“Tibetans asked Atisha “How was Serlingpa so kind to you?” Atisha replied: “I cannot say I have many good qualities at all. But I can say I have a little bit of goodness; we might say this is my one quality. The reason I have a kind heart is due to Serlingpa’s kindness.”
Je Atisha also said that without Serlingpa he would not have the bodhicitta of exchanging self for others. It was only after he met Serlingpa that he was able to do that practice of exchanging self for others.”–17th Karmapa (2023)
Continuing on the Je Atisha (Atiśa) theme of the Kagyu Monlam 2025 teaching, here is a new video clip of the 17th Karmapa speaking about another of Je Atisha’s main teachers, Dharmakīrtiśrī (Serlingpa, Chokyi Dragpa; gser gling pa; 金州大師) also known as Kulānta and Suvarṇadvipi Dharmakīrti, whom he met and spent time with in the area now called Malaysia and Indonesia.
Suvarṇadvipi Dharmakīrti was a renowned 10th century Buddhist teacher, whose name refers to the region he lived. Modern scholars suggest that Dharmakīrti Serlingpa was based not in Sumatra [1], as is often assumed, but in Kedah, (near the border of Thailand and what is now called Penang/George Town in Malaysia) more specifically, the Bujang Valley. The Bujang Valley, often overlooked, holds over 180 archaeological sites dating back to the 3rd century CE, showcasing a thriving Buddhist civilisation.
Je Atisha is said to have stayed with Suvarṇadvipi for twelve years receiving teachings on Lojong (mind-training). Serlingpa wrote two texts on the Bodhicharyavatara summarizing its main points. Dharmakīrti Suvarṇadvipi’s impact on Atiśa was not only related to developing bodhicitta, his devotion to Tārā is also attributed to this root guru. This deep spiritual connection would accompany Atiśa to Tibet, whom he sought for guidance before going to Tibet (more on that later).
Dharmakīrtiśrī is the author of the Durbodhālokā (Light on the Hard-to-Illuminate), a sub-commentary to the Abhisamayālaṃkāra-śāstra-vṛtti of Haribhadra. He also wrote “The Wheel of Sharp Weapons”.
17th Karmapa’s teaching on Atisha and Serlingpa
According to Atisha’s life story accounts, Serlingpa was the kindest and who helped him develop bodhicitta, love and compassion for all beings. The 17th Karmapa also spoke about Atisha and Serlingpa in 2023, in which he also taught about the special reliquary Atisha carried of the guru with a silver parasol on top:
“The guru Atisha had the deepest connection with was Serlingpa (Suvarṇadvīpa), who was said to be the embodiment of bodhicitta. What does that mean? it means the guru was like living bodhicitta himself, that the guru and the bodhicitta are not separate, the Buddha himself was like the representation of the living bodhicitta himself. Because of this we can say that the level of his realisations of his loving kindness and compassion were extremely high level. Among all the different gurus that Atisha followed, the one he had the greatest and deepest faith in was Serlingpa.
The way we know this, is because for other gurus he did not have any reliquary of them. After the lama passes, the relics are put into a stupa. Atisha did not have a tradition of making reliquaries for all the gurus, but he did make one for Serlingpa, which had a silver parasol on top of it. Also, there is a tradition of making offerings for gurus on the day they passed away, but he did not do that for his other gurus, only for Serlingpa. This is basically the same as when Tibetans observe a guru’s passing away and some say this came from Atisha.
Another thing Atisha did when he heard the name of his gurus, he would join his hands in prayer at his heart to show respect. However, when Serlingpa’s name was mentioned, he would put his palms at the crown of his head, to show he had different devotion for them than other gurus. When he heard about others, he would not shed any tears either, but when he heard about Serlingpa, the tears would flow naturally.
For that reason, when Atisha went to Tibet, they asked him: “You have had a lot of gurus, so why do you pay such respect to Serlingpa?” Atisha replied: ” I followed many gurus, I cannot say who is better or worse, or higher or lower, there is no difference, all of them had high and excellent qualities. My reason for having such devotion to Serlingpa is not because of any difference in qualities , I have faith in all of them. However, Serlingpa was the kindest and most altruistic. He was also the kindest to me.”
They asked him “How was he so kind to you?” Atisha replied: “I cannot say I have many good qualities at all. But I can say I have a little bit of goodness; we might say this is my one quality. The reason I have a kind heart is due to Serlingpa’s kindness.”
Another thing Je Atisha said, that without Serlingpa he would not have the bodhicitta of exchanging self for others. It was only after he met Serlingpa that he was able to do that practice of exchanging self for others.
The name Serlingpa (Suvarṇadvīpa) means a place in present-day Indonesia. There is large island called Sumatra. It is one of the largest islands in the world, they say. Anyway, the old ancient name for it Suvarṇadvīpa , which means the ‘golden island’: Suvarṇa means gold and dvīpa means island. These days we do not use that word.
