Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, the
Great Fifth Dalai Lama (1617–1682), was a political and religious leader in seventeenth-century
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average...
. Ngawang Lozang Gyatso was the ordination name he had received from Panchen Lozang Chökyi Gyeltsen who was responsible for his ordination. He was the first
Dalai LamaThe Dalai Lama is a lineage of religious officials of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism. "Lama" is a general term referring to Tibetan Buddhist teachers...
to wield effective political power over central Tibet, and is frequently referred to as the "Great Fifth Dalai Lama".
Birth, family and childhood
Lobsang Gyatso (birthname: Künga Nyingpo) was born in 1617 in Tsang to a family with traditional ties to the
SakyaThe Sakya school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug...
and
NyingmaThe Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as the "school of the ancient translations" or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into...
orders. His famous noble
ZahorZáhor is a village and municipality in the Sobrance District in the Košice Region of east Slovakia.-Geography:The village lies at an altitude of 109 metres and covers an area of 7.722 km².It has a population of 710 people.-External links:...
family had held their seat since the 14th century at Tagtse castle, the former stronghold of the Tibetan kings. His father, Dudul Rabten, was arrested in 1618 for being involved in a plot against the royal government of the king of Tsang at almost the same time the
GelugThe Gelug or Gelug-pa , also known as the Yellow Hat sect, is a school of Buddhism founded by Tsongkhapa , a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader...
had secretly chosen his son as the reincarnation of Yonten Gyatso, the 4th Dalai Lama. According to the 14th Dalai Lama it was Sonam Choephel, the chief attendant of the Fourth Dalai Lama, who discovered the incarnation. Dudul Rabten escaped and tried to reach eastern Tibet but was rearrested and never saw his son again before he died in 1626 at Samdruptse, the king of Tsang's castle in
ShigatseShigatse or Rikaze , , is a county-level city and the second largest city in Tibet Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China, with a population of 80,000, about southwest of Lhasa and northwest of Gyantse...
. Lobsang Gyatso's family were all ordered to live at the court at Samdruptse, but his mother, fearing the king, returned with her son to her family's home, Narkatse castle, in Yardong.
Studies
The Fifth Dalai Lama completed all his training as a Gelugpa and proved to be an exceptional scholar. He also studied Nyingmapa
tantricTantra , or tantram is a religious philosophy according to which Shakti is usually the main deity worshipped, and the universe is regarded as the divine play of Shakti and Shiva...
doctrines and some say he took Nyingma initiations, while he is also famous for being a great practitioner of
DzogchenAccording to some schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school, that is also practised by adherents of other Tibetan Buddhist sects. According to...
. In his secret
LukhangLukhang , formally Zongdag Lukhang is the name of a secret temple of His Holiness Lozang Gyatso, 5th Dalai Lama...
temple on a lake behind the Potala palace in
LhasaLhasa, and sometimes spelled Lasa, is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China. It is located at the foot of Mount Gephel....
one wall of
muralA mural is any piece of artwork painted directly on a wall, ceiling, or other large permanent surface.-History:Murals of sorts date to Upper Paleolithic times such as the paintings in the Chauvet Cave in Ardèche department of southern France...
s illustrates a commentary by
LongchenpaLongchenpa or Longchen Rabjampa was a major teacher in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. Along with Sakya Pandita and Je Tsongkhapa, he is commonly recognized as one of the three main manifestations of Manjushri to have taught in Central Tibet...
on a
DzogchenAccording to some schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school, that is also practised by adherents of other Tibetan Buddhist sects. According to...
tantra
Rigpa Rangshar, interpreted according to the Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso's own experience of practice. The murals show characteristic visions of the secret practice of thödgal, and
Trul khorTsa lung Trul khor known for brevity as Trul khor is a Himalayan tantric discipline which includes breathwork , meditative contemplation and precise dynamic movements to centre the practitioner...
.
Political Activities
The Fifth Dalai Lama is known for unifying Tibet under the control of the
GelugThe Gelug or Gelug-pa , also known as the Yellow Hat sect, is a school of Buddhism founded by Tsongkhapa , a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader...
school of
Tibetan BuddhismTibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India...
, after defeating the rival
KagyuThe Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today one of four main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other three being the Nyingma , Sakya , and Gelug...
school and a secular ruler, the prince of
TsangÜ-Tsang , or Tsang-Ü, is one of the three traditional provinces of Tibet, the other two being Amdo and Kham...
based in
ShigatseShigatse or Rikaze , , is a county-level city and the second largest city in Tibet Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China, with a population of 80,000, about southwest of Lhasa and northwest of Gyantse...
.
