In honor of Atisha, once and now

It is a question only few people pose: how would Tibet look like today without Atisha?

Most likely Buddhism would have vanished from the hearts of the Tibetan people, monks would not have known what and how to teach, monasteries would have lost their purpose. There would have been no teaching of the Lam Rim, as the gradual path to enlightenment is called, there would be no understanding of Bodhichitta ( enlightened mind) as the gate to the truth, no preservation of so many holy scripts, which were lost in India, but saved in Tibet and later spread around the globe. Tsongkapa would have had no basis for his great reforms and the founding of the Gelug sect with a Dalai Lama as its head. There would be no driving force, who over the last decades has brought Atisha's message to the rest of the world.

From India Atisha had come to Tibet. One thousand years later, Atisha comes from Tibet to the world. Atisha meditation centers, many led by Tibetan monks are opening up all over the West and East and in memory of him, some groups even use the name of Serlingpa, whom Atisha called one of his greatest teachers.

Who was Atisha? Who was Serlingpa? Both were born towards the end of 10th century.
Serlingpa was an offspring of the Srivijaya Dynasty, which had its roots in the Island of Java, but moved its seat to the Island of Sumatra and influenced for centuries the culture and religion of large parts of Southeastasia. Serlingpa's Sanskrit name was Dharmakirtisri.

In his time, Serlingpa seems to have been the most revered scholar in the Buddhist world. Even Chinese and Indians respected his monastery near the city of Palembang as the leading center of Buddhist learing.

One of the reasons for Serlingpa's outstanding reputation was his clear and comprehensive knowledge of Buddha's teachings, especially of the path to Bodhichitta, the path to the enlightened mind. The concept and teachings of Bodhichitta was not Serlingpa's invention as nothing that was ever taught by the holy men was ever invented by them. What they taught was and is eternal. For Serlingpa the practise of Bodhichitta was natural. He did not have to learn it. Bodhichitta is the core of the Javanese soul and is there ever since the people of Java came to this earth. Buddha had talked about Bodhichitta and later the great Buddhist scholar Nagarjuna put it in writing. That was about 700 years before Serlingpa. What Serlingpa did was to cleanse the various teachings of Bodhichitta, which existed at that time, from confusing interpretations and made it easy for people to understand. Easy though it may have been in those days when people lived close with nature. Nowadays, when Materialism is over whelming the human mind, the path to Bodhichitta, the practise of loving kindness and compassion seems much more difficult.

Atisha was the second son of the Ruler in what today is the border area between India and Bangladesh. It is said, that during Atisha's birth in 982 many wondrous things happened such as a shower of blue Lotus-flowers descending on his mothers lap. His parents named him Chandragharba, the "Essence of the Moon". In the Buddhist tradition, the sun stands for wisdom and the moon for the means to achieve this wisdom. In all his later teachings Atisha reminded his followers again and again to never separate the two, since every human being is given the means to achieve wisdom. But if people use the means in order to fulfil the desires of their senses, wisdom is unattainable. People will not be able to follow the path to inner liberation. They will remain in the endless cycle of rebirth.

Already as a small child, Atisha started to preach. Monks from the famous Vikramasila Monastery, which was close to his parents palace, guided his spiritual development. At the age of 20, Atisha was ordained and given the name Dipamkara Srijnana. He hardly could have gotten a more challenging name, since this was the name of the first Buddha, who was long before Siddharta Gautama. Buddha Dipamkara, so it is said, was the invisible spiritual guide for Siddharta to achieve enlightenment and become the historical Buddha, known as Buddha Sakyamuni. Much later, during his time in Tibet, Dipamkara Srijnana was being called Atisha.
Atisha was an eager student. He studied the scripts of all the Buddhist schools, not taking side with any one. After all, there had been only one Buddha Sakyamuni and if one wanted to follow him one would have to walk his path. Only then could one hope to enter the gate to Nirvana and unite with the Creator of All, the Only and Almighty One. As Atisha discovered, reaching Nirvana was not to separate oneself from the world, but to use the Enlightenment to work with loving kindness and compassion for the benefit of all. For Atisha there was no separation of Buddha's teachings into Hinayana (the small wagon of the younger Buddha ) and Mahayana ( the big wagon of the older Buddha ).

After Atisha had studied with all the famous teachers of India, he was told, that there is only one left, who could still teach him more. This was Serlingpa, who himself had been in India before. Together with 125 disciples and traders Atisha set out for Sumatra. 13 months later he arrived. Atisha was about 30 years old.

