The eighth statue is named after a much revered statue of Je Tsongkhapa that mysteriously disappeared from Tibet. Pure practitioners with clairvoyance realized that the statue had gone to another land far away where the ground was strewn with diamonds and where the language and customs were completely different. They also realized that the statue was benefiting the people of that land, and so they decided to make another one similar to it and named it The Venerable One Gone to Another Land.
Miracles such as these are not confined to ancient times. Even today there are many statues and other representations of Je Tsongkhapa that possess special qualities. For example, there was one Geshe called Geshe Jatse whom I knew well when I was at Sera Monastery in Tibet. When he had completed his Geshe training he withdrew to a mountain cave to do retreat and remained there, living just like Milarepa, for the rest of his life. When he died his many disciples, together with a large number of onlookers, went to the cave to pay their respects and, to their astonishment, saw that Geshe Jatse’s statue of Je Tsongkhapa had grown teeth and hair. I heard this account directly from these disciples, some of whom I knew well.
My first Teacher in philosophy at Ngamring Jampaling Monastery was called Geshe Palden. At one time he did a long close retreat on Je Tsongkhapa counting Migtsema prayers. At the end of his retreat an image of Je Tsongkhapa appeared on one of the beads of his mala. He showed this to me and I saw it very clearly.
There are many other stories such as these which show that, even in these impure times, faithful practitioners can receive unceasing blessings from Je Tsongkhapa. If we keep a painting or statue of Je Tsongkhapa on our shrine and, with deep faith, regard that representation as the living Je Tsongkhapa and make offerings, prostrations, and requests in front of it, our life span and Dharma realizations will definitely increase. In particular, it is said that if a statue of Je Tsongkhapa is kept in a house the members of that household will not experience problems of poverty and their wisdom will naturally increase.
Togden Jampel Gyatso
Why We Need to Practise the Guru Yoga of Je Tsongkhapa
THE GURU YOGA OF JE TSONGKHAPA
The Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa will now be explained under three headings:
1 Why we need to practise the Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa
2 The origin and lineage of these instructions
3 The actual instructions
WHY WE NEED TO PRACTISE THE GURU YOGA OF JE TSONGKHAPA
Because we are so attached to worldly activities we usually have little desire to practise Dharma at all, let alone the Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa. This is our main obstacle. To overcome it we need to reflect on the reasons why it is necessary to practise this special Guru yoga.
There are two main Guru yogas related to Je Tsongkhapa: Offering to the Spiritual Guide, or Lama Chopa, which is practised in conjunction with Highest Yoga Tantra, and The Hundreds of Deities of the Joyful Land, or Ganden Lhagyema, which is a more general yoga that can be practised in association with either Sutra or Tantra. This second practice is very famous and all followers of Je Tsongkhapa memorize it and practise it regularly. Contained within this practice is a special prayer called the Migtsema prayer. If we understand this prayer we will realize why it is so important to practise the Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa. The prayer is as follows:
Tsongkhapa, crown ornament of the scholars of the Land of the Snows,
You are Avalokiteshvara, the treasury of unobservable compassion,
Manjushri, the supreme stainless wisdom,
And Vajrapani, the destroyer of the hosts of maras;
O Losang Dragpa I request you, please grant your blessings.
mig me tse wai ter chen chen re zig
dri me kyen pai wang po jam pal yang
du pung ma lu jom dze sang wai dag
gang chen khe pai tsug gyen tsong kha pa
lo sang drag pai zhab la sol wa deb
This prayer is very blessed because it was originally uttered by Manjushri. It comes from Manjushri’s Emanation Scripture, which he transmitted directly to Je Tsongkhapa. When Je Tsongkhapa received this prayer he changed two of the lines and offered it to his Spiritual Guide, Rendapa, but Rendapa returned it to Je Tsongkhapa in its original form saying that it was more suitable for him.
Many of Je Tsongkhapa’s followers have attained very high realizations through the practice of Migtsema combined with the Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa. Those who have completed an action retreat on Je Tsongkhapa can do a hundred and eight ritual practices associated with Migtsema, which were composed by later Lamas. These include rituals for healing mental and physical illnesses; for overcoming various obstacles; for averting inauspicious signs and bad dreams; for making or stopping rain; and for increasing life span, merit, and Dharma realizations. Above all, the Migtsema practice is the best method for increasing our faith in Je Tsongkhapa and his doctrine. If we have faith and practise Je Tsongkhapa’s teachings on Mahamudra sincerely, we can attain enlightenment in three short years. Our main problem is lack of faith.
The Migtsema prayer indicates that Je Tsongkhapa is an emanation of Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri and Vajrapani. As an emanation of Avalokiteshvara he is the embodiment of the compassion of all the Buddhas; as an emanation of Manjushri he is the embodiment of the wisdom of all the Buddhas; and as an emanation of Vajrapani he is the embodiment of the spiritual power of all the Buddhas. Because Je Tsongkhapa is an emanation of Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri and Vajrapani, when we make prostrations to him we make prostrations to all the Buddhas, when we make offerings to him we make offerings to all the Buddhas, when we make requests to him we make requests to all the Buddhas, and when we receive his blessings we receive the blessings of all the Buddhas. Therefore we definitely need to practise the Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa.
By relying upon Je Tsongkhapa our compassion, wisdom, and spiritual power naturally increase. In particular, because Je Tsongkhapa is an emanation of the Wisdom Buddha Manjushri, his faithful followers never experience difficulty in increasing their wisdom. Wherever there is a community of faithful followers sincerely practising Je Tsongkhapa’s teachings, their inner wisdom naturally increases. Wisdom is very important. The more wisdom we have, the less ignorance we have; and the less ignorance we have, the less suffering we experience. If we have wisdom there is no basis for experiencing problems.
What is wisdom? Ordinary intelligence is not wisdom. For example, some people are very clever when it comes to making weapons, poisonous chemicals, or other destructive or harmful substances. Others have great expertise in business or politics. Similarly, some animals are very clever. Cats, for example, are very skilled at catching mice, and mice are very skilled at stealing food. However, these are not examples of wisdom. Wisdom never causes suffering or non-virtue.
Wisdom is a virtuous, intelligent mind that understands its object unmistakenly and functions to dispel deluded doubt. Because it is a virtuous mind, wisdom always causes happiness; it never causes suffering or problems. Moreover, because it understands its object unmistakenly, wisdom always leads to correct paths and correct actions; it never deceives living beings. If we always engage in correct actions there is no basis for problems to arise and so we always experience good results. Moreover, wisdom dispels deluded doubts which obstruct the development of faith and impede our spiritual progress.
If our wisdom is weak we experience obstacles, but if our wisdom is strong we have no problems. Wisdom teaches us what to do and what not to do; it is like an inner Teacher that we carry in our hearts, and like a Protector that protects us from engaging in wrong actions and having to experience their unpleasant results. When we are discouraged, disappointed, or depressed, wisdom lifts our mind and makes us happy; and when we are over-excited or distracted, wisdom calms our mind