Origins & Early Life

Gampopa Sönam Rinchen (Tibetan: སྒམ་པོ་པ་བསོད་ནམས་རིན་ཆེན་, Wylie: sgam po pa bsod nams rin chen, 1079–1153) was the main student of Milarepa, and a Tibetan Buddhist master who codified his own master's ascetic teachings, which form the foundation of the Kagyu educational tradition. Gampopa was also a doctor and tantric master. He authored the first Lamrim text, Jewel Ornament of Liberation, and founded the Dagpo Kagyu school. He is also known as Dvagpopa, and by the titles Dakpo Lharjé "the physician from Dakpo" (Tibetan: དྭགས་པོ་ལྷ་རྗེ་, Wylie: dwags po lha rje) and Daö Zhönnu, "Candraprabhakumara" (Tibetan: ཟླ་འོད་ཞོན་ནུ་, Wylie: zla 'od gzhon nu).

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Gampopa was born in the Nyal (or Nyel) district, Central Tibet and from an early age was a student of medicine in the Indian, Chinese and Tibetan medical traditions. Later in his life he moved to the region of Dakpo (dwags po) in southern Tibet and hence was also called Dakpopa (dwags po pa), the man from Dakpo. The region is also near Gampo Hills, hence his other name, Gampopa. In his youth Gampopa studied under the Nyingma lama Barey as well as under the Kadampa teacher Geshe Yontan Drag. He married a daughter of a man...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

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