The Fifth Dalai Lama And His First Three Administrators 9937624045, 9789937624046

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The Fifth Dalai Lama And His First Three Administrators

Sean Jones

VAJRA Publications

lnc.Pvt.Ltd.

University of

Wisconsin-Madisoa Libraries Published and Distributed 2021 by

Vajra Publications inc.pvt.Ltd. Jyatha, Thamel, P.O. Box 21779, Kathmandu, Nepal TeL: 977-1-4220562,4246536

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© Author, 2021

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or manner whatsoever except in the case of brief quotations or for use by educational institutions without written permission

of the author. Unless otherwise stated all photos are by the author.

First Edition, 2021

ISBN: 978-9937-624-04-6

Printed in Nepal

2OZ-1

Table of Contents

Author’s Introduction

iv

Prologue; Historical Attacks on the Gelug from 1434 tol618

xvii

FiRSt Administrator; Depa Sonam Rabten The Search for the Fifth Dalai Lama, 1618-1619

5

Confirmation of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s Discovery, 1621

11

The Dalai Lama’s Secret Escape to E Rigo, 1622-1623

29

The Dalai Lama’s Early Studies, Travels and Ordination, 1623-1625

33

Zhalngo’s Services to the Dalai Lama’s Family, 1619-1628

39

Zhalngo’s Roles as His Guardian and Educational Supervisor, 1621-1658

51

Civil War Looms; the Dalai Lama’s Travels and Education, 1630-1635

61

The Advent of Arsalang, 1635-1637

79

Gushri Khan Follows up in Amdo and Kham, 1636-1640

87

Zhalngo’s Pre-Civil War Manoeuvrings, 1638-1640

97

The Deceitful Zhalngo Springs His Trap; Gushri Attacks Tsang, 1641

103

Zhalngo Raises His own Tibetan Army and Joins the Fray, 1641 -1642

115

Zhalngo Becomes the First Administrator of a Re-United Tibet, 1642

123

Zhalngo the Administrator Quells a Rebellion in Kongpo, 1642-1643

131

The Karmapa’s Mysterious Order Found in His Cook’s Gau, 1643

137

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

The Ganden Phodrang Government, 1643-1644

143

The Administrator’s First Invasion of Bhutan, 1644-1645

151

Ihe Administrator’s Second Bhutan War, 1646-1651

165

The Administrator as a Gelug Supremacist

183

Tour of Southern Tibet and the Journey to China, 1651-1653

191

Further Travel in Tsang and the Death of Gushri Khan, 1654-1656

199

The Third Bhutan War and the Death of the Tulku, 1655-1657

205

Death and Funeral Services of the Administrator, 1658-1659

211

Bibliography for the Prologue and the First Administrator

217

*

Second Administrator: Depa Norbu

221

Norbu’s Military Career Commences, 1641

229

Norbu Made Governor of Shigatse; Second Bhutan War, 1644-1649

233

The Deaths of Gushri Khan, 1655, and of the Tulku, 1656

239

The Massacre of a Bhutanese Dzongpon’s Family, approx. 1658

243

Third Bhutan War, with Depa Norbu as Field-Marshal, 1656-1657

249

Norbu’s Recall to Lhasa and Appointment as Administrator, 1659

255

Nangso Ngodrup and Causes of the “Gego” Rebellion, 1659

263

Rebels Seize Shigatse Dzong, Invite Bhutanese Invasion, 1659

271

Petitions Submitted to the Dalai Lama on Behalf of the Gego, 1659

TJl

The Siege of Khamsum Zilnon and War by Wrathful Ritual, 1659-1660

285

The Fort Surrenders, “The Gego” are Escorted to the North, 1660

297

Reflections on Depa Norbu’s Character: Traitor or Patriot?

309

Bibliography for the Second Administrator’s Biography

315

vii

The Fifth Dalai Lama

Third Administrator: Depa Trinle Gyatso Personal Attendant to the Dalai Lama from an Early Age, c.1620

319

Trinle Gyatso’s Lack of Sectarianism

323

Travels and Astrology Studies with the Dalai Lama, 1636-1639

327

The Nyingma Rite of Jampal Zilnon Used as a Weapon of War, 1640

331

Trinle Gyatso’s Other Activities During Civil Wars of 1640-1643

335

Peacetime Activities and Travels with the Dalai Lama, 1643-1651

339

Head ofDelegation on the Dalai Lama’s Journey to China, 1652-1653

345

The Creation of Sacred Images and the Death of the Tulku, 1655-1657

355

The Death of the First Administrator Concealed, 1658

359

The Rebellion and Exile of the Second-Administrator, 1659-1660

363

Trinle Gyatso is Appointed Third Administrator, 1660

367

The Third Administrator’s Main Activities in Office, 1660-16621

373

The Administrator’s Great Survey of the Monasteries, 1662-1663

379

Phende Gon, Chokhor Gyal and the Origins of Namgyal Monastery

385

Exchanging Gifts, Making Offerings and Subsidising Monasteries

389

The Administrator Renovates the Barkhor and is Praised by the D.L., 1663-1668 .

395

The Administrator’s Illness, Death and Funeral Services, 1668

401

The Third Administrator’s Political Importance and Character

411

Bibliography for the Third Administrator’s Biography

417

Epilogue

421

Appendix - Selected Mongol History

427

Glossary

435

Index ofTibetan Names and TermS,'Phonetic and Wylie

■

441

Acknowledgements

467

About the Author

469

Author’s Introduction

Putting aside my deep interest and involvement in matters Tibetan since the 1960s, it was forty years after first meeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama and thirty years after my first Journey to Lhasa that my twin careers as a Wikepedia editor and historian of Tibet began in earnest, in March 2015 - with a single word. Robbie Barnett, an old friend, had been heard complaining that Wikipedia articles about Tibet were full of errors. I took a look at thel4‘*’ Dalai Lama’s Wikipedia entry and it started off by stating: “Dalai Lamas are the head monks of the Gelug” - wrong, since only the Ganden Tripa are the “head monks of the Gelug.” I added one word, to make it read “Dalai Lamas are among the head monks of the Gelug.” From this beginning, editing articles on Tibet and Tibetans gradually became a full-time occupation, if not an obsession, and my meagre collection of Tibetrelated books and histories began to grow iisj sought more authentic and reliable information.

As I was interested in the Fifth Dalai Lama, my prize new acquisition was The Illusive Play, a recent translation ofVolume I ofthe Fifth Dalai Lama’s autobiography Dukiila which offers an enormous wealth of detail on life in 17* century Tibet, recorded by the Great Fifth’s own hand. The author used his trenchant powers of observation and description to create a living picture of his life, times, and the

many characters he dealt with. It also contains blow-by-blow accounts of the invasions, wars, civil wars and sectarian rebellions that in the end put him, as a •largely unwilling participant, on the Throne of a Tibet reunified in 1642, as you shall see - exactly eight hundred years after the fragmentation following

.Langdarma’s death in 842.

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Dukula is an open window into a lost era, a veritable Aladdin’s cave of wonders packed with the golden nuggets of the Fifth Dalai Lamas inner thoughts - and sardonic comments - on the culture and people of the day, as well as fulsome praise wherever he found it due. The translation, by Samten G. Karmay, is a major source for this book and I have sought to extract from it - in the context of the first three Administrators’ lives - some of the most pointed, poignant and pithy examples of the Great Fifth’s observations, comments and dry wit for your appreciation of this larger-than-life Tibetan superstar, lhe multitude of footnotes provide page references to the translation as well as to the edition of Dukula used

by the translator. Looking at Wikipedia’s “Sth Dalai Lama” page, however, I was in for a shock; it alleged he was “a mass-murderer”! Investigating this with the help of Samten Karmay it was found that in an otherwise accurate article, a celebrated Tibetologist had misread a text. The allegation was shown to be unfounded and removed with its author’s consent and acknowledgement. Further checking revealed that Wikipedia had no biographies on the Fifth Dalai Lama’s first three Administrators, rulers in charge of administration, with presidential-like powers such as levying taxes and declaring war. Tibet being seven times the area of Germany, its rulers deserve entries in Wikipedia where the sole criterion for inclusion is “notebility.” I therefore compiled their biographies from Dukula and my growing hoard of Tibetan history books - and added them

to Wikipedia. Barely were these raw versions posted when the famous “Treasury of Lives, an online “Biographical Encyclopedia of Tibet, Inner Asia, and the Himalaya” invited me to add them to their own formidable collection of Tibet-related biographies, mostly the lives of notable lamas throughout history. With the Treasury’s editors I was happy to conduct deeper research into these lives, making the sketches more detailed, comprehensive and accurate and learning a great deal about biography in the process. Once they were published by the Treasury, Samten Karmay, a member of the Treasury’s Advisory Committee, kindly suggested to me that the three biographies would make a good Trilogy in book form, but I initially discounted this undertaking as too serious for a novice like me. Nevertheless, out of interest, I continued to try to make sense of and harvest the sometimes supernatural, sometimes down-to-earth and sometimes cthonic treasure-house of The Illusive Play. In passing, I sought to improve other Wikipedia articles on related subjects that arose - such as the historical origins of sectarianism in modern Tibet, that is,

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in this context, the period following the establishment of the Phagmodru Dynasty in the fourteenth century. Eventually, I realised that writing such a Trilogy was in fact quite feasible and a not such a bad idea after all. This was in the light of the powerful “unique interest point” imderlying all three biographies - the author of Dukula himself, especially as this work would be the Trilogy’s main source. The Fifth Dalai Lama’s imposing, numinous character and omnipresence would pervade such a Trilogy, because the most salient passages about these men, his Administrators, are drawn from his own personal observations and penned by him - even though the doctrinaire first Administrator dominates him, the seemingly-incompetent second Administrator rebels against him and the extremely competent third Administrator seetns rather low key and boring. The Dalai Lama’s descriptions of their lives, sayings and daily actions are perfectly factual, neither accolades nor homage - although he does not hold back on criticism of their faults when they arise. Most readers with a good general knowledge of Tibet and the Dalai Lamas have heard of “The Great Fifth.” They know he is one of the greatest Dalai Lamas and an outstanding figure in modern Tibetan history, but for any in-depth knowledge of his character, behaviour, sayings, attitudes, writings, habits and the innumerable uncanny incidents in his long and eventful life - all this has remained the exclusive preserve of a handful of specialists who can read and interpret the author’s often archaic and arcane Tibetan expressions in Dukula . I realised that my three biographies could be further expanded and substantially inter-related, transforming them into vehicles to extract and depict all these remarkable features of the Great Fifth, tracing a revealing cross-section of many sides of his character - but not as a formal biography - drawn almost exclusively from the excellent translation of the unfamiliar and little-known but richly fertile ground of Dukula. Samten Karmay’s translation is evidently intended to be accessible to as broad a readership as possible and therefore, in its presentation it departs somewhat from the academic style. Footnotes are excluded on the grounds that there would have to be too many of them cluttering his text, but I have used them here for convenience, citation and sometimes for analysis, avoiding extra digression in the text I hope they will not distract the reader unduly. In addition, in The Illusive Play the Wylie transliteration for Tibetan names and terms is relegated to the Index, and I have done the same here, using only the Tibetan phonetics in the main text. I am told that most professional Tibetologist biographers and historians rely on their own interpretations of primary sources, meaning original Tibetan texts, rather than drawing on each other’s translations - and I refer to the truly excellent

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articles and chapters featuring and analysing the political and spiritual sides of the Fifth’s life which I have found extremely useful to read and to cite, by authors listed in the Bibliographies such as Karmay and Mullin first of all, followed by lesser but often vital contributions from Kapstein, Dhondup, Richardson, Tucci, Sperling, Sanggye Gyatso. Konchog Chophel, Shakabpa and Yamaguchi. Thus, this Trilogy became a niche opportunity for a suitably unqualified writer like me to step in and fill the gap with a dedicated book, combing through The Illusive Play and every other English language history that I could find for material that touched on my subject. I hope this unconventional approach will not stray too far from the standards of all the knowledgeable Tibetologists who have gone before, upon whose work this book depends. Having decided to revise and expand all three biographies for the second time, I began by extracting all relevant references in Dukula and contextualising everything I could about the Dalai Lama’s life and times. The modular, Trilogy format of three separate, independent biographies, with enough basic background information contained in all three, allows them to be read in no particular order. Since all three subjects are roughly contemporaneous and the stories sometimes interwoven, various events such as the Bhutan invasions are referred to in each one according to the subjects’ individual experiences of them. Although some may find this irksome, it does afford the reader three different perspectives, firstly on the history of the period, secondly on the experiences of the three subjects and thirdly on the Fifth Dalai Lama’s personal observations, comments, praise and

complaints and his critical attitudes towards these three widely different characters, who all, at some point, played the same role: ruler of Tibet. I encoimtered a problem regarding the vindictive and destructive sides of the character of Depa Sonam Rabten, the first Administrator, as they come into play in the course of his life. He not only dominates and even bullies the young Dalai Lama, 22 years his junior, but also acts so belligerently and ruthlessly towards

rivals of the Gelug that he stops at nothing to destroy their dynasties, followers, power structures, armies - and their religious supporters, especially among the Karma Kagyu. The Tenth Karmapa narrowly escapes his clutches and has to flee into exile for several decades. Tens of thousands of Tibetans and Mongols are killed and maimed on the battlefields as a result of Sonam Rabten’s partisan fury. In no way is he a gentle Gelug monk acting according to basic Buddhist principles of love and compassion. However, in the time I spent wavering over whether to work on this Trilogy, I was researching, amongst other things, the origins of the sectarianism that was at the root of these terrible, internecine Buddhist wars. Trawling through every history book in my possession I uncovered the shocking

The Fifth Dalai Lama

xiii

feet that over the 184 years between 1434 and 1618 there had been as many as sixteen military attacks on the Gelug, some of them small-scale and milder but o±ers extremely brutal, as when Gelug monks and their followers were forced to flee or be massacred, or who were subjugated by rivals who had allied together with the express intention of wiping the Gelug off the face of the earth “so that not even their name would remain.” Apart from one or two attempts, by the militia of the governor of the greater Lhasa area traditionally called Kyisho and the Phagmodru, to fend off the attackers, I failed to find during the same period any record of an attempt by the Gelug or its allies to counter-attack or even defend themselves militarily. Sonam Rabten’s entire youth, between 1605 and 1618, was spent as a victim and witness to the last and the worst excesses of this oppression and these massacres, which had followed from the 1603 installation in Lhasa of the Mongol Fourth Dalai Lama Yonten Gyatso. Sonam Rabten was no doubt traumatised and, being the character he was, he became determined to do all in his power to turn the tables on these tormentors. This explains his behaviour, in this history, and to make the point perfectly clearly I have compiled a “Prologue” to his biography detailing each of these sixteen attacks on the Gelug. At the same time, the Prologue traces the origins of religious sectarianism over this whole period of Tibetan history - a sectarianism which sometimes seems to persist to some extent in certain quarters up to the present day. To my limited knowledge, no similar study on this subject has been carried out before, so I hope the Prologue, dealing with this issue, will be of interest, especially to those in a position to improve or correct it. At the end of Dukula Volume I, which covers the period only up tol665,1 encountered another problem, this time regarding the life of the third Administrator, who ruled until his death in 1668. Volume 11, which continues the narrative until 1675, is yet to be translated into English. Fortunately,

my very good friend, consultant and editor Michael Richards, who is an accomplished and published translator himself, very kindly did the necessary by enthusiastically identilying and translating for me all the passages in the Dalai Lama’s Volume 11 of Dukula which refer to our subject, Trinle Gyatso. I adapted the material from his new translation to finish the book up to Trinle Gyatso’s death and beyond, according to what I could uncover, including some material from Ahmad Zahiruddin’s translation of Sanggye Gyatso’s “Life of the Fifth Dalai

Lama” Volume 11. As mentioned above, this book has a modular structure with three independently-written, almost fully overlapping biographies that can be read in

any order, each one with its own bibliography. Though it is ideal to read them

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

Straight through in chronological order, they overlap so much that one could also start with the shortest one, the enigmatic and little-known character of Depa Norbu and take it from there. As regards phonetic and Wylie spellings of Tibetan names and terms, in general I have followed conventions adopted by Samten Karmay in Ihe Illusive Play. At the urging of my editors I have made four exceptions to this rule: Gyatso, Tashi, Tulku and Gyaltsen in place of Gyatsho, Trashi, Trulku and Gyaltshen. For the most part I have also relegated almost all Wylie transliterations to the Tibetan Index of Names and Terms in order to avoid what I consider for my purposes to be unnecessary and distracting clutter in the text. Confessions: firstly, hoping to clarify the sense of some quotations while avoiding any change to their meaning, some of the excerpts quoted from various sources in inverted commas have been very lightly edited, so they are not all entirely one hundred percent verbatim. Secondly, throughout the Trilogy, the reader is subjected to repeated descriptions and analysis of the same or similar background information although possibly already covered by the Introduction, Prologue, Epilogue and Appendix and elsewhere. The consistent overlap of the three stand-alone and largely contemporaneous Biographies is partly to blame and so is my wish to include relevant bacl^round to provide the full picture in each case, and not to

omit anything of consequence. Readers are also warned that this forensic approach sometimes prompts me to leave off citing authentic sources and to indulge in extraneous speculation gleaned from my research. Aware that conjecture has limited place in a history, I have marked these as personal theorising stemming from circumstantial evidence in the hope that they will enhance this study and stimulate further research. For instance, the future discovery of a biography of Depa Norbu would make fascinating reading, and so would a text that might surface to refute the account of the incriminating document allegedly found in the reliquary of the Tenth Karmapa’s cook in 1643. In addition to such speculation, be it pointless, needless or otherwise, any further errors herein are mine and mine alone. Such texts are likely to exist. As an example, in his book on the Jokhang (2010) Gyurme Dorje writes footnote 53 on page 117 to state that Tashi Tsering the Director of the Amnye Machen Institute in Dharamsala told him that the early seventeenth century chronicles of Daklha Gampo Monastery are preserved at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim and require further study “to reveal whether these accounts

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serve to balance the partisan Gelug accounts of this period, such as that presented by Sumpa Khenpo in his chos 'byung dpag bsam Ijon bzangJ'^ For Dukula Volume I cited here, all references are to the Lhasa Edition listed in the Bibliography, and similarly, the Beijing Edition of Volume 11 has been used for convenience.

