Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama /ˈdɑːlaɪ ˈlɑːmə/ is
a high lama in the Gelug or "yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, founded by Tsongkhapa
. The name is a combination of the Mongolic word dalai meaning "ocean" and the Tibetan
word བླ་མ་ meaning "guru, teacher, mentor".
According to Tibetan dictionary, the Dalai Lama is the rebirth in a line of tulkus who
are considered to be manifestations of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteśvara.
The Dalai Lama is often thought to be the leader of the Gelug School, but this position
belongs officially to the Ganden Tripa, which is a temporary position appointed by the Dalai
Lama who, in practice, exerts much influence. The line of Dalai Lamas began as a lineage
of spiritual teachers; the 5th Dalai Lama assumed political authority over Tibet.
For certain periods between the 17th century and 1962, the Dalai Lamas sometimes directed
the Tibetan government, which administered portions of Tibet from Lhasa. The 14th Dalai
Lama remained the head of state for the Central Tibetan Administration ("Tibetan government
in exile") until his retirement on March 14, 2011. He has indicated that the institution
of the Dalai Lama may be abolished in the future, and also that the next Dalai Lama
may be found outside Tibet and may be female. The Chinese government rejected this and asserted
that only it has the authority to select the next Dalai Lama.
History During 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 that Buddha would send emanations 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 was the beginning of the teacher reincarnation system for the
Black-Hat Line of Tibetan Buddhism. During the Ming Dynasty, the Yongle Emperor bestowed
the title Great Treasure Prince of Dharma, the first of the three Princes of Dharma,
upon the Black-Hat Karmapa. Various sects of Tibetan Buddhism responded to the teacher
reincarnation system by creating similar lineages. Unification of Tibet
In the 1630s, Tibet became entangled in power struggles between the rising Manchu and various
Mongol and Oirat factions. Ligden Khan of the Chakhar, retreating from the Manchu, set
out to Tibet to destroy the Yellow Hat sect. He died on the way to Qinghai (Koko Nur) in
1634. His vassal Tsogt Taij continued the fight, even having his own son Arslan killed
after Arslan changed sides. Tsogt Taij was defeated and killed by Güshi Khan of the
Khoshud in 1637, who would in turn become the overlord of Tibet, and act as a "Protector
of the Yellow Church." Güshi helped the Fifth Dalai Lama to establish himself as the highest
spiritual and political authority in Tibet and destroyed any potential rivals. The time
of the Fifth Dalai Lama was, however, also a period of rich cultural development.
The Fifth Dalai Lama's death was kept secret for fifteen years by the regent (Tibetan:
སྡེ་སྲིད།, Wylie: sde-srid), Sanggye Gyatso. This was apparently done so
that the Potala Palace could be finished, and to prevent Tibet's neighbors taking advantage
of an interregnum in the succession of the Dalai Lamas.
Tsangyang Gyatso, the Sixth Dalai Lama, was not enthroned until 1697. Tsangyang Gyatso
enjoyed a lifestyle that included drinking, the company of women, and writing love songs.
In 1705, Lobzang Khan of the Khoshud used the sixth Dalai Lama's escapades as excuse
to take control of Tibet. The regent was murdered, and the Dalai Lama sent to Beijing. He died
on the way, near Koko Nur, ostensibly from illness. Lobzang Khan appointed a new Dalai
Lama who, however was not accepted by the Gelugpa school. Kelzang Gyatso was discovered
near Koko Nur and became a rival candidate. The Dzungars invaded Tibet in 1717, and deposed
and killed Lobzang Khan's pretender to the position of Dalai Lama. This was widely approved.
However, they soon began to loot the holy places of Lhasa, which brought a swift response
from the Kangxi Emperor in 1718; but his military expedition was annihilated by the Dzungars
in the Battle of the Salween River, not far from Lhasa.
A second, larger, expedition sent by the Kangxi Emperor 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.
Thubten Jigme Norbu, the elder brother of the 14th Dalai Lama, described these unfortunate
events as follows: Thubten Gyatso, the 13th Dalai Lama, assumed
ruling power from the monasteries, which previously had great influence on the Regent, during
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 during January 1913, he
assumed 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
do it. Thubten Gyatso issued a Declaration of Independence
for his kingdom in Central Tibet from China during the summer of 1912 and standardised
a Tibetan flag, though no other sovereign state recognized the independence. He expelled
the Ambans and all Chinese civilians in the country, and instituted many measures to modernise
Tibet. These included provisions to curb excessive demands on peasants for provisions by the
monasteries and tax evasion by the nobles, setting up an independent police force, the
abolition of the death penalty, extension of secular education, and the provision of
electricity throughout the city of Lhasa in the 1920s. Thubten Gyatso died in 1933.
