Wisdom and Compassion from the
Kadampa Tradition of Atiśa Dīpaṃkara
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The three topics will be taught on each day.
with His Eminence Jhado Rinpoche Tuesday, February 3, 2026 Wednesday, February 4, 2026 Thursday, February 5, 2026 1:30pm - 5:00pm PST In-person only | Registration required - Please check back |
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Program Description:
We are thrilled to announce that Tse Chen Ling Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies will be honored by the presence of His Eminence Jhado Rinpoche, a highly respected and prominent Tibetan Buddhist master and former abbot of Namgyal Monastery, the personal monastery of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Rinpoche kindly accepted to offer a unique series of teachings, oral transmissions and an empowerment from the Kadampa Tradition that traces back Atiśa Dīpaṃkara. Tse Chen Ling is honored to host Rinpoche give this series of teachings that are rarely given in the West in this fashion. For each day of the event, Rinpoche will weave together a commentary on Jewel Garland of the Bodhisattvas by Atiśa, the oral transmission of The Tree of Faith: A Self-Exhortation by Dromtönpa, and bestow portions of The Empowerment of The 16 Drops of the Kadampas. To receive the commentary, oral transmission and empowerment, participants will need to attend all three days.
This is a remarkable opportunity for us to learn and grow under the guidance of such an accomplished teacher.
There are no pre-requisites to attend this event. Stay tuned for details on any commitments that Rinpoche will ask of those who attend.
We are thrilled to announce that Tse Chen Ling Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies will be honored by the presence of His Eminence Jhado Rinpoche, a highly respected and prominent Tibetan Buddhist master and former abbot of Namgyal Monastery, the personal monastery of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Rinpoche kindly accepted to offer a unique series of teachings, oral transmissions and an empowerment from the Kadampa Tradition that traces back Atiśa Dīpaṃkara. Tse Chen Ling is honored to host Rinpoche give this series of teachings that are rarely given in the West in this fashion. For each day of the event, Rinpoche will weave together a commentary on Jewel Garland of the Bodhisattvas by Atiśa, the oral transmission of The Tree of Faith: A Self-Exhortation by Dromtönpa, and bestow portions of The Empowerment of The 16 Drops of the Kadampas. To receive the commentary, oral transmission and empowerment, participants will need to attend all three days.
This is a remarkable opportunity for us to learn and grow under the guidance of such an accomplished teacher.
There are no pre-requisites to attend this event. Stay tuned for details on any commitments that Rinpoche will ask of those who attend.
About Atiśa Dīpaṃkara and the Tradition of the Kadampas
The Kadam (bka’ dam) tradition was the first of the so-called New Schools of Tibetan Buddhism, traditions that arose during the Second Propagation of Buddhism in Tibet in the tenth century. The Kadam tradition began with Dromton Gyelwai Jungne, a disciple of the Bengali teacher Atiśa Dīpaṃkara, who had been invited to Tibet by the kings of Purang in western Tibet to revitalize monastic Buddhism there. Dromton founded the monastery of Reting and propagated the Lamrim and Lojong teachings, which lay out a complete path to Buddhahood and means of training the mind, respectively. The Kadam teachers were known for their monastic discipline, a character that was adopted by the Geluk tradition that supplanted it in the fourteenth century, adopting its teaching and absorbing its monasteries. (Source: Treasury of Lives).
The Jewel Garland of the Bodhisattvas by Atiśa Dīpaṃkara is a brief and accessible text in which he presents the most essential instructions for living one’s life perfectly as a bodhisattva. Like a string of precious gems, these guidelines are to be worn like a beautiful garland by all those who wish to journey the path of full awakening.
According to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, The Tree of Faith: A Self-Exhortation by Dromtönpa comes from the 16 Drops of Kadam, a special teaching that emerged from the interaction of Atisha, Dromtönpa, Ngok Legpai Sherab, Nagtso Lotsawa and Geshe Kawa at Yerpa Lhari Nyingpo. Ngok requested Atisha to tell them about Dromtonpa’s previous lives and when Dromtönpa, expressed reluctance, only repeated his request. The Tree of Faith: A Self-Exhortation by Dromtönpa recounts the previous lives of Dromtönpa from this request.
The following excerpt is from the Introduction to The Book of Kadam: The Core Texts, translated by Geshe Thubten Jinpa, which contains more information on the 16 Drops of Kadam Empowerment. The Book of Kadam is available from Wisdom Publications here.
In chapter 2 [of The Book of Kadam], Atiśa(sic) specifies his preferred divinities in the context of the second recollection—recalling one’s body as divinities—and makes the well-known selection of Buddha, Acala, Avalokiteśvara, and Tārā as the four gods of Kadam. At one point in the text, in the course of conversations between Atiśa and Dromtönpa on the four divinities, Dromtönpa’s heart opens up and miraculously reveals progressively the entire realm of the Buddha Śākyamuni, the realm of Avalokiteśvara, the realm of Tārā, and finally the realm of Acala. It is here that we also find explicit mention of Avalokiteśvara’s famous six-syllable mantra, oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ. This deity yoga, in its developed form, came to be referred to as the practice of the sixteen drops, which is explained in some detail in Khenchen Nyima Gyaltsen’s Elucidation of the Heart-Drop Practice (entry IV in part 1 of The Book of Kadam).
