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Tsongkhapa

Type Figure Region Tibet Time c. 1357–1419 Also known as Founder of the Gelug school

Tsongkhapa (1357–1419) was a Tibetan Buddhist philosopher, reformer, and founder of the Gelug (Yellow Hat) school.…

Timeline

  1. 1357–1400Central Tibet · TibetTsongkhapa was born in Tsongkha, Qinghai, ordained as a youth, and studied under masters of the Nyingma, Sakya, and Kagyu schools, systematically studying Madhyamaka, logic, and tantra. Known for strict discipline and rational debate, he gradually gained reputation in Tibetan scholarly circles.
  2. 1401–1410Lhasa · TibetBetween 1401 and 1410 Tsongkhapa reformed monastic discipline around Lhasa and promoted the Madhyamaka view. In 1409 he restored the Jokhang and established the Monlam Chenmo (Great Prayer Festival). That same year he founded Ganden Monastery on Wangpori Mountain as the root seat of the Gelug school, marking the formal emergence of the Yellow Hat tradition as an independent lineage.
  3. 1410–1419Ganden Monastery · TibetAfter 1410 Tsongkhapa resided at Ganden Monastery, teaching sutra and tantra extensively and completing important works such as the Lamp of the Path to Enlightenment. His disciple Jamyang Chöje founded Drepung Monastery in 1416, and Shakya Yeshe founded Sera Monastery in 1419. Tsongkhapa passed away at Ganden Monastery in November 1419, and his body is enshrined in the Ganden stupa.

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