Difference between revisions of "Dalai Lama" - New World Encyclopedia

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:''Note: This article is about the Dalai Lama lineage. For information on the 14th and current Dalai Lama, see [[Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama]]''
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:''Note: This article is about the institution and office of the Dalai Lama. For information on the current 14th Dalai Lama see [[Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama]]''
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[[Image:Throne awaiting Dalai Lama's return. Summer residence Nechung. 1993.JPG|thumb|230px|Throne awaiting Dalai Lama's return. Summer residence of 13th Dalai Lama, Nechung, Tibet.]]
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The '''Dalai Lama''' (meaning "Ocean of Wisdom") is an institution of great importance in [[Tibetan Buddhism]], whose incumbent is considered to be the spiritual figurehead of the Tibetan people.<ref>The Dalai Lama is often thought to be the head of the Geluk sect, but this position officially belongs to the Ganden Tripa ''(Dga'-ldan Khri-pa).''</ref> In addition to his supreme religious and temporal authority, the Dalai Lama is also widely revered as an incarnation of the [[bodhisattva]] [[Avalokitesvara]] ("Chenrezig" in Tibetan), known as the embodiment of [[compassion]]. All four schools of Tibetan Buddhism respect the Dalai Lama, although he is especially important within the [[Gelug]] sect.
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Historically, the title of the Dalai Lama was introduced in 1578 C.E. when Altan Khan of the Mongols bestowed it upon Sonam Gyatso (1543–1588), the third leader of the [[Geluk]] school of Tibetan Buddhism, commonly called the Yellow Hat sect. The title was then retroactively given to his two predecessors dating back to 1391 C.E. Ever since that time, it is believed that the institution of the Dalai Lama has been maintained through a successive lineage of reborn [[Tulku]]s. Between the seventeenth century and 1959, the Dalai Lama was the head of the Tibetan government, administering a large portion of the country from the capital of Lhasa. Since 1959, however, the current Dalai Lama, [[Tenzin Gyatso]], has lived in [[exile]] from his homeland due to the Chinese takeover of the country. It should be noted that the institution of the Dalai Lama is much older than the current incumbent of the position, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama.<ref>For a fuller account of the life of the current Dalai Lama, see [[Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama]]''.</ref>
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In 1989, the 14th Dalai Lama won the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] for his efforts to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the Chinese occupation of [[Tibet]]. He is viewed by many as a voice of peace, dialogue, and reason in our modern world. Thus the office of the Dalai Lama commands a great deal of respect and admiration among millions of Buddhists and non-Buddhist alike. While the Dalai Lama is deeply respected today, some of the position's former incumbents were conspicuous for their worldly habits, and the position has not been without controversy, power struggles, and political intrigue.
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==History==
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===First, Second, Third===
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{{readout||right|250px|The title "Dalai Lama" means "Ocean of Wisdom"}}
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The title "Dalai Lama" (meaning "Ocean of Wisdom") was first used in 1578 when the [[Mongolia]]n ruler Altan Khan conferred it upon Sonam Gyatso, abbot at the Drepung monastery. However, since Sonam Gyatso was the third member of his lineage, he became known as the "Third Dalai Lama" and the previous two titles were conferred posthumously upon his earlier incarnations. Consequently, the history of the Dalai Lama goes back to ''Gendun Drup'' (1391 &ndash; 1474) who was posthumously called the first Dalai Lama.
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Gendun Drup (born ''Pema Dorje'') was the son of [[nomad]]ic tribespeople, and was raised as a shepherd until the age of seven. He joined the Nartang (Nar-thang) monastery as a student of Tsongkhapa, and by the middle of his life he had become one of the most esteemed scholar-saints in the country.
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The second retroactive Dalai Lama was ''Gendun Gyatso Palzangpo'' (Wylie transliteration: ''Dge-'dun Rgya-mtsho''), also ''Gendun Gyatso'' ("Sublimely Glorious Ocean of Spiritual Aspirants," layname: Yonten Phuntsok) (1475 &ndash; 1541). He was proclaimed the [[reincarnation]] of Gendun Drup as a young boy.
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Legend has it that soon after he learned to speak, Gendun Gyatso told his parents his name was Pema Dorje, the birth name of the first Dalai Lama. Later, when he was four, he reportedly told his parents he wished to live in the Tashilhumpo monastery to be with his monks. He became a renowned scholar and composer of mystical poetry, who traveled widely to extend [[Gelug|Gelugpa]] influence, and became [[abbot]] of the largest Gelugpa monastery, Drepung, which from this time on was closely associated with the Dalai Lamas.
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The third Dalai Lama (and the first officially recognized Dala Lama) was ''Sonam Gyatso''  (1543 &ndash; 1588), a monk of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) school of Buddhism. He found a foreign patron for his school in the Altan Khan of Tümed, who issued a Twofold Edict, ordering [[Mongol]]s to follow orthodox [[Buddhism]], and bestowing on Sonam Gyatso the title "Dalai Lama." 
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The alliance with the Mongols would later prove instrumental in establishing the ''Gelukpa'' as the rulers of [[Tibet]] during the reign of the Great Fifth Dalai Lama.
  
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[[Image:Tenzin Gyatzo foto 2.jpg|right|thumb|260px|The [[14th Dalai Lama|14th and current Dalai Lama]], Tenzin Gyatso (born 1935).]]
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===Fourth===
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The fourth Dalai Lama was ''Yonten Gyatso'' (1589 &ndash; 1616), the grandson of Altan Khan. Yonten Gyatso was a [[Mongolia]]n, making him the only non-Tibetan to be recognized as Dalai Lama.<ref>The Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, was from Monpa stock, which can be seen either as a Tibetan subgroup or a closely related people.</ref> He was a contemporary and student of the First [[Panchen Lama]] Lobsang Chokyi Gyeltsen.
  
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The '''Dalai Lama''' (meaning "Ocean of Wisdom) is an institution and position of great importance in [[Tibetan Buddhism]], whose incumbant is considered to be the spiritual figurehead of the Tibetan people.<ref>The Dalai Lama is often thought to be the head of the Gelug sect, but this position officially belongs to the Ganden Tripa (Dga'-ldan Khri-pa).</ref>  In addition to his supreme religious and temporal authority, the Dalai Lama is also widely revered as an incarnation of the [[bodhisattva]] [[Avalokitesvara]] ("Chenrezig" in Tibetan), the embodiment of compassion.<ref>[http://www.fpmt.org/teachers/hhdl/default.asp His Holiness the Dalai Lama], Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition.</ref> Though especially important within the [[Gelug]] sect, all four Tibetan schools of Buddhism respect the Dalai Lama, despite their different Buddhist teachings. It should be noted then that the institution of the Dalai Lama is much older than the current incumbent of the position, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama (see picture inset).<ref>For a fuller account of the life of the current Dalai Lama, see [[Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama]]''.</ref>
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The fifth Dalai Lama. ''Lobsang Gyatso'' (Wylie transliteration: Blo-bzang Rgya-mtsho) (1617-1682) was the first Dalai Lama to wield effective political power over central [[Tibet]]. He unified Tibet under the control of the [[Geluk]] school of [[Tibetan Buddhism]], after defeating the rival [[Kagyu]] and [[Jonang]] sects and the secular ruler, the prince of Shang, in a prolonged civil war. His efforts were successful in part because of aid from Gushi Khan, a powerful [[Oirat]] military leader, the Mongol ruler of Khökh Nuur. The Jonang monasteries were either closed or forcibly converted, and that school remained in hiding until the latter part of the twentieth century.
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[[Image:Potala Palace.jpg|right|thumb|350px|The Potala Palace in Lhasa]]
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The fifth Dalai Lama also initiated the construction of the [[Potala Palace]] in [[Lhasa]], and moved the center of government there from Drepung. During his rule, the first Europeans visited Tibet. Two [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] missionaries, Johannes Gruber and Albert D'Orville, reached Lhasa in 1661. However, they failed to win any Tibetan converts to [[Christianity]].<ref>Other Christian missionaries spent time in Tibet, with equal lack of success, until all were expelled in 1745.</ref> In 1652, the fifth Dalai Lama visited the [[Manchu]] emperor, [[Shunzhi]].  
  
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Historically, the title of the Dalai Lama was intoduced in 1578 C.E., when Altan Khan of the Mongols bestowed it upon Sonam Gyatso (1543–1588), the third hierarch of the [[Geluk]] school of Tibetan Buddhism, commonly called the Yellow Hat sect. The title was then retroactively given to two predecessors dating back to 1391 C.E.  Ever since, it is believed that the institution of the Dalai Lama has been maintained through a successive lineage of reborn [[Tulku]]s.
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The death of the fifth Dalai Lama in 1680 was kept hidden for 15 years by his assistant, confidant, and possibly son Desi Sangay Gyatso (''De-srid Sangs-rgyas Rgya-'mtsho'').  
  
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While the Dalai Lama is deeply respected today, some of the position's former incumbents were conspicious for their worldly habits, and the position has not been without controversy, power struggles, and political intreague. Between the 17th century and 1959, the Dalai Lama was the head of the Tibetan government, administering a large portion of the country from the capital of Lhasa. Since 1959, however, the current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, has lived in exile from his homeland due to the Chinese takeover of the country. The future of the position in Chinese occupied Tibet is uncertain.  Tha Dalai Lama's current residence in exile is located in the town of Dharamsala, India.  
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===Sixth===
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The sixth Dalai Lama, ''Tsangyang Gyatso,'' (1683–1706) enjoyed a lifestyle that included [[alcoholic beverage|drinking]], the company of women, and writing love songs. Declaring him to be unworthy as a monk, Mongol leader Lha-bzang Khan invaded Tibet with the approval of China's [[Kangxi emperor]] in 1705. The sixth Dalai Lama died soon afterwards, possibly murdered. Tibetans angrily rejected the spurious Dalai Lama candidate that Lha-bzang brought with him and turned to the Dzungar (or Oyrat) Mongols for relief. The Dzungars defeated and killed Lha-bzang, but then proceeded to sack [[Lhasa]] and loot the tomb of the fifth Dalai Lama. They stayed until a Chinese expedition expelled them in 1720. The Chinese were hailed as liberators and patrons of ''Kelzang Gyatso,'' who they installed as the seventh Dalai Lama.  
  
