Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

saying that they were Tantric teachers, took advantage
of the Doctrine for worldly gain and pleasure.
Tsong-khapa was determined to change the situation.
Without him, to whom we should all be very, very
grateful, there would be no Buddhadharma in Tibet. He
emphasized practice, just as the old schools had, but
also urged that the preparations necessary for it were
numerous and take long to perform. He taught that one
should complete these before actual practice, so that one
is truly ready. In this way, he taught the importance of
first acquiring merits, and laid less emphasis on wisdom,
which was stressed in the older schools.
Tsong-khapa also said that the difference between an
Arhat and a Buddha is that the Buddha has more merits
than the Arhat, who is also deficient in sunyata
realization. As to sunyata itself, he taught that it is the
same in Hinayana and Mahayana.
Certainly, we should not directly practice Mahamudra.
First collect merits, and after that practice the first,
second, and third yogas, coming finally to the fourth.
Tsong-khapa shows so clearly in his teachings, as in his
Stages of the Path, that we should go step by step, each
level the foundation for the one following. Without this
teaching, it is doubtful whether there would now be any
Buddhism now in Tibet; so we must again express our
gratitude.
However, I do not agree with him that Hinayana and
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