You now have before you the end result of my eclectic efforts, in the form of this idiosyncratic history which I hope may be readable, entertaining and informative. The Great Fifth himself remarked in his own introduction to the Dukula:

“I wrote in a spontaneous manner all that occurred naturally to my mind.”^ I hope this wonderful spontaneity of his is reflected a little bit in the present work.

Sean Jones

* Dorje (et al) 2010,117, note 58. These cited texts needing investigation include Trinle Daos gang can ’dir stonpal rgyal tshab dpal dan sgatn popa’i khrigdung ’dzinpa’i dam pa rnams kyi gtam baidurya’i phreng ba and Gampopa Mipham Chokyi Wangchuk’s gDan sa che-po dpal dvag -lha sgam po’i ngo mtshar gyi bkod pa dad pa’i me tog. ' Karmay 2014,21 (Dukula 18 - Lhasa EdiUon)

Prologue to the First Administrator’s Biography

A Historical Context This prologue to the first biography attempts to summarise political developments and events from the beginnings of the Gelug tradition in the early fifteenth century and thereafter over its first two centuries, up to the year 1618. It has been compiled through research carried out on well-known English language histories of the period including translations of contemporaneous texts as cited in the footnotes, with the aim to provide relevant historical background for the emergence of the political mission of the Fifth Dalai Lama^ first Administrator, Sonam Rabten one that started off in 1634 as an attempt to prevent the extermination of the Gelug by its rivals but which resulted, by 1642, in the Gelug’s political hegemony over the whole of Tibet. This prologue also reviews the political rivalry between Tsang and U and between the “Red Hats” and the “Yellow Hats,” and the origins and development of religious sectarianism, mainly by listing and describing military attacks by various parties on the Gelug and its sponsors and defenders, the Phagmodru, over the 184 years from 1434 to 1618. The Fifth Dalai Lama’s preamble to the first volume of his autobiography, Dukula”, gives in detail the antecedents of his own clan and family tree, where he praises in passing one Drungchen Paljor Zangpo of the ancient and noble family of Hor, who had served as Steward or Master of Ceremonies (gsoZ dpon), and later as the celebrated General (dmag dpon), of Chennga Sonam Dragpa (1359-1408), xvii

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the nobleman who ruled Central Tibet on behalf of the Phagmodru, around the beginning of the fifteenth century. Drungchen Paljor Zangpo was then appointed Lord of the Castle of Samdruptse at Shigatse, in Tsang province of Tibet at which point (so writes the Fifth Dalai Lama) he came to hear the teachings of “the omniscient” Gendun Drub (1391-1474) on the exposition of the Book of Kadam** and became his close disciple.^ Gendun Drub was posthumously declared to have been the First Dalai Lama. He was bom to nomad parents in upper Tsang near Sakya and, being only seven years old when his father died, was enrolled by his mother as a novice monk at Narthang, a Kadampa monastery just to the west of Shigatse. He had studied there for eighteen years and reached the highest levels of religious scholarship before leaving to seek more teachers in central Tibet, where he met Tsongkhapa in 1415 and became his disciple. He travelled, studied and taught for another twelve years before returning to Narthang Monastery. After twenty more years of travelling and teaching in Tsang, he was finally persuaded by his numerous disciples in Tsang to build a monastery on Tashi hill at Shigatse, which he founded in the year 1447 and called Tashilhunpo.’ The same Lord of the Castle, Drungchen Paljor Zangpo, was one of Gendun Drubs main supporters and sponsors in this project. He funded and facilitated the construction of Tashilhunpo and cemented good relations between the reformed Kadam tradition and the Chonggy^ family, to which the Fifth Dalai Lama also belonged. The Fifth Dalai Lama records that their collaboration marked the beginning of the Hor family’s strong and lasting connection with Tsongkhapa’s doctrine, which was still called, at the time, the “New Kadam Tradition.”^ Tashilhunpo was founded in 1447 and there is no historical source showing it was resented or rejected by the general community in Tsang in any way, not by the Kagyu, the Sakya nor the Kadam, neither was it viewed as invasive, provocative or as an imposition on Tsang from U by the followers of Tsongkhapa. There are no stories of harassment of the Tashilhunpo monks by anyone who bore such sentiments. Instead, the people of Tsang saw Tashilhunpo Monastery as an acceptable and valuable development of the Kadam Tradition created by respected members of the Tsangpa community themselves. After 1447 the first signs of regional discord were the five attacks on U, as detailed below, by the newly established Rinpung regime from Tsang in 1480, * Bka’ gdams glegs bam 2 Karmay 2014,30 (Dukula 29 - Lhasa Edition); Tucci, 58 3 Mullin, 52-66 * Karmay 2014,30 (Dukula 29); Thcci, 58

Prologue

xix

1481, 1485, 1488 and 1492. Donyo Dorje, the Rinpung leader, launched all of these attacks against the old and failing Phagmodru dynasty in the Yarlung Valley, Kyisho, Gyantse and elsewhere in U. Apart from the alleged pulling down of the waUs of a Karmapa monastery that Donyo Dorje wanted to build in Lhasa in 1479, there was no evidence of sectarianism until his more serious invasion and occupation of Lhasa from 1498 to 1517 - the seventh military attack in our list when Donyo Dorje banned the Gelug Monlam in Lhasa, as explained below. In general, any idea of persecuting a sect in Tibet for holding different views or

doctrines came almost exclusively from foreign proselytes. For example the Tibetan eighteenth century ruler Polhaney Sonam Topgye (1689-1747 r. 17281747), a staunch member of the Gelug community, showed courage and magnanimity, at a time when the Chinese wielded significant political influence in Tibet, by resisting a Chinese Imperial edict requiring him to suppress the Nyingma sect, a proposal that was as repugnant to the general religious tolerance of the Tibetans as had been the harrying of the Nyingma by the Dzungars? Despite this, there is at least one respected historian who claims that the establishment of Tashilhimpo in 1447 was the most decisive event triggering the regionalism - and sectarianism - between Tsang and U and between'Kagyu and Gelug over the following centuries. In his Introduction to Shakabpa’s chapter six on "How the Dalai Lamas Lineage Emerged” in his book “One Hundred Thousand

Moons: An Advanced Political History of Tibet,” Professor Derek F. Maher (Shakabpa’s translator into English) writes that "The rivalry between Tsang and U m the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries originated with the establishment of Tashilhunpo Monastery by the First Dalai Lama in 1447 at Shigatse, Tsang, an area dominated by the Karma Kagyu at the time,” and that rivalry between the Gelug and the Karma Kagyu began “almostimmediately.”® In saying this, however, firstly Professor Maher does not take into account the military attack by Tsang forces on the Phagmodru headquarters in U in 1434 preceding Tashilhunpo by thirteen years - and secondly, apparently unaware of how Tashilhunpo reaUy came into being as described above, he does not give any examples to support his contention which, if true, would result in accounts of such things as harassment of Tashilhunpo monks after its founding. After a .thorough search of English-language histories of the period, the first record of any such harassment to be found occurs in 1638, over a century later." Thus the

Epilogue for the history of Dzungar intervention in iioet in the early eighteenth century. ‘ Shakabpa 2010,289-290 'Karmay20I4,147 (Dukula 192)

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assertion that sectarian rivalry began “almost immediately” after the establishment of Tashilhunpo is not supported by any evidence that has come to light so far. “Just as the Gelukpas had made inroads in Tsang by building Tashilhunpo monastery,” the Professor continues, seemingly oblivious to the actual circumstances of its foundation, “the Kagyupas sought to establish a monastery in Lhasa.”® However, as he mentions himself, this only happened in 1479, thirty-two years after Tashilhunpo was founded, when the newly-built walls were said to have been pulled down by Gelug monks, as referred to below in the account of the

second'Military Attack in 1480? Other historians give later dates and other causes for the destruction of such a monastery, indicating there was more than one attempt on the part of the Karma Kagyu to build one. For example, Matthew Kapstein dates the founding of a Kagyu monastery in Lhasa at 1503 instead of 1479, see the Seventh Attack. After noting its later demolition by Gelug monks, his analysis of the origin and growth of sectarian rivalry in Tsang and Central Tibet concludes with the perceptive observation that “The great enmity between the Karma Kagyu and the Gelugpa, which would only intensify during the centuries to come, seems to have been an outcome, rather than the cause, of the events of 1498-1517.”'°

So, although political rivalry between Tsang and U went back much further, it was the pragmatic political suppression of the Gelug in the 1498-1517 occupation of Lhasa by the Rinpung - as detailed under the Seventh Attack - that first gave rise to the emergence of sectarianism between the Kagyu and the Gelug in this era, culminating in the civil wars of 1641-1642 and all the rampant sectarianism that would continue to fester over the next two or three hundred years. Note, too, that during this period and until 1618, the Gelug are not alleged to have committed any attacks, large or small, on any of the other parties in these battles. Given this history of attacks on the Gelug and their patrons the Phagmodru, we can imagine how desperate and vulnerable the Gelug felt as a group when, in the 1630s, they got wind of plans by their rivals in Tsang and elsewhere to “wipe the Gelug out once and for all so that not even their name remains.” This was the situation that led Sonam Rabten, the Fifth Dalai Lama’s chandzeu and future • Shakabpa 2010,290 (Prof. Maher’s introduction) ’ Ibid., 273, 277, 290, 294; Shakabpa 1984, 87; Richardson, 423-424, Kapstein 129, Smith, 105 Kapstein, 129-131. See Attack number 7 below for more details.

Prologue

xxi

Administrator, and other members of the Gelug hierarchy to invite, in 1634, Gelug Mongol military forces into Tibet in their defence, as a last resort.

First Attack - 1434 Towards the middle of the fifteenth century, with the waning of the central power of the Phagmodru dynasty that had ruled Central Tibet from Neudong in the Yarlung Valley, subordinate district governors still continued to acknowledge formally the supremacy of the Neudong Gongma (“Emperor”) and to revere his spiritual authority, though their actions were becoming more indepencjent.” The princes of Gyalkhartse - the palace of the governor of Gyantse - who were

associated with the Sakya, were the first to act this out and to reignite the ancient political rivalry between Tsang and U. They sent an army into U in 1434 and attacked Gongma Dragpa Jungne of the Phagmodru at Neudong itself,’^ an assault mentioned by only one English-language historian.^’ Not only was it the first assault by forces from Tsang on U in this era, it also coincided with an internal dispute at Neudong on the agreed succession to Dragpa Jungne, the son of Miwang Dragpa Gyeltsen’s brother Sanggye Gyeltsen, where the father insisted on assuming full power rather than his son. Though the son prevailed, and the father was bought off with estates, this fateful year for the Phagmodru became known as “The Great Tiger Year Upheaval” (taglo dezar chenpo}'^ and “the Year of the Fall of the House of Phagmodru.”*^ The result of the actual attack is not recorded presumably the Gyalkhartse army did not prevail - but eventually, rather than the Gyantse princes - with whom the Rinpung had a long-standing feud - the Rinpung princes rose up, accumulated power and territories, wrested political control from the Phagmodru across moskpf Central Tibet and established the Rinpung dynasty which would last 130 years, from 1435 to 1565. The Rinpung then attacked the Gelug and the Neudong and their interests, in U and in Gyantse, suf times between 1480 and 1515 and once more in 1575, as follows.*'^

“ Richardson, 423 “ Ibid., 423-424, Tucci, 27-30 *’ Ibid.; and, unusually, in this article by Hugh Richardson, “The Political Role of the Four Sects in Tibetan History” [first published in the Tibetan Review, 11, 9 (1976), pp. 18-23], he does not cite any source for his information. '* Kapstein, 122 ** Shakabpa 1984,86; Dorje (et al) 2010,17 See attacks number 2 to 8. Dorje (et al) 2010,18

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Second Attack -1480 Donyo Dorje (1463-1512), one of the greatest of the Rinpung lords and grandson of the dynastic founder Rinpung Norzang, became the ambitious and aggressive new leader of the Rinpung Dynasty (1435-1575) in 1479. He lost no time in challenging the Rinpung’s erstwhile masters the Phagmodru, based at Neudong in the Yarlung Valley in U - known as “the cradle of Tibetan civilisation.” The pretext for the attack was the pulling down by Gelug monks of the bare walls of a supposed

Karmapa Monastery that Donyo Dorje had provocatively tried to build without permission at Sanagma near Neu, south of Lhasa.^^ The Lhasa Gelug had looked upon this construction as a serious menace, implying in effect the establishment

Shakabpa 1984, 87(1]; Shakabpa 2010, 273(2], 277(3], 290(4], 294(5]; Richardson, 423-425 (he writes of two Karmipa monasteries built nearby Lhasa, one “about 1480,” page 424, and another, page 425, during the subsequent occupation of 1498-1517); Kapstein, 129-131 (who mentions one Karmapa monastery built at Lhasa in 1503 or 1506, which was demolished after the occupation); Ahmad, 128 (where the Dalai Lama mentions that “the monastery established [by the Rinpung ruler Donyo Dorje] near Lhasa did not last long”). Notes: Shakabpas five versions of the event are difficult to reconcile. Contradictions are as follows (relevant versions are numbered consecutively above in square brackets). Version [1] says Donyo Dorje asked permission to build a Karma Kagyu monastery in Lhasa; version [5] says he merely asked permission for some Kagyu monks to be accepted to have a place at the Lhasa Tsuglakhang. Version (1], [3] and [5] mention the eventual building of the Karma Kagyu monastery, without permission, at Sanagma, to the north of Lhasa; version [2] makes no mention of it. Version [1] mentions the destruction of the partly-built monastery in 1479 as the casus belli for Donyo Dorje’s 1480 assault on Neudong and Kyisho; versions [2] and [3] give no reason for the attack at all; version [5] implies there was no attack in any case, because the Karmapa advised against it. Version [1] says the part-built monastery was destroyed during the night; version [5] says it was destroyed during the day. Version [2] says the people of Kazhi were "expelled to the east and to the west;” version [3] says Donyo Dorje’s forces “fell upon Kazhi from the east and from the west.” Version [ 1 ] says the result of the entire campaign was that Donyo Dorje “captured a few areas” whereas versions [2] and (3] say that it was a major campaign laying waste to the Phagmodru heartland and causing the population to flee; version [3] says that Donyo Dorje also attacked the Kyisho Valley, but versions [1], [2] and [5] do not; and finally,, version [5] implies that there was no attack at all because the Karmapa insisted that Donyo Dorje act peacefully. There is also a postscript to this issue to be found in the account of Tucci, page 53b. In his coverage of the first decade of the seventeenth century - that is, over a hundred years later - Tucci writes that “many years before,” i.e. around 1506, Rinpung Donyo Dorje had annexed (at the instigation of “Zhamar Chodrag Gyatso,” which is surely meant to read “Karmapa Chodrag Gyatso,” 1454-1506) a plot of land at Neu (a few kilometres south of

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of a Rinpung garrison in the heart of their territory.* *® The following year, 1480, Donyo Dorje mobilised a large Rinpung army to march on U. Numerous lesser Tsang leaders, seeing that he actively opposed the Neudong throne of the Phagmodru - old patrons and supporters of the Gelug whose power in Tsang the Rinpung had already taken over - allied themselves with Donyo Dorje to swell his army. He was thus able to launch one major military attack to the east of Shigatse against the Phagmodru in U, while launching another attack to the west where his other generals, Jamdagpa Namkha Dorje and Chogyel Norbu and their armies reached and seized North Lato and South Lato respectively - nearly four hundred kilometres west of Shigatse. * ’

Donyo Dorje personally led the assault on U with his deputy Yungpa Tsewang, striking as far as the base and headquarters of Phagmodru at Neudong, as well as

their monastery in the heart of the Yarlung Valley. Dansa Thil. They also expelled people to the east and to the west” from Kazhi, another community with a monastery in the lower Yarlung valley between Neudong and Tradrug?^ The historical background to the attack by Donyo Dorje on Kazhi goes back at least to the time of Rinpung Norzang when Gongma Kunga Legpa ascended the Neudong throne in 1446 and married a Rinpung princess. Norzang had not appreciated the fret that Kunga Legpa only heeded advice coming from the Kazhipa family while ignoring advice from his Rinpung wife, causing discord not only between the king and his queen but also between the Rinpung and the Lhasa, not north) upon which the Karma Kagyu monastery of Sanagma had been constructed. In summary, putting Shakabpa’s contradictions aside, it would appear that taken along with Kapstein’s account and Tuccis, Richardsons account of two Karmapa monasteries being built at different times holds the key to resolve any confusion. Thus, in 1479 Donyo Dorje first caused the monastery walls to be built at Sanagma but they were pulled down '‘by Gelug monks, giving him an excuse to launch his 1480 attack on U. Going forward to the seventh attack, when his Rinpung army captured Lhasa and held it from 1498 to 1517, he was able to complete construction of his Karmapa monastery at Sanagma in 1506, and once again it was destroyed by the Gelug, but only after the Rinpung withdrawal from U in 1517. Donyo Dorje died in 1512, after which the Rinpung grip on Lhasa began to weaken.