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In 1989, the 14th Dalai Lama won the [[Noble Peace Prize]] for his ongoing efforts to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the Chinese occupation of Tibet. He is viewed by many as a voice and spiritual embodiment of peace, dialogue, and reason in our modern world. Thus the office of the Dalai Lama commands a great deal of respect and admiration among millions of Buddhists and non-Buddhist around the world.
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===Seventh===
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The seventh Dalai Lama of [[Tibet]], ''Kelzang Gyatso'' ([[Wylie transliteration|Wylie]]: ''Bskal-bzang Rgya-mtsho'') (1708 – 1757), was born in Litang of Eastern Tibet, in the present-day [[Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture]] of present-day [[Sichuan]] province, and recognized as the new reincarnation thanks to a [[Poetry|poem]] of the sixth Dalai Lama in which he said, "After going to Litang I would not be late in returning."
  
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==History==
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While still a boy, Kelzang Gyatso demonstrated himself a [[prodigy]] of profound wisdom. Kelzang Gyatso became famous for his ability to spontaneously compose verse. Inspired by a [[Trikaya|sambhogakaya]] vision of the poet-monk Tsongkhapa, Kelzang Gyatso (while a youth), travelled to central Tibet where he gave a [[sermon]] before thousands of people.
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[[Image:8thDalaiLama.jpg|thumb|left|200px|8th Dalai Lama]]
 
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{{main|History of Tibet}}
 
  
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"Dalai" means "Ocean" in [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]], and "[[Lama]]" ''(bla ma)'' is the Tibetan equivalent of the [[Sanskrit]] word "[[guru]]," and is commonly translated to mean "spiritual teacher".<ref>{{cite news |author=Art Hughes |title=The Thirteen Previous Dalai Lamas  |url=http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200105/07_newsroom_dalai/bios.shtml |work=Part of MPR's special report, [http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200105/07_newsroom_dalai/index.shtml Ocean of Wisdom: The Dalai Lama's Visit] |publisher=Minnesota Public Radio |date=May 7, 2001}}</ref> The actual title was first bestowed by the Mongolian ruler [[Altan Khan]] upon Sonam Gyatso in 1578. Gyatso was an abbot at the Drepung monastery who was widely considered the most eminent lama of his time. Although Sonam Gyatso became the first lama to hold the title "Dalai Lama," due to the fact that he was the third member of his lineage, he became known as the "3rd Dalai Lama." The previous two titles were conferred posthumously upon his earlier incarnations.  
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<blockquote>"Of all the Gyalwa Rinpoche [Dalai Lamas], we Tibetans probably respect the seventh, Kalzang Gyatso, most of all because of his saintliness, because he devoted his whole life to the Three Precious Ones, seeking refuge not for himself but for all his people."<ref>Colin M. Turnbull and Thubten Jigme Norbu, ''Tibet: An account of the history, the religion and the people of Tibet'' (New York: Touchstone Books, 1970, ISBN  978-0671205591), 311.</ref></blockquote>
  
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The 5th Dalai Lama, with the support of Gushri Khan, a Mongol ruler of Khökh Nuur, united Tibet. The Dalai Lamas continued to partially rule in [[Tibet]] with, to some extent, autonomous power given by contemporary Chinese governments, until the People's Republic of China invaded the region in 1949 and then took full control in 1959. The 14th Dalai Lama then fled to India and has since ceded temporal power to an elected government-in-exile. The current 14th Dalai Lama seeks greater autonomy for Tibet.
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The Dzungars invaded Tibet in 1717, deposed and killed a pretender to the position of Dalai Lama (who had been promoted by Lhabzang, the titular King of Tibet), which met with widespread approval. However, they soon began to loot the holy places of Lhasa which brought a swift response from Emperor Kangxi in 1718, but his military expedition was annihilated by the Dzungars not far from Lhasa.<ref name=Richardson>Hugh E. Richardson, ''Tibet and its History'' (Boston; London: Shambhala, 1986, ISBN 978-0877733768).</ref><ref name=Stein>R.A. Stein, ''Tibetan Civilization'' (Stanford University Press, 1972, ISBN 0804708061), 85.</ref>
  
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[[Lobsang Gyatso, 5th Dalai Lama|Lobsang Gyatso]] ([[Wylie transliteration]]: Blo-bzang Rgya-mtsho), the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, (1617-1682) was the first Dalai Lama to wield effective political power over central Tibet.  
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A second, larger, expedition sent by Emperor Kangxi expelled the Dzungars from Tibet in 1720 and the troops were hailed as liberators. They brought ''Kelzang Gyatso'' with them from Kumbum to Lhasa and he was installed as the seventh Dalai Lama in 1721.<ref name=Richardson/>
  
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The 5th Dalai Lama is known for unifying Tibet under the control of the [[Geluk]] school of [[Tibetan Buddhism]], after defeating the rival [[Kagyu]] and [[Jonang]] sects and the secular ruler, the prince of Shang, in a prolonged civil war. His efforts were successful in part because of aid from [[Gushi Khan]], a powerful [[Oirat]] military leader. The Jonang monasteries were either closed or forcibly converted, and that school remained in hiding until the latter part of the [[20th century]].
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Emperor Kangxi (1622-1723) declared Tibet a protectorate and in 1727 installed two high commissioners, or ambans, and a garrison of Chinese troops in Lhasa. The walls of Lhasa were torn down and "Kham (with Batang, Litang, Tatsienlu, etc.) annexed to the Chinese province of Szechwan. The Chinese protectorate, which was to last till the end of the Ch'ing dynasty (1912), was established."<ref name=Stein/>
  
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In 1652, the Fifth Dalai Lama visited the [[Manchu]] emperor, [[Shunzhi Emperor|Shunzhi]].  
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The seventh Dalai Lama was enthroned in the Potala Palace in 1720. He took the novice vows of monk-hood from the fifth Panchen Lama Lobsang Yeshi, who gave him the name Kelsang Gyatso. He took the Gelong vows (full ordination) from Lobsang Yeshi in 1726. He received teachings from the tutor of Lobsang Yeshi, the Abbot of Gyumey Monastery and also from the Abbot of Shalu Monastery, Ngawang Yonten on all the major Buddhist philosophical treatises and became a master in both [[sutra]] and [[tantra]]. He was a great scholar and wrote many books, especially on the tantra.  
  
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The fifth Dalai lama initiated the construction of the [[Potala Palace]] in [[Lhasa]], and moved the centre of government there from [[Drepung]].
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===Eighth===
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[[Image:Potala Palace.jpg|right|thumb|350px|The Potala Palace in Lhasa]]
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The eight Dalai Lama was ''Jamphel Gyatso'' (1758 &ndash; 1804). He is renowned for several [[miracle|miraculous]] signs that indicated his special nature. For example, it is said that as a baby he often attempted to sit in a meditative posture looking up to the heavens. When ''Lobsang Palden Yeshi,'' the Sixth [[Panchen Lama]], heard about this boy, he pronounced that he was indeed the authentic [[reincarnation]] of the Dalai Lama.
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The death of the fifth Dalai Lama in 1680 was kept hidden for 15 years by his assistant, confidant, and possibly son [[Desi Sangay Gyatso]] (''De-srid Sangs-rgyas Rgya-'mtsho''). The Dalai Lamas remained Tibet's titular heads of state until 1959.
 
  
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During the rule of the Great Fifth, the first Europeans visited Tibet. Two [[Jesuit]] missionaries, [[Johannes Gruber]] and [[Albert D'Orville]], reached Lhasa in 1661.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}<!--(this needs a source:) They described the Dalai Lama as a "powerful and compassionate leader" and "a devilish God-the-father who puts to death such as refuse to adore him."—> They failed to win any Tibetan converts to [[Christianity]]. Other Christian missionaries spent time in Tibet, with equal lack of success, until all were expelled in 1745.
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At the age two and a half years old, Jamphel was taken under a large contingent of lamas and officials to Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse, and was given a ceremony as the reborn Dalai Lama. He was escorted to Lhasa and enthroned as the leader of the Tibetan people in the [[Potala Palace]] when he was five years old (four by Western reckoning). The enthronement ceremony was presided over by Demo Tulku Jamphel Yeshi, the first of a series of Regents to represent the Dalai Lamas when they were minors. The ceremony was held in the 'Beyond Mind Temple of the Second Potala'.<ref name=Khetsun>Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche, "Life and times of the Eighth to Twelfth Dalai Lamas" ''The Tibet Journal'' VII (1 & 2) (Spring/Summer 1982): 47.</ref>
  