In the latter half of the 7th century, probably in 671, the Tang dynasty translator, Yijing (635–713 CE), went twice to that island, and if we combine the amount of time he spent there over the two visits, it was over two years..”
Je Atisha and the Tārā Kalasan temple (Java, Indonesia): A Personal Pilgrimage
In a place further down from Malaysia, in modern-day Java, Indonesia, Je Atisha is renowned for having spent significant time at the Tarā Kalasan temple there. For my recent pilgrimage visit and photos to that temple in May 2024, see below and here.
As Indian scholar-translator, Niraj Kumar writes in his original Introduction to Kalacakra Tantra: Vol. 1 (2022) Yogyakarta in Java, Indonesia is renowned not only as one of the places (Sumatra is the other) where Ātiśa visited and stayed for twelve years to get teachings from mahasiddhas, but also famed for several goddesses and Yogini tantric practices:
“It was a place where monks from China, Korea, Thailand, Malaya, Sumatra, India, Arakan would visit. Lankan monks had a branch of Abhayagiri monastery in the region. Vajrabodhi, Amoghavajra and all leading tantric Masters while journeying to China by sea route would stay here. Even during the 11th century, Ātiśa was sent to Sumatra and Java to learn the teachings of Kālacakra from the famed Guru, Dharmapāla and Ātiśa is said to have stayed in the region of Temple of Tārā at Kalasan. Kalasan finds mention in the ManjuŚrī -Mula-Kalpa, showing the awareness about the region as abode of goddess worship quite early.”
The Tārā Temple of Kalasan dedicated to the Goddess Tārā was constructed in this region during the last quarter of the 8th century.”
Music? For Atisha’s travels to the ‘Golden Island’ Sumatra and his beloved teacher, Serlingpa (the Golden Island one): Indonesian Vibes music by Java Delta, Gamelan Music of Indonesia and Golden by Harry Styles.
Endnotes
[1] “Sumatra was known in ancient times by the Sanskrit names of Swarnadwīpa (“Island of Gold”) and Swarnabhūmi (“Land of Gold”), because of the gold deposits of the island’s highland……One of the earliest known kingdoms was Kantoli, which flourished in the 5th century CE in southern Sumatra. Kantoli was replaced by the Empire of Srivijaya and then later by the Kingdom of Samudra.
Srivijaya was a Buddhist monarchy centred in what is now Palembang. Dominating the region through trade and conquest throughout the 7th to 9th centuries, the empire helped spread the Malay culture throughout Nusantara. The empire was a thalassocracy or maritime power that extended its influence from island to island.
Palembang was a center for scholarly learning, and it was there the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim I Ching studied Sanskrit in 671 CE before departing for India. On his journey to China, he spent four years in Palembang translating Buddhist texts and writing two manuscripts…..Srivijayan influence waned in the 11th century after it was defeated by the Chola Empire of southern India. At the same time, Islam made its way to Sumatra through Arabs and Indian traders in the 6th and 7th centuries AD.”
Also:
“Langkasuka (langkha Sanskrit for “resplendent land” -sukkha for “bliss”) was an ancient Hindu Malay kingdom located in the Malay Peninsula. Another possible source of its name could be the combination of (-langkha Sanskrit for “resplendent land” – and Asoka in tribute to the legendary Mauryan Hindu warrior king who eventually became a pacifist after embracing the ideals espoused in Buddhism), the ancient kingdoms of the Malay Isthmus – Langkasuka having been one of them – believed by some scholars to have been first founded or rebuilt by emissaries or descendants of Asoka from Magadha in India…The kingdom, along with Old Kedah, is probably among the earliest kingdoms founded on the Malay Peninsula. According to tradition, the founding of the kingdom happened in the 2nd century. Malay legends claim that Langkasuka was founded at Kedah and later moved to Pattani.”See blog article here.
[2] According to one account: “Buddhism came to Indonesia a few hundred years after Hinduism. It reached its peak at the time of the Sriwijaya’s dynasty rule, which was once the largest Buddhist kingdom in South East Asia, from around the 7th century until the 14th century. During that time, many Buddhist colleges and monasteries were built, and famous Buddhist scholars, such as Dharmapala and Sakyakirti, were teaching there….Indian merchants first arrived in Bali in about 200 BCE and it was probably these people who introduced Buddhism and Hinduism. A Balinese work of uncertain date called the Nagarakrtagama by the Buddhist monk lists all the Buddhist temples in Bali, twenty six altogether, and mentions that in 1275 King Kretanagara underwent a Tantric Buddhist initiation to protect his kingdom from an expected invasion by Kublai Khan.”