Therefore, in his twenty-ninth year, Atiśa was formally declared a monk under an ordination of the great Śīlarakṣita, and given the new name of Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna, meaning " He Whose Deep Awareness Acts as a Lamp.

" Dharmarakṣita was referring to Tibet, a region with a Buddhist tradition forever changed after the arrival of Atiśa Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna.

Similar to Shakyamuni Buddha, Atiśa was born into royalty ; the palace in which he was raised, aptly named the Golden Banner Palace, " had a golden victory banner encircled by countless houses and there were great numbers of bathing-pools encircled by 720 magnificent gardens, forests of Tal ( Borassus flabellifer ) trees, seven concentric walls, 363 connecting bridges, innumerable golden victory banners, thirteen roofs to the central palace and thousands of noblemen ".

It is during this stage of study that Atiśa became aware of pure human nature and the fundamental freedom inherent to every sentient being's existence ; a freedom exclusive of physical attachments and mental bondage.

Yogācāra was transmitted to Tibet by Śāntarakṣita and later by Atiśa ; it was thereafter integral to Tibetan Buddhism although the prevailing Geluk-dominated view held that it was less definitive than Mādhyamaka.

Atiśa is most commonly said to have been born in the year 980 in Vajrayoginī village in Bikrampur, the northeastern region of Bengal ( located in modern day Bangladesh ).

Some sources indicate that Atiśa was born in 982 and died in 1054, while more recent studies contend that his life began in 980 and ended in 1052.

It is noteworthy that, while no direct connections can be made to the birth of Atiśa, the year 980 also saw a major power shift in Bengali politics as the resurgent Pala dynasty seized control of the region, disposing of the incumbent Kamboja rulers.

After staying for thirteen years in Tibet, Atiśa died in 1052 CE in a village called Lethan, near Lhasa.

Atiśa was allegedly born into royalty, and it would be intriguing to know whether his royal status stemmed from one of these two contemporaneous contending powers.

For example, it is said that as Atiśa was born " flowers rained down upon the city of Vikramapura, a rainbow canopy appeared, and the gods sang hymns which brought gladness and joy to all the people ".

In fact, it was not until he traveled to Tibet and encountered the king Jangchub Ö ( Byang Chub Od ) that he was given the name of Atiśa, a Tibetan reference to peace.

For the first eighteen months of his life, Atiśa was sheltered and attended to by eight nurses in the royal palace of the capital city, Vikramapura.

Upon completing his training for meditations on nothingness and emptiness, Atiśa was advised to go study with Avadhutipa, a Vajrayana master.

One day, as Atiśa considered practising his tantra with all the energy he could summon until he achieved his full potential he was confronted by a contending voice.

According to Tibetan sources, Atiśa was ordained into the Mahasamghika lineage at the age of twenty-eight by the Abbot Śīlarakṣita and studied almost all Buddhist and non-Buddhist schools of his time, including teachings from Vishnu, Shiva, Tantric Hinduism and other beliefs.

It is said that Atiśa had more than 150 teachers, but one prominent teacher above all else was Dharmakīrti from Sumatra, Indonesia.

On three separate occasions, the monk Atiśa was acclaimed for defeating non-Buddhist extremists in debate.

Among these academics was Nagtso, who was eventually sent to Vikramasila college to study Sanskrit and plead with Atiśa to come teach the Dharma in his homeland.

It was during the three years Atiśa spent in this town that he compiled his teachings into his most influential scholarly work, A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment, and encountered the disciple forecast by Tārā, Dromtonpa.

According to Jamgon Kongtrul, when Atiśa discovered the store of Sanskrit texts at Pekar Kordzoling, the library of Samye, " he said that the degree to which the Vajrayana had spread in Tibet was unparalleled, even in India.

He sent young scholars to Kashmir for training and was responsible for inviting Atiśa to Tibet in 1040, thus ushering in the Chidar ( Phyi dar ) phase of Buddhism in Tibet.

Buddhist sources assert that, while feigning a hunting trip, an adolescent Atiśa made the acquaintance of the brahmin Jetari, a Buddhist recluse and renowned teacher.

Upon educating the young Atiśa in the basic principles of Mahayana Buddhism, Jetari advised that he go to Nalanda, a Buddhist center for learning in northeastern India.

Buddhist narratives recount one story in which Atiśa comes across a woman alternately crying and laughing.

Atiśa remains an important figure in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition for several reasons.

Gampopa and Tsongkhapa expanded the short root-text of Atiśa into an extensive system to understand the entire Buddhist philosophy.

With this revelation at the forefront of his consciousness, Atiśa renounced his kingdom, family, and social status in order to find a spiritual teacher — or as he told his parents — to go on a hunting trip.

In Nalanda, Atiśa received once again brief instruction regarding the Bodhisattva vows under the spiritual guide Bodhibhadra, who in turn advised him to seek out a teacher renowned for his perfect meditation of perceiving emptiness, Vidyakokila.

We sometimes see references to the " Atisha Kagyu " (“ the precept transmission from Atiśa ”) for the early Kadampa ,< ref >

When Atiśa learned from his parents of the crowd's status as his own subjects, he prayed that they may " be possessed of merit like that of parents, rule kingdoms that reach the summit of prosperity, be reborn as sons of kings be sustained by holy and virtuous deeds.

Finally, the Black Mountain Yogi insisted that, before Atiśa continue in his studies, he gain permission from his parents to be formally acquitted of royal responsibility, summoning eight naked yogis and yoginis to escort the prince back to Vikramapura.

As he grew old, Atiśa moved on from Ngari and accepted an invitation from Dromtonpa to explore Central Tibet.

When Atiśa, the originator of the lamrim came from India to Tibet, he was asked to give a complete and easily accessible summary of the doctrine in order to clarify wrong views, especially those resulting from apparent contradictions across the sutras and their commentaries.

On the eve of his wedding, Atiśa experienced a momentous encounter with the Vajrayana goddess Tārā, who would continue with him as a guiding spirit until the end of his life.

In Nyetang, a town near Lhasa, Atiśa spent nine years during which he discovered Tibetan libraries with impressive collections written in both Sanskrit and Tibetan.

The young scholars were able to link up with Atiśa shortly after 1042 and advance the spread and organization of Buddhism in Lho-kha.

The lamrim of Atiśa starts with bodhicitta, the altruistic mind of enlightenment, followed by taking the bodhisattva vows.

From his Master, Dharmarakṣita, Atiśa learnt one meditation that became one of Tibetans fundamental meditation techniques, i. e. Tongleng Meditation.

Atiśa wrote in " Lamp of the Path " ( verse 2 ) that one should understand that there are three kind of persons:

The most distinguished and eminent among all was Atiśa Dipankara, a founder of the Sarma traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.