• Tuttle & Schaeffer, 288; Tucci, 53b, citing Sumpa Khenpo Yeshe Peljor’s dpap bsam Ijon bzang, 653 ” Shakabpa 2010,277; Smith, 105

Ibid., 273,277, “Kazhi” does not appear oh modem maps and could not be identified exMpt in a passage in Dukula in which the Fifth Dalai Lama mentions his overnight stay at Kazhi en route from Neudong to Tradrug (hardly five kilometres distance) in the rarlung VaUey—see Karmay 2014,251 (Dukula 331).

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Phagmodru?’ A generation or two later this grudge evidently caused Donyo Dorje to make a point of attacking Kazhi during this 1480 campaign against the Neudong. Victorious, Donyo Dorje confiscated Drakarwa estate and Chushur Lhunpotse Castle from the Neudong: he also removed the Neudong deputy minister Konchog Rinchen who had been a rival of his father’s. He befriended the other Neudong

ministers, “putting on the robe of shame, and installed the Chennga Ngaggi Wangchug as the ruler of the throne of Neudongtse Palace. As the Dalai Lama writes in his 1643 “History of Tibet,” Donyo Dorjes mind was “stirred by those who were caught in the noose of the god with flower-arrows - he who was arrogant towards the leader of the world, the Buddha - because they were afflicted in their hearts by the powerful arising of false views and beliefs.” Under this malign influence, Donyo Dorje marched his forces towards the Kyisho Valley and Lhasa, when the learned master of tantric achievement, the all-knowing Khunkhyen Monlam Pel from Ganden Nampar Gyalwa’i Ling invoked Gonpo or Mahakala, the fierce, six-armed protector deity of the Gelug, with a ritual of substantial sacrificial offerings, said to have caused the armies of Donyo Dorje to retreat, twice, “due to the force of other adverse conditions that arose.”“

Third attack -1481 The next attack by Donyo Dorje the following year, also directly against the Lhasa area itself, was equally unsuccessful.” In 1481, with his nominee for the Neudong throne Chennga Ngaggi Wangchug now deceased. Donyo Dorje’s army was beaten back from the Kyisho Valley with the assistance of the Neudong prince Namkha Gyalpo, always faithful to the Gelug.” However, before returning to Tsang and goaded on by the Fourth Zhamar Tuiku Chodrag Yeshe (1453-1524), the vengeful

Donyo Dorje marched on Neudong and vanquished the Gelug patrons Ngagwang Sonam Lhunpo and his son Ngagwang Sonam Namgyal, sending them into exile. He then forcibly altered the entire make-up of the Neudong administration, putting it under his personal control by appointing his own men of the Rinpung dan in all the influential ministerial positions, thereby reducing the Neudong Gongma Kunga Legpa to a mere figurehead.” According to one historian citing

2* Shakabpa 2010,272 “ Ibid., 277, Richardson, 423-424, Kapstein 129, Smith, 105; Ahmad, 127-128

“ Shakabpa 1984,87 “ Tucci, 44; Ahmad, 128 ” Dhondup, 4

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primary sources, the Tsang army was led not by Donyo Dorje but by the Zhamar Tulku himself?® After this raid was over, the Gongma haying ruled since 1446 was deposed by a conference ofNeudong ministers gathered from all over the kingdom to discuss the thirty five years of conflict between Kunga Legpa’s faction and the Rinpung. The deposed king was awarded an estate in compensation and replaced by his nephew the new Gongma Ngaggi Wangpo?^

Fourth Attack -1485 In 1485 the Rinpimg army from Shigatse marched on Upper Tsang, still controlled by the Phagmodru, and tried to capture Gyantse which was ruled by a Neudong minister. The Rinpung king’s generals including Chonggye Rinchen Gyelchog led the Rinpung army up the Nang Chu Valley as far as Nyangto. In response, the Phagmodru military commander Sonam Gyatso led Kyisho and Penpo forces west as far as Shang, the valley to the north east of Shigatse. The outcome is not stated, but it seems to have been a success for the Gandenpa, because the Rinpung were prevented from seizing Gyantse and were forced to return Gyeltsapa and Panam, territories earlier lost to them by the Neudong.^ Note that Gyantse is a key stronghold guarding the southern route between Shigatse and Lhasa.

Fifth Attack - 1488 In 1488, Gyantse, until then still ruled by ministers of the Neudong Gongma, was riven with internal disputes and Rinpung forces from Shigatse attacked and captured it. By taking control, the Rinpung could control the main Southern route between Shigatse and Lhasa - for they were really interested in Lhasa. This attack was part of their strategy after failing, firstly to capture the city in their last two attempts in 1480 and 1481, and secondly failing to capture Gyantse as a sta^g post to Lhasa in 1485.^’

Thttle & Schaeffer, 269 (footnotes 29 and 30 on page 276). Shakabpa 1984.87-88 “ Ibid., 88; Shakabpa 2010,274; Dhondup, 4; Tuttle & Schaeffer, 267 ” Tittle & Schaeffer, 269 (“Monastic Patronage in 15* Century Tibet”); Dhondup, 4-5; Shakabpa 1984,99

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Sixth Attack - 1492 Donyo Dorje invaded U yet again and seized three districts, presumably from the control of the Phagmodru. No further details are provided, nor do we know which districts were captured. However, in the meantime Donyo Dorje had sponsored the building of Yangpachen Monastery in 1490 for the Fourth Zhamar Tulku Chodrak Yeshe,^ in an otherwise isolated area near the head of the Tolimg Valley - but straddling the shortest and easiest route between Shigatse and Lhasa, twothirds of the way from Shigatse and an easy march down the Tolung Valley to the Lhasa area. This short route follows the Tsangpo from Shigatse east, up to the point where the Nanggung Chu discharges into the Yarlung Tsangpo. The Nanggung Chu valley route from here to Lhasa leads north and north-west via Uyug into Nyemo before crossing the Shokgu La pass (5,259m) and descending into the upper Tolung Valley - and Yangpachen Monastery. Thus, as Turrell V. Wylie has observed, all the circumstances and timings point towards Yangpachen Monastery being conceived and created by the Rinpung more as a military staging post, with a view to capturing Lhasa, than as a monastery - for as Wylie points out it does not serve any apparent purpose as a location for a monastery.’^ This followed Donyo Dorje’s recent failure to establish a Karmapa monastery at Sanagma, near Lhasa, in 1479, which the Lhasa Gelug had destroyed as being a potential Rinpung garrison. Yangpachen is located further away and in a less threatening position, but for the Rinpung it served a similar strategic purpose.”

Seventh Attack - and Occupation - 1498-1517 Once the Rinpung seized control of the main routes, both south and north, between Shigatse and Lhasa, and created Yangpachen Monastery as a military base within striking distance of the holy city, Donyo Dorje finally made the seventh military attack in 1498 when he invaded U with a large army and, after his failures of 1480 and 1481, captured Lhasa on this third attempt. The pretext was his anger at the Lhasa administrator for giving an order to execute a prominent citizen, one Depa Nangts6 Khuwon, along with his uncle and nephew, evidently agents or friends of the Rinpung. Depa Gandenpa Namkha Gyelpo and his forces confronted the invading army and a ceasefire favouring the Rinpung forces was brokered by the Seventh Karmapa Chodrag Gyatso (1454-1506), Olkhawa the

"Ahmad, 128 « Tuttle & Schaeffer, 267-272; Dhondup, 5; Shakabpa 1984,88 Ibid., 288; Tucci, 53b, citing Sumpa Khenpo Yeshe Peljor’s dpag bsam Ijon bzang, 653.

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head of the Taglung Kagyu and others;” so not only did the cease-fire agreement provide that the Lhasa administrator Sakyong Ngagwang Lhundrub and his siblings were to be pensioned off and exiled to Kyomorlung Monastery in the Tolung Valley, but also that the Neudong estate of the Phagmodru was ceded to Donyo Dorje who now exercised full political control over Kyisho (the area of the lower Kyichu Valley from Drigung south to the Tsangpo) and the whole of the Yarlung Valley area.’^

Donyo Dorje was now in a position to issue and enforce a decree that lasted for the next twenty years, whereby Gelug monks were banned from running (or even attending) their own Monlam Prayer Festival; he empowered Kagyu-'and Sakya monks to convene it and run it in their stead. Although this tactic was a political measure to avoid the risk of open mass opposition to the Rinpung occupation, this humiliation was a severe blow to Gelug morale since the Monlam festival, initiated by Tsongkhapa in 1409, was the highlight of their annual calendar. Some Gelug historians blame the Seventh Karmapa Chodrag Gyatso for urging Donyo Dorje to issue this ban and have the Monlam performed by Kagyu monks as a sectarian act, but it may only have been Donyo Dorje’s own shrewd political decision.” History repeated itself in 1987 and 1988 when widespread disturbances caused the Chinese authorities, fearful of the impact the Great Prayer Festival would have on political consciousness and anti-Chinese sentiment, to cancel the gathering and the ban remains in place to this day.”

In 1503 the Karmapa, who took personal control of the Monlam, was finally able to build his monastery at Sanagma near Lhasa, although it is said to have been demolished once the Rinpung were driven out. This monastery was called Karma Gonsar Thubten Chokhor and claimed to be “that which overpowers Sera, Drepung and Ganden.”” ■

“ Shakabpa 2010,277. No Wylie transliteration of “Olkhawa” is given by Shalq)abpa. “ Ibid. 267-272; Dhondup, 5; Shakabpa 2010, 277, 290, 294-295; Shakabpa 1984, 88, Richardson, 425; Smith 105 ” Dhondup. 5; Shakabpa 2010,277,290; Shakabpa 1984.88, Richardson, 425; Kapstein, 129-130; Dorje (et al) 2010,18

(

■

36 Dorje (et al) 2010.17 Kapstein, 129-130. M. Kapstein’s source: Bod fcyj lo r^us rags rim g.yu yi 'phreng ba Brief History of Tibet, “the Turquoise Rosary”), p. 551. Authors: Chabpel Tseten

Ogyen. Publisher: Bod Ijongs dpe mying dpe skrun khang (I am e ted to Samten Karmay for kindly providing this information).

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According to Gyurme Dorje in his history of the Jokhang, in 1497, a year before this attack, the Seventh Karmapa Chodrak Gyatso succeeded in founding a temple which he called Karma Cho-de at a place called Thosa Nagma in or near Lhasa. He further notes that during the civil war, apparently that of 1641-1642, "armed monks of Sera and Drepung plundered the Karma Cho-de temple and removed a large, precious silver image of Sakyamuni, which was then installed in the Chapel of the King of the Sakyas on the middle floor of the Great Temple [at the JokhangJ."”

From 1498 and for the next nineteen years, Rinpung forces occupied the Lhasa region, holding the reins of government and keeping most of U province under their control. Although Rinpimg and Karma Kagyu records claim that the Phagmodru and the Gelug in U were shown consideration and that the Karmapa was well received at Gelug monasteries, it is clear from Gelug accounts that these were hard times for them; they continued to be suppressed and harassed to the extent that Gelug monks were ordered to wear Karma Kagyu style robes and red hats - instead of the distinctive style of yellow hats that their founder Tsongkhapa had adopted from Buton Rinchen Drub (1290-1365), the great historian, encyclopaedist and abbot of Zhalu Monastery, out of his huge respect for his forerunner’s work. Tsongkhapa’s followers adopted the yellow pandit’s hat from him in turn and when their yellow hats were banned they contrived to make reversible ones: red inside and yellow outside. When out in small numbers, they turned them inside out, showing the red side to look like Karma Kagyu monks, and when they reached their own monastery, they turned them back to yellow, otherwise if they wore yellow hats in public, they would be harassed by any Rinpung patrols they encountered for ignoring the rules. The Karmapa maintained much more friendly relations with the Nyingma, Sakya, Jonang and other sub­ sects of the Kagyu, such as Drugpa, Taglung - and even with the Drigung, which had resumed its old militancy with raids on Phagmodru territory.’’ However, new rivals to the Rinpung regime appeared early in the sixteenth century, initiating its decline. Donyo Dorje died in 1512 and the same Konchog Rinchen - former Neudong deputy minister deposed by Donyo Dorje as a rival of his father’s in 1480 during the second attack on the Gelug - regrouped his faction, recruited an army and in 1516 rose up against the Rinpung in U, opposing their right to make judicial decisions. The former Neudong Gongma intervened to » Dorje (et al) 2010,19,80 ” Kapstein, 129-130; Shakabpa 1984, 88; Shakabpa 2010, 294-295; Richardson, 425; Kapstein, 129-130; Dorje (et al) 2010,18

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avoid all-out war and an uneasy truce prevailed. Then, in 1517, pressures from elsewhere forced Rinpung forces to withdraw from U and soon the Neudong Gongma resumed his local rule in Kyisho and elsewhere in U and was able to approve the organisation of the Lhasa Monlam by Gelug monks under the spiritual guidance of Gendun Gyatso (1475-1542), later known as the Second Dalai Lama. Not only that, the Phagmodru dynasty, newly re-established at Neudong, resumed its governorship of Lhasa and restored the Gelug to its previous status.' *' ’ At last in 1518 the Great Prayer Festival was at last held again by the Gelug community, presided over by the Dalai Lama and attended by one thousand five hundred monks from Drepung and three hundred from Sera Monastery, in accordance with previous custom. ** In the same year the Gongma granted Gen'dun Gyatso an estate at Drepung Monastery and built a palace for him called the Dokhang Ngonmo, “Bluestone House,” - later renamed the “Ganden Phodrang” - which became the residence of the early Dalai Lamas and remained so until the building of the Potala Palace a hundred and thirty years later. *^ As regards sectarianism in Tibet in general, the policy of suppression of the Gelug from 1498 to 1517 by the Rinpimg regime was more a symptom of fierce political rivalry between the Rinpung and the Phagmodru than of doctrinal differences or of sectarian rivalry between the Gelug and the older sects. The sectarian rivalry between Kagyu and Gelug that certainly followed in subsequent years had its roots in the politically-driven events of this difficult period under the Rinpung and, unless convincing evidence to the contrary can be unearthed, it was not due to any pre-existing condition such as the existence of Tashilhunpo. * ’

