Dalai Lama

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This article is about the Dalai Lama lineage. For the current Dalai Lama, see Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama. For the Rammstein song, see Dalai Lama (song).
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Tibetan name
Tibetan: ཏཱ་ལའི་བླ་མ་
Wylie transliteration: taa la’i bla ma
pronunciation in IPA: [taːlɛː lama]
official transcription (PRC): Dalai Lama
THDL: Dalai Lama
other transcriptions: —
Chinese name
traditional: 達賴喇嘛
simplified: 达赖喇嘛
Pinyin: Dálài Lǎmā

In Tibetan Buddhism, the successive Dalai Lamas form a lineage of (tulku) magistrates which traces back to 1391.[1] According to tradition, the rarefied mindstream of these tulku take repeated births and embodiment to fulfill their Boddhisattva vow.[2] They are of the Gelug School of Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhists hold the Dalai Lama to be one of innumerable incarnations of Avalokiteśvara ("Chenrezig" [spyan ras gzigs] in Tibetan), the bodhisattva of compassion.[3]

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. Since 1959, the Dalai Lama has presided over the Central Tibetan Administration. He is often referred to simply as "His Holiness" (HH), or "His Holiness The Dalai Lama". The Dalai Lama is often thought to be the head of the Gelug School, but this position officially belongs to the Ganden Tripa (Wylie: Dga'-ldan Khri-pa), although it should be noted that the Dalai Lama appoints the Ganden Tripa (a temporary position) and in practice exerts more influence. Tibetans usually call the Dalai Lama by the epithets: Gyalwa Rinpoche (Tibetan: རྒྱལ་བ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; Wylie: Rgyal-ba Rin-po-che) meaning "Precious Victor," or Yeshe Norbu (Tibetan: ་ཡིད་བཞིན་ནོར་བུ; Wylie: Yid-bzhin Nor-bu) meaning "Wish-fulfilling Jewel".

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[edit] Nomenclature, etymology and entitlement

"Dalai" means "Ocean" in Mongolian, and is a translation of the Tibetan name "Gyatso", while "Lama" (bla ma) is the Tibetan equivalent of the Sanskrit word "guru", and is commonly translated to mean "spiritual teacher".[4][5]

It has been commonly promulgated that the title "Dalai Lama" was first bestowed by the Mongolian ruler Altan Khan upon Sonam Gyatso in 1578. This, however, is a half-truth. Sonam Gyatso, was invited to visit Mongolia by Altan Khan. Upon his arrival, the Khan addressed Sonam Gyatso in Mongol by the name of Dalai Lama, the Tibetan word gyatso, "ocean," being the Mongolian equivalent of the Tibetan dalai. Altan, knowing that the lama's predecessor had also the word gyatso in his name, mistook it for a family name; and this 'mistake' has been perpetuated. Hence, the origin of the title of Dalai Lama since given to all the reincarnations of the Grand Lama.[6] This interpretation of the name Dalai Lama has been confirmed by Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama: "So I don't really agree that the Mongols actually conferred a title. It was just a translation."[7]

[edit] History

Gendun Drup, 1st Dalai Lama
Gendun Drup, 1st Dalai Lama
Main article: History of Tibet

Sonam 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 "Third Dalai Lama". The previous two titles were conferred posthumously upon his earlier incarnations.

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, to those Tibetans inside Tibet, living under a harsh Communist Chinese rule, and to the many thousands of Tibetans who were able to escape the Chinese takeover in the 1950s, 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.[8]

Tibetans address the Dalai Lama as Gyalwa Rinpoche ('Precious Victor'), Kundun ('Presence') Yishin Norbu ('Wishfulfilling Gem'), and so on.[9]

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 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."[10]

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."[11]

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 1904-9, 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.[12]

Thubten Gyatso issued a Declaration of Independence from China in the summer of 1912, and standardized the Tibetan flag in its present form.[13] He deported all Chinese residents in the country including the Ambans, and instituted many measures to modernise Tibet.[14]

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 writing, reflecting the fusion of Buddhist philosophy embodied in Tibetan Buddhism, have become one of the world's great repositories of spiritual thought.[15]

[edit] Succession of reborn Dalai Lamas

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").

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 consultion with the Nechung Oracle, a search for the Lama's reincarnation, or yangsi (yang srid), is conducted. Familiarity with the possessions or attributes of the previous Dalai Lama is considered the main sign of the tulku. The search for the reincarnated mindstream typically requires a number of years. The reincarnation is then installed and trained by the other Lamas.

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".[16] 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.[17]

[edit] List of Dalai Lamas

There have been 14 Dalai Lamas:

Name Picture Lifespan Reign Tibetan/Wylie PRC transcription Other English spelling(s)
1. Gendun Drup 1391–1474 No[18] དྒེ་འདུན་འགྲུབ་
dge ‘dun ‘grub		 Gêdün Chub Gedun Drub, Gedün Drup, Gendun Drup
2. Gendun Gyatso 1475–1541 No[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 1697–1706 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 1879–1933 1895–1933 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

[edit] Residence

Potala Palace.
Potala Palace.
Norbulingka
Norbulingka
Throne awaiting Dalai Lama's return. Summer residence of 13th Dalai Lama, Nechung, Tibet.
Throne awaiting Dalai Lama's return. Summer residence of 13th Dalai Lama, Nechung, Tibet.

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[citation needed] in Dharamsala.

