Homage to the Great Masters

Homage to the Great Masters.

With this phrase Je Tsongkhapa begins The Three Principal Aspects of the Path to Highest Enlightenment (translated by Gelek Rimpoche as The Three Principles of the Path). In this way, he acknowledges his debt to his predecessors in the Lam Rim ("Stepwise Path") lineage. Some of the major figures in this lineage, as shown in the thangka below, are Atisha directly above Tsongkhapa; Shantideva above Atisha; Nagarjuna (I think) above Shantideva; then Buddha Shakyamuni to the left of Nagarjuna. Tsongkhapa's disciples are shown on both sides, and their spiritual descendants below. (We'll leave the "deities" for another time.)

As Christians who hope to benefit from this study of the Lam Rim, we should extend our admiration and gratitude to the entire Lam Rim lineage, and especially to Gelek Rimpoche, the Dalai Lama and the rest of the accomplished masters of their generation, who through their great generosity, skillful means and tireless teaching have brought the benefits of this tradition to the Western world. We should also remember with joyful gratitude all those who have passed on to us, sometimes at great cost, the wisdom of the Hebrew Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,
and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,
looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith....
-- Hebrews 12:1,2