Debut Transmission of Patriarch Tsongkhapa Practice


【LSCTT Seattle News 】Root Guru Living Buddha Lian-sheng Sheng-yen Lu announced that the Sept. 8 Fall Grand Ceremony, Seattle Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple (LSCTT), will feature the debut transmission of the Patriarch Tsongkhapa Practice.

On May 15 at the True Buddha Foundation (TBF) office, Grandmaster discussed some relevant points in relation to Tsongkhapa including a description of his statue and mantra. On May 17, Grandmaster further explained essential details regarding the construction of the Tsongkhapa thangka.

The key points of Grandmaster's recent discourse and his article on Tsongkhapa Practice are as follows:
Tsongkhapa is depicted as sitting on a moon-disc within a lotus. (Visualize, above one's crown, Tsongkhapa seated on a lion throne upon a moon disc within a lotus.)
Form the Turning the Dharma Wheel Mudra.
Tsongkhapa holds a lotus In each hand. On the lotus in his right hand is a Prajna Sword. The Prajna Paramita Sutra is on the lotus in his left hand.
He is clothed in yellow and wears a yellow hat.
He sits amidst wisdom light in the lotus position.
The buddhas of the three periods, namely Dipamkara Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha (in the middle), and Maitreya Buddha, are above Tsongkhapa's crown. Below the buddhas of the three periods are the three protectors, namely Four-armed Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri Bodhisattva (in the middle), and Vajrapani Bodhisattva. Positioned below Tsongkhapa are three dharma protectors namely, Yellow Jambhala, Yamantaka (in the middle) and Cakrasamvara. Manjushri Bodhisattva sits directly above Tsongkhapa while Yamantaka is directly below him.
Tsongkhapa's seed syllable is a yellow ''ah.''
Tsongkhapa has two heart mantras: ''Om。ban-za。zong-ka-pa。ge-lu。so-ha'' and ''Om-ah-hum。ban-za。zong-ka-pa。ge-lu。so-ha.''
Tsongkhapa is the emanation body of Manjushri. Tsongkhapa attained Buddhahood in his very body and founded the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

Grandmaster has previously discoursed the text of the Great Exposition of Secret Mantra in its entirety. On the first day of the discourse, July 13, 1994, Tsongkhapa appeared in space in golden radiance which enveloped his entire body. Tsongkhapa merged with Grandmaster and Grandmaster instantly transformed into Tsongkhapa.

On September 5, 1996, in his capacity as lineage holder of the Gelug Sect and as the representative of Tsongkhapa, HH Dharma King Ganden Tripa visited Living Buddha Lian-sheng at LSCTT and co-hosted a ceremony with him. During his visit, HH Ganden Tripa bestowed a dragon vest on Living Buddha Lian-sheng. This dragon vest is a lineage token which has been passed down from one generation to the next within the Gelug Sect.


Source: Seattle Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple


Translated by True Buddha Translation Team
Translator: Lynn Ang
Editor: Henry Wolf and DJ Chang