Dromtön

Dromtön, Drom Tonpa or Dromtönpa Gyelwé Jungné was the chief disciple of the Buddhist master Atiśa, the initiator of the Kadam school of Tibetan Buddhism and the founder of Reting Monastery.

Early life and education

Dromtönpa was born in Tolung at the beginning of the period of the second propagation of Buddhism in Tibet. "His father was Kushen Yaksherpen and his mother was Kuoza Lenchikma." His father's title skugshen indicates he was an important figure in the Bon tradition. He began preaching in Tibet in 1042.

Career

Dromtön is considered to be the 45th incarnation of Avalokiteśvara, an important bodhisattva and thus a member of the early lineage of the Dalai Lamas.
Dromtön founded Reting Monastery in 1056 in the Reting Tsampo Valley north of Lhasa which became the seat of the Kadampa lineage and brought some relics of Atisha there.

Students

It was Dromtönpa's student Chekawa Yeshe Dorje who first compiled Atiśa's core teachings on the practice Lojong for developing of bodhicitta in written form, as The Seven Point Mind Training.