Eighth Attack - 1526 A Drigung Kagyu monk turned chieftain or warlord named Gompa Kimga Rinchen led armed forces from Kongpo and Sogha and seized all the Gelug monasteries in the Drigung region, a hundred and twenty kilometres north-east­ east of Lhasa. The Dzongpon or Lord of Neudzong, ** Depa Kyishopa, a Gelug

" Ibid.; Shakabpa 1984, 88-90; Shakabpa 2010, 278, 290, 294-295; Richardson, 425; Smith, 105; Kapstein, 128-130; Dorje (et al) 2010,18 « Dorje (et al) 2010, 59 “ Kapstein, 131 ^’Ibid., 129-131 ** Neu Dzong or Neudzong is the name of the administrative fortress on the left bank of the Kyichu opposite Norbu Lingkha, used by the Phagmodru (now in ruins). See Tuttle & Schaeffer, 267,273

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patron, mobilised a defence force and fought against the Drigung but no known report states whether or when the seized Gelug monasteries were regained?®

Ninth Attack - 1537 Eleven years later, taking advantage of Gendun Gyatso’s absence from Lhasa while at Chokhor Gyal Monastery, the Drigung Kagyu army struck again, intending to attack and destroy Ganden Monastery itself. It swept through the area as far as Kong, capturing another eighteen Gelug monasteries, including Dzingchi and Ona, forcibly converting them to the Drigung Kagyu tradition. On arrival at Olgha, they met resistance from Donyo, probably a Neudong prince or minister of Olgha, who forced them to retreat to Drumda, preventing their further progress towards the goal of Ganden, and so the crisis was averted. *®

Tenth Attack -1553 In 1553, one DondrubGyalpo from Nangso Ganden sent an army to Kyomorlung Monastery in Tolung Dechen, a few miles west of Drepung Monastery outside Lhasa, which had originally been a Kadampa Monastery but was now Gelug. This monastery and its holdings had already been assigned to the prince of Yargyab in Lhokha by the Gongma Chenmo Ngagwang Tashi Drakpa but perhaps this Dondnib Gyalpo felt he had a prior claim. The attack is also associated with a Tsangto Depa who is otherwise unknown. The resulting conflict was very serious, lasting one year and causing the postponement of that year’s Monlam Prayer Festival in Lhasa. * ’

Disturbances of 1560 Widespread sectarian fighting broke out in Lhasa, home of the Gelug, when Karma Kagyu monks and their lay supporters started battling with monks and laymen of the Gelug in public. Other lamas failed to end it, so Sonam Gyatso the future Third Dalai Lama was called upon to remedy the situation and thanks to his charisma and spiritual grace he was able to mediate between the antagonists and halt the fighting, a first indication that he could become a national leader. This was followed by his successful mobilisation of large numbers of both monks and *5 Dhondup, 6 “ Tucci, 44; Dhondup, 6; Shakabpa 1984,92; Shakabpa 2010,295; Smith, 105 *’ Ibid., Shakabpa 2010,296

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lay people to work together in building dykes to stem the seasonal floods of the Kyichu River, a practice which he made into an annual event for monks during the New Year Monlam Prayer Festival.^

Eleventh Attack - 1575 In 1565 Karma Tseten, foimder of the Tsangpa dynasty (1565-1642), captured Shigatse from the Rinpung who had earlier captured it from the Phagmodru. The Rinpung still held many areas including their own heartland, Ro^g Chu Valley to which belonged Rinpung Monastery and Jamchen Zhol. In 1575 there was a military attack on U from Tsang. According to Tucci, the attack came from “the Lords of Tsang in Shigatse ** - no doubt led by Karma Tseten who, according to Tucci, first attacked and defeated the people of Tsang-rong in the Rong Valley (modern Rinpung County, and the Rinpung heartland) and then proceeded east towards U. ** According to Shakabpa, however, it was the Rinpung Chieftain (unnamed) who raised an army of ten thousand of his own Tsang-rong people in the Rong Chu Valley before marching north on the Tolung region and then to Kyisho.5® Whoever’s force it was, it attacked the place called Tolung Galpo?' Assuming the army travelled to Tolung, it camped at Gal (i.e. “the spine”), occupied and destroyed it and then destroyed Jang (“the north”) which is to the north of Lhasa and to the east of Taglung. It then destroyed Mon-ga (“the desirable”) which is mid-valley Tolung, before fighting its way down the lower Tolung Valley, right up to the boundaries of Kyisho.” According to the Fifth Dalai Lama’s biography of the Third Dalai Lama, once at Kyisho the aggressors were turned back by magic rituals just as Donyo Dorje’s army had been in 1480. While trying at this point to defeat Tsangchen Donyo Dorje, a defender of Kyisho, the latter’s uncle Kunzang Tsepa performed a tantric ritual which caused a great storm to arise over the camp of the Rinpung army’s attacking forces with violent winds, thimder and lightning. The leader, whether a*

Dhondup, 6-7; Shakabpa 1984,92 * Tucci, 44-45; Dorje (et al) 2010,18 ” Shakabpa 2010,290,298 This indicates they took the Yangpachen route from Rinpung into Tolung, and although Gal in Tolung could not be identified (Tucci, 45-46) the other places mentioned in Tolung, Jang and Mon-ga (“Mongga” on the map), are all still found in the vicinity as indicated (Tibet maps sheets 2990 and 3091). “ Shakabpa 2010,290,298

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Tsangpa or Rinpung or both, ordered the retreat, saying: “Although I can defeat men, I cannot defeat gods.”®’ Overall, during the lifetime of the Ihird Dalai Lama Sonam Gyatso (15431588) most of central Tibetan territory came under the authority of the kings of Tsang who vigorously espoused the Karma Kagyu order, so, over this period, the Gelug school forcussed its attention on Kham, establishing new monasteries there and forging close links with Altan Khan (1508-1582), leader of the “Right Wing” Turned Mongols.®^

Twelfth Attack - 1605 There followed a gap of thirty years in Tibet, during which the Third Dalai Lama travelled between Mongolia and Kham before dying in the wilderness and reincarnating as a Mongol prince, returning to Lhasa in 1603 as the Fourth Dalai Lama Yonten Gyatso (1589-1617). As a Mongol prince and a Dalai Lama he came accompanied by a large retinue of Mongolian soldiers, causing foreign interference in Tibet that sorely displeased some of the non-Gelug establishment.®® Sectarian hatred soon manifested out of practically nothing when Gelug officials became suspicious of the Sixth Zhamar Tulku Chokyi Wangchug (1584-1629), because the white scarves he offered to Yonten Gyatso and the Jowo Rinpoche at the Jokhang were inscribed with obscure and uninterpretable verses of prayer, whose meaning the officials could not decipher. They decided these were insulting to the Dalai Lama, took offence and sent a strong reply in condemnation. The Zhamar monks then mocked the Gelug officials for being unable to understand poetry, a grave insult in itself. Some of the Mongol troops who had escorted the Dalai Lama from Mongolia became enraged at this and rode out to raid Zhamar Tulkus stables and horses.®® The Tsangpa king Karma Tensung Wangyal (r. 1599-1611) incensed at the incursion of Mongol forces which escorted the Dalai Lama from Mongolia Tuttle & Schaeffer, 279 (and note 1); Tucci, 45-46 Dorje (etal) 2010,18 Mullin, 172-173; SnellgroveSc Richardson, 184-193 Shakabpa is alone in saying that in 1617 (not 1605), due to the Tsang king building a monastery called “Tashi Zilnon” on the hill above Tashilhunpo and harming the monks and buildings of Tashilhimpo in the process, the Mongols raided the Karmapa’s holdings and stole all his herds of cattle (Shakabpa 2010, 327). This account is possibly mis-dated because in Dukula the Fifth Dalai Lama describes the building of the so-called “Tashi Zilnon” Monastery (actual name. Dechen Chokhor) and the harm to its monks and buildings as taking place only in 1638; and Dhondup describes Zhamar Tulku’s (rather than the Karmapa’s) cattle herds being stolen by Mongols in 1605 or thereabouts.

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and then remained in Tibet had been Quietly building up his military forces for several years, and waiting for just such a pretext to attack. He readily unleashed two large standing armies from Tsang and Yargyapa. leading them into U and proceeding to drive out every single Mongol from the Lhasa region and Tibet by means of violent and relentless force. The people of U were overwhelmed and severely punished as the Tsangpa forces seized control of all their territories, castles and estates.^’ Phagmodru officials were removed from their posts and a new Depa installed to administer Kyisho on behalf of the Tsangpa. The king’s military camps in Lhasa and elsewhere were repeatedly raided by Phagmodru from Neudong and their allies such as Zhokarnag, leading to endless skirmishes As a result, in 1605 Kyisho and the Lhasa Valley became territory belonging to and controlled by the king of Tsang, who continued to expand his territories in U and in Tsang in the coming years. Kyisho remained under Tsang’s control for another seventeen years, until the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama - a decade after this king’s death in 1611 - despite repeated attacks by remnants of the Phagmodru and their allies on Tsangpa occupying forces and administrators.^’

Misunderstandings of 1607-1611 In 1607, the Fourth Dalai Lama Yonten Gyatso was invited for a tour by the Gelug monasteries in Tsang. Panchen Rinpoche came a great distance to meet him while the monks of Tashilhunpo lined the streets of Shigatse in welcome. However, his visit was ignored by the new king. Karma Tensung Wangpo, who lived in the Dzong. The Dalai Lama’s officials took this lack of hospitality as a snub that boded ill for their future relationship. A little later, some conciliatory letters from Zhamar Tulku, who was close to the Tsang king but living in Gongkar in U. proposed a meeting with the Dalai Lama which could have resolved such misgivings but sadly the opportunity was lost through the obstructive behaviour of ignorant and bigoted officials of both lamas. Zhamar Tulku, four years the Dalai Lama’s senior,

wrote a message that on the face of it wished the Dalai Lama well, tactfully - or otherwise - encouraging him to study hard, but the officials of the Dalai Lama took grievous offence at this because they considered the Zhamar’s advice gratuitous and even insulting. As a result, his advance, sincere or not, was spurned.®

Shakabpa 1984,97-98; Shakabpa 2010,314; Richardson, 426. Laird. 148; Snellgrove & Richardson, 193 Tucci, 53; Tuttle & Schaeffer, 288 et seq. 5’ Tucci; Tuttle & Schaeffer 288-293 ® Dhondup. 11; Shakabpa 1984,98; Tucci, 52; Tuttle & Schaeffer, 287

1

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

I i

Repeats of these kinds of perceived snubs and misunderstandings led to further trouble several years later when Karma Tensung Wangpo died in 1611 and was succeeded by his young nephew Karma Phuntsog Namgyal (1587-1621). At first, the new king wished to make amends and establish good relations with the Dalai

J I

Lama but his attempts failed?’ The kingly succession occurred when Panchen Rinpoche had sent his senior officer Rapjampa Sonam Dragpa from Tashilhunpo to Lhasa with a confidenti

(

i

message for the Dalai Lama in which Panchen Rinpoche explained that, owmg to multiple sectarian attacks in recent times on the Gelug m Tsang he saw tha certain tantric rituals of purification had become necessary, yet he felt unable to perform these rituals himself in Shigatse. since the king would learn about them Ld would be unhappy and suspicious. He therefore sent a confidential list of the

’I

required rituals with the Rapjampa. requesting the Dalai Lama to facilrta e discretely their performance in Lhasa. They were duly carried out with many signs

I

of success, earning the Dalai Lama the epithet of “Tutob.” meaning magician. s’ Next, the new king Karma Phuntsog Namgyal quarreUed over a succession dispute of which he was the official arbiter with a Drugpa Kagyu lama from R^ung Monastery in Tsang named Ngagwang Namgyal. causing him to flee with his retinue from Tsang to Bhutan. The king then toured the southern borders to supervise a Tsangpa military incursion into Bhutan to punish the offending lama, a mission which failed - like the many others to follow against the same lama. Panchen Rinpoche went there from Shigatse to mediate a settlement and ffie kmg. on his way back to Tsang from the Bhutanese border, toured parts of U and passed through Lhasa, intending to meet and pay his respects to the Dalai Lama. Interestingly, his eighteen year old queen. Ponsa Yargyabma from Wb. had previously attended public teachings and initiations conferred by *0 D^Jai

Lama, and made offerings to him, either in Lhasa or on his 1607 ins.t 1° Shigatse - or both - and thus would be a disciple of his. She would have shared this vuffi her husband and impressed on him her devotion to the Dalai L^a and thus the

king likely would have been open to developing good relations.^

Ibid., 11'12; Shakabpa 1984,98-99 “ Ibid; Mullin, 181; Shakabpa 2010,314-315 « This is the same lama against whom the Fifth Dalai Lama’s first Adminhtrato^ Rabten launched three unsuccessful punitive expeditions into Bhutan, m 1644,1648 and

” Xh 53; Tuttle & Schaeffer. 287, 289-290; Fifth Dalai Lama’s b^^f the Fourth, f.38b; Shakabpa 2010, 309. Note: unlike the other sources cited he ,

P

Prologue

So, on the basis that he was indeed open to developing doser relations if things went well, while in Lhasa, the king approached the office of the Dalai Lama through his representative to respectfully request a private audience with Yonten Gyatso with the purpose of obtaining from him the bestowal of the one hundred root vows of Tsepakme^" and the eight secondary vows of the Long Life Rite - and thus, if accepted, becoming his spiritual disciple - a personal bond much deeper than any political affiliation. Had this been accepted, and had these vows and blessings been conferred on him, the resulting spiritual bond between the king and the Dalai Lama would have created auspicious conditions for the future peace and cooperation between Tsang and U - not to mention for the unification of Tibet with a national, civilian-controlled defence force and separation of church and state. Unfortunately, the same Rapjampa Sonam Dragpa sent from Tashilhunpo with the message from Panchen Rinpoche was still at the Dalai Lama’s office in Lhasa and, since he was a Tashilhunpo official and familiar with the regional politics of Tsang, it seems he was consulted about how best to deal with the king’s request. Tragically for the good of future relations between all concerned, not to mention the future of Tibet as a country, he intervened decisively to block the king’s apparently sincere and well-meaning request, declaring, “Such an arrangement would be unsuitable because the Tsang Governor is an enemy of Buddhism. He should be banished immediately!” There was no one at the Dalai Lama’s office sensible or influential enough to contest the Rapjampa’s fateful ruling and, as a result, the young king was sent away, deeply hurt and humiliated. From that moment on, he bore an irredeemable grudge against the Gelug which, over the coming decades - and, indeed, the coming centuries - had dire repercussions on both the internal peace and the international status of Tibet.“

Thirteenth Attack - 1610 By 1610, regional and sectarian fighting fragmented Central Tibet 'with rival parties constantly at war ■with each other, especially so when Karma Kagyu followers from Tsang and Gelug supporters from U confronted one another. Monasteries and fratricidal nobles vying for power were constantly at each other’s throats. In Lhasa, during one such extended skirmish in 1610, anti-Gelug fighters

describes Ponsa Yargyabma here as the mother of Karma Phuntsog Nameyal, rather than his queen.

