The Lutheran Master 's Faithful Practitioners

Master Lamrimpa Ngag Dbang Phun Tshogs (1922-1997) was a great achiever in the Gelug lineage in contemporary Tibetan Buddhism. He studied and practised lamrim teachings of the Gelug lineage all his life.He was strict with himself and kept Buddhist vows purely his entire life. From his youth he was determined to abandon all thoughts of fame and profit to cultivate Bodhichitta. Regardless how harsh the environment was he refused to take off his monk’s robe. He was a vegetarian all his life and ate nothing after noon. He was not scared of any threat and refused to burn Buddhist scriptures and destroy his monastery. He was willing to die for Buddhism while unwilling to live without dignity. His reputation grew rapidly late in life. When his reputation spread both in the monastic and secular communities inside and outside Tibet, Lamrimpa was even more content with his simple life and pursued no fortune, considering wealth merely as dirt. His aloofness from fame and wealth earned him admiration. Lamrimpa was truly a lamrim practitioner who was true to his name and practiced what he preached, and is a model for contemporary Tibetan Buddhist monks. Lamrim is one of the most important Buddhistdoctrines in the history of Tibetan thought and a specialized terminology with a specific meaning. It is a Buddhist doctrine and a system of practice initiated by the great Buddhist Master Atisha and inheritedand developed afterwards by great masters of the Kadam and Gelug schools. The theoretical framework of the system is "the three kinds of motivation" and maintains that the lamrim should be practiced from modest motivation to medium motivation to high motivation, and Vajrayana first and then Mahayana in terms of Vajrayana vis-a-vis Mahayana. Master Lamrimpa Ngag Dbang Phun Tshogsdedicated his whole to the practice of lamrim teachings of the Gelug lineage and is a perfect example of Tibetan Buddhist followers. Today, with the ongoing secularism and materialism there are few suchmonks and Buddhist masters with high morality like Lamrimpa who practiced the Buddha’s teachings through his noble personality and thoughts, and influenced and benefited all sentient beings. Like other great achievers, Master Lamrimpa has already been recorded in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. Contemporary Buddhist teachers cite Lamrimpa’s deeds, speeches and writings with great respect when they preach Buddhism. This dissertation aims to explore Lamrimpa’s religious practice, his spiritual path and his impact on and significance for contemporary Tibetan Buddhism through his life story as a thread and lamrim teachings of the Gelug lineage as a theoretical framework.