The Kadam (bka’ dam) tradition was the first of the so-called New Schools of Tibetan Buddhism, traditions that arose during the Second Propagation of Buddhism in Tibet in the tenth century. The Kadam tradition began with Dromton Gyelwai Jungne, a disciple of the Bengali teacher Atiśa Dīpaṃkara, who had been invited to Tibet by the kings of Purang in western Tibet to revitalize monastic Buddhism there. Dromton founded the monastery of Reting and propagated the Lamrim and Lojong teachings, which lay out a complete path to Buddhahood and means of training the mind, respectively. The Kadam teachers were known for their monastic discipline, a character that was adopted by the Geluk tradition that supplanted it in the fourteenth century, adopting its teaching and absorbing its monasteries. (Source: Treasury of Lives).
The Jewel Garland of the Bodhisattvas by Atiśa Dīpaṃkara is a brief and accessible text in which he presents the most essential instructions for living one’s life perfectly as a bodhisattva. Like a string of precious gems, these guidelines are to be worn like a beautiful garland by all those who wish to journey the path of full awakening.
According to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, The Tree of Faith: A Self-Exhortation by Dromtönpa comes from the 16 Drops of Kadam, a special teaching that emerged from the interaction of Atisha, Dromtönpa, Ngok Legpai Sherab, Nagtso Lotsawa and Geshe Kawa at Yerpa Lhari Nyingpo. Ngok requested Atisha to tell them about Dromtonpa’s previous lives and when Dromtönpa, expressed reluctance, only repeated his request. The Tree of Faith: A Self-Exhortation by Dromtönpa recounts the previous lives of Dromtönpa from this request.
The following excerpt is from the Introduction to The Book of Kadam: The Core Texts, translated by Geshe Thubten Jinpa, which contains more information on the 16 Drops of Kadam Empowerment. The Book of Kadam is available from Wisdom Publications here.
In chapter 2 [of The Book of Kadam], Atiśa(sic) specifies his preferred divinities in the context of the second recollection—recalling one’s body as divinities—and makes the well-known selection of Buddha, Acala, Avalokiteśvara, and Tārā as the four gods of Kadam. At one point in the text, in the course of conversations between Atiśa and Dromtönpa on the four divinities, Dromtönpa’s heart opens up and miraculously reveals progressively the entire realm of the Buddha Śākyamuni, the realm of Avalokiteśvara, the realm of Tārā, and finally the realm of Acala. It is here that we also find explicit mention of Avalokiteśvara’s famous six-syllable mantra, oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ. This deity yoga, in its developed form, came to be referred to as the practice of the sixteen drops, which is explained in some detail in Khenchen Nyima Gyaltsen’s Elucidation of the Heart-Drop Practice (entry IV in part 1 of The Book of Kadam).
About His Eminence Jhado Rinpoche:
His Eminence Jhado Rinpoche was born in 1954 to a nomadic family near Namtso Lake in Tibet. At the age of three, he was recognized as the 6th incarnation of the abbot of Jhado Monastery.
From 1991 to 1997, Rinpoche taught at Namgyal Monastery in Dharamsala, which is the personal monastery of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In 1997, he became the Abbot of Namgyal Monastery and held this position until 2004. Rinpoche also served as an Abbot and chant master at Gyuto, the Upper Tantric College from 2013 and 2017.
Jhado Tulku Rinpoche is held in high regard as a respected and honored lama within the Geluk lineage. With a solid education from the Geluk monastic college system, Rinpoche has also received numerous teachings, oral transmissions and empowerments from renowned spiritual leaders such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his two main tutors, as well as other respected teachers including the well-known Nyingma master Trulshik Rinpoche and the Sakya master Chogye Trichen Rinpoche.
His Eminence Jhado Rinpoche was born in 1954 to a nomadic family near Namtso Lake in Tibet. At the age of three, he was recognized as the 6th incarnation of the abbot of Jhado Monastery.
From 1991 to 1997, Rinpoche taught at Namgyal Monastery in Dharamsala, which is the personal monastery of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In 1997, he became the Abbot of Namgyal Monastery and held this position until 2004. Rinpoche also served as an Abbot and chant master at Gyuto, the Upper Tantric College from 2013 and 2017.
Jhado Tulku Rinpoche is held in high regard as a respected and honored lama within the Geluk lineage. With a solid education from the Geluk monastic college system, Rinpoche has also received numerous teachings, oral transmissions and empowerments from renowned spiritual leaders such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his two main tutors, as well as other respected teachers including the well-known Nyingma master Trulshik Rinpoche and the Sakya master Chogye Trichen Rinpoche.
Registration:
Advanced registration is strictly required.
We offer all Dharma teachings and center events on a “dana” basis. This means we’re grateful for your generosity but there is no required cost to attend and no one is turned away for lack of funds.
Suggested donation amounts are provided, and we welcome you to offer what you can to help us sustain our programming and make the dharma and events like this possible. And of course, ordained sangha (ordained nuns and monks) are always welcome free of charge.
If you're not donating at this time but would like to attend, please email [email protected].
Advanced registration is strictly required.
We offer all Dharma teachings and center events on a “dana” basis. This means we’re grateful for your generosity but there is no required cost to attend and no one is turned away for lack of funds.
Suggested donation amounts are provided, and we welcome you to offer what you can to help us sustain our programming and make the dharma and events like this possible. And of course, ordained sangha (ordained nuns and monks) are always welcome free of charge.
If you're not donating at this time but would like to attend, please email [email protected].