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The Sixth Dalai Lama enjoyed a lifestyle that included drinking, the company of women, and writing love songs. Declaring him to be unworthy as a monk, Mongol leader [[Lha-bzang Khan]] invaded Tibet with the approval of China's Kangxi emperor in 1705. The Dalai Lama died soon afterwards, probably killed by some one. Tibetans angrily rejected the spurious Dalai Lama candidate Lha-bzang brought with him and turned to the [[Dzungar]] (or Oyrat) Mongols for relief. The Dzungars defeated and killed Lha-bzang, but then proceeded to sack Lhasa and loot the tomb of the fifth Dalai Lama. They stayed until a Chinese expedition expelled them in 172.0 The Chinese were hailed as liberators and patrons of Kelzang Gyatso, who they installed as the seventh Dalai Lama. Following the Qing withdrawal from central Tibet in 1723, there was a period of civil war. Amdo, meanwhile, was declared a Chinese territory under the name Koko Nor (blue lake). (This became the province of [[Qinghai]] in 1929.)
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Shortly after, he was given the novice vows of monk-hood the name, Jamphel Gyatso, by Lobsang Palden Yeshe, and was fully ordained in 1777.<ref>[https://www.namgyal.org/the-dalai-lamas/his-holiness-the-eighth-dalai-lama-jamphel-gyatso/ His Holiness the Eighth Dalai Lama Jamphel Gyatso] ''Namgyal Monastery''. Retrieved November 13, 2020.</ref> 
  
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Pho-lha-nas ruled Tibet with Chinese support in 1728-47. He moved the Dalai Lama from Lhasa to Litang to make it more difficult for him to influence the government. After Pho-lha-nas died, his son ruled until he was killed by the ambans in 175.0 This provoked riots during which the ambans were killed. A Chinese army entered the country and restored order. In 175,1 the [[Qianlong]] emperor issued a 13-point decree which abolished the position of regent ''(desi)'', put the Tibetan government in the hands of a four-man ''kashag,'' or council of ministers, and gave the ambans formal powers. The Dalai Lama moved back to Lhasa to preside over the new government.
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The country of Tibet continued to be ruled by regents until 1784 when the Regent was sent as an [[ambassador]] to China and the Dalai Lama ruled alone until 1790, when the Regent returned to help Jamphel Gyatso.  
  
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The [[Qianlong]] emperor was disappointed with the results of his 1751 decree and the performance the ambans. "Tibetan local affairs were left to the willful actions of the Dalai Lama and the shapes [Kashag members]," he said. "The Commissioners were not only unable to take charge, they were also kept uninformed. This reduced the post of the Residential Commissioner in Tibet to name only."<ref name="wang">Wang Lixiong, [http://www.newleftreview.net/NLR24805.shtml "Reflections on Tibet"], ''New Left Review'' 14, March-April 2002</ref> In 179,2 the emperor issued a 29-point decree which appeared to tighten Chinese control over Tibet. It strengthened the powers of the ambans, who were in theory put on a par with the Dalai and Panchen Lamas and given authority over financial, diplomatic and trade affairs. It also outlined a new method to select both the Dalai and Panchen Lama by means of a lottery administered by the ambans in Lhasa. In this lottery the names of the competing candidates were written on folded slips of paper which were placed in a golden urn.<ref>Goldstein, Melvyn C. ''A History of Modern Tibet, 1913-1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State'', Berkeley, 1989, p44, n13</ref> The tenth, eleventh and twelfth Dalai Lamas were selected by the golden urn method.<ref>W..D Shakabpa's "''Tibet: A Political History''"(1967) claimed that the tenth Dalai Lama was not selected by the mean of the lottery. J. Wang and Nyima Gyaincain, however, provided totally different accounts in "Historical Status of China's Tibet"(1997) [http://www.tibet-china.org/historical_status/english/e0403.html controverting Shakabpa's statement]. According to Shakabpa, the twelfth Dalai Lama was selected by the Tibetan method but was confirmed by the mean of the lottery. See Smith, Warren, "''Tibetan Nation: A History of Tibetan Nationalism and Sino-Tibetan Relations''," p14,0 n59</ref> The ninth, thirteen, and fourteenth Dalai Lamas, however, were selected by the previous incarnation's entourage, or ''labrang,'' with the selection being approved after the fact by Beijing.
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In 1788, there was a conflict with [[Nepali]] wool traders leading to a skirmish with the [[Gurkha]]s. In 1790, the Gurkhas invaded southern Tibet and conquered several provinces including Nya-nang and Kyi-drong. The city of Shigatse and the Tashilhunpo Monastery were captured and looted but the Gurkhas were driven back to Nepal in 1791. A peace treaty between the two was agreed on in 1796.  
  
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When the British mission reached Lhasa, the Dalai Lama had already fled to [[Urga]] in [[Mongolia]], Younghusband found the option of returning to India empty-handed untenable, he proceeded to draft a treaty unilaterally, and have it signed in the Potala by the regent, Ganden Tri Rinpoche, and any other Tibetan officials he could gather together as an ''ad hoc'' government. The Tibetan ministers whom Younghusband dealt with had apparently, unknown to him, just been appointed to their posts. The regular ministers had been imprisoned for suspected pro-British leanings and it was feared they would be too accomodating to Younghusband.<ref>Grunfeld, A. Tom, ''The Making of Modern Tibet.'' ISBN 1-56324-713-5, p57</ref>
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It was the eighth Dalai Lama who built the Norbulingka Park and Summer Palace on the outskirts of Lhasa. He died in 1804 at the age of 47 (46 by Western reckoning).<ref name=Khetsun/>
  
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A [[treaty]] was concluded which required Tibet to open its border with British India, to allow British and Indian traders to travel freely, not to impose [[customs duties]] on trade with India, a demand from British that Lhasa had to pay 2.5 million rupees as indemnity and not to enter into relations with any foreign power without British approval.<ref name=anglotibetan1904>[http://www.tibetjustice.org/materials/treaties/treaties10.html Convention Between Great Britain and Thibet (1904)]</ref>
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===Ninth===
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The ninth Dalai Lama was ''Lungtok Gyatso'' (1806 &ndash; 1815), who was recognized as the reincarnation of the eighth Dalai Lama and was escorted to Lhasa with great ceremony. In 1810, he was enthroned at the [[Potala Palace]] on the Golden Throne of the Ganden Po-drang Government. He took his novice vows from the Panchen Lama, who gave him the name Lungtok Gyatso.  
  
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The Anglo-Tibetan treaty was accordingly confirmed by a Sino-British treaty in 1906 by which the "Government of Great Britain engages not to annex Tibetan territory or to interfere in the administration of Tibet. The Government of China also undertakes not to ''permit'' any other foreign State to interfere with the territory or internal administration of Tibet."<ref name=anglochinese1906>[http://www.tibetjustice.org/materials/treaties/treaties11.html Convention Between Great Britain and China Respecting Tibet (1906)]</ref> Moreover, Beijing agreed to pay London 2.5 million rupees which Lhasa was forced to agree upon in the Anglo-Tibetan treaty of 1904.<ref>Melvyn C. Goldstein, [http://cc.purdue.edu/~wtv/tibet/article/art4.html ''Tibet, China and the United States: Reflections on the Tibet Question.''], 1995</ref> In 1907, Britain and Russia agreed that in "conformity with the ''admitted principle'' of the suzerainty of China over Thibet"<ref name=anglorussian1907>[http://www.tibetjustice.org/materials/treaties/treaties12.html Convention Between Great Britain and Russia (1907)]</ref><ref>A suzerain is a nation which has certain authority over a dependency.</ref> both nations "engage not to enter into negotiations with Thibet except through the intermediary of the Chinese Government."<ref name=anglorussian1907/> In 191,0 the Qing government sent a military expedition of its own to establish direct Chinese rule and deposed the Dalai Lama in an imperial edict. The Dalai Lama once again fled, this time to India. "By going in and then coming out again, we knocked the Tibetans down and left them for the first comer to kick," wrote Charles Albert Bell, a British diplomatic officer stationed in [[Sikkim]] and a [[critic]] of the Liberal government's policy.
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<blockquote>The English explorer Thomas Manning, who reached Lhasa in 1812, described his meeting with the 9th Dalai Lama, who was seven years old at the time, in rhapsodic terms. 'The lama's beautiful and interesting face engrossed all my attention,' Manning wrote. 'He had the simple, unaffected manners of a well-educated princely child. His face was, I thought, affectingly beautiful. He was of a gay and cheerful disposition. I was extremely affected by this interview with the lama. I could have wept through strangeness of sensation.'<ref>Mick Brown, ''The Dance of 17 Lives: The Incredible True Story of Tibet's 17th Karmapa'' (New York, NY: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2004, ISBN 158234177X), 28-29.</ref></blockquote>  
  
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In early 1913, the Dalai Lama returned to Lhasa and issued a proclamation distributed throughout Tibet which condemned, "The Chinese intention of colonizing Tibet under the patron-priest relationship" and stated that, "We are a small, religious, and independent nation."<ref name="Dalai1913">[http://www.tibetjustice.org/materials/tibet/tibet1.html "Proclamation Issued by His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIII (1913)"]</ref> Tibet and Mongolia are said to have signed a [[Treaty of friendship and alliance between the Government of Mongolia and Tibet|treaty]] in 1913 recognizing each other's independence; however there is no way to verify the existence of such document.<ref>There was not, at the time, nor has there been since, any official publication of the treaty's text by either party. Moreover, a Tibetan official pointed out years later that "[t]here [was] no need for a treaty, we would always help each other if we could." Bell, Charles, ''Tibet and Her Neighbours'', 1937, pp. 435-436; For the English text, please see Michael C. Van Praag, ''The Status of Tibet'', pp. 320-32.1 According to his British advisor Charles Bell, the 13th Dalai Lama denied the existence of such a treaty. The Tibetan leader told Bell that he has never ratified, or appointed any plenipotentiary to sign, any treaty with Mongolia. Bell, Charles, ''Tibet Past and Present'', 1924, p. 151</ref>
+
Unfortunately, he served only briefly owing to his death at the age of nine in 1815. "The entire nation was plunged into sorrow," which lasted until the recognition of the new reincarnation eight years later.<ref name=Khetsun/>
  
