Atisha and Tara
According to Pabongkha Rinpoche, the great Atisha was able to communicate directly with Avalokiteshvara and Tara whenever he needed advice. When the Tibetan king Jangchub Oe sent representatives to invite him to Tibet, Atisha consulted Tara who told him that it would be most beneficial to sentient beings and the teachings if he went. Moreover, there would be much benefit resulting from a lay vow holder (upasaka). Atisha also checked whether going to Tibet would be a hindrance to his own lifespan. Tara said that if he did go, his life would be shortened by twenty years. Atisha did not hesitate. All he thought of was the benefits of his going to Tibet. If it meant a shorter life, then so be it! The great bodhisattva did not think of his own life at all but instead found a great sense of purpose in his going to Tibet to spread the Dharma.
Atisha promised his abbot that he would return to India after three years. At the end of three years, he had to go back to his monastery as promised. But although Atisha appeared to be preparing to leave, he was constantly on the lookout for an upasaka because Tara had previously told him that "it would be most beneficial for the teachings if you took on a great upasaka in Tibet". At this time Tara was repeatedly telling him, "The upasaka will soon be here". So Atisha waited but there was no upasaka. "My upasaka hasn't come, he said. "How could Tara lie!"
One day, Dromtonpa turned up and met Atisha in an alley. From then on, Dromtonpa served Atisha until the latter's death But before that, Atisha gave to Dromtonpa, the teaching of the stages of the path to enlightenment or Lamrim. Dromtonpa, a lay person, gave the teaching in public and handed down three lineages to his followers. The great Je Tsongkhapa took these three Kadampa lineages and combined them into one stream.
