I'd like to meet:
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso is a Tibetan Buddhist monk, Gelug teacher (scholar) and author of Buddhist books. He was born in Tibet in 1931 and ordained at the age of eight. In 1976 he was invited by Lama Thubten Yeshe, a Gelug Tulku, to teach at his FPMT center Manjushri Institute, Ulverston, England. After a schism with the FPMT[1] he founded the New Kadampa Tradition in 1991.
Buddha Shakyamuni Siddhartha Gautama (Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from Ancient India and the founder of Buddhism.[1] He is generally recognized by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha (Samm,,sambuddha) of our age.
Buddha Vajradhara is the ultimate Primordial Buddha, or Adi Buddha, according to the cosmology of Tibetan Buddhism. Vajradhara displaced Samantabhadra Buddha in Gelug and Kagyu mythologies, but is metaphysically equivalent. Achieving the 'state of vajradhara' is synonymous with complete realisation.
From the primordial Vajradhara/Samantabhadra were manifested the Five Wisdom Buddhas (Dhyani Buddhas):
* Akshobhya * Amoghasiddhi * Amitabha * Ratnasambhava * Vairocana
Avalokiteshvara (Sanskrit: ???????????? , lit. "Lord who looks down") is the bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He is the most widely revered bodhisattva in Buddhism. Avalokitedhvara is also referred to as Padmapani ("Holder of the Lotus") or Lokeshvara ("Lord of the World"). In China, Avalokiteshvara is known as Guan Shì Yin (Traditional Chinese: ???, Simplified Chinese: ???), which means "Observer of the Cries of the World." Typically, she is referred to simply as Guan Yin (Traditional Chinese: ??; Simplified Chinese: ??) for short. In Japanese, this is pronounced Kanzeon (Kannon for short) and is generally represented as female. In Tibetan, Avalokite,,vara is known as Chenrezig, and is said to be incarnated in the Dalai Lama [1], the Karmapa [2] [3] and other high Lamas.
Shantideva was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar at Nalanda University and an adherent of the Prasangika Madhyamaka philosophy. Shantideva is particularly renowned as the author of the Bodhicaryavatara (sometimes also called the Bodhisattvacaryavatara). An English translation of the Sanskrit version of the Bodhicaryavatara is available online, as well as in print in a variety of translations, sometimes glossed as A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way Of Life or Entering the Path of Enlightenment. It is a long poem describing the process of enlightenment from the first thought to full buddhahood and is still studied by Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhists today.
Naropa (Tibetan; Sanskrit: N,,daprad,,, 1016-1100) was an Indian Buddhist mystic and monk, the disciple of Tilopa and brother, or some sources say partner and pupil, of Niguma. Naropa was the main teacher of Marpa.
Naropa is part of the 'Golden Garland', meaning a lineage holder of the Tibetan Buddhist Kagyu lineage, and was considered an accomplished scholar. A great meditator, he is best known for having enumerated and developed the six yogas of N,,ropa. These practices were designed to help achieve a more rapid attainment of enlightenment.
Nagarjuna Acharya (Telugu: ?????????; Chinese: ??; Tibetan: Klu Sgrub) (c. 150 - 250 CE) was an Indian philosopher, the founder of the Madhyamaka (Middle Path) school of Mahayana Buddhism, and arguably the most influential Buddhist thinker after Gautama Buddha himself.
His writings were the basis for the formation of the Madhyamaka (Middle Way) school, which was transmitted to China under the name of the Three Treatise (Sanlun) School. He is credited with developing the philosophy of the Prajnaparamita sutras, and was closely associated with the Buddhist university of Nalanda.
Manjushri (Ch: ?? Wénsh,, or ?????? Wénsh,,shili Púsà ; Jp: Monju; Tib: Jampelyang; New: ???????? Manjushree ), also written Manjushri, is the bodhisattva of keen awareness in Buddhism. A disciple of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, he represents wisdom, intelligence and realisation, and is one of the most popular Bodhisattvas following Avalokitesvara (Ch: Guan Yin).
Together with Shakyamuni and fellow disciple Samantabhadra he forms the Shakyamuni trinity (Jp: Sanzon Shaka). Manjusri is one of the Eight Wisdom Bodhisattvas and one of the Japanese Thirteen Buddhas. In Tibetan Buddhism he sometimes is depicted in a trinity with Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani.
Manjusri is mentioned in many Mahayana sutras, particularly the Prajnaparamita Sutras. The Lotus Sutra assigns him a paradise called Vimala, which according to the Avatamsaka Sutra is located in the east. His consort in some traditions is Saraswati.[citation needed] He is also sometimes called Manjughosha.
Within Tibetan Buddhism, Manjushri is a tantric meditational deity or Yidam, and considered a fully enlightened Buddha.
Langri Tangpa The Lojong proverbs in their present form were composed by Chekawa (1101-1175 CE). Chekawa led the life of an ordinary monk until one day he saw a text on his cell-mate's bed, open at the phrase:
Gain and Victory to Others, Loss and Defeat to Oneself
The phrase struck him so intensely, presumably because it is so different from how we all mostly live our lives, that he determined to seek out the author (Langri Tangpa, 1054-1123) of the text [1] (which is a very famous root text of Mahayana Buddhism, usually referred to as the Eight Verses for Training the Mind.
Dromtonpa (AD 1004-1064) was Atisha’s foremost disciple and is one of the lineage Gurus of the Kadampa Tradition.
While in India, Atisha had received a prediction from Buddha Tara about this future lay disciple in Tibet, whom Tara said would cause Dharma to flourish far and wide.
After Atisha’s death, Dromtonpa was regarded as his representative and respected as his equal.
Atisha (AD 982–1054) was a famous Indian Buddhist Teacher, and the author of Lamp for the Path, the first text on Lamrim (the stages of the path to enlightenment).
He was Abbot of the great Buddhist monastery of Vikramashila at a time when Mahayana Buddhism was flourishing in India. He was later invited to Tibet, and his arrival there led to the re-establishment of Buddhism in Tibet.
His tradition later became known as the “Kadampa Tradition.â€