There was so much to learn and see that Atisha stayed with Serlingpa for 12 years. According to research in Indonesia, Atisha seems to have also visited the Island of Java, where Serlingpa's ancestors had built many holy places such as the world famous Stupa Borobudur, the temple complex Prambanan, the Tara Temple Kalasan und Boko Palace, which Javanese people consider the cradle of their philosophy.

Boko, a hill top temple and palace complex goes back to the 5th or 6th century. It was the seat of Panangkaran, the Great Wise Man of Java. The kings of the Sailendra-Dynasty are known to have built Borobodur, but Panangkaran was its conceptor. Panangkaran first gave the design for the Tara Temple in Kalasan and then for Borobodur.

For Atisha, the visits to Boko and Borobodur must have felt like homecoming. Each of those holy places has its own explanation and messages, set in their architectural layout and structures and reliefs of stone. Each of those places contains the knowledge, that Atisha had learned from scripts. While circumambulating and walking up to the top of the Stupa of Borobudur, Atisha found all there is in the Universe, all knowledge about heaven and earth and the path to the ultimate truth, to the Oneness of All. Also, there was the Tara Temple. Tara had been to Panangkaran, what Tara had been to Atisha. The Buddhist deity had been Atishas guardian and guide ever since he was a child. It was her, who advised him not to get married, to become a monk and practise the Dharma. And it was her, who guided him in his decision to go to Tibet.
Atisha came to understand, that Serlinpas version of Buddhism seemed nearly identical with the Javanese philosophy striving to control desires in order to achieve an enlightened mind. But while Buddha `s teachings were eventually written down, Javas philosophic path remains unwritten up to today. People must feel their Inner when they discover themselves. They can not it by using word. Words are the product of the mind – and here lies the root of all problems mankind has ever had and is having today. The intellectual mind wants to reason, to interpret and to know better than the hidden "mind" of the soul.

When Atisha left to return to India, Serlingpa gave him six of his scripts. These scripts contain the essence of Buddha's teachings. Laymen would not have to study all the Sutras and Tantras, in which Buddha explained the human nature and how to free themselves from rebirth. Since Atisha was well versed in the Sutras and Tantras, he understood, that Serlingpas scripts were like a key for all, who wanted to open their inner doors. Wherever Atisha went, those 6 scripts were always with him.. Back in India, Atisha was made the head of his former school, the monastery of Vikramasila. One day, a group of Tibetan monks came to see him. They had been sent by Jangchub ?, the King of western Tibet, to plead with Atisha to come to Tibet and save Buddhism from extinction.

Atisha hesitated. There was so much to do in India, where Buddha's message needed to be revived as well. But after Atisha was told, that Jangchub ?`s oncle, King Yeshe ?, had sacrificed his life to make Atisha come, Atisha felt, Tibet was his destiny. He went, spent one year in Nepal and arrived at the country of the Snow Lion at the age of about sixty.

Murals in many Tibetan monasteries recall, how Atisha was received by Jangchub ?, all the monks and people with greatest honours and open hearts. Jangchub ? wanted nothing more than to bring his people back to the spiritual path. So he asked Atisha to compose a short, precise and practical guide on how to practice the Dharma. Everyone should be able to understand. Only then, so said the King, could Buddhism be revived. That was, what Atisha had been prepared for by Serlingpa. Atisha compressed Serlingpa`s Scripts into what is read by people all over the world up to today: The Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (Bodhipathapradipa), a guiding text of 68 verses only. Once again Atisha lived up his name of Dipamkara, which means: the Lighter of the Lamp.

For Atisha it may not have been easy to cope with the high altitude of an average of 4000 Meters, the cold winters and the travelling over far distances, mainly by horse, boat and foot. But he braved the harshness of nature with his inner powers and his love for the people, he visited many holy places on the mountains and in the valleys, he wrote essays and taught, prayed in caves, had Stupas built, blessed existing monasteries and encouraged the establishment of new ones. Most of all, he cleared up the religious confusion and united the schools of Buddhism as well the teachings of Sutra and Tantra into one and the same. There was no more Hinayana or Mahayana. There was the teaching of loving kindness and compassion, which leads to Wisdom, to Bodhichitta, the enlightened mind. Atisha became the beloved "Dorje Pandit Atisha", "the Precious Lord" , the savior of the Dharma in the hearts of the people.
After many years of travelling, Atisha spent a longer time in the caves of Drak Yerpa, a mountainous area in the eastern surroundings of Lhasa and finally settled at a small monastery called Njetang, half an hour drive west from Lhasa. Here his throne can still be seen as well as his selfmade statue and a small stupa, containing his personal belongings next to another Stupa of his favorite disciple Dromt? Atisha died in Njetang in 1054 at the age of 72.

