Great Treasury of Merit. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

Tantra, would be like sealed treasure chests to which we could not gain access. In his Tantric teachings, Je Tsongkhapa explains the essential practices of all Tantric Deities. These days, for example, many people are able to practise the special yogas of Heruka and Vajrayogini only through the kindness of Je Tsongkhapa. Following Je Tsongkhapa’s explanations, later Teachers wrote the exceptional sadhanas and commentaries of Heruka and Vajrayogini that are practised today.

      From his profound wisdom Je Tsongkhapa presented a very special arrangement of Sutra and Tantra practices which, if followed sincerely, can lead to full enlightenment in one short human life. According to this arrangement we begin by practising Lamrim, the stages of the path, then we progress to Lojong, training the mind, and finally we advance to Vajrayana Mahamudra, which is the actual quick path to enlightenment. There is a Tibetan saying, ‘cho ma nor chag lam lo sum’, which means ‘The unmistaken Dharma is Lamrim, Lojong, and Mahamudra.’ Je Tsongkhapa taught how to incorporate all Dharma practices into this sequence. The first two, Lamrim and Lojong, are preliminary practices and Vajrayana Mahamudra is the actual practice. Many of Je Tsongkhapa’s faithful followers have reached enlightenment in three years by practising the Vajrayana Mahamudra of the Gelugpa Tradition.

      Before Je Tsongkhapa appeared in Tibet there were many misunderstandings and wrong practices with respect to Buddha’s Tantric teachings. Many Tibetans felt that the practices of Tantra were incompatible with keeping pure Vinaya vows, and as a consequence they either abandoned Tantra for the sake of practising the Vinaya or they abandoned the Vinaya for the sake of practising Tantra. Je Tsongkhapa refuted these wrong views and showed how all Buddha’s teachings can be practised purely without contradiction. Externally he showed how to practise the pure moral discipline of the Vinaya by keeping all two hundred and fifty three vows of a fully ordained monk immaculately; internally he showed how to engage in the vast practices of the Bodhisattva’s deeds by maintaining pristine Bodhisattva vows; and secretly he showed how to practise the two stages of Secret Mantra, which culminate in the supreme union of bliss and emptiness, by cherishing his Tantric vows and commitments more dearly than his life. These remarkable qualities of Je Tsongkhapa are praised in a special dedication verse that is often recited in Dharma Centres:

      May I meet the doctrine of Conqueror Losang Dragpa,

      Who has a pure practice of stainless moral discipline,

      The courageous practice of the extensive deeds of a Bodhisattva,

      And the yogas of the two stages to supreme bliss and emptiness.

      Although Je Tsongkhapa never made a public display of his miracle powers while he was alive, there were occasions when he revealed them privately. For example, at one time when he was residing in central Tibet he received many messages from his mother, who was a long way away in eastern Tibet, saying that she missed him very much and wanted him to return home. Because he was so busy helping others Je Tsongkhapa felt that he could not interrupt his work to make such a long journey, and so to console his mother he drew a portrait of himself on a piece of paper and sent it to her through a messenger. When Je Tsongkhapa’s mother received the portrait it spoke to her saying ‘Don’t worry, dear Mother, I am here.’ Later the portrait was taken to Kumbum Monastery where it became a holy object of offering and prostration for thousands of monks.

      When Je Tsongkhapa passed away, the whole country was overwhelmed with sorrow at the loss of their precious Teacher. Not only could they no longer see him directly but, since there were very few representations of him, most people were unable to see even his likeness. Consequently, many craftsmen set about making statues and painting thangkhas of him. Although Je Tsongkhapa had not publicly displayed his miracle powers while he was alive, after he passed away he performed many miracles through these statues and thangkhas. Eight statues in particular have since become very famous. They are known as:

      (1) Je she par ma (The Venerable One who Disappeared with a Smile)

      (2) Je nga dra ma (The Venerable One who is a Better Likeness)

      (3) Je shen pen ma (The Venerable One who is More Beneficial to Others)

      (4) Je ku thim ma (The Venerable One who Dissolved into the Body)

      (5) Je nam pur ma (The Venerable One who Rose into Space)

      (6) Je tsong pon gelek ma (The Venerable Chief Merchant Gelek)

      (7) Je tso dog ma (The Venerable One who Pacifies Conflicts)

      (8) Je ling pur ma (The Venerable One Gone to Another Land)

      The story of the first statue is as follows. At one time a humble practitioner tried to find a statue of Je Tsongkhapa for his retreat but was unsuccessful, so during his retreat he made a small statue and placed it on his shrine. For him this statue was like the living Je Tsongkhapa, and every day before beginning his meditation he made offerings and prostrations in front of it. One day as he rose from meditation he noticed that the statue was gradually melting into light. As he watched, the statue suddenly smiled and, rising into space, completely disappeared. The meditator was astonished and could hardly believe what he had seen. After reflecting for a long time he decided to go to his Teacher to tell him what had happened. His Teacher was delighted and told him to make another statue exactly like the previous one. This he did, and it is this statue that subsequently became known as The Venerable One who Disappeared with a Smile.

      The second and third statues were made by two craftsmen who were engaged in a friendly contest to see who was the more skilled at making statues. They took the two statues to a high Lama to adjudicate. As the Lama was examining them with a faithful mind, one statue spoke saying ‘I am a better likeness.’ Then the other statue retorted ‘But I am more beneficial to others.’ This is how these two famous statues received their names.

      The fourth statue is named after one that belonged to a practitioner called Nyungnay Lama, whose main practice was the Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa. He used to keep a statue of Je Tsongkhapa on his shrine, and he regarded this statue as the living Je Tsongkhapa. Each day he would practise Guru yoga from going for refuge up to dissolving Guru Tsongkhapa into his heart. Because he practised so sincerely he developed a very pure heart and attained a special experience of concentration. One day, while visualizing Je Tsongkhapa dissolving into his heart, he experienced his statue actually dissolving into him, and when he rose from meditation the statue on his shrine had completely disappeared. After this he quickly attained many high realizations. News of this event spread and the craftsman who had made the statue became very famous. Later he made another statue of Je Tsongkhapa to which he gave the name, The Venerable One who Dissolved into the Body.

      The fifth statue belonged to a monastery where it was often seen by one particularly sincere practitioner to rise into space and then return to its place on the shrine. Because of this, the statue became known as The Venerable One who Rose into Space.

      The sixth statue was made by a government minister who was a faithful disciple of Je Tsongkhapa, and Je Tsongkhapa himself had blessed it. One day however an evil person out of jealousy stole the statue and, taking it a long way away, threw it into a large river. Some time later an important merchant called Gelek was travelling on horseback in that area when he noticed a brightly coloured rainbow standing vertically in space, apparently emerging from the bed of a river. Thinking that this was an unusual sign, he decided to spend the night nearby. The next morning the rainbow was still there and so he decided to investigate further. Although the local people could see nothing in the river, Gelek was not convinced. Securing himself with ropes he waded into the icy river and dived to the bottom. There he found the statue of Je Tsongkhapa radiating brightly coloured rainbow lights. When he came to the surface the onlookers were astonished to see that he had not drowned, and even more astonished to see the precious statue that he was holding. Since it was the chief merchant Gelek who retrieved the statue, it subsequently became known as The Venerable Chief Merchant Gelek.

      The seventh statue comes from a part of eastern Tibet where at one time there was prolonged civil war. The local people longed for the fighting to stop and so they went to a nearby Lama who was renowned as a great meditator and asked him what they should do. He told them to construct a large statue of Je Tsongkhapa in their town and make offerings and requests in front of it. This they did and soon afterwards