Sonam Rapten, also called Sonam Choephel, the Regent during the youth of Lobsang Gyatso, requested the aid of
Gushi KhanGüshi Khan , a Khoshut prince and leader of the Khoshut Khanate, who had supplanted the Tumed descendants of Altan Khan. His military assistance to the Gelug school enabled the 5th Dalai Lama to establish political control over Tibet...
, a powerful Mongol military leader.
Gushi Khan conquered
KhamKham , is a region presently divided between the Chinese provinces of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, and Sichuan where Khampas, a subgroup within the Tibetan ethnicity, live. It is also one of the three traditional provinces claimed by the Tibetan government-in-exile...
in 1640 bringing the
SakyaThe Sakya school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug...
s and the lords of Kham and
AmdoAmdo is one of the three traditional states of Tibet, the other two being Ü-Tsang and Kham; it is also the birth place of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama. Amdo encompasses a large area from the Machu River to the Drichu river...
under their control. His victory over the prince of Tsang in
ShigatseShigatse or Rikaze , , is a county-level city and the second largest city in Tibet Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China, with a population of 80,000, about southwest of Lhasa and northwest of Gyantse...
in 1642, completed the unification of the country, and displacing the rival dominant school of the
KarmapaThe Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the Kagyupa , itself one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism....
s. He then recognized the authority of the Fifth Dalai Lama, making him the ruler of the whole of Tibet.
The Mongol army in Tibet and Tibetans loyal to the Gelugpa are said to have forced monks of some Kagyu monasteries to convert to the Gelug school in 1648. In 1674 he met with the 10th Karmapa,
Chöying DorjeChöying Dorje , also Choying Dorje was the tenth Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism.Chöying Dorje was born in Khaytri Tang in the kingdom of Golok in Amdo. At the age of eight, he was recognized by Shamar Mipan Chökyi Wangchuk, the sixth Shamarpa and received the complete...
(1604-1674) at the Potala, and the reconciliation was welcomed by all after the many conflicts and difficulties.
However, he banished the
JonangThe Jonang is one of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Its origins in Tibet can be traced to early 12th century master Yumo Mikyo Dorje, but became much wider known with the help of Dolpopa Sherab Gyeltsen, a monk originally trained in the Sakya school...
to
AmdoAmdo is one of the three traditional states of Tibet, the other two being Ü-Tsang and Kham; it is also the birth place of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama. Amdo encompasses a large area from the Machu River to the Drichu river...
from Central Tibet and some Bonpo monasteries were forced to convert to the Gelug school. This ban was politically motivated, although there were some philosophical disagreements.
Lobsang Gyatso proclaimed Lhasa as the capital of Tibet, and "appointed governors to the districts, chose ministers for his government, and promulgated a set of laws. The young Dalai Lama also transformed his regent into a prime minister, or, as the Tibetans called him, the Desi. Administrative authority remained with the Desi and military power with Gushri, who was entitled king of Tibet."
The Dalai Lama also established warm relations with the Shunzhi Emperor of China, the second
ManchuThe Manchu people are a Tungusic people who originated in Manchuria . During their rise in the seventeenth century, with the help of Ming rebels , they conquered the Ming Dynasty and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which established a...
emperor of the
Qing DynastyThe Qing Dynasty , also known as the Manchu Dynasty, was the last ruling dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912...
, during a state visit to
BeijingBeijing is a metropolis in northern China and the capital of the People's Republic of China...
in 1652 after several earlier invitations. He set out accompanied by 3,000 men and stayed at the Yellow Palace which had been specially constructed by the Manchu emperor to house him. The emperor met the Dalai Lama in January 1653 when he was only 14 (15 by Western reckoning). The Dalai Lama stayed in Beijing for two months and was honoured with two grand imperial receptions. Some historians claim that the emperor treated the Dalai Lama as an equal while others dispute this claim.. The Emperor subsequently granted him the honorific title
Dalai Lama, Overseer of the Buddhist Faith on Earth Under the Great Benevolent Self-subsisting Buddha of the Western Paradise. From this meeting onwards, the Dalai Lamas were considered priests to the throne by successive Qing emperors.
Gushri Khan maintained friendly, respectful relations with Lobsang Gyatso but died in 1655. His followers showed little interest in the administration of the country although they did appoint a Regent for a while to advance their interests in Lhasa. Gushri Khan left ten sons to follow him. Eight of them, with their tribes, settled in the strategically important Koko Nur region in
AmdoAmdo is one of the three traditional states of Tibet, the other two being Ü-Tsang and Kham; it is also the birth place of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama. Amdo encompasses a large area from the Machu River to the Drichu river...
and quarreled constantly over territory. The 5th Dalai Lama sent several governors in 1656 and 1659 to restore order. The Mongols were gradually Tibetanised and played an important role in extending the Gelug school's influence in Amdo.