−
Tibet established at Foreign Office in 1942 and in 1946 it sent congratulatory missions to China and India (related to the end of World War II). The mission to China was given a letter addressed to Chinese President Chiang Kai-sek which states that, "We shall continue to maintain the independence of Tibet as a nation ruled by the successive Dalai Lamas through an authentic religious-political rule." The mission agreed to attend a Chinese constitutional assembly in Nanjing as observers.<ref name="Smith">Smith, Daniel, [http://www.canonymous.com/press/ecritique2/part2.html "Self-Determination in Tibet: The Politics of Remedies"].</ref>
+
===Tenth===
 +
In 1792, the Qianlong Emperor outlined a new method to select the Dalai Lama by means of a lottery. The names of the competing candidates were written on folded slips of paper which were placed in a golden urn.<ref>Melvyn C. Goldstein, ''A History of Modern Tibet, 1913-1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State'' (Berkeley: University of California, 1989), 44, note 13.</ref> The tenth and later Dalai Lamas were therefore to be selected by the golden urn method. However, in fact, both the tenth and twelfth Dalai Lamas had already been recognized prior to using the Golden Urn method and so only the eleventh Dalai Lama was selected solely by this method. The thirteen, and fourteenth Dalai Lamas were selected by the previous incarnation's entourage, or ''labrang,'' with the selection being approved after the fact by the Chinese rulers in Beijing.<ref name=reincarnation>The Dalai Lama, [https://www.dalailama.com/messages/retirement-and-reincarnation/reincarnation Reincarnation] ''The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama'', September 24, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2020.</ref>
  
−
By the mid-1950s there was unrest in eastern Kham and Amdo, where land reform had been implemented in full. These rebellions eventually spread into western Kham and Ü-Tsang. In 1959 (at the time of the [[Great Leap Forward]] in China), the Chinese authorities treated the Dalai Lama, by now an adult, with open impiety. In some parts of the country Chinese Communists tried to establish rural communes, as was happening in the whole of China. These events triggered riots in Lhasa, and then a full-scale rebellion occurred.  
+
In 1910, the [[Qing]] government sent a military expedition of its own to establish direct Chinese rule and deposed the Dalai Lama in an imperial edict. The Dalai Lama fled to India. In early 1913, the Dalai Lama returned to Lhasa and issued a proclamation that condemned, "The Chinese intention of colonizing Tibet under the patron-priest relationship" and stated that, "We are a small, religious, and independent nation."<ref name="Dalai1913">[http://www.tibetjustice.org/materials/tibet/tibet1.html Proclamation Issued by His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIII (1913)]. ''Tibet Justice Center''. Retrieved November 13, 2020.</ref>
 +
 +
[[File:Dalai Lama 1430 Luca Galuzzi 2007crop.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The 14th and current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (born 1935).]]
  
−
The resistance in Lhasa was soon crushed, and the Dalai Lama fled to India, although resistance continued in other parts of the country for several years. Although he remained a virtual prisoner, the Chinese set the [[Panchen Lama]] as a figurehead in Lhasa, claiming that he headed the legitimate Government of Tibet in the absence of the Dalai Lama, the traditional head of the Tibetan government. In 1965, the area that had been under the control of the Dalai Lama's government from the 1910s to 1959 (Ü-Tsang and western Kham) was renamed the [[Tibet Autonomous Region]] or TAR. Autonomy provided that head of government would be an ethnic Tibetan; however, de facto power in the TAR is held by the general secretary of the Communist Party, who, as of [[as of 2006|2006]], has always been a [[Han Chinese]] from outside of Tibet. The role of ethnic Tibetans in the higher levels of the TAR Communist Party remains limited.
+
===Fourteenth===
 +
The current Dalai Lama, the fourteenth in the lineage, is ''Tenzin Gyatso'' (born July 6, 1935), a practicing member of the [[Gelug]] [[School]] of [[Tibetan Buddhism]]. He was proclaimed the ''tulku'' ([[reincarnation|rebirth]]) of the thirteenth Dalai Lama at the age of two. On November 17, 1950, at the age of 15, he was enthroned as Tibet's Head of State. Thus he became Tibet's most important political ruler just one month after the [[People's Republic of China]]'s invasion of Tibet on October 7, 1950.  
  
−
In 1989. the Panchen Lama died. The Dalai Lama named [[Gedhun Choekyi Nyima]] as the 11th Panchen Lama but without confirmation from the Chinese government, while the PRC named another child, [[Gyancain Norbu]]. Gyancain Norbu was raised in Beijing and has appeared occasionally on state media. The whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family are unknown. It is widely believed that they are imprisoned, while Beijing contends that they are living under a secret identity for protection and privacy.[http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGASA170071996]
+
In 1954, he went to Beijing to talk with [[Mao Zedong]].<ref>[https://www.dalailama.com/the-dalai-lama/biography-and-daily-life/birth-to-exile The Dalai Lama: Birth to Exile] ''The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama''. Retrieved November 13, 2020.</ref> However, after a failed uprising and the collapse of the Tibetan resistance movement in 1959, the Dalai Lama left for [[India]], where he was active in establishing the Central Tibetan Administration (the Tibetan Government in Exile) and in seeking to preserve Tibetan [[culture]] and [[education]] among the thousands of [[refugee]]s who accompanied him.<ref>Tenzin Gyatso, ''Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama'' (New York: HarperCollins, 1990, ISBN 0060391162).</ref>
  
−
The Dalai Lama is now seventy-one years old, and when he dies a new child Dalai Lama will, by tradition, have to be found. In 1997, the 14th Dalai Lama indicated that his [[reincarnation]] "will definitely not come under Chinese control; it will be outside, in the free world." [http://www.tibet.ca/wtnarchive/1997/6/3-2_1.html]
+
Tenzin Gyatso is a [[charisma]]tic figure<ref name="bbcprofile">[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-12700331 Profile: The Dalai Lama] ''BBC News'', March 10, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2020.</ref><ref>Anders Hove, [http://tech.mit.edu/V118/N26/hove.26c.html Humanity, Not Nationalism] ''The Tech'' 118(26), May 12, 1998. Retrieved November 13, 2020. </ref> and noted public speaker. He is the first Dalai Lama to travel to the West where he has helped to spread Tibetan Buddhism and to promote the concepts of universal responsibility, secular ethics, and religious harmony. He remains influential as a [[Nobel Peace Prize]] laureate, as the world's most famous Buddhist [[monk]], and as the leader of the exiled [[Tibet]]an government in [[India]].
  
 
==List of Dalai Lamas==
 
==List of Dalai Lamas==
Line 82: Line 111:
 
| 9. || Lungtok Gyatso || 1806–1815 || (1808–1815)<ref name="posthumous" /> || ལུང་རྟོགས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་<br/>''lung rtogs rgya mtsho'' || Lungdog Gyaco || Lungtog Gyatso
 
| 9. || Lungtok Gyatso || 1806–1815 || (1808–1815)<ref name="posthumous" /> || ལུང་རྟོགས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་<br/>''lung rtogs rgya mtsho'' || Lungdog Gyaco || Lungtog Gyatso
 
|-----
 
|-----
−
| 1.0 || Tsultrim Gyatso || 1816–1837 ||  || ཚུལ་ཁྲིམ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་<br/>''tshul khrim rgya mtsho'' || Cüchim Gyaco || Tshültrim Gyatso
+
| 10. || Tsultrim Gyatso || 1816–1837 ||  || ཚུལ་ཁྲིམ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་<br/>''tshul khrim rgya mtsho'' || Cüchim Gyaco || Tshültrim Gyatso
 
|-----
 
|-----
−
| 1.1 || Khendrup Gyatso || 1838–1856 || 1844–1856 || མཁས་གྲུབ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་<br/>''mkhas grub rgya mtsho'' || Kaichub Gyaco || Kedrub Gyatso
+
| 11. || Khendrup Gyatso || 1838–1856 || 1844–1856 || མཁས་གྲུབ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་<br/>''mkhas grub rgya mtsho'' || Kaichub Gyaco || Kedrub Gyatso
 
|-----
 
|-----
−
| 1.2 || Trinley Gyatso || 1857–1875 ||  || འཕྲིན་ལས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་<br/>''‘phrin las rgya mtsho'' || Chinlai Gyaco || Trinle Gyatso
+
| 12. || Trinley Gyatso || 1857–1875 ||  || འཕྲིན་ལས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་<br/>''‘phrin las rgya mtsho'' || Chinlai Gyaco || Trinle Gyatso
 
|-----
 
|-----
 
| 13. || Thubten Gyatso || 1876–1933 || || ཐུབ་བསྟན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་<br/>''thub bstan rgya mtsho'' || Tubdain Gyaco || Thubtan Gyatso, Thupten Gyatso
 
| 13. || Thubten Gyatso || 1876–1933 || || ཐུབ་བསྟན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་<br/>''thub bstan rgya mtsho'' || Tubdain Gyaco || Thubtan Gyatso, Thupten Gyatso
Line 94: Line 123:
  
 
==Epithets==
 
==Epithets==
−
The title "Dalai Lama" is usually translated as meaning "Ocean of Wisdom." In addition to this title, the Dalai Lama is also called Gyalwa Rinpoche (Rgyal-ba Rin-po-che) meaning "Precious Victor," and Yishin Norbu (Yid-bzhin Nor-bu) meaning "Wish-fulfilling Jewel" the Tibetan language.  In English, the words "His Holiness" (HH) are often placed before his title.
+
The title "Dalai Lama" is usually translated as meaning "Ocean of Wisdom." In addition to this title, the Dalai Lama is also called ''Gyalwa Rinpoche'' (Rgyal-ba Rin-po-che) meaning "Precious Victor," and ''Yishin Norbu'' (Yid-bzhin Nor-bu) meaning "Wish-fulfilling Jewel." In English, the words "His Holiness" (H.H.) are often placed before his title.
  