Almost one thousand years have passed. Many Tibetan monasteries honor Atisha with statues, murals or Tankas, often together with Dromt?npa and Serlingpa. But what do the monks know of Atisha or Serlingpa? Yes, they say, Atisha was a great Lama and Serlingpa was his teacher. Atisha was the one, who preached the need to tame the mind , practise Compassion, treat all people as parents and always be grateful to them. Older monks still tell the story, how Yeshe ? and Janchub ? did everything to make Atisha come to Tibet and that Atisha is seen as the father of all, who adhere to Tibetan Buddhism. Older monks also know, that there seems to be a spiritual and geographic North-South Line between the Indonesian Stupa of Borobudur and the Tibetan Kumbum Stupa in Gyantse. Both are built on a very similar Mandala, both are manifestations of the universal compassion and truth, though the Kumbum Stupa was built about 900 years after Borobodur and 400 years after Atisha. Younger monks, however, know hardly more than Atisha's name though they all speak of compassion as the leading theme in their life. But spiritual and intellectual depths is missing. And as in the days before Atisha, there are various sects and only a few monks, who can read the original holy scripts in Sanskrit language. At least there is the Gelug sect, which was founded in the 15th century by Tsongkapa, after he had a vision of Atisha.

Is another Atisha needed to once again cleanse and unite the teachings and the believers as well? As an old men said, everything has its time and if the right time has come, a wise man will appear and open scripts, which have not been destroyed, but hidden for future use. Is this time coming? Some of those scripts are the ones of Serlingpa. Two of them seem to have been found and are kept in safekeeping in Lhasa's holy mountain place, the Potala Palace. Another sign of changing times is the rehabilitation of the Lama-Temple Yonghegong in Beijing. There a whole Pavillion is being dedicated to the fathers of the Gelug sect, showing among others the statues of Serlingpa, Atisha, Dromt?npa and Tsongkapa.

Architectural art of Tibetan Buddhism

The Tibetan Plateau, with an average elevation of 4,000 meters, has long been known as the Roof of the World, where the weather is cold, rainfall is limited, natural conditions are rather harsh, and there are not many forests but plenty of stone.

Among Tibet's buildings, the achievement of Tibetan Buddhist buildings is the highest. In the seventh century, the Tubo Tsampo Kingdom emerged on the Tibetan Plateau. Along with the development of Tibet's relationship with the inland areas and Southeast Asia, Buddhism was introduced from India and the central plains.

The two wives of TSongsang Gampo, king of Tubo Tsampo, namely, Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty (entered Tibet in 641 ) and Princess Chizun of Nepal, both worshipped Buddhism. Organized personally by Princess Wencheng, the Reshazu Lakang, the first Buddhist structure in Tibet, built in Luoxie (present-day Lhasa), is the predecessor of the still existing Gtsug-Khang Monastery. In the year 762, Khri-sron-btsan, king of Tubo Tsampo built Tibet's first formal temple, Bsam-yas Monastery, and seven Tibetan youths were tonsured to become monks.

Before Buddhism was introduced into China, Tibet had already had a primitive religion, Bon, which was later blended with Buddhism. In addition, due to the strong influence of Tantrism of Indian Buddhism and elements of Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism developed a very strong mystical color obviously different from Buddhism in the inland areas. In Tibetan Buddhism, commonly called Lamaism, the temple is called a Lama temple, and the pagoda is called a Lama pagoda.

Beginning from the Yuan Dynasty, Tibet was formally included into Chinese territory WC can say that there is no other place in China like Tibet, wherein religion stands above all else, where life is full of a strong religious flavor and culture contains a strong theological atmosphere. Tibetan Buddhism was introduced into the Mongolian region in the Yuan Dynasty and was gradually widely accepted by the Mongolian people. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the emperors also built some Lama temples and Lama pagodas in Beijing and north China in order to unite the Tibetan and Mongolian nationalities.

Tibetan Buddhist monasteries can be classified into three kinds-Tibetan, mixed Tibetan/Han, and Han types. The Tibetan-type Buddhist monastery almost prevails all over Tibet and its neighboring provinces. The Tibetan-Han mixed type based mainly on the Tibetan-type monasteries is found mostly in Inner Mongolia. There are also a small number of Han-type monasteries. The Lama temples in Beijing, Chengde and Wutai Mountains are mostly of a Han type or Tibetan/Han mixed type based mainly on Han style.

