Dalai Lama | |
Holiness | |
---|---|
![]() |
|
Gendun Drup, 1st Dalai Lama | |
Tibetan | ཏཱ་ལའི་བླ་མ་ |
Wylie transliteration | taa la’i bla ma |
Pronunciation | taːlɛː lama (IPA) |
THDL | Dalai Lama |
Pinyin Chinese | Dálài Lǎmā |
Royal House | Dalai Lama |
The Dalai Lama (pronounced /taːlɛː lama/) is the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people according to Tibetan Buddhism. Often referred to simply as "His Holiness" (HH), or "His Holiness The Dalai Lama", Tibetans usually call the Dalai Lama by the epithets Gyalwa Rinpoche, meaning "Precious Victor", or Yishin Norbu, meaning "Wish-fulfilling Jewel." "Lama" (meaning "teacher") is a title given to many different ranks of Tibetan Buddhist clergy.
The Lama is believed to be the current incarnation of a long line of Tulkus, or Buddhist Masters, who have become exempt from the wheel of death and rebirth. These ascended masters have chosen of their own free will to be reborn to this place in order to teach humanity.
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 Lhasa, although the extent of the lineage's political authority and rulership over territory has been contested. Since 1959, the Dalai Lama has presided over the Central Tibetan Administration, which is based in Dharamshala, a small town in the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India, considering itself to be a government in exile. The Dalai Lama is often thought to be the head of the Gelug School, but this position officially belongs to the Ganden Tripa, which is a temporary position appointed by the Dalai Lama (who in practice exerts more influence).
Contents |
"Dalai" means "Ocean" in Mongolian, and is a translation of the Tibetan name "Gyatso," while "Lama" is the Tibetan equivalent of the Sanskrit word "guru," and is commonly translated to mean "spiritual teacher."[1][2] Putting the terms together, the full title is "Ocean Teacher" meaning a teacher who is spiritually as deep as the ocean.
In 1252, Kublai Khan granted an audience to Drogön Chögyal Phagpa and Karma Pakshi, the 2nd Karmapa. Karma Pakshi, however, sought the patronage of Möngke Khan.
Before his death in 1283, Karma Pakshi wrote a will to protect the established interests of his sect by advising his disciples to locate a boy to inherit the black hat. His instruction was based on the premise that Buddhist ideology is eternal, and a Buddha would be reincarnated to complete the missions he had initiated. Karma Pakshi's disciples acted in accordance with the will and located the reincarnated boy of their master. The event marked the introduction of the Living Buddha reincarnation system for the Black-Hat Line of Tibetan Buddhism and during the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Yongle bestowed the title Great Treasure Prince of Dharma, the first of the three Princes of Dharma upon the Black-Hat living Buddha Karmapa. Various sects of Tibetan Buddhism responded to the introduction of the Living Buddha reincarnation system by creating similar lineages. The most influential reincarnation system has since been the Dalai Lama lineage.
It has been commonly wrongly believed that the Mongol Altan Khan "bestowed" the "title" Dalai Lama on Sonam Gyatso, and placed him in a reincarnation line with Gendun Drup and Gendun Gyatso in 1578.
More confusing in our time is that many writers have mistranslated Dalai Lama as "Ocean of Wisdom." The full Mongolian title, "the wonderful Vajradhara, good splendid meritorious ocean," given by Altan Khan, is primarily a translation of the Tibetan words Sonam Gyatso (sonam means "merit").
The 14th Dalai Lama added:[3]
The very name of each Dalai Lama from the Second Dalai Lama onwards had the word Gyatso [in it], which means "ocean" in Tibetan. Even now I am Tenzin Gyatso, so the first name is changing but the second part [the word "ocean"] became like part of each Dalai Lama's name. All of the Dalai Lamas, since the Second, have this name. So I don't really agree that the Mongols actually conferred a title. It was just a translation.
The name or title Dalai Lama in Mongolian may have originally derived from the title taken by Temüjin or Genghis Khan when he was proclaimed emperor of a united Mongolia in 1206. Temüjin took the name Tchingis Qaghan or "oceanic sovereign", the anglicized version of which is Genghis Khan.[4]
Sonam Gyatso was an Abbot at the Drepung Monastery who was widely considered one of the most eminent lama of his time. Although Sonam Gyatso became the first lama to hold the title "Dalai Lama" as described above, as he was the third member of his lineage he became known as the "Third Dalai Lama." The previous two titles were conferred posthumously upon his earlier incarnations.
Yonten Gyatso (1589 – 1616), the 4th Dalai Lama and a non-Tibetan, was the grandson of Altan Khan.
