ATISA

born 982 died 1054, Nyethang, Tibet [now Nyetang, China] also called Dipankara Indian Buddhist reformer whose teachings formed the basis of the Tibetan Bka'-gdams-pa (Those Bound by Command) sect of Buddhism, founded by his disciple 'Brom-ston. Traveling to Tibet in 1038 or 1042 from Nalanda, a centre of Buddhist studies in India, Atisa established monasteries there and wrote treatises emphasizing the three schools of Buddhism: the Theravada (exclusive belief in the Gautama Buddha), the Mahayana (belief that Gautama Buddha is one of many buddhas), and the Vajrayana (which emphasizes yoga). He taught that the three stages follow in succession and must be practiced in that order. He died at Nyethang Monastery, where his tomb still exists.