Tibetan-type Lama temples can also be divided into those built on level ground and those set up at the foot of mountains, with the latter accounting for the greater part. Flatland temples are often of a semi-regulated and symmetrical form, with the image of the main big hall as the composition center being most outstanding. A free-style layout is used for temples at the foot of mountain areas, which lacks both an overall axis and a pre-determined plan, although they still follow some rules for arrangement. For example, most temples lean against slopes in the north and face flatlands in the south. At the back of the terrace are arranged tall colorful scripture halls and Buddhist halls, and in its outer part are mansions for Living Buddhas. The further Outer part is encircled by a large stretch of low small yards in which ordinary monks are living. A large temple was often gradually completed over several decades of development.

Spiritual totem of Tibetan Buddhists

There are no written records about the exact construction date of the prayer stone wall. But local monks estimated that the carving began in the mid-19th century and finished in the early 1950s.According to the local chronicle, the third-generation abbot of the temple was in charge of the early carving work. He invited a senior monk versed in both carving and painting and selected dozens of temple monks and farmers to carve three stone sutras for the temple.

His successor was the fourth-generation abbot, also a living Buddha. It was during his reign that a massive carving campaign was launched. Thanks to his influence and close kinship with the local chieftain, he mobilized enough funding and materials for the carving work. The expansion of the wall proceeded smoothly and was finished in 30 years.

After the wall was completed, it became a Mecca of Tibetan Buddhists around the area. Pilgrims come all year long. Tibetans believe that walking around the whole wall equals reading the whole collection of Buddhist. Since the completion of the wall, no big natural disasters have taken place in Heri. Therefore, local people believe that it is the sacred soul of the carved stone wall that has brought them peace and good luck.

The carved stone wall in Heri is a magnificent cultural site consisting of valuable religious documents and unique Buddhist art. It is a precious cultural heritage of Tibetan people and even the whole Chinese nation. I wish that it would be better preserved.

A monk from the Tashilhunpo Monastery in Xigaze of Tibet works on a colourful sandy mandala at the Capital Museum in Beijing.

Despite the noise from the curious and excited crowd, the three young monks from Tashilhunpo Monastery in Xigaze of the Tibet Autonomous Region were careful not to misplace any grain of colourful sand.

Bent over a yellow wooden board about 1 square metre in size, they were scrubbing a file-like bronze instrument on the sawtooth of another bronze container to send refined sand trickling from the container's pointed mouth onto the board.


A white conch, two fish and other auspicious symbols appeared in the eight pedals surrounding a central circle in white, black, blue, red, yellow and green.


"They have been working on the sandy mandala for two days," said Dekyi Pedron, a Tibetan-language broadcaster with Central People's Radio, on Tuesday afternoon at the Capital Museum soon after the Tibetan Culture Exhibition's opening ceremony in Beijing.


"When the work is finished in another two days, they will pray and then mix the sand before sweeping it away," explained Pedron, who acts as a guide at the exhibition. "This is an important ceremony to show the philosophy of Tibetan Buddhism."


Although the monks will finish their sandy mandala in just a few days, visitors can still watch Tibetan painters working on traditional tangka paintings and admire more than 200 precious cultural relics and 300 pictures at the show, which will run through October 22 at the newly opened Capital Museum on Chang'an Avenue.


"This is a wonderful exhibition. More such exhibitions should be held about Tibet," said Stanley E. Henning in fluent Chinese at the exhibition.


The US veteran has been learning Chinese and martial arts for over 30 years, and taught literature for a year in Southwest China's Yunnan Province. Although he hasn't been to Tibet, Henning has read much about it and longs to see the temples which "best capture the Tibetan cultural essence."


Changes inevitable
While visitors are enchanted by the exhibition, some 120 experts have discussed urgent issues facing Tibetan culture at the two-day China Tibetan Culture Forum sponsored by the China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture.


At the forum, which began on Tuesday morning, guests from all over the world talked about the changes brought by development and measures for preservation.


Tsewang Jigme, president of the Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences, noted that changes are taking place in every aspect of Tibetans' lives. On weddings, people still wear Tibetan costumes, offer hada, sing and dance. But modern elements such as Western wedding garments, beer and pop songs are becoming fashionable.


In the 1990s, the Ethnic Publishing House included thousands of terms in a 390-page "Dictionary of Tibetan Words of Respect." But the researcher noted that few young Tibetans still use such eloquent terms.


"While the increasing number of tourists brings economic benefits to Tibet, the Tibetan traditions which maintain harmonious relationships between man and nature, man and society and between different people must be carried on," said Jigme.


Melvyn C. Goldstein, professor of Case West Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, has been to Tibet many times over the past two decades. In recent trips, he noted the use of motorcycles and trucks and herders have settled down in brick houses.


