221; (TBRC, a digitization project of E. Gene Smith since 1999).<\/p><p>In &#8220;The Madman&#8217;s Middle Way&#8221; (Chicago 2006) and in his essays on Gelug hermeneutics, Donald S. Lopez Jr. showed that Tsongkhapa&#8217;s commentarial technique was methodologically innovative: he combined the Indian Prasa\u1e45gika style of Candrak\u012brti with a detailed epistemological analysis after Dharmak\u012brti, thereby creating a hybrid that shaped later Gelug scholasticism into the twentieth century.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4e02b96 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"4e02b96\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5134f5f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5134f5f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The controversy over the \"svatantra\" dispute<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1ce88a9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1ce88a9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>One of the central doctrinal controversies that Tsongkhapa brought into Tibetan intellectual history concerns the question of whether independent logical proofs (svatantra-anum\u0101na, Tib. &#8220;rang rgyud&#8221;) are admissible in Madhyamaka, or whether only consequence arguments (prasa\u1e45ga) may be used.<\/p><p>Tsongkhapa positioned himself strictly as a Prasa\u1e45gika in the line of Buddhap\u0101lita and Candrak\u012brti, against the position of Bh\u0101vaviveka, read as svatantrika.<\/p><p>This positioning is worked out in the &#8220;Lhag mthong chen mo&#8221; and in the &#8220;Rigs pa&#8217;i rgya mtsho&#8221;.<\/p><p>The subsequent schools reacted differently: the Sakya teachers Gorampa Sonam Senge (1429 to 1489) and Shakya Chogden (1428 to 1507) sharply contradicted Tsongkhapa, giving rise to the most important intra-Tibetan philosophical debate of the 15th and 16th centuries.<\/p><p>Cabez\u00f3n and Geshe Lobsang Dargyay reconstructed the lines of argument in this debate in several essays, collected in &#8220;Scholasticism&#8221; (Albany 1998). In &#8220;Freedom from Extremes&#8221; (Somerville 2007) Jos\u00e9 Cabez\u00f3n translated Gorampa&#8217;s main work &#8220;lTa ba&#8217;i shan &#8216;byed&#8221; (&#8220;Distinguishing the Views&#8221;) and compared it with Tsongkhapa&#8217;s position.<\/p><p>In the &#8220;Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies&#8221; (vol. 27, 2004), Janet Gyatso showed that the debate did not remain purely academic but was linked, well into the 17th century, with political consequences for the standing of the individual monastic centres.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b68be83 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"b68be83\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4fd2180 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"4fd2180\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Relationship to the B\u00f6n tradition and to older schools<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-55c1090 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"55c1090\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Tsongkhapa&#8217;s reform programme was not a complete break with existing Tibetan religiosity, but a reordering within the framework of existing traditions.<\/p><p>He took over essential elements of the kadampa school, which in the 11th century went back to the Indian teacher Atisha, and integrated them into an expanded philosophical and tantric conception. Toward the B\u00f6n religion, the pre-Buddhist Tibetan tradition, he kept an explicit distance, without persecuting its adherents.<\/p><p>Toward the nyingma-pa and kagy\u00fc-pa as well, who preserved many tantric lineages of older Indian and Tibetan masters, he showed no political hostility.<\/p><p>The later polarization between the Gelug and the Nyingma-pa or Kagy\u00fc-pa traditions is rather a consequence of the political conflicts of the 17th century and not Tsongkhapa&#8217;s own legacy. Klaus-Dieter Mathes has repeatedly stressed this distinction in his studies on the history of Tibetan Buddhism.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tsongkhapa, Founder of the Gelug School Tsongkhapa Lobsang Dragpa (1357 to 1419) was a Tibetan scholar, monastic reformer and founder of the Gelug tradition (&#8220;School of the Virtuous&#8221;), which since the 17th century has been the religiously and politically dominant movement in Tibetan Buddhism. From this school emerged the lineage of the Dalai Lamas and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6123,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"Tsongkhapa","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Tsongkhapa: Founder of the Gelug School | iWell Guard","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) founded the Tibetan Gelug school and is the spiritual father of the Dalai Lamas.","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_angie_page":false,"gefaehrdungsstufe":"","wesen_kultur":"","wesen_klasse":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[86,27,63,114],"class_list":["post-6122","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gods","category-goetter","category-tibet"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v28.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Tsongkhapa: Founder 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