Lama Tsongkhapa Statue

Lama Tsongkhapa is the founder of the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in 1357 in the Tsong Kha region of Amdo in Tibet.

Lama Tsongkhapa is revered as one of the most significant Tibetan Buddhist teachers, appearing at a time when people did not understand how analytical study and yogic practice were to be united. He taught the correct way to practice both and is an example of how learning and meditative application are to be used as a unified path to achieve enlightenment.

Our statue of Lama Tsongkhapa is fifteen-feet in height, the largest one here at Tushita. When it was housed in the old meditation hall, Lama Tsongkhapa had to stick his head through a special hole cut for him in the low ceiling!

His importance in this lineage is demonstrated by his central position in the beautiful new gompa, which was completed in 2008.

Lama Tsongkhapa Statue on our Altar