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Je Tsong Khapa, Lobsang Drakpa (1357–1419)

Je Tsong Khapa, Lobsang Drakpa, was the founder of the Gelug tradition and one of the most influential Tibetan Buddhist scholars of the last millennium. He was born in the Tsongkha region of Amdo. At age 7 he received novice ordination and the name Lobsang Dragpa Pal. Later he moved to Lhasa and studied with more than 50 teachers of all Tibetan Buddhist traditions, including his spiritual master Rendawa.

At age 24 he received full ordination, and at age 37 he went with eight of his greatest students to the region of Olkar where he spent many years in retreat, teaching and debating on the meaning of the sutras and tantras, which resulted in a deep understanding of Nagarjuna’s Madhyamaka view. In his forties he composed both Lamrim Chenmo (The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path) and Ngarim Chenmo (The Great Treatise on the Tantric Stages of the Path). In 1409 he instituted the Great Prayer Festival in Lhasa, and in 1411 he founded Gaden Monastery, which eventually became the largest monastery in Tibet. Widely regarded as an emanation of Manjushri, Je Tsong Khapa composed eighteen volumes of works, of which the majority dealt with tantric subjects. Among his many famous students were his two principle disciples, Khedrub Je and Gyaltsab Je, and H.H. the First Dalai Lama Gendun Drub.