Atisha Dipamkara
A great Indian master and scholar, Atisha Dipamkara (982-1054) is the author of many texts, including the Lamp for the Path of Awakening. One of the main teachers at the famous university of Vikramashila, he was also a strict follower of the monastic rule and was widely acclaimed for the purity of his teaching. He spent the last ten years of his life in Tibet, teaching and translating texts, and was instrumental in reinvigorating Buddhism there after a period of persecution. His disciples founded the Kadampa school.
Since the early 8th century, Tibetans and Himalayan people have treasured "Namtars" as written or spoken narratives that demonstrate the realization of the Buddhist path by exceptional practitioners. These namtars, or spiritual biographies, serve as inspirational guides on the path to enlightenment.
Today, Namtars Foundation aims to record, preserve, and freely offer the world a written and electronic treasury of the oral wisdom of Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhism.