 
==Residence==
 
==Residence==
−
[[Image:Potala from W.jpg|thumb|right|240px|[[Potala Palace]].]]
+
[[Image:Potala from W.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Potala Palace]].]]
−
Starting with the 5th Dalai Lama and until the 14th Dalai Lama's flight into exile in 1959, the Dalai Lamas resided during winter at the Potala Palace, and in the summer at the Norbulingka palace and park. Both residences are located in Lhasa, [[Tibet]], approximately 3 km apart. In 1959, subsequent to the then ongoing Chinese occupation of Tibet, the 14th Dalai Lama sought refuge within [[India]]. The then Indian Prime Minister, [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], was instrumental in granting safe refuge to the Dalai Lama and his fellow Tibetans. The Dalai Lama has since been in refuge in Dharamsala, in the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India, where the Central Tibetan Administration (The Tibetan Government in Exile) is also established. Tibetan refugees have constructed and opened many schools and Buddhist temples in Dharamsala.<ref>[http://www.tibet.com/dasaguide.html A Guide to Little Lhasa in India]</ref><ref>[http://www.buddhist-temples.com/dharamsala.html Buddhist Temples Dharamsala]</ref>
+
Starting with the fifth Dalai Lama and until the fourteenth Dalai Lama's flight into exile in 1959, the Dalai Lamas resided during winter at the [[Potala Palace]], and in the summer at the Norbulingka palace. Both residences are located in Lhasa, [[Tibet]], approximately three km apart. In 1959, subsequent to the then ongoing Chinese occupation of Tibet, the 14th Dalai Lama sought refuge within [[India]]. The then Indian Prime Minister, [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], was instrumental in granting safe refuge to the Dalai Lama and his fellow Tibetans. The Dalai Lama has since been living in exile in [[Dharamsala]], where the Central Tibetan Administration (Government in Exile) is also established. Tibetan refugees have constructed and opened many schools and [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] temples in Dharamsala.<ref>[http://www.buddhist-temples.com/dharamsala.html Dharamsala] ''Buddhist Temples ''. Retrieved November 13, 2020.</ref>
  
−
==Succession==
+
==The future of the Dalai Lama==
−
The title "Dalai Lama" is presently granted to each of the spiritual leader's successive incarnations (for example, The 14th Dalai Lama's next incarnation will hold the title "the 15th Dalai Lama").
+
Traditionally, upon the death of a Dalai Lama, a search commences for the ''tulku'''s rebirth, or ''yangsi'' ''(yang srid).'' Familiarity with the possessions of the previous Dalai Lama is considered the main sign of the new candidate. The search for the new Dalai Lama typically takes a few years. The new candidate is then brought to Lhasa to be invested with the title and trained by other Lamas.
−
 
 
−
Upon the death of the Dalai Lama, his monks institute a search for the Lama's [[reincarnation]], or ''yangsi'' ''(yang srid)'', a small child. Familiarity with the possessions of the previous Dalai Lama is considered the main sign of the reincarnation.   The search for the reincarnation typically requires a few years. The reincarnation is then brought to Lhasa to be trained by the other Lamas.
 
  
−
==The future of the Dalai Lama==
+
Despite its officially secular stance, the government of the [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC) has claimed the power to approve the naming of high lamas in Tibet. This decision cites a precedent set by the Qianlong Emperor of the [[Qing Dynasty]], who instituted a system of selecting the Dalai Lama and the [[Panchen Lama]] by means of a lottery that utilized a golden urn with names wrapped in barley balls. Controversially, this precedent was called upon by the PRC to name their own Panchen Lama. The Dalai Lama and the majority of Tibetan Buddhists in exile do not regard this to be the legitimate Panchen Lama. The Dalai Lama has recognized a different child, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, as the reincarnated Panchen Lama. This child and his family have been taken into 'protective custody' according to the PRC, and all attempts to garner guarantees of the family's safety have been denied by the PRC. There is some speculation that with the death of the current Dalai Lama, the People's Republic of China will attempt to direct the selection of a successor, using the authority of their chosen Panchen Lama.
−
[[Image:Throne awaiting Dalai Lama's return. Summer residence Nechung. 1993.JPG|thumb|230px|Throne awaiting Dalai Lama's return. Summer residence of 13th Dalai Lama, Nechung, Tibet.]]
 
−
Despite its officially secular stance, the government of the [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC) has claimed the power to approve the naming of high reincarnations in Tibet. This decision cites a precedent set by the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, who instituted a system of selecting the Dalai Lama and the [[Panchen Lama]] by means of a lottery that utilised a golden urn with names wrapped in barley balls. Controversially, this precedent was called upon by the PRC to name their own Panchen Lama. The Dalai Lama and the majority of Tibetan Buddhists in exile do not regard this to be the legitimate Panchen Lama. The Dalai Lama has recognized a different child, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, as the reincarnated Panchen Lama. This child and his family have been taken into 'protective custody' according to the PRC, and all attempts by members of the EU parliament and US government to garner guarantees of the family's safety have been denied by the PRC. There is some speculation that with the death of the current Dalai Lama, the People's Republic of China will attempt to direct the selection of a successor, using the authority of their chosen Panchen Lama.
 
  
−
The current Dalai Lama has repeatedly stated that he will never be reborn inside territory controlled by the People's Republic of China<ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Dalai's reincarnation will not be found under Chinese control |url= http://www.tibet.com/DL/next-reincarnation.html |work=The Indian Express |publisher=Tibetan Government in Exile |date=1999-07-06 |accessdate=2007-01-27}}</ref>, and has occasionally suggested that he might choose to be the last Dalai Lama by not being reborn at all. However, he has also stated that the purpose of his repeated incarnations is to continue unfinished work and, as such, if the situation in Tibet remains unchanged, it is very likely that he will be reborn to finish his work.<ref>[http://dalailama.com/page.54.htm Questions & Answers], The Website of The Office of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.</ref>  
+
The current Dalai Lama has repeatedly stated that he will never be reborn inside territory controlled by the [[People's Republic of China]],<ref name=reincarnation/> and has occasionally suggested that he might choose to be the last Dalai Lama by not being reborn at all. However, he has also stated that the purpose of his repeated incarnations is to continue unfinished work and, as such, if the situation in Tibet remains unchanged, it is very likely that he will be reborn to finish his work.<ref>[https://www.dalailama.com/messages/retirement-and-reincarnation/retirement-remarks His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Remarks on Retirement] ''The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama'', March 19, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2020.</ref>
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
−
{{reflist}}
+
<references/>
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
−
* Cutler, H. "THE DALAI LAMA: THE MINDFUL MONK This humble man is bridging the gap between Eastern wisdom and Western psychology," ''Psychology Today,'' 34, part 3, 34-39, 2009 ISSN 0033-3107
+
* Beckwith, Christopher I. ''The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia. A History of the Struggle for Great Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs, and Chinese during the Early Middle Ages.'' Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987. ISBN 0691024693
 +
* Brown, Mick. ''The Dance of 17 Lives: The Incredible True Story of Tibet's 17th Karmapa.'' New York, NY: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2004. ISBN 158234177X
 +
* ''Essence of Refined Gold by the Third Dalai Lama: with related texts by the Second and Seventh Dalai Lamas,'' Translated by Glenn H. Mullin. Dharamsala, H.P., India: Tushita Books, 1978.
 +
* Goldstein, Melvyn C. ''The Snow Lion and the Dragon China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama.'' Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0585087030
 +
* Goldstein, Melvyn C., with the help of Gelek Rimpche. ''A History of Modern Tibet, 1913-1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State.'' Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1993. ISBN 8121505828; University of California edition, 1991. ISBN 0520075900
 +
* Gyatso, Tenzin. ''Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama.'' New York: HarperCollins, 1990. ISBN 0060391162
 +
* Laird, Thomas, and Bstan-ʼdzin-rgya-mtsho. ''The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama.'' NY: Grove Press, 2006. ISBN 9780802118271 
 +
* Marcello, Patricia Cronin. ''The Dalai Lama: A Biography.'' Greenwood biographies. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003. ISBN 978-0313322075
 +
* Mayhew, Bradley, and Michael Kohn. ''Tibet,'' 6th Edition.  Lonely Planet Publications, 2005. ISBN 1740595238
 +
* Mullin, Glenn H., translator. ''Essence of Refined Gold by the Third Dalai Lama: with related texts by the Second and Seventh Dalai Lamas.'' Dharamsala, H.P., India: Tushita Books, 1978.
 +
* Perez, Louis G. ''The Dalai Lama.'' Rourke Biographies. Vero Beach, FL: Rourke Publications, 1993. ISBN 978-0866254809
 +
* Piburn, Sidney. ''The Dalai Lama, a Policy of Kindness: An Anthology of Writings by and About the Dalai Lama.'' Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1990. ISBN 978-0937938911
 +
* Richardson, Hugh E. ''Tibet and its History''. Boston; London: Shambhala, 1986. ISBN 978-0877733768
 +
* Rinpoche, Khetsun Sangpo. "Life and times of the Eighth to Twelfth Dalai Lamas." ''The Tibet Journal'' VII (1 & 2) (Spring/Summer 1982): 47-48.
 +
* Shakabpa, Tsepon. ''Tibet: A Political History,'' third ed. (Potala Publications, 1984 (original 1967). ISBN 0961147415
 +
*Shakya, Tsering. ''The Dragon in the Land of Snows: A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947.'' Penguin, 2000. ISBN 0140196153
 +
* Smith, Warren. ''Tibetan Nation: A History Of Tibetan Nationalism And Sino-tibetan Relations.''  Westview Press, 1997. ISBN 081333280X
 +
*Stein, R. A. ''Tibetan Civilization.'' Stanford University Press, 1972. ISBN 0804709017
 +
* Turnbull, Colin M., and Thubten Jigme Norbu. ''Tibet: An account of the history, the religion and the people of Tibet''. New York: Touchstone Books, 1970. ISBN  978-0671205591
 +
*Wang, Jiawei and Nyima Gyaincain. ''The Historical Status of China's Tibet.'' China Intercontinental Press, 1997. ISBN 7801133048
  
−
* Goldstein, Melvyn C. ''The Snow Lion and the Dragon China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama''. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999 ISBN 9780585087030
+
==External links==
 +
All links retrieved January 24, 2024.
  
