Kadam (Tibetan Buddhism) - Kadam Lineages

Kadam Lineages

After the death of Atisha (1054) his main disciple Lama Dromtonpa (Drom-tön Gyal-we Jungne, 1005–1064) organized his transmissions into the legacy known as "The Four Divinities and Three Dharmas" - a tradition whereby an individual practitioner could perceive all doctrines of the Sutras and Tantras as non-contradictory and could personally apply them all as complementary methods for the accomplishment of enlightenment. Eventually this lineage came to be known as Atisha's Kadam Tradition, the Marvellous Legacy of Seven Divine Dharmas.

Lama Dromtonpa transmitted the various lineages of Atisha by dividing them between The Three Noble Brothers. To one he gave the scriptural traditions, to the second the oral transmissions, and to the third the pith instructions. The Three Noble Brothers are: Geshe Potowa (Potowa Rinchen Sal), Geshe Chenngawa (Chengawa Tsultrim Bar) and Geshe Phuchungwa (Phuchungwa Shönu Gyaltsen).

Dromtonpa founded Reting Monastery (Wylie: Rwa-sgreng) in 1056 in Reting Tsampo Valley north of Lhasa, which was thereafter the seat of the lineage. The nearby Phenpo Chu and Gyama Valleys were also home to Kadampa monasteries.

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