"This is something that the locals have found useful for their lives. In September, the herders still live in tents as they herd cattle on pastures," said Goldstein. "I found their culture has changed a great deal, but it's changed as the people themselves chose to do so."


Lai Shianglung, a former senior official for the Social and Economic Affairs Office of the United Nations, raised the concept of "cultural liberty," which means that people should have the right to select their own cultural expressions as globalization picks up speed.


"Different cultures have the equal right to impact people's lives, and eradicating poverty is the key to protecting and developing culture," said Lai.


Dr Charles Ramble of Oxford University first went to the Tibet Autonomous Region in 1985, and has found evidence of prosperity for everyone while noting more cultural practices.


There are more monks in temples; people are making pilgrimages more freely, Tibetan Opera troupes are flourishing, and village events such as the harvest ceremony or horse racing are seen everywhere, said Ramble, president of the International Seminar for Tibetan Studies.
"Economic development does not always turn people against tradition, which is not necessarily conservative," said Ramble, who has specialized in the Bon religion and has learnt several Tibetan dialects through 15 years of living in Nepal and extensive contacts with Tibetan farmers and herders.


When people become rich, occasionally they lose touch with their own culture; when people are poor, they might think adopting other cultures could benefit their lives.


But "as long as the economy keeps on improving and the Tibetan language is preserved, the Tibetans will have confidence in their own culture," he said.


Cultural gateway


Ravi Bhoothalingam, editor of the World Affairs of India and chairman of Nanas Advisory in India, has long cherished a dream,


Trade between China and India began some 2,000 years ago via the mountain passes along the mighty Himalayas. Ancient pioneers like Xuanzang and Padmasambhava conveyed knowledge and ideas through unimaginable hardships.


"I hope that the future will be just like the past: People can enjoy free exchange of culture and friendship without formalities," said Bhoothalingam, who is very interested in developing "cultural tourism" in Tibet.


"Tibet is like no other place in the world; its physical and cultural environment is what people want to see. So a delicate balance must be maintained between development and preservation," Bhoothalingam said.


In the past few years, Annie S. C. Wu has been to Tibet 26 times as the Executive Chairman of Hong Kong World Trade Centres Association. She has found Tibet to be the "Shangri-La" described by James Hilton in "The Lost Horizon."


But Wu is dismayed that many outsiders misunderstand the real situation of Tibet.
To correct this, she has been working very hard. In 1999, she organized a concert in Lhasa featuring Hong Kong pop star Andy Lau, American-based pianist Kong Xiangdong, young Tibetan singer Nyima Phuntso and other artists. Last year, she held an exhibition of 123 Tibetan cultural relics in Sacramento, California.


Wu pointed out that the centuries-old folk houses at the Barkor Bazaar need protection just as urgently as the Jokhang Monastery inside the bazaar. She is working to build a model base combining environmental protection and tourism development in the suburbs of Lhasa.
"Tibet must not sacrifice its unique scenery for economic gains. Renovation is needed for tourism schemes like the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway," said Wu.


Path to enlightenment
"Brilliant!" exclaimed Lama Gangchen after watching the sandy mandala at the exhibition. The founder of Lama Gangchen World Peace Foundation, an NGO based in Italy and accreditation from the United Nations, commented that the exhibition is "the best investment because a cultural exhibition could bring peace to people's mind and help lead to world peace."


In 1963, Lama Gangchen left Tibet to promote Buddhism in the world. In 1987, the 10th Panchen Lama invited him home and he has rebuilt the Kangchen Chosphel Lin Monastery near Xigaze, originally founded in the 15th century. He has also funded some schools and hospitals in Tibet.


Sunny Kuo, a Chinese-American who runs an electronics company in Shenzhen of South China's Guangdong Province, first met Lama Kangchen at a grand ceremony at the Tashilhunpo Monastery presided over by the 11th Panchen Lama in 2002.
"The Panchen was only 12 and he was carrying on the religious lineage with such charisma. I was lost in the resonating chanting of the lamas," said Guo, who made a documentary of the ceremony entitled "Dharma and Heritage." When he showed it at the UN and other places, "many people were moved to tears."


Kuo has followed Lama Kangchen ever since. They are now promoting the idea of "Peace Media," aiming to spread spiritual peace to the chaotic world.


"Many people come to Tibet in search of something they've lost," wrote Lama Gangchen in the thesis for the forum. "Like the Buddha who lived 2,500 years ago, we are still asking: Where is the path toward enlightenment?"


"We may have found a path: Tibetan Buddhism, which has kept the religious essence alive through the efforts of numerous monks in beautiful monasteries."