Verhaegen (2002: p.5-6) states that the tulku tradition of the Dalai Lama has evolved into, and been inaugurated as, an institution and is recognized as a "cornerstone of Tibetan identity and culture":
The institution of the Dalai Lama has become, over the centuries, a central focus of Tibetan cultural identity; "a symbolic embodiment of the Tibetan national character." Today, the Dalai Lama and the office of the Dalai Lama have become focal points in their struggle towards independence and, more urgently, cultural survival. The Dalai Lama is regarded as the principal incarnation of Chenrezig (referred to as Avalokiteshvara in India), the bodhisattva of compassion and patron deity of Tibet. In that role the Dalai Lama has chosen to use peace and compassion in his treatment of his own people and his oppressors. In this sense the Dalai Lama is the embodiment of an ideal of Tibetan values and a cornerstone of Tibetan identity and culture.[5]
Tibetans address the Dalai Lama as Gyalwa Rinpoche ('Precious Victor'), Kundun ('Presence') Yishin Norbu ('Wishfulfilling Gem'), and so on.[6]
The Fifth Dalai Lama, with the support of Gushri Khan (1582-1655), a Mongol ruler of Kokonor, united Tibet.
After him [Jamphel Gyatso the VIIIth Dalai Lama (1758-1804)], the IXth and Xth Dalai Lamas died before attaining their majority: one of them is credibly stated to have been murdered and strong suspicion attaches to the other. The XIth and XIIth were each enthroned but died soon after being invested with power. For 113 years, therefore, supreme authority in Tibet was in the hands of a Lama Regent, except for about two years when a lay noble held office and for short periods of nominal rule by the XIth and XIIth Dalai Lamas.
It has sometimes been suggested that this state of affairs was brought about by the Ambans—the Imperial Residents in Tibet—because it would be easier to control the Tibet through a Regent than when a Dalai Lama, with his absolute power, was at the head of the government. That is not true. The regular ebb and flow of events followed its set course. The Imperial Residents in Tibet, afer the first flush of zeal in 1750, grew less and less interested and efficient. Tibet was, to them, exile from the urbanity and culture of Peking; and so far from dominating the Regents, the Ambans allowed themselves to be dominated. It was the ambition and greed for power of Tibetans that led to five successive Dalai Lamas being subjected to continuous tutelage.—[7]
Thubten Jigme Norbu, the elder brother of the present 14th Dalai Lama, describes these unfortunate events as follows:
It is perhaps more than a coincidence that between the seventh and the thirteenth holders of that office, only one reached his majority. The eighth, Gyampal Gyatso, died when he was in his thirties, Lungtog Gyatso when he was eleven, Tsultrim Gyatso at eighteen, Khadrup Gyatso when he was eighteen also, and Krinla Gyatso at about the same age. The circumstances are such that it is very likely some, if not all, were poisoned, either by loyal Tibetans for being Chinese-appointed impostors, or by the Chinese for not being properly manageable.
—[8]
Thubten Gyatso, the 13th Dalai Lama, assumed ruling power from the monasteries which previously had great influence in the Regent, in 1895. Due to his two periods of exile in 1904-1909, to escape the British invasion of 1904, and from 1910-1912 to escape a Chinese invasion, he became well aware of the complexities of international politics and was the first Dalai Lama to become aware of the importance of foreign relations. After his return from exile in India and Sikkim in January, 1913 he took control of foreign relations and dealt directly with the Maharaja and the British Political officer in Sikkim and the king of Nepal rather than letting the Kashag or parliament handle it.[9]
Thubten Gyatso issued a Declaration of Independence from China in the summer of 1912, and standardized the Tibetan flag in its present form.[10] He deported all Chinese residents in the country including the Ambans, and instituted many measures to modernise Tibet.[11]
The Dalai Lamas continued to rule Tibet 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.
Verhaegen (2002: p.6) frames the trans-polity influence that the Institution of the Dalai Lama has had historically in areas such as western China, Mongolia, Ladakh in addition to the other Himalayan Kingdoms.
The Dalai Lamas have also functioned as the principal spiritual guide to many Himalayan kingdoms bordering Tibet, as well as western China, Mongolia and Ladakh. The literary works of the Dalai Lamas have, over the centuries, inspired more than fifty million people in these regions. Those writings, reflecting the fusion of Buddhist philosophy embodied in Tibetan Buddhism, have become one of the world's great repositories of spiritual thought.
—[12]
Starting with the 5th Dalai Lama and until the 14th Dalai Lama's flight into exile in 1959, the Dalai Lamas spent the winter at the Potala Palace and the summer at the Norbulingka palace and park. Both are in Lhasa and approximately 3 km apart.