“ Tibetan name for Amitayus. the Buddha of Infinite Life c. « ’^hondup, 12; Mullin, 198; Shakabpa 1984, 98-99; Shakabpa 2010, 314-315; bnellgrove 8f Richardson, 193; Tucci. 54

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

JDCCVi

attacked Drepung Monastery at a time when the Fourth Dalai Lama was in residence: according to one account, he fled to safety, probably east to Chokhor Gyal Monastery. Such clashes were a regular occurrence.®’' Tucci’s account says that in 1610 the Phagmodru raided Tsang-controlled Kyisho Valley, causing the Tsang ruler to retaliate in force and secure full control over the whole of U, enabling him to declare himself “King of Tibet” for the first time. Tucci also says it was at this point, not in 1607, that the Tsang king asked for vows and blessings from the Dalai Lama and was refused, causing him to be so incensed as to attack Drepung with such violence that the Dalai Lama fled. The Drepung monks then sought the mediation of the Taglung Zhabdrung, as well as asking their Gelug

Mongol followers for help.®®

Fourteenth Attack -1611 Next, in order to maintain tight control of the Lhasa Valley, Karma Phuntsog Namgyal attacked and defeated the prince of Yargyab, the region of his wife’s family on the southern side of the Yarlung Tsangpo between Gongkar and

Tsethang. He then marched his army on Lhasa, threatening the Gelug monasteries themselves, which were saved only through the intervention of the future Fifth Dalai Lama’s mentor, lama and guardian until the age of twenty one, Konchog Chophel of Yargyab (1573-1646), the Tri Rinpoche, already celebrated for his great erudition and greatly respected on all sides. Konchog Chophel, whose biography was later written by the Fifth Dalai Lama, managed to mediate a cease­ fire and avert further destruction.® He eventually became the Fifth Dalai Lama’s master and senior tutor and was known as the Lingme Zhabdrung.’® Another account says the king brought one army from Tsang and another from Yargyab to attack the Lhasa Valley, expelling all remaining Mongols in the region.’*

Fifteenth Attack - 1616-1617 The Tsang ruler was tirelessly expanding his territory and carrying out his hegemonic plans. His armed forces conquered and trampled on all patrons of the

Laird, 148-149 “ Tucci, 53-54; Tuttle & Schaeffer, 288; Snelling & Richardson, 193 “ Ibid., 54; Tuttle & Schaeffer, 288-289,298-299; Snelling & Richardson, 193; Karmay 2014,11,18,69,190 (Dukula 87,250) ™ Karmay 2014,46,62 (Dukula 52,76) Mullin, 180-181

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Gelug, especially the Phagmodru, wherever he found them in Central Tibet. By 1611 the whole territory of Kyisho had been brought under his control and in 1616 the Phagmodru at Neudong were finally forced to surrender completely, so most of the territory in U and Tsang belonged to the king. From the popular point of view, by now most of U supported the Gelug - supporters now including the now weak and leaderless old nobility, led by the Phagmodru. Meanwhile, an increasing number of Mongols, driven out and banished from Tibet by Karma

Tensung Wangyal in 1605, had been quietly returning in small groups, infiltrating the Lhasa region and re-establishing themselves as Gelug patrons and supporters. At the same time, the Tsangpa were finally cutting loose from the disempowered Phagmodru, becoming more associated with the militant Kagyu and assuming the antagonistic Kagyu position towards the Gelug. The old aristocracy of both Tsang and U looked down on the Tsangpa as being non-aristocratic in origin, and held back their support but lacked unity: they remained a weak and disparate force.” The Tsangpa consolidated their rule in this period by ramping up sectarianism, suppressing the Gelug supporters, closing their monasteries, forcing conversion to the Karma Kagyu and confiscating property. The remaining Gelug monks found themselves under ever-increasing pressure. According to one source, in 1617 the monks of Sera and Drepung supported by two thousand Mongols who had infiltrated the area attempted an armed uprising against the occupying forces; they were crushed and massacred by the Tsangpa military, their monasteries sacked, with the survivors fleeing north to seek refuge at Taglung Monastery.” Other historians, however, say these events happened in 1618 (see below).Ihen, early in 1617 Yonten Gyatso the Fourth Dalai Lama who had come to Tibet from Mongolia, died suddenly, aged twenty seven.’* One source alleges that he may have been poisoned in order to remove an embarrassing foreign connection because he was a Mongol andBScoming far too popular in Tibet,” but he is usually said to have died from a sudden rheumatic attack at Drepung.” However a quick check on any reliable medical website reveals that rheumatism and rheumatic fever are not fetal diseases especially for young people and even if left untreated patients normally recover naturally within two months. He would also have the best doctors in Tibet at his disposal. Without going into too much detail here the usual symptoms of a rheumatic attack - fever, rash, rapid heart rate, ” Tucci, 55-56; Tuttle & Schaeffer, 289-293 ” Kapstein, 134-135 ’* Mullin, 182

Richardson, 388, citing the Russian Buriat explorer Tsybikov in the early 20'’’ century. ” Dhondup, 12

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xxxviii

convulsions and suchlike - also resemble the kinds of symptoms incurred with common types of poisoning. Therefore the reason suggested for his death is not a credible one.

Sixteenth Attack - Uprising and Military attack of 1618 In a crushing blow to the Gelug, the Tsangpa king Karma Phuntsog Namgyal issued a decree banning the search for the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation. The prohibition of the rediscovery of this leading and most beloved Gelug lama was a long term-measure, designed to most effectively undermine the Gelug, although one historian says the king believed that the Fourth Dalai Lama Yonten Gyatso had cursed him and destroyed his health; he further asserts Panchen Rinpoche cured him of this malady and then asked him to lift the ban, which was done.’’ In any case, as long as the ban was in force, the Gelug paid it lip-service in public while resisting it in private. It angered governor of Kyisho and Gelug supporter Sonam Namgyal so much that he sent the precious statue of Avalokiteshvara from the Jokhang as a gift to two Khalkha Mongol princes, imploring them to come to Lhasa with their followers and help free the Gelug from the oppression of the

Tsangpa - an invitation to which they readily agreed.’® In the absence of a Dalai Lama, the king had already raised, armed and mobilised his forces and was keeping them on standby for any opportunity to take vengeance in blood for the grievous insults and humiliation he had suffered in Lhasa in 1607. When the Khalkha Mongols arrived and were joined by the militias of local nobles, and when Gelug monks in Lhasa started arming themselves to resist his ongoing occupation of the region, he ordered his well-trained troops to attack Drepung and Sera, indiscriminately slaughtering monks and lay people by the thousand and looting and destroying whatever they could of their monasteries and their contents. His commander Depa Kurab Namgyal was also ready to lead his own armies from Dagpo and Kongpo into the fray and join the carnage. The immediate outcome was that, once again as in 1605, the Mongols were all killed or expelled from Tibet and returned to Mongolia; the surviving monks and lay people fled north through the hills towards Amdo, seeking refuge at Penyul and at Taglung, the Kagyu monastery a hundred kilometres to the north which always maintained good relations with all parties. Many other captured Gelug monks were forcibly converted to Kagyu under pain of death and others were placed

under harsh restrictions. Large military bases were established in Lhasa to ” Kapstein, 135 ’®Dhondup, 13

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blockade Drepung and Sera monasteries, controlling the entry and exit of monks and blocking the main route, basically putting the city under martial law and military occupation. Lesser Gelug monasteries were converted to Kagyu institutions, all the estates in the Kyisho region were captured and the Governor Kyisho Choje and his son fled to Kokonor.^ Such was the situation in Lhasa in 1618 when Sonam Rabten, later to become the first Administrator, first became engaged at the age of twenty-three in the Gelug struggle for survival. It was just as he began to wield significant influence inside the Gelug administration that the Gelug started seeking to resist external oppression. The detailed chronology of this and how the struggle evolved continues with his biography, starting with his birth in 1595, up to this point in 1618 and onwards. It is hoped that this background material will provide the reader with useful historical context through which to view the momentous lifetimes of Sonam Rabten and the “Great Fifth” Dalai Lama.

” Ibid.; Richardson, 426-427; Smith. 107; Mullin, 189; Shakabpa 1984,100; Shakabpa 2010, 327-328. Shakabpa’s account is somewhat garbled and although he draws it from Dukula he takes different elements from different times. For example, on page 327 he describes the Tsangpa building Tashi Zilnon Monastery on the hill above Tashilhunpo in 1617 and Dhondup repeats the same claim on his page 14. According to Dukula page 192, however, this event took place 21 years later in 1638 (Karmay 2014, 147) although the name Tashi Zilnon is not mentioned. Shakabpa is alone in saying that Mongols then retaliated by stealing all the Karmapa’s herds of cattle—an event which Dhondup (page 11) refers to, perhaps, as a Mongol raid on the Zhamar Ihlku’s stables and horses in 1605 or ereabouts (see above, attack #13). It is possible that both raids took place as described, hht”^^^^^f appears to be corroborated by any other published English-language

Administrator Number One ,

Depa Sonam Rabten (1595-1658)

Name variants: Zhalngo; Sonam Chophel; Awu; Nangso Abar; Chandzeu Sonam Chophel; Desi Sonam Chophel; Depa; Depa Sonam Chophel; Sakyong Sonam Chophel; Gy^e Chodze; Gyalo Chodze Sonam Chophel; Zhalngo Tashi Sonam Chophel; Zhalngo Tashi. * Sonam Rabten was born in 1595 at Gyal6 in Tibet’s Tolung valley to the west of Lhasa? One of his forebears was “king” Sayi Tshangpa of Gyal^, Palden Gyatso, who had served as principal attendant and hereditary tutor (phyagmdzodgu shriP

* The number of different names a Tibetan is known by, and the titles he is given, indicate his importance. Titles “Depa,” “Desi” and “Sakyong” during this period were interchangeable for “chief administrator,” “ruler” or “prime minister,” although “Depa" was also a more commonly used and general title for lesser, secular positions such as chieftain, governor or the head of a clan. Here, for our three main subjects we shall employ the capitalised term of “Administrator” for this title, as used by Z Ahmad in his translation of Sanggye Gyatso’s Dukiila Volume IV. Note that the official title of “Administratr” does not come into play until the Ganden Phodrang government was established in 1642 with Sonam Rabten assuming the position. Yamaguchi, 26 (note 5); Karmay 2014,3 ’ Tuttle & Schaeffer, 285 and 297, note 26: “gushri” here is derived from the Chinese “guoshi” originally meaning "dynastic preceptor’; and “phyag mdzod" means principal attendant, henceforth given as “Chandzeu.” 1

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

to both the Third and the Fourth Dalai Lamas? This ancestry explains how Palden Gyatsos descendant Sonam Rabten came to hold the same position at such an early age, such appointments normally being hereditary or going to the next of kin, as we shall see in the case of the second Administrator. By 1603 he had been enrolled as a novice monk at the great Gelug monastery of Drepung just west of Lhasa. At the monastery he was called at first “Gyale Chodze” or the Chodze from Gyale.^ “Chodze” indicates a “monk-sponsor” - one whose family makes a substantial donation to the monastery, exempting the novice from menial duties allocated to unsponsored monks. Thus, he was from a reasonably prosperous family.

He started out as a junior monk-administrator (“Zas shc”) at the Ganden Phodrang, the palatial residence at Drepung, built around 1518 for Gendun Gyatso (1475-1542), later identified as the Second Dalai Lama) by his disciple the Phagmodru Gongma or king, Drakpa Jungne. This building was first called Dokhang Ngonmo, the Blue Stone House, and became the residence of the early Dalai Lamas at Drepung until the Fifth Dalai Lama built the Potala Palace in the late 1640s. It exists to this day in its original form.® The earliest mention of Sonam Rabten is in the Fifth Dalai Lama’s biography of the Fourth Dalai Lama Yonten Gyatso (1589-1617), where he is listed as a Ganden Phodrang Chodze among the welcoming party greeting Yonten Gyatso’s historic arrival from Mongolia in 1603.^ The next reference in the same biography appears in 1613, when he was responsible for the funeral service for Chozang Trinle, Yonten Gyatso’s late Chandzeu {phyag mdzod bla ma) or Principal Attendant. Then aged eighteen, Sonam Rabten succeeded Chozang Trinle as Yonten Gyatso’s Chandzeu and continued in this role till the death of the Fourth Dalai Lama four years later.® At the same time he became Treasurer {mdzod pa) or the senior official of the Ganden Phodrang, thus emerging as one of the senior administrators in the Gelug order while still a teenager.’

■** Yamaguchi, 26 (note 5), drawing from the mChodyon nyi zla zunggi khrimsyig (ff. 6b-7b) preserved at the Toyo Bunko (Tibetan Noncanonical Works, No. 444) ®Karmay2014, 3 * Karmay 1998, 509; Richardson, 447; Mullin, 112; Dowman, Keith.1988. 7/je PowerPlaces of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim’s Guide. Routledge & Kegan Paul. London & New York, 67

Ngag dbang bio bzang rgya mtsho (1652), 27b • Yamaguchi, 4-5 (Gyatso 46a5-6) ’ Karmay 1998,509; Richardson, 447; Shakabpa 1984,101

Administrator Number One: Depa Sonam Rabten

The same biography of the Fourth Dalai Lama records that just after Yonten Gyatsos death early in 1617, Soham Rabten, then aged 22, met Panchen Rinpoche, now known as Panchen Lama Lobzang Chokyi Gyaltsen (1570-1662), who was on his way to Ngari, Western Tibet. He had to pass through Shigatse, three hundred kilometres west of Lhasa in the province of Tsang, and journey on the southern bank of the mighty Tsangpo River. Although Panchen Rinpoche was the Abbot of Tashilhunpo Monastery, built on a hillside at Samdrubtse - now called Shigatse - by the First Dalai Lama, there was now a risk of armed conflict breaking out between the leader of Tsang and the Gelug establishment in U. Concerned about

the opposing power of Tsang threatening Panchen Rinpoche’s safety on route through to Ngari at a time of sectarian and regional strife, Sonam Rabten tried to dissuade him. Panchen Rinpoche responded by discussing an obscure Nyingma prophecy that Mongolians would invade Tibet and suggested that the late, oncepowerful Yonten Gyatso could have prevented such a thing.^'’ This referred to the time a few years earlier when Yonten Gyatso prevented a major conflict: a large force of Mongolians under Pon Khorloches two sons, Lhatsun and Hung Thaiji, had marched into Tibet intending to attack the Tsangpa and all the non-Gelug schools; to avoid bloodshed the Fourth Dalai Lama forcefully ordered them to desist, and they had obeyed.* ** Panchen Rinpoche still hoped for peace in Tibet and before leaving he exhorted Sonam Rabten to work towards it. *^ But it was not to be: Yonten Gyatso’s sudden, unexpected death emboldened the fifth king of the Tsangpa dynasty, Karma Phuntsog Namgyal (1587-1621), who resided in the great Dzong or fortress called Khamsum Zilnon * ’ (“Dominating the Three Realms”) at Shigatse, to adopt a more aggressive policy. He quickly mobilised his forces in response to local resistance against his military occupation of Lhasa and in 1618 launched. a new wave of attacks and captured most of the rest of U. *^ A modern Tibetan historian also refers to Panchen Rinpoche’s departure to Ngari, but he presents it as happening in the following year - 1618 instead of 1617 - as the Rinpoche “seeking asylum from the bitter fighting on the excuse of going on pilgrimage to the sacred Mount Kailash” in Western Tibet. *’ *’ Gyatso 1652, f.50a-b; See also the Prologue, "A Historical Context,” military actions numbers 15 and 16. "Shakabpa 2010,316 *' Gyatso 1652, f. 50a-b ” Karmay 1988,9 ** Kapstein, 130-134 ’’Dhondup, 13

3

The Search for the Fifth Dalai Lama, 1618-1619

As Yonten Gyatsos principal attendant - his hereditary role - Sonam Rabten would have taken primary responsibility for initiating and managing the search for the reincarnation immediately after the Dalai Lamas death and, according to the same modern Tibetan historian, this is exactly what he did. Described in this role as “courageous and cunning,” he determinedly sent out search parties to explore different parts of Tibet, looking for signs and potential candidates.'^ Helped by the usual clues and indications from oracles of the spirits consulted according to the tradition, his efforts led him relatively soon to the eventually confirmed candidate.In 1619, he received, positive indications concerning an

exceptional two-year-old boy called Kunga Migyur from Chonggye born towards the end of 1617, who was soon confirmed as a serious contender for the reincarnation - probably using the lama “tagcho” (“mo") divination system - by the two senior-most lamas of the Gelug at the time, Panchen Rinpoche and the thirty-fifth Tri Rinpoche Jamyang Konchog Chophel, also referred to in the literature as Lingme Zhabdrung (d. 1646), who will henceforth be referred to as such in this biography.'® These two lamas were to become the two most important teachers of the grown-up Fifth Dalai Lama; Lingme Zhabdrung is later described as his chief tutor, making him senior to Panchen Rinpoche. It was Lingme *®Dhondup, 14-15

Karmay 2014,43-44 (Dukula 48-49 - Lhasa Edition); Richardson, 447 '• Dhondup, 14-15; Shakabpa 2010,331; Shakabpa 1984,101; Karmay 2005,97 5

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

Zhabdrung who first had the idea to construct the Potala Palace on Marpori, the Red Mountain, as a fortress for the central administration in Lhasa, it would replace Gongkar, felt to be too distant,even though the Phagmodru considered Gongkar to be a most important location, “like a central point connecting U and Tsang” which would bring misfortune on Tibet unless held by the Phagmodru, “so it must never be surrendered’?® Lingme Zhabdrung in 1644 urged the renowned scholar Jamyang Wangyal Dorje Mondrowa who belonged to the Jonang tradition to write the Dalai Lama’s

biography “A Most Pleasing Symphony”^* When in 1667 the Dalai Lama was eventually persuaded to write his own biography, he made use of Jamyang Wangyal Dorje Mondrowas notes, to cover his life up to the age of fifteen.^^ Also styled “the

