Tsongkhapa Quotes
Tsongkhapa Lobsang Drakpa was a Tibetan Buddhist philosopher, monk, and reformer, the founder of the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism, which would become the school of the Dalai Lamas. His Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, modeled on the Bodhipathapradipa of Atisha, set out a comprehensive course of Buddhist study and practice that organized the entire path from initial reverence for one's teacher through the perfection of wisdom. The quotes below are attributed to Tsongkhapa, organized by topic.
Tsongkhapa on Knowledge
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“The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment , as translated by Chenmo Translation Committee (2000) p. 99”
That which is known as "meditation" is the act of sustaining an object of meditation and specific subjective aspects by repeatedly focusing your mind upon a virtuous object of meditation. The purpose of this is as follows. From beginningless time you have been under the control of your mind; your mind has not been under your control. Furthermore, your mind tended to be obscured by the afflictions
Tsongkhapa on Mind
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Attributed to Tsongkhapa:
“Reasoning rightly used is the chief preparation for meditation.”
Tsongkhapa on Nature
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Attributed to Tsongkhapa:
“Cause and effect operate in the world precisely because nothing is independently real.”
Tsongkhapa on Truth
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Attributed to Tsongkhapa:
“Emptiness is not the negation of things; it is the negation of their intrinsic existence.”
Tsongkhapa on Virtue
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Attributed to Tsongkhapa:
“The path begins with reverence for the teacher and ends in the perfection of wisdom.”
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Attributed to Tsongkhapa:
“Compassion without wisdom is incomplete; wisdom without compassion is incomplete; together they are awakening.”