[edit] 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 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 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 this to be the legitimate Panchen Lama. However, it was even more controversial that Dalai Lama has recognized a different child, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, as the reincarnated Panchen Lama because there was no precedent that Dalai Lama interfered in the selection of 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. 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?"[19]

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."[20] He has given reference to a possible vote occurring in the future for all Tibetans Buddhists to decide whether they wish to recognize his "rebirth".[21]

In 2007, 2 monks from Tashilhunpo monastery of Tibet committed suicide following a campaign of exclusion by Chinese officials.[22] These two monks had recognized the 11th Panchen Lama, Gendhun Choekyi Nyima, and could therefore have been requested to recognize the next Dalai Lama.[23], [24]

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Dalai Lama, Encyclopædia Britannica
  2. ^ Berzin, Alexander (1997). Taking the Kalachakra Initiation: Part III: Vows and Closely Bonding Practices. Source: [1] (accessed: January 25, 2008). NB: Originally published as Berzin, Alexander. Taking the Kalachakra Initiation. Ithaca, Snow Lion, 1997
  3. ^ His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition.
  4. ^ "The Institution of the Dalai Lama" by R. N. Rahul Sheel in The Tibet Journal, Vol. XIV No. 3. Autumn 1989, pp. 19-32 says on pp. 31-32, n. 1: "The word Dalai is Mongolian for "ocean", used mainly by the Chinese, the Mongols, and foreigners. Rgya mtsho, the corresponding Tibetan word, always has formed the last part of the religious name of the Dalai Lama since Dalai Lama II [sic – should read Dalai Lama III]. The expression Lama (Bla ma) means the "superior one". Western usage has taken it to mean the "priest" of the Buddhism of Tibet. The term Dalai Lama, therefore, means the lama whose wisdom is as deep, as vast and as embracing as the ocean."
  5. ^ Art Hughes. "The Thirteen Previous Dalai Lamas", Part of MPR's special report, Ocean of Wisdom: The Dalai Lama's Visit, Minnesota Public Radio, May 7, 2001. 
  6. ^ Das, Sarat Chandra. (1902). Lhasa and Central Tibet. Reprint: (1988). Mehra Offset Press, Delhi, p. 172.
  7. ^ Laird, Thomas (2006). The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama, p. 143. Grove Press, N.Y. ISBN 978-0-8021-827-1.
  8. ^ Verhaegen, Ardy (2002). The Dalai Lamas: The Institution and Its History. Emerging Perceptions in Buddhist Studies, no. 15. New Delhi, India: D. K. Printworld (P) Ltd. ISBN 81-246-0202-6. p.5-6.
  9. ^ Sheel, R. N. Rahul. "The Institution of the Dalai Lama." The Tibet Journal, Vol. XIV No. 3. Autumn 1989, p. 23.
  10. ^ Richardson, Hugh E. (1984). Tibet and its History. Second Edition, Revised and Updated, pp. 59-60. Shambhala. Boston & London. ISBN 0-87773-376-7 (pbk)
  11. ^ Norbu, Thubten Jigme and Turnbull, Colin M. (1968). Tibet: An account of the history, the religion and the people of Tibet. Reprint: Touchstone Books. New York. ISBN 0-671-20559-5, p. 311.
  12. ^ Sheel, R. N. Rahul. "The Institution of the Dalai Lama." The Tibet Journal, Vol. XIV No. 3. Autumn 1989, pp. 24 and 29.
  13. ^ Sheel, R. N. Rahul. "The Institution of the Dalai Lama." The Tibet Journal, Vol. XIV No. 3. Autumn 1989, p. 20.
  14. ^ Norbu, Thubten Jigme and Turnbull, Colin M. (1968). Tibet: An account of the history, the religion and the people of Tibet. Reprint: Touchstone Books. New York. ISBN 0-671-20559-5, pp. 314, 318.
  15. ^ Verhaegen, Ardy (2002). The Dalai Lamas: The Institution and Its History. Emerging Perceptions in Buddhist Studies, no. 15. New Delhi, India: D. K. Printworld (P) Ltd. ISBN 81-246-0202-6. p.6
  16. ^ Glenn Mullin, "Faces of the Dalai Lama: Reflections on the Man and the Tradition", Quest, vol.6, no.3, Autumn 1993, p.80.
  17. ^ Verhaegen, Ardy (2002). The Dalai Lamas: The Institution and Its History. Emerging Perceptions in Buddhist Studies, no. 15. New Delhi, India: D. K. Printworld (P) Ltd. ISBN 81-246-0202-6. p.5
  18. ^ a b c 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. ^ Interview with Tashi Wangdi, David Shankbone, Wikinews, November 14, 2007.
  20. ^ Dalai's reincarnation will not be found under Chinese control. Government of Tibet in Exile.
  21. ^ Dalai Lama may forgo death before reincarnation, Jeremy Page, The Australian, November 29, 2007.
  22. ^ Two Monks from Panchen Lama's Monastery Commit Suicide
  23. ^ Tibet - "Suicides" of Tibetan Monks who were to recognise the next Dalai Lama
  24. ^ Tibetan monks commit “suicide,” victims of pre-Olympic repression

[edit] References

  • Yá Hánzhāng 牙含章: The Biographies of the Dalai Lamas (Dálài Lǎmá chuán 达赖喇嘛传; Beijing, Foreign Languages Press 1993); ISBN 7-119-01267-3.
  • Diki Tsering, edited & introduced by Khedroob Thondop. (2000). Dalai Lama, My Son: A Mother's Story. Virgin Publishing Company, London. ISBN 0-7535-0571-1.
  • Murray Silver, "When Elvis Meets the Dalai Lama," (Bonaventure Books, Savannah, 2005) in which the author recounts how he was introduced to the Dalai Lama by mutual friend Richard Gere and became involved in various aspects of the Tibetan initiative; also includes a brilliant introduction to Tibetan Buddhism and biographies of several high lamas. The book also breaks ground by relating a remarkable story about the author's wife and how she was healed of leukemia by the Dalai Lama's doctor and a monk from Kathmandu.

[edit] External links

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