The 5th Dalai Lama gradually assumed complete power, including that of appointing the regents.
Relations with the Fourth Panchen Lama
Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen, (1570–1662), the Fourth
Panchen LamaThe Panchen Lama is the second highest ranking Lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism . The successive Panchen lamas form a tulku reincarnation lineage which are said to be the incarnations of Amitabha Buddha...
of
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average...
, and the first to be accorded this title during his lifetime, was the teacher and close ally of the 5th Dalai Lama, who gave him the monastery of
TashilhunpoTashilhunpo Monastery , founded in 1447 by Gendun Drup, the First Dalai Lama, is a historic and culturally important monastery next to Shigatse, the second-largest city in Tibet....
as a living and declared him to be an incarnation of
AmitabhaAmitābha is a celestial buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism. Amitabha is the principal buddha in the Pure Land sect, a branch of Buddhism practiced mainly in East Asia...
Buddha (Tibetan: Ö-pa-me) and since then every incarnation of Amitabha has been the master of Tashilhunpo.
When Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen died in 1662, aged 93, the Fifth Dalai Lama immediately began the tradition of recognising the reincarnation of Panchen Rinpoche. He composed a special prayer asking his master 'to return' and ordered the monks of the great monasteries to recite it. He also reserved the title of
Panchen (short for
Pandita chen po or 'Great Scholar'), which had previously been a courtesy title for all learned lamas, exclusively for him, and this title has continued to be given to his successors and, posthumously, to his predecessors starting with Khedrup Je.
His writings
Lobsang Gyatso was a prolific writer and respected scholar, who wrote in a free style which allowed him to frankly and sometimes, ironically, express his own deepest feelings and independent interpretations. He wrote that: "When I finished the
Oral teachings of Manjushri [in 1658], I had to leave the ranks of the Gelug. Today [in 1674], having completed the
Oral teachings of the Knowledge-holders, I will probably have to withdraw from the Nyingma ranks as well!" His works total 24 volumes including a detailed history of Tibet which he wrote in 1643 at the request of Gushri Khan. He has left an autobiography called
Dukulai Gosang .
Construction of the Potala Palace
The Fifth Dalai Lama started the construction of the
Potala PalaceThe Potala Palace is located in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region. It was named after Mount Potala, the abode of Chenresig or Avalokitesvara. The Potala Palace was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India, after an invasion and failed uprising in 1959...
in 1645 after one of his spiritual advisers, Konchog Chophel (d. 1646), pointed out that the site was ideal as a seat of government, situated as it is between Drepung and
SeraSera may refer to:Places* Sera, Hiroshima, a town in Japan* Sera District, Hiroshima* Sera Monastery, a monastery in Lhasa, Tibet* Sera, Ethiopia* Sera, KenyaMedia...
monasteries and the old city of Lhasa. The Dalai Lama and his government moved into the Potrang Karpo ('White Palace') in 1649. Construction lasted until 1694, some twelve years after his death. The Potrang Marpo ('Red Palace') was added between 1690 and 1694.
Other activities
The Fifth Dalai Lama was the first to institutionalize the State Oracle of
NechungNechung or Nechung Chok or "the small dwelling", is the seat of the State Oracle of Tibet.It is also referred to as Sungi Gyelpoi Tsenkar, the "Demon Fortress of the Oracle King."...
. He also dedicated
Trode KhangsarTrode Khangsar is a temple located in Lhasa that is over 300 years old . The temple is dedicated to the protector Dorje Shugden and has been traditionally managed by the Gelug monastery Riwo Chöling, which is located in the Yarlung valley.-Protector:...
to the deity
Dorje ShugdenDorje Shugden , "Vajra Possessing Strength", or Dolgyal Shugden , "Shugden, King of Dhol" is a deity in Tibetan Buddhism, especially its Gelug school, for whom he was regarded as a Dharma Protector or "guardian angel." He is regarded as the incarnation of Gelugpa Lama Dragpa Gyaltsen of Drepung...
, the reincarnation of his peer
Tulku Dragpa GyaltsenTulku Dragpa Gyaltsen was an important Gelugpa lama and a contemporary of the Fifth Dalai Lama . His Seat was the upper residence of Drepung monastery , a famous Gelugpa monastery located near Lhasa.-Incarnation Lineage:Dragpa Gyaltsen is usually considered to be the 4th incarnation of Panchen...
.