Mondro Lotsawa,” he became the Dalai Lama’s teacher of Sanskrit and astronomy as well as Buddhist subjects in the Tibetan Tripitaka.^’ So Jamyang Wangyal Dorje Mondrowa knew the Dalai Lama personally and, according his biography, this two-year-old boy Kunga Migyur, confirmed as a serious contender by Panchen Rinpoche and Lingme Zhabdrung, was subjected to an object-recognition test without delay. Mondrowa writes that Sonam Rabten immediately visited his family home at Chonggye in great secrecy, taking with him a number of the late Yonten Gyatso’s personal belongings - his samta-boards,^

his vajra and bell and his porcelain bowls - so as to submit the less-than two year old candidate to a private recognition test in his family home. The boy passed the test without any difficulty, as attested in two other English-language histories, both of which also state that Sonam Rabten on return to Lhasa secretly informed Panchen Rinpoche “and another lama” - probably Lingme Zhabdrung - requesting them to see the child themselves, which they did. Both were fully convinced that this was indeed the Fourth Dalai Lama’s Tulku.^® As mentioned in the Prologue to this biography, the king of Tsang, before launching his all-out assault on U, had first of all penalised the Gelug community severely by issuing a decree to outlaw the search for the Tulku of the recently

” Karmay 2014,182 (Dukula 239) ® Ahmad, 124 Karmay 2005,95,97; Karmay 2014,182,193 (Dukula 239,254) “ Karmay 2014,20 (Dukula 17) Karmay 2005,97. This refers to the text called the Bodhisattvavadana-kalpalata “Samta boards” are traditional, recessed wooden writing boards that were lightly oiled and dusted with ashes to be written on with a pencil-shaped piece of wood and later wiped clean to be re-used again and again, rather like slates and chalk. “ Karmay 2005,103; Dhondup, 14-15; Shakabpa 1984,101

The Search for the Fifth Dalai Lama, 1618-1619

deceased Fourth Dalai Lama “ As long as this official ban on the search for the Tulku was in force, the public recognition process was put on hold and the whole procedure was carried out in secret. In 1618, the Tsangpa, Dagpo and Kongpo forces, responding to armed resistance and uprisings by local and Mongol militias in the Lhasa area against their occupation, continued to plunder and wreck Lhasa’s Gelug monasteries, particularly Drepung, killing thousands of monks and laymen and forcing survivors to flee to the north?’ All the local, Gelug-sympathetic Kyisho nobility’s estates were seized; the Lhasa valley governor and his son had to flee to Tsokha - Kokonor Lake in Amdo - and lesser Gelug monasteries, if not destroyed, were forcibly converted to Kagyu.“ f A little later in the same year of 1618, during a lull in the fighting when the Gelug and their allies seemed to have been crushed, the king publicly crowned the thirteen year old Tenth Karmapa Choying Dorje (1605-1674) as spiritual leader of all Tibet. Thus, religious consolidation under the leadership of the Karma Kagyu order, combined with suppression of the Gelug, became established Tsangpa policy.^ This assault of 1618 was the sixteenth significant military attack on the Gandenpa,’® the Gelug and their royal patrons the Phagmodru that had been carried out by various aggressors since 1434. Such attacks had occurred regularly ever since the Gelug had for various reasons first started gaining disciples, followers and patrons early in the fifteenth century, but this was the first time such an attack was provoked by an armed uprising on the part of the Gelug, together

2®Karmay 1998,506; Pommaret (Samten Karmay), 67; Dhondup, 13-14; Kapstein, 135 Shakabpa 2010, 328; Shakabpa 1984, 100; Richardson, 426-427; Mullin. 196; Dhondup, 13; see also the Prologue. “ Shakabpa 2010, 327-328; Shakabpa 1984,100; Dhondup, 13; Richardson, 426-427; Smith, 107; Mullin, 189; *111001,55-56 (although Ihcci alone dates these events in 1616) ” Kapstein, 135. Kapstein (pages 134,135) says that the assault of 1618, the systematic suppression of the Gelug and the crushing of the Phagmodru were all implemented by Karma Tenkyong (1606-1642) who was only twelve and did not succeed his father tmtil 1621, so it maybe a simple error of name. Even in 1621, at fifteen, Karma Tenkyong was considered too young to rule without supervision of two senior ministers, nanglon Dronyer Bongong and chilon Gangzugpa (see TUcci, 58). This is confirmed in Karmay 2014,47 (Dukula, 53) where the author notes that in 1621 when new king Karma Tenkyong was sixteen “he appeared to have little power,” being managed by chamberlain "Bonggongwa,” home minister and Zugpone Vaba (Ganzug), foreign minister. “Gandenpa,” the followers of Ganden, was the name by which the students of Tsongkhapa were known until the late fifteenth century when the name "Gelug” was coined and adopted.

7

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Fifth Dalai Lama

with its ally the Phagmodru. Until 1618, the Gelug had always managed somehow to negotiate cease-fires - and its own survival - and to minimise the damage without resorting to violence or military means to defend itself. A separate list of these preceding attacks is given in the Prologue to provide historical background that explains the desperation driving Sonam Rabten, as the eventual administrative and political leader of the Gelug, to resort to the military option, not only to defend the Gelug initially against its political enemies but also to ultimately eliminate nearly all these enemies once and for all. This largely successful effort is generally acknowledged as the foremost feature of his life’s work.’’ A fresh outbreak of war occurred in 1618, chiefly because the Gelug Mongols and Gelug militias under the command of the local nobility, including the Phagmodru, had begun to attack the royal Tsangpa officials established in Lhasa along with their forces since their progressive occupation of the area from 1610. The forceful Tsangpa response of exacting harsh reprisals to these 1618 uprisings soon escalated into general conflict and an all-out war of retribution which continued intermittently until its resolution in 1621. Note that in 1618 the king’s

forces were combined with additional forces from outside Tsang: two armies, from Kongpo and Dagpo to the east of Lhasa, that were jointly commanded by his then staunch ally Depa Kurab Namgyal (Kurabpa), whereas in the subsequent denouement in 1621 along with the terms of the peace agreement, historians only mention the involvement of the king’s own army from Tsang itself since by then he had fallen out with Kurabpa.’^ In 1619, though, as part of a temporary ceasefire negotiated by the Taglung Choje, Ngagwang Namgyal (1571-1626), one account describes how Sonam Rabten, being the Ganden Phodrang Treasurer, Was held responsible for arranging payment of a ransom of three hundred pieces of gold in exchange for the return of the two main sacked monasteries near Lhasa to Gelug control - two hundred pieces of gold for Drepung and one hundred for Sera - and charged with delivering the gold personally, under escort, to Shigatse, west of Lhasa. Claiming that both monasteries’ funds were already exhausted, Sonam Rabten proposed to collect the gold from the Dalai Lamas’ alleged secret reserve at Chokhor Gyal, a few days journey east. Sonam Rabten evidently had little intention of paying the ransom if it could be avoided, because soon after leaving Lhasa in that direction, he gave his

Please refer to the Prologue to this biography. » Karmay 1998,506; Karmay 2014,35,41 (Dukula 36.45-46); Shakabpa 2010,327-331 and 375 note 23; Shakabpa 1984, 100; Dhondup, 13-16; Kapstein 134-136; Tucci, 55-56; Tuttle & Schaeffer, 289-293; Richardson, 426-427; Mullin 189; Smith, 107

The Search for the Fifth Dalai Lama, 1618-1619

escort the slip, left the mairt road and escaped northwards towards Mongolia via Nyangto and Kongpo,^’ most probably on horseback.’* After travelling north, Sonam Rabten reached Amdo and met in the Kokonor region some Mongol chieftains already converted to the Gelug, asking them for military assistance for the Gelug to drive the Tsangpa forces out of U. He received promises of support by two senior Mongol generals who undertook to raise an army and follow him back south to Lhasa.”

This account is confirmed by separate evidence in “Dukula,” the Fifth Dalai Lama’s autobiography - our most reliable and prolific chronological source on the lives of all first three Administrators - because the first mention of our subject’s name by the author of Dukula comes in 1621 when, the Dalai Lama writes, Sonam Rabten took up residence at the Ganden Phodrang, but only after the defeat of the Tsangpa forces occupying Lhasa and their surrender to the Gelug and their new Mongol allies.”

” Shakabpa 2010, 328; 375, note 3. The reference to Nyangto is not understood since this place-name refers to myang stod or the Upper Nyang valley which is in Tsang and very for from any route from the east of Lhasa to Amdo via Kongpo. It might, however, refer to the Nyando Chu near Nang on the south bank of the Yarlung Tsangpo to the south of Kongpo Gyamda, where there is also a pass towards Menling and Nyangtri in the east called the Kongpo Nga la. See Tibet Map sheet 2993, sector C; but even this would be a long way around for Sonam Rabten to travel from Chokhor Gyal direction to Amdo.

Richardson, Hugh. 1993. Ceremonies ofthe Lhasa Year. London: Serindia Publications, : No Tibetan official was ever seen in public except on horseback accompanied by several mounted servants.” ^Kapstein, 135-136 ” Karmay 2014,46 (Dukula 52)

9

Confirmation of the Fifth Dalai Lamas Discoi^ery, 1621-1622

As soon as Sonam Rabten reappeared in Lhasa, the final confirmation process of the Dalai Lama’s next reincarnation which had been on hold since he left for the north, also resumed in earnest, confirming that, as the Chandzeu, Sonam Rabten was the key person in the procedure. Although he makes no explicit connection between the two events, the Dalai Lama implies in Dukula that Sonam Rabten’s return to Lhasa coincided more or less with the arrival of two thousand fresh Mongol troops, with the same leaders Guru Hung Thaiji and Lhatsun Lobzang Tendzin Gyatso, coming from the same direction - a decisive event turning the tide of the ongoing war between jsang and U and between Kagyu and Gelug.” There are conflicting reports concerning the ban allegedly placed by the Tsang king on the search for the Tblku of the Fourth Dalai Lama after he died in 1617.

According to one historian, king Karma Phuntsog Namgyal issued this decree not only because he felt he had been snubbed by the Fourth Dalai Lama in 1607 or thereabouts, but also because he thought he had been cursed and this him chronically iU. The same historian says that Panchen Rinpoche, after managing to cure the king of this accursed illness, persuaded him to withdraw his ban and

officbk r" deleeati

k

51). These two Mongol princes were represented in Lhasa by their Choje and Dharma Khiya Thaiji who Joined the Tibetan

11

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

allow the search for the Fifth Dalai Lama to proceed?® This account, however, is unique and does not agree with any other historical accounts of the ban. One account, by a Bhutanese historian, which does not mention any such ban, says that the king and some of his family, rather than being cured of any illness, died in 1621 of smallpox that was brought down upon them through a curse from another opponent of his -uttered by the Drugpa lama Zhabdnmg Ngagwang Namgyal (1594-1651) from Ralung in Tsang who, under threat of arrest by the king over a succession dispute and connected problems, had recently - in 1616 - left Tibet for exile in Bhutan. This account adds that the Tsangpa court kept this 1621 death a secret until 1624.” A third account states that the king, having indeed issued the ban, was killed by a rheumatic attack and not by any curse, without the lifting of the ban. This last version further adds he was then succeeded in 1622 by his teenage son Karma Tenkyong Wangpo - and that the Tulku recognition process then took its course - the father’s decree apparently put aside or conveniently * forgotten. ’ A similar account, without referring to a ban, says that the king’s death and his succession by his son in 1621 calmed down the political situation between U and Tsang so much that the discovery of the reincarnation could openly be proclaimed the following year.^ * Finally, yet another account says the search was indeed forbidden by the king, but was not renounced by the Gelug, and that eventually Panchen Rinpoche persuaded the king to lift the ban; after which, official envoys were immediately sent to request the court for official recognition of the Tulku.^’ After comparison, and considering the approximate date of the death of the king and the other events and their timings, this last version appears to have the fewest inconsistencies with other evidence and seems the most likely scenario. We have already seen how this king was difficult and aggressive by nature, making many enemies and antagonising many of his friends and allies." For such a proud monarch to have fallen from the conquest of practically all of Central Tibet in 1618 to the loss of most of it apart from his native Tsang within three years must have been a crushing blow to his self-esteem and morale; the king’s early death aged thirty four might also have involved psychological elements. More research is needed, since the actual date, cause and circumstances of his

” Kapstein, 135 ” Phuntsho, 219-220 ■“ Dhondup, 16 « Karmay 1988,7 " Karmay 1998,506-507; Pommaret (Samten Karmay), 67-68 " Richardson, 427; Shakabpa 2010,330; Karmay 2014,45 (Dukula 50)

«

I

Confirmation op the Fifth Dalai Lama’s Discovery, i62i>i622

death, as a king, must surely have been recorded by some Tibetan historian, but no such text dealing with this properly has yet come to light. At the same time, going back to the question of a ban, six other well-known

histories originaUy in English or in English translation, all of which cover the period’s relevant events and the discovery of the Fifth Dalai Lama in some detail, including Dukula itself, make no mention of any such ban being imposed or lifted by king Karma Phuntsbg Namgyal or anyone else.^ Ihe last mention of this king in Dukula is in 1619 or 1620 when he gives permission for Kunga Migyur - the stiU-unchosen. secret candidate later nominated as a candidate for Fifth Dalai Lama - to stay at Nakartse Castle with his mother and his uncle. This was after the king had changed his mind, after

discussion, about ordering the boy and his mother to be brought to his court in Shigatse." This was also after the father of Kunga Migyur, Hor Dudul Rabten - the governor of Chonggy^ and once an aUy of the king - had fallen foul of Karma Phuntsog through a complex set of circumstances that wffl be examined later, and had been imprisoned by him, never to be freed again.* *^ Thus deprived of her husband, the Dalai Lama’s mother, Tricham^ or Kunga Lhadze« by name, kept the chUd with her and for the next year and a half they stayed with people close to them at Nakartse Castle and at Taglung while the feet that the son, Kunga Migyur, was a potential Tulku candidate was stffl being kept a very close secret. * ’ The death of the Tsangpa king. Karma Phuntsog. is not referred to anywhere in Dukula but in 1621 Sonam Rabten resumed the recognition process to identify the Fifth Dalai Lama covertly, until, after information that the king had died was leaked, it was considered safe to let the public know that the Fifth Dalai Lama had been selected and his identity would soon be revealed. MeanwhUe, during the absence of Sonam Rabten from Tibet since 1619. many ofthe Mongol soldiers expelled during the 1605 military attack had been graduaUy filtering back into Tibet in the guise of pilgrims. They had been Yonten Gyatso’s

original escort from Mongolia to Lhasa in 1601-1603 and they stiU retained their proprietary interest in him - and his successor. The Gelug monks discretely ** Dukula; Tucci, 1949; Shakabpa, 1984 and 2010; Mullin; Richardson, 447. ® Karmay 2014,44 (Dukula 49) Karmay 2005,102 Ibid., 44 (Dukula 49) Karmay 1998,506 * Karmay 2014,45 (Dukula 50) “ Ibid., 43-46 (Dukula 47-56)

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

14

welcomed them back to the Lhasa area as champions of their cause. It is not clear whether they were drifting back to Lhasa of their own accord> or at the behest of

their leaders, or encouraged by Sonam Rabten who was travelling in the opposite direction to Kokonor where some Mongol tribes had their favourite pastures, but on reaching U they camped at a respectable distance from Lhasa and stayed there? Any issues arising from the occupying forces in Lhasa finding their presence objectionable, for the occupiers were naturally wary of Gelug Mongol soldiers, were lessened by the occupiers’ complacency and by the disagreements not only

between the Tsangpa forces based in Lhasa and Karmapa group, but also between Karmapa and Zhamar Tulku’s followers - the “Red Hats” and “Black Hats.” The king’s aggressive and disagreeable nature led to quarrels with his own generals, officers and other chiefs, rulers and allies including Depa Kurab Namgyal from Dagpo, the leader of the Phagmodru at Nedong in the Yarlung Valley and his own maternal uncle, Yargyapa - not to mention his former friend Hor Dudul Rabten, the Fifth Dalai Lama’s own father - and all these internal struggles were a distraction from his real enemies and also drained any moral, material and

popular support for hismilitary campaigns, disconcerting everyone all the time. So the Mongols were left in peace in their countryside camp, as long as they kept

a low profile and did nothing objectionable; due to this prolonged inactivity, it became a standing joke in Lhasa that the Mongol campers were "too many for a

gang ofbandits and too small for an army”; but historians say they were maintaining discrete contacts with fellow Mongols enrolled as monks at Drepung, who kept them informed of what was going on behind the scenes. Most likely, they were awaiting the return of Sonam Rabten to Lhasa having raised another force of Mongol troops from Kokonor, which they would have heard through th< underground Gelug rumour mill®’ , Many Mongols would have felt drawn into the conflict because of the large number of Mongol monks studying at all levels in Gelug monasteries both gregt and small; they aU had families, clans and tribes behind them, so for the Tsangpa to attack and destroy those monasteries and slay the monks indiscriminately, as they had done in 1618, would have angered the untold numbers of Mongols throughout their homelands. Drepung Monastery, the abbot of which had so recently been the Mongolian Fourth Dalai Lama Yonten Gyatso himself, had

probably suffered the most of all. Within Drepung, Yonten Gyatso’s own residence

5* Shakabpa 1984,100-101 S’ Richardson, 427; Shakabpa 2010,329-330; Karmay 2014,45 (Dukula 50)