In 1959, after the start of the Chinese occupation of Tibet, the 14th Dalai Lama sought refuge in 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 lived in exile 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.[13]
In the Himalayan tradition, phowa (Tibetan) is the discipline that transfers the mindstream to the intended body. Upon the death of the Dalai Lama and consultation with the Nechung Oracle, a search for the Lama's reincarnation, or yangsi (yang srid), is conducted. Traditionally it has been the responsibility of the High Lamas of the Gelugpa Tradition and the Tibetan government to find his reincarnation. The process can take around two or three years to identify the Dalai Lama, and for the 14th Tenzin Gyatso it was four years before he was found. The search for the Dalai Lama has usually been limited historically to Tibet, although the third tulku was born in Mongolia. Tenzin Gyatso, though, has stated that there is a chance that he will not be reborn although if he is reborn it will not be in a country run by the People's Republic of China.[14]
The High Lamas used several ways in which they can increase the chances of finding the reincarnation. High Lamas often visit the holy lake, called Lhamo La-tso, in central Tibet and watch for a sign from the lake itself. This may be either a vision or some indication of the direction in which to search and this was how Tenzin Gyatso was found. It is said that Palden Lhamo, the female guardian spirit of the sacred lake, Lhamo La-tso, promised Gendun Drup, the 1st Dalai Lama in one of his visions "that she would protect the reincarnation lineage of the Dalai Lamas." Ever since the time of Gendun Gyatso, the 2nd Dalai Lama, who formalised the system, the Regents and other monks have gone to the lake to seek guidance on choosing the next reincarnation through visions while meditating there.[15]
The particular form of Palden Lhamo at Lhamo La-tso is Gyelmo Maksorma, "The Victorious One who Turns Back Enemies". The lake is sometimes referred to as "Pelden Lhamo Kalideva", which indicates that Palden Lhamo is an emanation of the goddess Kali, the shakti of the Hindu god Śiva.[16]
It was here that in 1935, the Regent, Reting Rinpoche, received a clear vision of three Tibetan letters and of a monastery with a jade-green and gold roof, and a house with turquoise roof tiles, which led to the discovery of Tenzin Gyatso, the present 14th Dalai Lama.[18][19][20]
High Lamas may also have a vision in a dream or if the Dalai Lama was cremated, they will often monitor the direction of the smoke as an indication of the direction of the rebirth.[14]
Once the High Lamas have found the home and the boy they believe to be the reincarnation, the boy undergoes a series of tests to affirm the rebirth. They present a number of artefacts belonging to the previous Dalai Lama and if the boy chooses the items which belonged to the previous Dalai Lama, this is seen as a sign, in conjunction with all of the other indications, that the boy is the reincarnation. If there is only one boy found, the High Lamas will invite Living Buddhas of the three great monasteries together with secular clergy and monk officials, to confirm their findings and will then report to the Central Government through the Minister of Tibet. Later a group consisting of the three major servants of Dalai Lama, eminent officials and troops will collect the boy and his family and travel to Lhasa, where the boy would be taken, usually to Drepung Monastery to study the Buddhist sutra in preparation for assuming the role of spiritual leader of Tibet.[14]
However, if there are several possibilities of the reincarnation, in the past regents and eminent officials and monks at the Jokhang in Lhasa, and the Minister to Tibet would decide on the individual by placing the boys names inside an urn and drawing one lot in public if it was too difficult to judge the reincarnation initially.[21]
There have been 14 recognized reincarnations of the Dalai Lama:
Name | Picture | Lifespan | Recognized | Reign | Tibetan/Wylie | PRC transcription (Chinese transcription) | Alternative spellings | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Gendun Drup | ![]() |
1391–1474 | – | N/A[22] | དགེ་འདུན་འགྲུབ་ dge ‘dun ‘grub |
Gêdün Chub (根敦朱巴) | Gedun Drub Gedün Drup Gendun Drup |
2. | Gendun Gyatso | ![]() |
1475–1541 | – | 1492–1541[22] | དགེ་འདུན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ dge ‘dun rgya mtsho |
Gêdün Gyaco (根敦嘉措) | Gedün Gyatso Gendün Gyatso |
3. | Sonam Gyatso | ![]() |
1543–1588 | ? | 1578–1588 | བསོད་ནམས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ bsod nams rgya mtsho |
Soinam Gyaco (索南嘉措) | Sönam Gyatso |
4. | Yonten Gyatso | ![]() |
1589–1616 | ? | 1601–1616 | ཡོན་ཏན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ yon tan rgya mtsho |
Yoindain Gyaco (雲丹嘉措) | Yontan Gyatso |
5. | Lobsang Gyatso | ![]() |
1617–1682 | 1618 | 1642–1682 | བློ་བཟང་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ blo bzang rgya mtsho |