−
* Laird, Thomas, and Bstan-ʼdzin-rgya-mtsho. ''The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama''. NY: Grove Press, 2006 ISBN 9780802118271 
+
*[http://www.dalailama.com The official site of the current Dalai Lama]
 +
*[http://www.namgyal.org Namgyal - The official site of the current Dalai Lama's personal monastery in Ithaca NY USA]
 +
*[http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200105/07_newsroom_dalai/bios.shtml The 13 Previous Dalai Lamas]
  
−
* Marcello, Patricia Cronin. ''The Dalai Lama: A Biography''. Greenwood biographies. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003 ISBN 9780313322075
 
−
 
−
* Perez, Louis G. ''The Dalai Lama''. Rourke biographies. Vero Beach, Fla: Rourke Publications, 1993 ISBN 9780866254809
 
−
 
−
*Piburn, Sidney. ''The Dalai Lama, a Policy of Kindness: An Anthology of Writings by and About the Dalai Lama''. Ithaca, N.Y., USA: Snow Lion Publications, 1990 ISBN 9780937938911
 
−
 
−
==Bibliography==
 
−
*Beckwith, Christopher I (1983). “The Revolt of 755 in Tibet” ''Contributions on Tibetan Language, History, and Culture.'' Ernst Steinkellner and Helmut Tauscher eds. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde; Heft 1.0  Wien: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien, Universität Wien, pp. 1-16. reprinted in: ''The History of Tibet''. ed. Alex Mckay. London: Routledge Curzon, 2003: 273-285.
 
−
*Beckwith, Christopher I (1987). ''The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia. A History of the Struggle for Great Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs, and Chinese during the Early Middle Ages'' Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02469-3
 
−
*{{cite book | first=Isabel | last=Hilton | title=The Search for the Panchen Lama | publisher=W. W. Norton and Company | location=New York and London | year=1999 | id=ISBN 0-393-04969-8}}
 
−
* Carrington, Michael. "Officers Gentlemen and Thieves: The Looting of Monasteries during the 1903/4 Younghusband Mission to Tibet," ''Modern Asian Studies'' 37, 1 (2003), PP 81-109.
 
−
* Goldstein, Melvyn C., with the help of Gelek Rimpche. ''A History of Modern Tibet, 1913-1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State'', Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers (1993), hardcover, 898 pages, ISBN 81-215-0582-8; University of California edition (1991), trade paperback, ISBN 0-520-07590-.0
 
−
*Norb,u Thubten Jigme and Turnbull, Colin. ''Tibet: Its History, Religion and People.'' Reprint: Penguin Books, 1987.
 
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*Petech, Luciano (1988). "The Succession to the Tibetan Throne in  704-5." ''Orientalia Iosephi Tucci Memoriae Dicata'', Serie Orientale Roma 41.3. pp. 1080-1087.
 
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*Richardson, Hugh E. (1965). "How Old was Srong Brtsan Sgampo" ''Bulletin of Tibetology'' 2..1 pp. 5-8.
 
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*Richardson, Hugh E. (1988) "The Succession to Lang Darma." ''Orientalia Iosephi Tucci Memoriae Dicata'', Serie Orientale Roma 41.3. pp. 1221-1229
 
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*Shakya, Tsering,''The Dragon in the Land of Snows : A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947'' Penguin, (2000)  paperback, 608 pages, ISBN 0-14-019615-3
 
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* Stein, R. A. 196.2 ''Tibetan Civilization''. First published in French. English translation by J. E. Stapelton Driver. Reprint: Stanford University Press (with minor revisions from 1977 Faber & Faber edition), 1995. ISBN 0-8047-0806-1 (hbk); ISBN 0-8047-0901-7 (sbk).
 
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*{{cite book | last=Wang Jiawei | coauthors=Nyima Gyaincain | title=The Historical Status of China's Tibet | publisher=China Intercontinental Press | year=1997 | id=ISBN 7-80113-304-8}}
 
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*Wylie, Turnell V. (1977) "The First Mongol Conquest of Tibet Reinterpreted" ''Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies'' 37.1: 103-133.
 
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*Yeshe De Project. 1986. ''ANCIENT TIBET: Research Materials from The Yeshe De Project''. Dharma Publishing. Berkeley. ISBN 0-89800-146-3
 
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*Zuiho Yamaguchi (1996) “The Fiction of King Dar-ma’s persecution of Buddhism” ''De Dunhuang au Japon: Etudes chinoises et bouddhiques offertes à Michel Soymié''.  Genève : Librarie Droz S.A.
 
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==External links==
 
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*[http://www.dalailama.com The official site of the current Dalai Lama] Retrieved Aug. 3, 2007.
 
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*[http://www.namgyal.org Namgyal - The official site of the current Dalai Lama's personal monastery in Ithaca NY USA] Retrieved Aug 3, 2007.
 
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*[http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200105/07_newsroom_dalai/bios.shtml The 13 Previous Dalai Lamas] Retrieved Aug 3, 2007.
 
  
 
[[Category: Philosophy and religion]]
 
[[Category: Philosophy and religion]]
 
[[Category: Religion]]
 
[[Category: Religion]]
  
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{{Credits|Dalai Lama|148407484|History_of_Tibet|154583505}}
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{{Credits|Dalai_Lama|148407484|History_of_Tibet|154583505|Gendun_Drup,_1st_Dalai_Lama|158753436|Gendun_Gyatso,_2nd_Dalai_Lama|156764777|Sonam_Gyatso,_3rd_Dalai_Lama|156764888|Yonten_Gyatso,_4th_Dalai_Lama|156764950|Kelzang_Gyatso,_7th_Dalai_Lama|182382541|Jamphel_Gyatso,_8th_Dalai_Lama|182558699|Lungtok_Gyatso,_9th_Dalai_Lama|186681670|Tenzin_Gyatso,_14th_Dalai_Lama|187163745}}

Latest revision as of 17:37, 24 January 2024


Note: This article is about the institution and office of the Dalai Lama. For information on the current 14th Dalai Lama see Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Throne awaiting Dalai Lama's return. Summer residence of 13th Dalai Lama, Nechung, Tibet.

The Dalai Lama (meaning "Ocean of Wisdom") is an institution of great importance in Tibetan Buddhism, whose incumbent is considered to be the spiritual figurehead of the Tibetan people.[1] In addition to his supreme religious and temporal authority, the Dalai Lama is also widely revered as an incarnation of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara ("Chenrezig" in Tibetan), known as the embodiment of compassion. All four schools of Tibetan Buddhism respect the Dalai Lama, although he is especially important within the Gelug sect.

Historically, the title of the Dalai Lama was introduced in 1578 C.E. when Altan Khan of the Mongols bestowed it upon Sonam Gyatso (1543–1588), the third leader of the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism, commonly called the Yellow Hat sect. The title was then retroactively given to his two predecessors dating back to 1391 C.E. Ever since that time, it is believed that the institution of the Dalai Lama has been maintained through a successive lineage of reborn Tulkus. Between the seventeenth century and 1959, the Dalai Lama was the head of the Tibetan government, administering a large portion of the country from the capital of Lhasa. Since 1959, however, the current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, has lived in exile from his homeland due to the Chinese takeover of the country. It should be noted that the institution of the Dalai Lama is much older than the current incumbent of the position, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama.[2]

In 1989, the 14th Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the Chinese occupation of Tibet. He is viewed by many as a voice of peace, dialogue, and reason in our modern world. Thus the office of the Dalai Lama commands a great deal of respect and admiration among millions of Buddhists and non-Buddhist alike. While the Dalai Lama is deeply respected today, some of the position's former incumbents were conspicuous for their worldly habits, and the position has not been without controversy, power struggles, and political intrigue.

History

First, Second, Third

Did you know?
The title "Dalai Lama" means "Ocean of Wisdom"

The title "Dalai Lama" (meaning "Ocean of Wisdom") was first used in 1578 when the Mongolian ruler Altan Khan conferred it upon Sonam Gyatso, abbot at the Drepung monastery. However, since Sonam Gyatso was the third member of his lineage, he became known as the "Third Dalai Lama" and the previous two titles were conferred posthumously upon his earlier incarnations. Consequently, the history of the Dalai Lama goes back to Gendun Drup (1391 – 1474) who was posthumously called the first Dalai Lama.

Gendun Drup (born Pema Dorje) was the son of nomadic tribespeople, and was raised as a shepherd until the age of seven. He joined the Nartang (Nar-thang) monastery as a student of Tsongkhapa, and by the middle of his life he had become one of the most esteemed scholar-saints in the country.

The second retroactive Dalai Lama was Gendun Gyatso Palzangpo (Wylie transliteration: Dge-'dun Rgya-mtsho), also Gendun Gyatso ("Sublimely Glorious Ocean of Spiritual Aspirants," layname: Yonten Phuntsok) (1475 – 1541). He was proclaimed the reincarnation of Gendun Drup as a young boy.

