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The Conclusion.
The material above contains the essence of the immaculate words of the Great Gurus, who were endowed with Divine Wisdom; and of the Goddess Tara and other divinities. Among these Great Teachers were the glorious Dipankara, [1] the spiritual father and his successors, who were divinely appointed for the spreading of the Doctrine in this Northern Land of Snow; and the Gracious Gurus of the Kadampa School. There were also the King of Yogins, Milarepa, to whom was bequeathed the learning of the Sage Marpa of Lhobrak and of others; and the illustrious Saints, Naropa and Maitripa, of the noble land of India, whose splendor equaled that of the Sun and Moon; and the disciples of all these.
[1] Dipankara [Shri-jnana], as given in our text, is the Indian name of Atisha, the first of the Great Reformers of Lamaism, who was born in Bengal, of the royal family of Gaur, in 980 CE, and arrived in Tibet in 1038 CE. Having been a professor of philosophy in the Vikramasila Monastery, of Magadha, he brought with him to Tibet much fresh learning, chiefly relating to Yoga and Tantricism. His chief work, as a reformer, was by enforcing celibacy and a higher priestly morality. Atisha associated himself with the sect called the Kadampas, or "Those Bound by the Ordinances." Three hundred and fifty years later, under the second of the Great Reformers, Tsong-Khapa, a territorial title meaning "Native of the Onion Country", the district of his birth, in Amdo Province, in North-East Tibet near the Chinese frontier, the Kadampas became the Gelugpas, or "Followers of the Virtuous Order", who now constitute the Established Church of Tibet.
Here ends The Supreme Path, the Rosary of Precious Gems.
[THE COLOPHON]
This treatise was put into manuscript form by Digom Sonam Rinchen, [1] who possessed thorough knowledge of the teachings of the Kadampas and of the Chagchenpas. [2]
[1] Text: Hbri-sgom Bsod-nams Rin-chen (pronounced Di-gom So-nam Rin-chen), meaning, "Meditating One of Precious Merit, of the Cave of the Cow-Yak."
[2] These are the followers of the yogic teachings contained in the Chag-chen Philosophy, the essence of which forms the subject-matter of Book II of this volume.
It is commonly believed that the Great Guru Gampopa, [otherwise known as Dvagpo-Lharje], compiled this work, and that he handed it on with this injunction: "I entreat those devotees of generations yet unborn, who will honor my memory and regret not having met me in person, to study this, The Supreme Path, the Rosary of Precious Gems, and, also, The Precious Ornament of Liberation, along with other religious treatises. The result will be equivalent to that of an actual meeting with me myself."
May this Book radiate divine virtue; and may it prove to be auspicious.
Mangalam. [1]
[1] The Tibetan-Sanskrit of the text, literally meaning, "Blessing" or "Happiness", or, in reference to this Book, "May blessing be upon it."
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