Lobsang Gyaco (羅桑嘉措) | Lobzang Gyatso Lopsang Gyatso |
6. | Tsangyang Gyatso | ![]() |
1683–1706 | 1688 | 1697–1706 | ཚངས་དབྱངས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ tshang dbyangs rgya mtsho |
Cangyang Gyaco (倉央嘉措) | |
7. | Kelzang Gyatso | ![]() |
1708–1757 | ? | 1720–1757 | བསྐལ་བཟང་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ bskal bzang rgya mtsho |
Gaisang Gyaco (格桑嘉措) | Kelsang Gyatso Kalsang Gyatso |
8. | Jamphel Gyatso | ![]() |
1758–1804 | 1760 | 1762–1804 | བྱམས་སྤེལ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ byams spel rgya mtsho |
Qambê Gyaco (強白嘉措) | Jampel Gyatso Jampal Gyatso |
9. | Lungtok Gyatso | ![]() |
1806–1815 | 1807 | 1810–1815 | ལུང་རྟོགས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ lung rtogs rgya mtsho |
Lungdog Gyaco (隆朵嘉措) | Lungtog Gyatso |
10. | Tsultrim Gyatso | ![]() |
1816–1837 | 1820 | 1822–1837 | ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ tshul khrim rgya mtsho |
Cüchim Gyaco (楚臣嘉措) | Tshültrim Gyatso |
11. | Khendrup Gyatso | ![]() |
1838–1856 | 1840 | 1844–1856 | མཁས་གྲུབ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ mkhas grub rgya mtsho |
Kaichub Gyaco (凱珠嘉措) | Kedrub Gyatso |
12. | Trinley Gyatso | ![]() |
1857–1875 | 1860 | 1873–1875 | འཕྲིན་ལས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ ‘phrin las rgya mtsho |
Chinlai Gyaco (成烈嘉措) | Trinle Gyatso |
13. | Thubten Gyatso | ![]() |
1876–1933 | 1878 | 1895–1933 | ཐུབ་བསྟན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ thub bstan rgya mtsho |
Tubdain Gyaco (土登嘉措) | Thubtan Gyatso Thupten Gyatso |
14. | Tenzin Gyatso | ![]() |
born 1935 | 1937 | since 1950 (currently in exile) |
བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ bstan ‘dzin rgya mtsho |
Dainzin Gyaco ( 丹增嘉措) |
Verhaegen (2002: p.5) states:
In the mid-1970s His Holiness, Tenzin Gyatso, The Fourteenth Dalai Lama, told a Polish newspaper that he thought he would be the last Dalai Lama. In a later interview published in the English language press he stated "The Dalai Lama office was an institution created to benefit others. It is possible that it will soon have outlived its usefulness."[23] These statements caused a furor amongst Tibetans in India. Many could not believe that such an option could even be considered. It was further felt that it was not the Dalai Lama's decision to reincarnate. Rather, they felt that since the Dalai Lama is a national institution it was up to the people of Tibet to decide whether or not the Dalai Lama should reincarnate.[24]
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, based on the precedent set by the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. The Qianlong Emperor was said to have instituted a system of selecting the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama by means of a lottery which 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 Tibetan Buddhists in exile do not regard PRC's Panchen Lama 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, although there has been no mention of what or whom the child must be protected from. 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. In September 2007 the Chinese government said all high monks must be approved by the government, which would include the selection of the 15th Dalai Lama after the death of Tenzin Gyatso. The People's Republic of China may attempt to direct the selection of a successor using the authority of their chosen Panchen Lama.
In response to this scenario, Tashi Wangdi, the representative of the 14th Dalai Lama, replied that the Chinese government's selection would be meaningless. "You can’t impose an Imam, an Archbishop, saints, any religion...you can’t politically impose these things on people," said Wangdi. "It has to be a decision of the followers of that tradition. The Chinese can use their political power: force. Again, it’s meaningless. Like their Panchen Lama. And they can’t keep their Panchen Lama in Tibet. They tried to bring him to his monastery many times but people would not see him. How can you have a religious leader like that?"[25]
The Dalai Lama said as early as 1969 that it was for the Tibetans to decide whether the institution of the Dalai Lama "should continue or not."[26] He has given reference to a possible vote occurring in the future for all Tibetan Buddhists to decide whether they wish to recognize his "rebirth."[27] In response to the possibility that the PRC may attempt to choose his successor, the Dalai Lama has said he will not be reborn in a country controlled by the People's Republic of China, or any other country which is not free.[28][29]
In 2007, two monks from Tashilhunpo monastery of Tibet committed suicide following a campaign of exclusion by Chinese officials.[30] These two monks had recognized the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, and could therefore have been requested to recognize the next Dalai Lama.[31][32]
|
|