He established a centralized form of government under the Gyalwa Rinpoche (i.e., the Dalai Lama), divided equally between laymen and monks (both Gelugpa and Nyingmapa); this form of government, with few changes, survived up to modern times. He also instituted the Lhasa Mönlam, the New Year Festival or "Great Prayer of Lhasa".
It was under his rule that the "rule of religion" was finally firmly established "even to the layman, to the nomad, or to the farmer in his fields". This was not only the supremacy of the Gelugpa school over Bon, or over the other Buddhist schools, but "the dedication of an entire nation to a religious principle".
Lobsang Gyatso was the first to declare Bon to be a fifth school of Buddhism in Tibet. This position was restated in 1987 by Tenzin Gyatso, the current, fourteenth, Dalai Lama, who also forbade discrimination against the Bonpo. However, Tibetans still differentiate between Bon and Buddhism, calling members of the Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu and Gelug schools "nangpa" (meaning "insider"), but referring to practitioners of Bon as "bonpo."
Revolt of the Three Feudatories
In 1673, the 5th Dalai Lama supported the
Revolt of the Three FeudatoriesThe Three Feudatories were territories in southern China bestowed by the early Manchu rulers on three Chinese generals . In the second half of the 17th century , these generals revolted against the Manchu Qing Dynasty...
.
Death and succession
The death of the Fifth Dalai Lama in 1682 at the age of 65 was kept hidden until 1696, by
Desi Sangye GyatsoDesi Sangye Gyatso was the third regent of the 5th Dalai Lama who founded the School of Medicine and Astrology on Chags-po-ri Hill in 1694 and wrote the Blue Beryl treatise. The name is sometimes written Sangye Gyamtso.By some accounts, Sangye Gyatso is believed to be the son of the 5th Dalai...
, his Prime Minister and, according to persistent rumours, his son, whom he had appointed in 1679. This was 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. Desi Sangay Gyatso also served as regent until the assumption of power by the
Sixth Dalai LamaTsangyang Gyatso was the sixth Dalai Lama. He was a Monpa by ethnicity and was born at Urgelling Monastery, 5 km from Tawang, and not far from the large Tawang Monastery in the northwestern part of present-day Arunachal Pradesh in India.He led a playboy lifestyle and disappeared, near Kokonor...
.
- "In order to complete the Potala Palace, Desi Sangye Gyatso carried out the wishes of the Fifth Dalai Lama and kept his death a secret for fifteen years. People were told that the Great Fifth was continuing his long retreat. Meals were taken to his chamber and on important occasions the Dalai Lama's ceremonial gown was placed on the throne. However, when Mongol princes insisted on having an audience, an old monk called Depa Deyab of Namgyal
Namgyal, a Tibetan deity, has been a personal name in several countries; see :*Namgyal dynasty, rulers in Ladakh* Namgyal Institute of Tibetology* Namgyal Monastery, any of several Tibetan Buddhist institutions...
monastery, who resembled the Dalai Lama, was hired to pose in his place. He wore a hat and an eye shade to conceal the fact that he lacked the Dalai Lama's piercing eyes. The Desi managed to maintain this charade till he heard that a boy in Mon exhibited remarkable abilities. He sent his trusted attendants to the area and, in 1688, the boy [the future 6th Dalai Lama] was brought to Nankartse, a place near Lhasa. There he was educated by teachers appointed by the Desi until 1697...."
Quotation from Dukulai Gosang
According to Samten Gyaltsen Karmay, the Fifth Dalai Lama writes in his autobiography,
Dukulai Gosang:
The official Tsawa Kachu of the Ganden Palace showed me statues and rosaries (that belonged to the Fourth Dalai Lama and other lamas), but I was unable to distinguish between them! When he left the room I heard him tell the people outside that I had successfully passed the tests. Later, when he became my tutor, he would often admonish me and say: "You must work hard, since you were unable to recognize the objects!"
Further reading
- Practice of Emptiness: The Perfection of Wisdom Chapter of the Fifth Dalai Lama's "Sacred Word of Manjushri". (1974) Translated by Jeffrey Hopkins with instruction from Geshe Rapden. Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. Dharamsala, H.P., India.
- Mullin, Glenn H. (2001). The Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of Reincarnation, pp. 184–237. Clear Light Publishers. Santa Fe, New Mexico. ISBN 1-57416-092-3.
- Karmay, Samten Gyaltsen:
- 1988 (reprint 1998). Secret visions of the Fifth Dalai Lama. London: Serindia Publications, Some additional information
- 1998 'The Fifth Dalai Lama and his Reunification of Tibet'. The Arrow and the Spindle, Studies in History, Myths, Rituals and Beliefs in Tibet. Kathmandu: Mandala Book Point
Autobiography
External links