» Shakabpa 1984,100-101

Confirmation op the Fifth Dalai Lama’s Discovery, 1621-1622

of Ganden Phodrang was particularly hard hit, an especial insult to all Mongols - with honour calling for severe retribution.^ When Sonam Rabten did return to Lhasa from the north in 1621, his mission had indeed been successful as he was followed by another army of two thousand Mongol horsemen led by two senior Mongol generals, Lhatsun Lobzang Tendzin Gyatso. reputedly a descendant of Chinggis Khan, and Guru Hung Ihaiji. Presumably they linked up easily with the Mongols in their camp and were re­ supplied and reinforced by local Gelug resistance militia. Without warning, they launched a devastating cavalry charge against the unsuspecting Tsangpa military base at Kyangthang Gang (“the Ridge of the Plain of the Wild Asses”) in Lhasa, taking the much bigger army of ten thousand Tsangpa foot-soldiers by surprise. After several days of bitter fighting the Tsangpa, unable to cope with Mongol cavalry, were forced to retreat in disarray to Chagpori where they found themselves surrounded by the Mongols, the Phagmodru and the Gelug, without any supplies at all and completely at their mercy. The Mongol generals then started planning how best to wipe them out: through starvation and thirst, by raining bullets and arrows down on them or by more cavalry charges; or a combination of the three.“ Whether the youthful fifth Tsangpa king Karma Phuntsog Namgyal, born in 1587, was still alive at this point or whether he had already died, and if so whether he died of sickness or had been killed in battle, and whether he had already been succeeded by his teenage son Karma Tenkyong or not, is unclear. While the year of his death is variously given asl620,1621,1623 and even as 1631 and 1632,the

consensus most consistent with other factors points to 1621, a date given in both Bhutanese and Tibetan historical sources. He was an enemy of the Bhutanese leader, Zhabdrung Ngagwang Namgyal, and he and his successor invaded Bhutan three times, in 1616, 1634 and 1639, each time unsuccessfully.^^ Some say his death could have resulted from a curse put On him, his entire family and his descendants by the Zhabdrung, a claim mentioned above with regard to the same king’s ban on searching for the Dalai Lama’s Tulku. The date of 1621 for the king’s ^Mullin, 189-190 “ Ibid., 46 (Dukula 51); Shakabpa 2010, 330-331; Shakabpa 1984,101-102; Dhondup, 2010^5^^’ Kapstein, 135-136; Ihcci, 58; Richardson. 427; Dorje (et al)

i

biography of Dordrak Rikdzin Ngagi Wangpo that he found, Shakabpa 0.333) tries to contend that Karma Phuntsog’s death did not occur until 1631, but he

explain why Karma Phuntsog is not mentioned in any histories after ; nor why other major histories consistently refer to his son Karma Tenkyong as the rulerm the intervening decade. Shakabpa 2010, 317; Aris, 212; Phuntsho, 218,227-228,229-232

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

death is to some extent confirmed through the existence of a threatening letter that the Zhabdrung wrote to him in about 1618. translated and analysed by the modern Tibetan historian Samten Karmay, whose investigation concluded that the king and his entire family “died of smallpox on a military campaign against the Mongols in 1621 about three years after the letter was written.” This military campaign against the Mongols” can only refer to the Lhasa battle described above. As if to emphasise the efficacy of the alleged curse in eliminating even the king’s descendants, Karmay adds “His successor Karma Tenkyong Wangpo (1606-1642) was captured in 1642 by the Mongol and Gelug troops in the Samdrubtse castle and later put to death. He was the last Tsang Desi.”^® Thus in 1621. with an impending massacre of the Tsangpa fighters by Mongols at Chagpori, aU histories covering the event agree that a small group of influential lamas, following the Tibetan tradition of avoiding war through peaceful compromise mediated by respected religious figures, came to their rescue by

negotiating a ceasefire, plying the bloodthirsty Mongol generals with generous gifts while begging them to refrain from mass killings of the exhausted Tibetan troops. According to Dukula. Panchen Rinpoche. Lingme Zhabdrung, Tshultrim Chophel the thirty-second Ganden Tripa and representatives of the Taglung Zhabdrung Ngagwang Namgyal all came together and drafted terms allowing the Tsangpa troops to escape the massacre and go home in peace; under the circumstances the Tsangpa had no other option but to agree. They were obliged to abolish their military bases in Lhasa, withdraw their armies from U, hand over the confiscated Ragmen territories including Lhasa to the Ganden Phodrang and return the seized estates of Drepung and Sera; they also had to relinquish Gelug Monasteries that had been forcibly converted to Kagyu or Nyingma. along with all

their estates; and the Depa of Kyisho was to be given the Khartse territory in Phenyul to compensate him for the loss of Dechen?’ In summary: Sonam Rabten. once the Fourth Dalai Lama’s principal attendant, had successfully identified the next reincarnation in secret by 1619, then he had

been captured and humiliated by the victorious Tsangpa forces who made him arrange a ransom in gold for captured Gelug monasteries, but within two years he had single-handedly outwitted them and. against aU odds, brought about their devastating defeat. When he had escaped to Amdo. a lonely fugitive leaving almost

the whole of the province of U in the iron grip of Tsangpa military occupation, Karmay, “The Arrow & the Spindle” (2014) Vol. Ill, Part III, Chapter 11. pp. 167-179, especially page 172; Phuntsho, 219-220 5’ Karmay 2014,46 (Dukula 51); Shakabpa 2010.330-331; Shakabpa 1984,101; MuUm, 189-190.196; Tucci, 58-59; Dhondup, 15-16; Kapstein, 134-136; Dorje (el al) 2010,19

Confirmation of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s Discovery, 1621-1622

17

Sera and Drepung monasteries had been pillaged and wrecked, their monks had been massacred, driven away or forcibly converted to Kagyu and the old Phagmodru authorities had been removed from power and replaced by Tsangpa martial law administrators. When he returned in 1621 he had a small but powerful force of Mongol fighters in tow; shortly thereafter the Tsangpa occupation forces had been crushed and forced to surrender to save the lives of their ten thousand troops, accepting whatever humiliating conditions were offered. Now, the architect and organiser of this astonishing reversal of fortunes was ready to return to his position as senior administrator at the Ganden Phodrang - and to continue the delicate task of overseeing the new Dalai Lama’s recognition process. This resumption of duty by Sonam Rabten was yet another condition that the Tsangpa were asked to accept and, of course, they could offer no objection. It is also unlikely that the Tsangpa asked him about the gold ransom.^” In fact, Sonam Rabten’s return to his residence at the Ganden Phodrang is casually mentioned - without comment - by the Fifth Dalai Lama in Dukula, and it is no wonder that at this point in his autobiography, in 1621, he honours him with the title “Zhalngo” for “leader,” by which he continues to refer to him until

1642; and so shall we.®* This cease-fire or peace agreement of 1621 was a humiliating defeat for the Tsangpa, but at least they succeeded in preventing the utter destruction of the bulk of their army. One historian contends that this let-off was a deliberate ploy of the Tibetan lamas, who secretly feared they could not ultimately trust the Mongols to remain faithful to the Gelug. They felt it wise to maintain a majority of the Tibetan fighting forces intact - though Tsangpa, at least they were Tibetans - as partial insurance against future betrayal by their Mongol allies, especially since at this stage the Gelug did not have an army of its own.“ Now there was pressure on the Gelug to resolve the Dalai Lama reincarnation issue by formally confirming the Tulku through public announcement. As far as the public knew, not only was Kunga Migyur only one of three strong candidates for Dalai Lama, but the Karmapa order had lost a lama called Gyaltshab Drungpa and the Drugpa Kagyu had lost their Lama Lhatsewa in 1616 as well. Thus, Kunga Migyur, being a well-liked candidate from a well-connected and aristocratic family with impeccable antecedents was also being considered by both the Karma

“ Karmay 2014,46 (Dukula 51); Dhondup, 16 ®* Ibid.; Dhondup, 16; Karmay 2005,97 renders the honorific title “Zhalngo” as “leader.” “ Tucci, 58-59. This observation is borne out by later remarks in Dukula about the vulnerability of a Yarlung Tsangpo ford at Tanag, which looked as if it could be too easily crossed by attacking Mongol hordes; see following account.

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

Kagyu and the Drugpa Kagyu for recognition as Tulku of either of these high lamas « Even the Jonang order felt it had a claim on him as one of theirs, of which more to follow." Iherefore, the two senior-most Gelug lamas. Panchen Rinpoche

and Lingme Zhabdrung met to decide the best course of action. To avoid angering the king, they must have hesitated to reveal that in defiance of his ban they had already searched for. identified and confirmed Kunga Migyur in secret. After discussion they decided to break with tradition by drawing lots to test the three candidates for Dalai Lama in front of the sacred statue of Jowo Jampel Dorje'’' at Radreng Monastery in Jang, north of Lhasa, using the ‘clough- ball" method, while pretending no prior decision had been made." The two lamas and attendants therefore went to Jang with the three boy candidates for Fifth Dalai Lama. Sure enough and presumably to their great relief,

the dough-ball lottery performed in front of the statue clearly pointed to Kunga Migyur from Chonggye and all those present were convinced and satisfied he was the one.®’ Next, three delegates were chosen, presumably by a recognition committee consisting of Panchen Rinpoche, Lingme Zhabdrung and Zhalngo (previously

referred to as Sonam Rabten). to go without delay to the royal court of Tsang to obtain royal approval for their choice. The delegation was dispatched under the pretext of a diplomatic mission sent by Panchen Rinpoche." who always maintained good relations with the Tsang authorities since his monastery of Tashilhunpo was in their domain. It was led by the Ganden Phodrangs monk­ spokesperson and negotiator. Sangye Sherab of Tshawa, known to all as the Kachuwa.”" The other two envoys chosen to accompany him were, rather

« Karmay 2014,43-44 (Dukula 48) « Karmay 1998,506; Tucci, 57-58 Dorje, 177. This refers to a famous and sacred solid gold statue of the meditational deity Jowo Manjuvajra at Radreng (Reting) Monastery, 45 cm high, which was the principal meditative object of Atisha. said to have been formed from the union of the primordial Buddha Vajradhara and his consort. “ This involves writing the candidates’ names on slips of paper which are enclosed in small balls of barley dough of exactly the same size and weight; the balls are then spun around in an urn by a lama, before a sacred statue, faster and faster, while uttering mantras and so forth, until one of the balls flies out: the name inside this ball indicates the correct candidate. Karmay 2014,46 (Dukula 52); Tucci, 57-58

« Pommaret (Samten Karmay), 68 ® “Kachu” is a title for a senior monk official who has completed his studies, similar to “Geshe” and the equivalent of a Geshe degree attained at Tashilhunpo; it means, literally.

Confirmation of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s Discovery, 1621-1622

intimidatingly for the Tsangpa, the chief officials of the two Mongol generals who had so recently defeated -• and been on the verge of annihilating - the king’s massed Tsangpa army in Lhasa: Dharma Khiya Ihaiji representing General Lhatsun and Jinpa Dargye the Chone Choje, representing General Hung 'Ihaiji/® First, however, before seeing the king in Shigatse, the Kachuwa decided he would go to Nakartse Dzong to meet Yardrog Zhabdrung - Tricham’s brother and thus uncle and now guardian of Kunga Migyur - to negotiate the payment normally due to Nakartse Dzong for the recognition of a Tulku within its jurisdiction and for his release to the Ganden Phodrang. The Tulku had already been living at Nakartse Dzong for a year and a half under the Zhabdrung’s guardianship. Yardrog Zhabdrung was kind and had treated Kunga-Migyur well and on equal terms with his own two well-mannered princes, sitting all three according to age together at meals. He was never sad, the Dalai Lama writes of him decades later, like the man in the proverb; “If happy, even the birds in the sky come round; if sad, even one’s own son goes away?’ In Dukula, the author, writing in his fifties, says these were his first memories, living at Nakartse at the age of four; everything before that had been told him by others.’’ Naturally, as a man of principle the Zhabdrung would not have wished to profit from the presence of his family guest at Nakartse Dzong. However, when the Kachuwa explained why he had come, he tried to avoid the issue, passing all responsibility to the king in Shigatse. Kachuwa replied that if this were to be so, then as far Drepung was concerned, the Zhabdrung would become entirely responsible for every detail of the care and safety of its primary Tulku, “even if he catches a slight cold!” for however long it would take for the king to make a decision. At this, the Zhabdnmg had second thoughts. While readily promising to look after the Tulku - as his own nephew, he pointed out that he was doing this anyway- he declared that whatever anyone’s status or attainments might be, and regardless of appearances, he was happy to support anyone.” Kachuwa inferred from this that the Zhabdrung was not only accepting responsibility but also generously waiving the payment; something which would have been ejq^ected

“One Who Has Practiced the Ten Austerities.” This Kachu {dka‘ bcu) came from Tshawa and is therefore called “Kachuwa” for short. ” Karmay 2014,46 (Dukula 52) Ibid,, 45, 47 (Dukula 50, 53) ” Being “happy to support anyone” whether good or bad, high or low, thus combining the Buddhist principles of compassion and equanimity towards others, entails the rejection of doing so for material gain, causing Kachuwa to understand that the Zhabdrung was politely declining to demand a fee for release of the Tulku.

19

The Fifth Dalai Lama

20

anyway. The Zhabdrung was neither a cunning nor a deceitful man, comment the Dalai Lama in Dukula. while also praising the Kachuwa as a most capable

person of the Ganden Phodrang.” . The delegation then went on to Shigatse to request permission at the kin^s court. The new king was Karma Tenkyong Wangpo, aged sixteen. He had little power, but since two of the delegates were Mongols from Amdo. hts ministers Bong-gongwa and Gangzug took them for naive inhabitants of the borderlands who could easily be manipulated.’’ After further discussion with the Kachuwa. however, they gave permission for the Tulku to be recognised and approved to go to Drepung for education, rather than being kept under Tsangpa control at Shigatse - on which they had hoped to be able to insist Ganzug at first suggested

that since Panchen Rinpoche had already performed the hair-cutting ceremony for the boy. he should stay near the Panchen at Tashilhunpo. in case of need. He then expansively promised every possible facility for the Tulku. saying We wiU receive him with the salute of precious ornaments, just as when the camp o Karmapa and his entourage arrive!” The Kachuwa dismissed aU this, saying; “Drepung will do for him. When Panchen Rinpoche is needed, we can invite him by ourselves. We. the Gelug. never spent our lives being received with the honour of the precious ornaments - not for our great men in the past, nor shaU we stMt doing such things in the future.” To this, the ministers had no answer and the

discussion came to an end,’^

” Karmay 2014.46-47 (Dukula 52-53). I am gratefiil to Michael Richards for his Mnd advice and assistance in interpreting this difficult passage. Mso. MuUui. 191-192. >G enn H Muffin interprets this passive as concerning a tax required by the king of Tsmg for *e recognition of the Hilku. This tax. he indicates, should have been assessed md from *e monastery by the uncle, the Yardrog Zhabdrung. on behalf of the king. He says the uncle, without consulting the king, approved the Tulku’s recognition, and approved for him to go to Drepung without its paying the king’s tax. He also omits my reference to the next passage in DukCda describing the delegation visitmg the king m Shigatse m order to

negotiate the Tulku’s recognition and so forth.