The 14th Dalai Lama was not formally enthroned until 17 November 1950, during the People's
Republic of China invasion of the kingdom. In 1951, he and the Tibetan government formally
accepted the Seventeen Point Agreement by which Tibet was formally incorporated into
the People's Republic of China. Fearing for his life in the wake of a revolt in Tibet
in 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India, from where he led a government in exile. With
the aim of launching guerrilla operations against the Chinese, the CIA funded the Dalai
Lama with US$1.7 million a year in the 1960s. In 2001 the 14th Dalai Lama ceded his absolute
power over the government to an elected parliament of selected Tibetan exiles. His original goal
was full independence for Tibet, but by the late 1980s he was seeking high-level autonomy
instead. He continued to seek greater autonomy from China, but Dolma Gyari, deputy speaker
of the parliament-in-exile said "If the middle path fails in the short term, we will be forced
to opt for complete independence or self-determination as per the UN charter".
Residence Starting with the 5th Dalai Lama and until
the 14th Dalai Lama's flight into exile during 1959, the Dalai Lamas spent winters at the
Potala Palace and summers at the Norbulingka palace and park. Both are in Lhasa and approximately
3 km apart. Following the failed 1959 Tibetan uprising,
the 14th Dalai Lama sought refuge in India. The then Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal
Nehru, allowed in the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government officials. The Dalai Lama has since
lived in exile in Dharamshala, in the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India, where
the Central Tibetan Administration is also established. Tibetan refugees have constructed
and opened many schools and Buddhist temples in Dharamshala.
Searching for the reincarnation By the Himalayan tradition, phowa 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 yangsi, or reincarnation, 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. Historically, the search for the Dalai Lama has usually been
limited to Tibet, though the third tulku was born in Mongolia. Tenzin Gyatso, however,
has stated that he will not be reborn in the People's Republic of China, though he has
also suggested he may not be reborn at all, suggesting the function of the Dalai Lama
may be outdated. The High Lamas used several ways in which
they can increase the chances of finding the reincarnation. High Lamas often visit Lhamo
La-tso, a lake 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. 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 Shiva.
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 14th Dalai Lama.
High Lamas may also have a vision by 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.
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 artifacts,
only some of which belonged 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 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. If there are several possible reincarnations,
however, regents, eminent officials, monks at the Jokhang in Lhasa, and the Minister
to Tibet have historically decided on the individual by putting the boys' names inside
an urn and drawing one lot in public if it was too difficult to judge the reincarnation
initially. List of Dalai Lamas
There have been 14 recognised incarnations of the Dalai Lama:
There has also been one nonrecognised Dalai Lama, Ngawang Yeshey Gyatso, declared 28 June
1707, when he was 25 years old, by Lha-bzang Khan as the "true" 6th Dalai Lama – however,
he was never accepted as such by the majority of the population.
Future of the position 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 a precedent set by the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. The Qianlong Emperor
instituted a system of selecting the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama by a lottery that
used a golden urn with names wrapped in clumps of barley. This method was used a few times
for both positions during the 19th century, but eventually fell into disuse. In 1995,
the Dalai Lama chose to proceed with the selection of the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama
without the use of the Golden Urn, while the Chinese government insisted that it must be
used. This has led to two rival Panchen Lamas: Gyaincain Norbu as chosen by the Chinese government's
process, and Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as chosen by the Dalai Lama.
During 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. Since by tradition, the Panchen Lama must approve the reincarnation of the
Dalai Lama, that is another possible method of control.
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?"
The 14th 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". 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. In response to the possibility that the PRC might attempt
to choose his successor, the Dalai Lama said he would not be reborn in a country controlled
by the People's Republic of China or any other country which is not free. According to Robert
D. Kaplan, this could mean that "the next Dalai Lama might come from the Tibetan cultural
belt that stretches across northern India, Nepal, and Bhutan, presumably making him even
more pro-Indian and anti-Chinese". The 14th Dalai Lama supported the possibility
that his next incarnation could be a woman. "Despite the complex historical, religious
and political factors surrounding the selection of incarnate masters in the exiled Tibetan
tradition, the Dalai Lama is open to change," author Michaela Haas writes. "Why not? What's
the big deal?"