Legend has it that soon after he learned to speak, Gendun Gyatso told his parents his name was Pema Dorje, the birth name of the first Dalai Lama. Later, when he was four, he reportedly told his parents he wished to live in the Tashilhumpo monastery to be with his monks. He became a renowned scholar and composer of mystical poetry, who traveled widely to extend Gelugpa influence, and became abbot of the largest Gelugpa monastery, Drepung, which from this time on was closely associated with the Dalai Lamas.

The third Dalai Lama (and the first officially recognized Dala Lama) was Sonam Gyatso (1543 – 1588), a monk of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) school of Buddhism. He found a foreign patron for his school in the Altan Khan of Tümed, who issued a Twofold Edict, ordering Mongols to follow orthodox Buddhism, and bestowing on Sonam Gyatso the title "Dalai Lama."

The alliance with the Mongols would later prove instrumental in establishing the Gelukpa as the rulers of Tibet during the reign of the Great Fifth Dalai Lama.

Fourth

The fourth Dalai Lama was Yonten Gyatso (1589 – 1616), the grandson of Altan Khan. Yonten Gyatso was a Mongolian, making him the only non-Tibetan to be recognized as Dalai Lama.[3] He was a contemporary and student of the First Panchen Lama Lobsang Chokyi Gyeltsen.

The fifth Dalai Lama. Lobsang Gyatso (Wylie transliteration: Blo-bzang Rgya-mtsho) (1617-1682) was the first Dalai Lama to wield effective political power over central Tibet. He unified Tibet under the control of the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism, after defeating the rival Kagyu and Jonang sects and the secular ruler, the prince of Shang, in a prolonged civil war. His efforts were successful in part because of aid from Gushi Khan, a powerful Oirat military leader, the Mongol ruler of Khökh Nuur. The Jonang monasteries were either closed or forcibly converted, and that school remained in hiding until the latter part of the twentieth century.

The Potala Palace in Lhasa

The fifth Dalai Lama also initiated the construction of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, and moved the center of government there from Drepung. During his rule, the first Europeans visited Tibet. Two Jesuit missionaries, Johannes Gruber and Albert D'Orville, reached Lhasa in 1661. However, they failed to win any Tibetan converts to Christianity.[4] In 1652, the fifth Dalai Lama visited the Manchu emperor, Shunzhi.

The death of the fifth Dalai Lama in 1680 was kept hidden for 15 years by his assistant, confidant, and possibly son Desi Sangay Gyatso (De-srid Sangs-rgyas Rgya-'mtsho).

Sixth

The sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, (1683–1706) enjoyed a lifestyle that included drinking, the company of women, and writing love songs. Declaring him to be unworthy as a monk, Mongol leader Lha-bzang Khan invaded Tibet with the approval of China's Kangxi emperor in 1705. The sixth Dalai Lama died soon afterwards, possibly murdered. Tibetans angrily rejected the spurious Dalai Lama candidate that Lha-bzang brought with him and turned to the Dzungar (or Oyrat) Mongols for relief. The Dzungars defeated and killed Lha-bzang, but then proceeded to sack Lhasa and loot the tomb of the fifth Dalai Lama. They stayed until a Chinese expedition expelled them in 1720. The Chinese were hailed as liberators and patrons of Kelzang Gyatso, who they installed as the seventh Dalai Lama.

Seventh

The seventh Dalai Lama of Tibet, Kelzang Gyatso (Wylie: Bskal-bzang Rgya-mtsho) (1708 – 1757), was born in Litang of Eastern Tibet, in the present-day Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of present-day Sichuan province, and recognized as the new reincarnation thanks to a poem of the sixth Dalai Lama in which he said, "After going to Litang I would not be late in returning."

While still a boy, Kelzang Gyatso demonstrated himself a prodigy of profound wisdom. Kelzang Gyatso became famous for his ability to spontaneously compose verse. Inspired by a sambhogakaya vision of the poet-monk Tsongkhapa, Kelzang Gyatso (while a youth), travelled to central Tibet where he gave a sermon before thousands of people.

"Of all the Gyalwa Rinpoche [Dalai Lamas], we Tibetans probably respect the seventh, Kalzang Gyatso, most of all because of his saintliness, because he devoted his whole life to the Three Precious Ones, seeking refuge not for himself but for all his people."[5]

The Dzungars invaded Tibet in 1717, deposed and killed a pretender to the position of Dalai Lama (who had been promoted by Lhabzang, the titular King of Tibet), which met with widespread approval. However, they soon began to loot the holy places of Lhasa which brought a swift response from Emperor Kangxi in 1718, but his military expedition was annihilated by the Dzungars not far from Lhasa.[6][7]

A second, larger, expedition sent by Emperor Kangxi expelled the Dzungars from Tibet in 1720 and the troops were hailed as liberators. They brought Kelzang Gyatso with them from Kumbum to Lhasa and he was installed as the seventh Dalai Lama in 1721.[6]

Emperor Kangxi (1622-1723) declared Tibet a protectorate and in 1727 installed two high commissioners, or ambans, and a garrison of Chinese troops in Lhasa. The walls of Lhasa were torn down and "Kham (with Batang, Litang, Tatsienlu, etc.) annexed to the Chinese province of Szechwan. The Chinese protectorate, which was to last till the end of the Ch'ing dynasty (1912), was established."[7]

The seventh Dalai Lama was enthroned in the Potala Palace in 1720. He took the novice vows of monk-hood from the fifth Panchen Lama Lobsang Yeshi, who gave him the name Kelsang Gyatso. He took the Gelong vows (full ordination) from Lobsang Yeshi in 1726. He received teachings from the tutor of Lobsang Yeshi, the Abbot of Gyumey Monastery and also from the Abbot of Shalu Monastery, Ngawang Yonten on all the major Buddhist philosophical treatises and became a master in both sutra and tantra. He was a great scholar and wrote many books, especially on the tantra.

Eighth

The eight Dalai Lama was Jamphel Gyatso (1758 – 1804). He is renowned for several miraculous signs that indicated his special nature. For example, it is said that as a baby he often attempted to sit in a meditative posture looking up to the heavens. When Lobsang Palden Yeshi, the Sixth Panchen Lama, heard about this boy, he pronounced that he was indeed the authentic reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.

At the age two and a half years old, Jamphel was taken under a large contingent of lamas and officials to Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse, and was given a ceremony as the reborn Dalai Lama. He was escorted to Lhasa and enthroned as the leader of the Tibetan people in the Potala Palace when he was five years old (four by Western reckoning). The enthronement ceremony was presided over by Demo Tulku Jamphel Yeshi, the first of a series of Regents to represent the Dalai Lamas when they were minors. The ceremony was held in the 'Beyond Mind Temple of the Second Potala'.[8]

Shortly after, he was given the novice vows of monk-hood the name, Jamphel Gyatso, by Lobsang Palden Yeshe, and was fully ordained in 1777.[9]

The country of Tibet continued to be ruled by regents until 1784 when the Regent was sent as an ambassador to China and the Dalai Lama ruled alone until 1790, when the Regent returned to help Jamphel Gyatso.

In 1788, there was a conflict with Nepali wool traders leading to a skirmish with the Gurkhas. In 1790, the Gurkhas invaded southern Tibet and conquered several provinces including Nya-nang and Kyi-drong. The city of Shigatse and the Tashilhunpo Monastery were captured and looted but the Gurkhas were driven back to Nepal in 1791. A peace treaty between the two was agreed on in 1796.

It was the eighth Dalai Lama who built the Norbulingka Park and Summer Palace on the outskirts of Lhasa. He died in 1804 at the age of 47 (46 by Western reckoning).[8]

Ninth

The ninth Dalai Lama was Lungtok Gyatso (1806 – 1815), who was recognized as the reincarnation of the eighth Dalai Lama and was escorted to Lhasa with great ceremony. In 1810, he was enthroned at the Potala Palace on the Golden Throne of the Ganden Po-drang Government. He took his novice vows from the Panchen Lama, who gave him the name Lungtok Gyatso.

The English explorer Thomas Manning, who reached Lhasa in 1812, described his meeting with the 9th Dalai Lama, who was seven years old at the time, in rhapsodic terms. 'The lama's beautiful and interesting face engrossed all my attention,' Manning wrote. 'He had the simple, unaffected manners of a well-educated princely child. His face was, I thought, affectingly beautiful. He was of a gay and cheerful disposition. I was extremely affected by this interview with the lama. I could have wept through strangeness of sensation.'[10]

Unfortunately, he served only briefly owing to his death at the age of nine in 1815. "The entire nation was plunged into sorrow," which lasted until the recognition of the new reincarnation eight years later.[8]

Tenth

In 1792, the Qianlong Emperor outlined a new method to select the Dalai Lama by means of a lottery. The names of the competing candidates were written on folded slips of paper which were placed in a golden urn.[11] The tenth and later Dalai Lamas were therefore to be selected by the golden urn method. However, in fact, both the tenth and twelfth Dalai Lamas had already been recognized prior to using the Golden Urn method and so only the eleventh Dalai Lama was selected solely by this method. The thirteen, and fourteenth Dalai Lamas were selected by the previous incarnation's entourage, or labrang, with the selection being approved after the fact by the Chinese rulers in Beijing.[12]

In 1910, the Qing government sent a military expedition of its own to establish direct Chinese rule and deposed the Dalai Lama in an imperial edict. The Dalai Lama fled to India. In early 1913, the Dalai Lama returned to Lhasa and issued a proclamation that condemned, "The Chinese intention of colonizing Tibet under the patron-priest relationship" and stated that, "We are a small, religious, and independent nation."[13]

The 14th and current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (born 1935).

Fourteenth

The current Dalai Lama, the fourteenth in the lineage, is Tenzin Gyatso (born July 6, 1935), a practicing member of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism. He was proclaimed the tulku (rebirth) of the thirteenth Dalai Lama at the age of two. On November 17, 1950, at the age of 15, he was enthroned as Tibet's Head of State. Thus he became Tibet's most important political ruler just one month after the People's Republic of China's invasion of Tibet on October 7, 1950.

In 1954, he went to Beijing to talk with Mao Zedong.[14] However, after a failed uprising and the collapse of the Tibetan resistance movement in 1959, the Dalai Lama left for India, where he was active in establishing the Central Tibetan Administration (the Tibetan Government in Exile) and in seeking to preserve Tibetan culture and education among the thousands of refugees who accompanied him.[15]

Tenzin Gyatso is a charismatic figure[16][17] and noted public speaker. He is the first Dalai Lama to travel to the West where he has helped to spread Tibetan Buddhism and to promote the concepts of universal responsibility, secular ethics, and religious harmony. He remains influential as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, as the world's most famous Buddhist monk, and as the leader of the exiled Tibetan government in India.

List of Dalai Lamas

There have been 14 Dalai Lamas:

Name Lifespan Reign Tibetan/Wylie PRC transcription Other English spelling(s)
.1 Gendun Drup 1391–1474 [18] དྒེ་འདུན་འགྲུབ་
dge ‘dun ‘grub		 Gêdün Chub Gedun Drub, Gedün Drup, Gendun Drup
.2 Gendun Gyatso 1475–1541 [18] དགེ་འདུན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་
dge ‘dun rgya mtsho		 Gêdün Gyaco Gedün Gyatso, Gendün Gyatso
3. Sonam Gyatso 1543–1588 1578–1588 བསོད་ནམས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་
bsod nams rgya mtsho		 Soinam Gyaco Sönam Gyatso
4. Yonten Gyatso 1589–1616 ཡོན་ཏན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་
yon tan rgya mtsho		 Yoindain Gyaco Yontan Gyatso
5. Lobsang Gyatso 1617–1682 1642–1682 བློ་བཟང་རྒྱ་མཚོ་
blo bzang rgya mtsho		 Lobsang Gyaco Lobzang Gyatso, Lopsang Gyatso
6. Tsangyang Gyatso 1683–1706 ?–1706 ཚང་དབྱངས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་
tshang dbyangs rgya mtsho		 Cangyang Gyaco
7. Kelzang Gyatso 1708–1757 1751–1757 བསྐལ་བཟང་རྒྱ་མཚོ་
bskal bzang rgya mtsho		 Gaisang Gyaco Kelsang Gyatso, Kalsang Gyatso
8. Jamphel Gyatso 1758–1804 1786–1804 བྱམས་སྤེལ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་
byams spel rgya mtsho		 Qambê Gyaco Jampel Gyatso, Jampal Gyatso
9. Lungtok Gyatso 1806–1815 (1808–1815)[18] ལུང་རྟོགས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་
lung rtogs rgya mtsho		 Lungdog Gyaco Lungtog Gyatso
10. Tsultrim Gyatso 1816–1837 ཚུལ་ཁྲིམ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་
tshul khrim rgya mtsho		 Cüchim Gyaco Tshültrim Gyatso
11. Khendrup Gyatso 1838–1856 1844–1856 མཁས་གྲུབ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་
mkhas grub rgya mtsho		 Kaichub Gyaco Kedrub Gyatso
12. Trinley Gyatso 1857–1875 འཕྲིན་ལས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་
‘phrin las rgya mtsho		 Chinlai Gyaco Trinle Gyatso
13. Thubten Gyatso 1876–1933 ཐུབ་བསྟན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་
thub bstan rgya mtsho		 Tubdain Gyaco Thubtan Gyatso, Thupten Gyatso
14. Tenzin Gyatso 1935–present 1950–present
(currently in exile)		 བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་
bstan ‘dzin rgya mtsho		 Dainzin Gyaco

Epithets

The title "Dalai Lama" is usually translated as meaning "Ocean of Wisdom." In addition to this title, the Dalai Lama is also called Gyalwa Rinpoche (Rgyal-ba Rin-po-che) meaning "Precious Victor," and Yishin Norbu (Yid-bzhin Nor-bu) meaning "Wish-fulfilling Jewel." In English, the words "His Holiness" (H.H.) are often placed before his title.

Residence

Potala Palace.

Starting with the fifth Dalai Lama and until the fourteenth Dalai Lama's flight into exile in 1959, the Dalai Lamas resided during winter at the Potala Palace, and in the summer at the Norbulingka palace. Both residences are located in Lhasa, Tibet, approximately three km apart. In 1959, subsequent to the then ongoing Chinese occupation of Tibet, the 14th Dalai Lama sought refuge within India. The then Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was instrumental in granting safe refuge to the Dalai Lama and his fellow Tibetans. The Dalai Lama has since been living in exile in Dharamsala, where the Central Tibetan Administration (Government in Exile) is also established. Tibetan refugees have constructed and opened many schools and Buddhist temples in Dharamsala.[19]

The future of the Dalai Lama

Traditionally, upon the death of a Dalai Lama, a search commences for the tulku's rebirth, or yangsi (yang srid). Familiarity with the possessions of the previous Dalai Lama is considered the main sign of the new candidate. The search for the new Dalai Lama typically takes a few years. The new candidate is then brought to Lhasa to be invested with the title and trained by other Lamas.

Despite its officially secular stance, the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) has claimed the power to approve the naming of high lamas in Tibet. This decision cites a precedent set by the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, who instituted a system of selecting the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama by means of a lottery that utilized a golden urn with names wrapped in barley balls. Controversially, this precedent was called upon by the PRC to name their own Panchen Lama. The Dalai Lama and the majority of Tibetan Buddhists in exile do not regard this to be the legitimate Panchen Lama. The Dalai Lama has recognized a different child, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, as the reincarnated Panchen Lama. This child and his family have been taken into 'protective custody' according to the PRC, and all attempts to garner guarantees of the family's safety have been denied by the PRC. There is some speculation that with the death of the current Dalai Lama, the People's Republic of China will attempt to direct the selection of a successor, using the authority of their chosen Panchen Lama.

The current Dalai Lama has repeatedly stated that he will never be reborn inside territory controlled by the People's Republic of China,[12] and has occasionally suggested that he might choose to be the last Dalai Lama by not being reborn at all. However, he has also stated that the purpose of his repeated incarnations is to continue unfinished work and, as such, if the situation in Tibet remains unchanged, it is very likely that he will be reborn to finish his work.[20]

Notes

  1. ↑ The Dalai Lama is often thought to be the head of the Geluk sect, but this position officially belongs to the Ganden Tripa (Dga'-ldan Khri-pa).
  2. ↑ For a fuller account of the life of the current Dalai Lama, see Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama.
  3. ↑ The Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, was from Monpa stock, which can be seen either as a Tibetan subgroup or a closely related people.
  4. ↑ Other Christian missionaries spent time in Tibet, with equal lack of success, until all were expelled in 1745.
  5. ↑ Colin M. Turnbull and Thubten Jigme Norbu, Tibet: An account of the history, the religion and the people of Tibet (New York: Touchstone Books, 1970, ISBN 978-0671205591), 311.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Hugh E. Richardson, Tibet and its History (Boston; London: Shambhala, 1986, ISBN 978-0877733768).
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 R.A. Stein, Tibetan Civilization (Stanford University Press, 1972, ISBN 0804708061), 85.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche, "Life and times of the Eighth to Twelfth Dalai Lamas" The Tibet Journal VII (1 & 2) (Spring/Summer 1982): 47.
  9. ↑ His Holiness the Eighth Dalai Lama Jamphel Gyatso Namgyal Monastery. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  10. ↑ Mick Brown, The Dance of 17 Lives: The Incredible True Story of Tibet's 17th Karmapa (New York, NY: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2004, ISBN 158234177X), 28-29.
  11. ↑ Melvyn C. Goldstein, A History of Modern Tibet, 1913-1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State (Berkeley: University of California, 1989), 44, note 13.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Dalai Lama, Reincarnation The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, September 24, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  13. ↑ Proclamation Issued by His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIII (1913). Tibet Justice Center. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  14. ↑ The Dalai Lama: Birth to Exile The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  15. ↑ Tenzin Gyatso, Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama (New York: HarperCollins, 1990, ISBN 0060391162).
  16. ↑ Profile: The Dalai Lama BBC News, March 10, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  17. ↑ Anders Hove, Humanity, Not Nationalism The Tech 118(26), May 12, 1998. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 The title "Dalai Lama" was conferred posthumously to the first and second Dalai Lamas. The 9th Dalai Lama was officially enthroned, but never reigned.
  19. ↑ Dharamsala Buddhist Temples . Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  20. ↑ His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Remarks on Retirement The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, March 19, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2020.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

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  • Shakabpa, Tsepon. Tibet: A Political History, third ed. (Potala Publications, 1984 (original 1967). ISBN 0961147415
  • Shakya, Tsering. The Dragon in the Land of Snows: A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947. Penguin, 2000. ISBN 0140196153
  • Smith, Warren. Tibetan Nation: A History Of Tibetan Nationalism And Sino-tibetan Relations. Westview Press, 1997. ISBN 081333280X
  • Stein, R. A. Tibetan Civilization. Stanford University Press, 1972. ISBN 0804709017
  • Turnbull, Colin M., and Thubten Jigme Norbu. Tibet: An account of the history, the religion and the people of Tibet. New York: Touchstone Books, 1970. ISBN 978-0671205591
  • Wang, Jiawei and Nyima Gyaincain. The Historical Status of China's Tibet. China Intercontinental Press, 1997. ISBN 7801133048

External links

All links retrieved January 24, 2024.

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