Ibid., 47 (Dukula 53) ” Ibid 47 (Dukula 53-54). Shakabpa 2010,331 interprets these two meetings m a yery different way. He says that as Kachuwa and Panchen Rinpoche had not gone to Nal^e to offer recognition to the chUd. they had to ask permission from the Tsangpa. The fang being young (writes Shakabpa). thinking they could outwit the ministers they told them that^tte Tulku would have to be kept at Tashilhunpo to be educated at the Panche Rinpoche’s side, and they pretended the Tsangpa would have to make extensi« preparations requiring a lot of resources; in this way they skilfiilly obtamed permission ,

take the Tulku to Drepung.

Confirmation of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s Discovery, 1621-1622

21

According to biographer Jamyang Wangyal Dorje and others, the king, or the court of Tsang, only recognised the Tulku so easily because of psychological pressure felt through the presence of the Mongol officials, rather than from any wish on their part to improve political relations with the Gelug.” The decision to confirm Kunga Migyur as the Fifth Dalai Lama apparently caused great disappointment to the great Jonang practitioner, scholar and historian Tagten Ihlku Kunga Nyingpo (1575-1634), also known as Taranatha, who founded the main monastery of the Jonang order, Tagten Damcho Ling in Lhartse, upper Tsang, in 1615. Having been a close friend of the Dalai Lama’s family, Tagten Tulku had helped to arrange tlje Dalai Lama’s parents’ marriage and had known the child since birth, even giving him his birth name of Kunga Migyur.’’’ One' historian says it can be safely assumed that after all this, he and his Jonang order had hoped and expected to be able to adopt this promising Tulku as one of its own, rather than seeing him join the Gelug. When the Gelug delegation was going to Shigatse to obtain the royal permission, Tagten Tulku is said to have remarked, rather obscurely, to the king and his ministers “The outbreak of fire cannot be extinguished by fire, the escape of water cannot be stopped by water; the strategy to prevent the rise of this prince of Chonggye is too weak.” The biographer Jamyang Wangyal Dorje remarked that after the child had been given the royal assent, Tagten Tulku must have felt alarmed and disappointed with himself for having said such a thing.’® The Fifth Dalai Lama in Dukula clarifies this anecdote in the context of an ongoing struggle for royal influence in Tsang between the “Black hat” Karmapa and the Jonangpa, each of whom, he thought, was vying to prevent the other from becoming the favoured lama of the king. He similarly reports in Dukula that Zhamar Tulku of the “Red hat” Kagyu offered valuable gifts to the king, as well as a turquoise earring shaped like a flower petal, amongst other things, to minister Ganzug - while suggesting that he should impress upon the king that preventing the royal government from taking control over the Dalai Lama was a more important goal than settling other pending disputes, such as the awarding of landed estates to the Karma Kagyu. These examples show the extent to which, these rivals feared the Dalai Lama might gain influence over the king, to their own detriment, should he be kept in Shigatse. Their behaviour, comments the Dalai Lama in retrospect, was “like the lives of the crow and the owl: always in conflict,” ” Karmay 2005,103; David Snellgrove & Hugh Richardson, 1986: A Cultural History of Tibet..Shambhala Publications Inc., Boston & London, 194 ” Ibid., 101 Karmay 1998,506; Karmay 2014,9; Karmay 2005,102-103

22

The Fifth Dalai Lama

and “This was a fight between two dogs that turned out to the divine advantage of the beggar” - in other words, he saw himself as the beggar, without any stake in the situation, but profiting from the rivals’ struggle by being allowed go to his own place in Drepung to enjoy his freedom and independence, spared the childish jostling for influence going on between the rivals at the royal court in Tsang?’ The Dalai Lama notes in Dukula that the delegation including the Mongol officials and the royal escort crossed the Yarlung Tsangpo at the ferry point below Tauag, the ford or ferry point about thirty kilometres west of Shigatse. Here, the Mongols, led by Dharma Khiya Thaiji, pointed out to the royal officials that the ford was too easy to cross and, unless something was done about it, marauding Mongol hordes from the north could easily surge across en masse if they wished to invade central or southern Tibet. While the royal officials pretended to be uninterested in this observation at the time, in reality, wrote the Dalai Lama, they were terribly worried about the danger of Mongol warriors from the borderlands. This passage confirms the strength of Tibetan fears of Mongol betrayal, as we saw in the context of the Lhasa peace treaty recently concluded between Mongol, Gelug and Tsangpa. Considering Zhalngo’s future involvements with Mongol and Tsangpa armies, this was evidently a serious consideration rather than merely

Tibetan paranoia.®*’ From the young Tulku’s induction into the monastery, Zhalngo and the Kachuwa would be jointly responsible for his upbringing and general education, although his main religious tutors would be Lingme Zhabdrung and Panchen Rinpoche. Zhalngo and the Kachuwa were soon sent some interesting advice from a great scholar of Menthang called Kudun Lhundrubpa, mainly to endorse the choice that had been made. He wrote, “The Zhabdrung of Chonggye makes no fuss whether he eats meat or turnips, so he is very flexible; therefore, [the Thlku] being the son of Chonggye, it is sure that no mistake has been made in his selection.” He added a word of warning, though, that “There were no Tulkus of the Buddha, nor were there any of Tsongkhapa. A bad Tulku brings shame on his predecessor and therefore he must be brought up appropriately.”®’ For the time being, however, the young Dalai Lama was to be kept with his family at Nakartse Castle and, after obtaining the king’s permission, the Kachuwa

” Karmay 2014,48 (Dukula 54) Ibid., 47 (Dukula 54); Tucci, 58-59. The purpose and direction of the journey, and why the group was travelling to the west of Shigatse, is not explained, unless the delegation was being taken on a tour of Tsang; it had come to Shigatse from Lhasa via Nakartse, to the east and south, and this journey is being taken in a westerly and northerly direction.

Karmay 2014,48 (Dukula 54-55)

Confirmation op the Fifth Dalai Lama’s Discovery, 1621-1622

23

came to visit them with the good news, accompanied by an official of the royal court called Lhokupa. It was now possible for the Tuiku, in his fourth year, to be subjected to a more public object recognition test, but apparently the Kachuwa, shrewd as ever, left nothing to chance. According to the Dalai Lamas own account in Dukula, this second test appears to have been, for him at least, a meaningless charade. Kachuwa, he writes, showed him in private - without other witnesses various images and rosaries, “but” he says, “I could utter no words to, recognise them.” Then when Kachuwa went out of the room to convey this to those said to be waiting outside, the boy heard him declare “I am absolutely convinced that he recognises the objects.” He then recalls that later, during his studiep, Kachuwa would scold him, saying “You must work hard, since you were unable to recognise the objects!”®^ Nevertheless, it should be recalled that he was only four years old and for events before he reached the age of fifteen he had already recorded in the introduction to Dukula that he had relied on others’ notes rather than on his own memory.®’ In addition, according to the way Tibetan Buddhists hold these beliefs, given that Tulkus’ memories of their previous lives are said to fade as they grow up from infants into children, it is feasible that in 1619 he could still remember the objects that Sonam Rabten had put before him but by this time, 1621, his memories of his previous life had gone. The 1619 recognition test, secretly carried out by Zhalngo at Chonggye, took place when the child was only two, an age when, according to the same beliefs, the child’s memories of a previous life would still be relatively clear.^ However, although a substantial proportion of biographical material compiled by Jamyang Wangyal Dorje was re-used by the Dalai Lama in Dukula, this description of Zhalngo’s recognition test as recorded by Jamyang Wangyal Dorje - and confirmed in two other modern histories by Tibet^®’ - does not appear there. This version might have been omitted by the Dalai Lama from Dukula due to his predilection for modesty and self-effacement, especially in regard to his spiritual attainment, as is apparent to the reader of Dukula. The Dalai Lama in Dukula makes light of this self-confessed failure to pass the test - as he does with all mystical signs and so forth that others took as miraculous confirmation that he was a genuine, enlightened Tuiku. When, for example, he recalls in Dukula a deaf servant holding up a drum for him to beat, and acting as if he were making cake offerings when he was a small child at Nakartse, and how “Ibid., (Dukula55), Karmay2005,103 “ Ibid., 20 (Dukula 17) Karmay 2005,103 “ Dhondup, 14-15; Shakabpa 1984,101

24

The Fifth Dalai Lama

observers had gasped in amazement, exclaiming he had karmic traces of the Third and Fourth Dalai Lamas who used to carry out tantric rituals, he mocked them, saying: “If all the children who played like I did were Tulkus, there would be a great number of them!”®® On another occasion, in his fifth year, looking down the road from Nakartse Castle in 1622 for the Gelug lamas and officials coming to escort him away to his new life at Drepung monastery, he heard an attendant standing near him remark "Panchen Rinpoche is not yet in sight.” When the Rinpoche did appear, the boy exclaimed, as any child might, “Oh, the Panchen is so late!” He then noticed with bemusement, and notes it in Dukula, that people near him reacted as if he had complained, “He came so late to recognise that I remember my previous birth!”®^ Jamyang Wangyal Dorje’s biography of the Fifth Dalai Lama is by no means a hagiography®® and after the usual introduction it gives a basically factual account of the main events of the Dalai Lama’s life up to 1644 which generally correspond to Dukula. The Dalai Lama, who requested the biography to be written, is said to have used the work as one of his many sources for Dukula - in which he acknowledges having received the biography from Jamyang Wangyal Dorje in 1647.®’ On the other hand there are certain differences between the two versions, such as the accounts of the recognition test just described. Some other events which do not appear in Dukula are described by Jamyang Wangyal Dorje, for example he records that before the young Dalai Lama left his family’s castle at Nakartse to start his monastic life at Drepung Monastery at the age of five, he also left a wonderful imprint of his foot upon a rock.’® Another example in Jamyang Wangyal Dorje’s biography not found in Dukula is the assertion that Zhalngo was the reincarnation of Emperor Songsten Gampo’s celebrated General, Gar Tongtsen (590-667). Gar Tongtsen was the “Great Minister” who served Songsten Gampo in establishing the Tibetan Empire and who also went to Nepal and China to escort back to Tibet the respective princesses offered as brides to the Emperor. This reincarnation claim is made by Jamyang Wangyal Dorje on the rather flimsy basis that since both the Emperor and the Dalai Lama were said to be emanations of Avalokiteshvara, therefore it should follow that their respective “great ministers” (Lon chen) must be reincarnations of the same person. Although the reviewer of Jamyang Wangyal Dorje’s biography Karmay 2014,48 (Dukula 55) Ibid., 48-49 (Dukula 55-56) Karmay 2005, 98, 99 Karmay 2014,211 (Dukula 279); Mullin, 192 Karmay 2005,102

, 1

f

CONBIRMATION OF THE F FTH D LAI L M ’ DISCOVERY, 1621-1622 i

a

a as

25

dismisses the claim as fatuous and his own invention since it does not appear elsewhere, when one considers Zhalngo’s main claim to fame, the reunification of Tibet under the Fifth Dalai Lama, it bears comparison to Gar Tongtsen’s role in establishing the first Tibetan Empire exactly a thousand years before.’^ However, compared with Jamyang Wangyal Dorjes words of high praise of Zhalngo’s almost divine pedigree, it is quite clear from Dukula - and this is an element that is missing from Jamyang Wangyal Dorje’s version - that the Dalai Lama’s appreciation of Zhalngo’s work is generally less enthusiastic than Jamyang Wangyal Dorje’s, since he was dominated and sometimes bullied by this powerful personality who brought him up as a father from the age of five. Also bear in mind that Jamyang Wangyal Dorje’s biography was written and published when the fearsome Zhalngo was at the height of his powers and probably overseeing or even editing his writing on the Dalai Lama, so the author would be very keen to keep in his good books. From time to time in Dukula the Dalai Lama expresses how Zhalngo made him feel frustrated and how, even after attaining adulthood, he was rarely allowed to do anything without Zhalngo’s approval. He describes how on

various occasions, some of them quite important, he disagreed with Zhalngo, arguing with him robustly and complaining about him to his readers. As the Dalai Lama grew older and became more confident and assertive, Zhalngo would sometimes defy his orders and requests - even to the extent of deceiving and manipulating him. There are also occasions when the Dalai Lama confesses to having lied to or otherwise deceived Zhalngo when determined to get his way; so this happened on both sides and between two evidently strong and stubborn characters. Thus, in the end, little personal praise for Zhalngo comes from the pen of the Dalai Lama in Dukula; yet it is also clear that the author strives to be honest in describing his own faults and shortcomings as well as those of others of concern to him. The reader feels that as Zhalngo grew older and less dynamic - finally dying in 1658 - the Dalai Lama was somewhat relieved to be able to assert himself to a greater extent, to be freer of Zhalngo’s dominating influence, which he at times found oppressive, and gradually able to take more control over Tibet and his own destiny as the years passed.’^ Returning to 1622, when the Dalai Lama was about to be taken away from his family to Lhasa, the Kachuwa first showed him how to give individual hand-

” Ibid., 104

There are multiple references in support of these general observations which will become clear to the reader in the course of this and the accompanying biographies. The mam point made here is simply to point out a fundamental difference between Mondrowa’s iography of the Dalai Lama and his own autobiography.

IYib Fifth Dalai Lama

26

blessings to the crowds of people greeting him en route. Then Panchen Rinpoche^ his retinue and others escorted the five-year-old from Nakartse Castle on the road north towards the capital. Eight kilometres short of Lhasa, by Atisha’s famous Tara temple at Nyethang in Kyime (the lower Kyichu valley) he was met by Zhalngo, Treasurer of Ganden Palace, who led all the dignitaries of Drepung and.Sera and their patrons in greeting him with ceremonial scarves. This is only the second recorded meeting between the Dalai Lama and Zhalngo, the first being the recognition test held by Zhalngo at Nakartse three years before. It was the twenty-; fifth day of the second month of the Water-dog year (the fifth of April, 1622) when’ they arrived at Drepung, “the great religious community being the unique, ornament of the Snow Land” to a procession of monks and a crowd often thousand onlookers, in the midst of which was the oracle possessed by the King Spirit

Nechung Chogyal, who came forward to welcome him.” ' When Kunga Migyur, now called Lobzang Gyatso was installed aged five at. Drepung as the Fifth Dalai Lama, it was the twenty-seven year old Zhalngo, head administrator of the Ganden Phodrang, who became his Chandzeu, Manager and. Principal Attendant, responsible for his upbringing, management and safety. It is normal practice for an important lama’s Chandzeu to exercise more or less total control over his charge in childhood and often to maintain such control long afteti the lama’s maturity, dominating him and running all his affairs, as Zhalngo did. In the case of the lama’s death, the Chandzeu is in charge of the search for his* reincarnation, as Zhalngo was when the Fourth Dalai Lama died. The Chandzeu^ controls funds and property and is referred to as the “Treasurer.” He takes care of

public relations, deciding who can have an audience and who cannot; he organizes, the lama’s travels, accommodation, building and publishing projects and all of tfte lama’s family affairs as well as his engagements, including his private and publicteachings.’^ By all accounts, Zhalngo coordinated all such work with consummate

skill but this is not to say there were never any differences between him and hjs charge - on the contrary, as the Dalai Lama grew up, the pair had a number of

disagreements, of which we will examine some of the principal instances. i A month after his induction into Drepung Monastery, on the first day of the. extra third month of 1622-1623 the hair-cutting ceremony was performed on the five-year-old Dalai Lama by Panchen Rinpoche and as a novice monk he wa< given the ordination name of Lobzang Gyatso. Finally installed at the Ganden Phodrang, Zhalngo assumed overall charge over him and called upon a suitable monk, Gelong Ngagwang Chogyal, to be his first teacher and his daily companion. -------------------------------------------- » Kannay 2014,49 (Dukula 57); Sanggye Gyatso Dukula vol. 4.256; Mullin, 192 Mullin, 198-199

z’! , ,

*

Confirmation of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s Discovery. 1621-1622

The Dalai Lama found the gelong to be untiring and thoughtful and life became calm in his company. When the time came for his mother to leave him at the institution he bade her goodbye and heard her tell the Kachuwa that he was calm and'should have no problem staying at the monastery, adding “Though he is young, he likes meat and is keen on beer. Take care of him!” Someone replied, sternly: “There will be no beer in the monastery!” After that, it never occurred to him to drink beer?^ Within two months, however, a complex political problem arose in Lhasa involving Depa Apel the Kyisho Zhabdrung,®® the Mongols and Zhalngo, with the Dalai Lama the innocent bone of contention. The governor did not trust any Tibetan officers in his domain. To defend his personal interests he depended entirely on the Mongol leaders Lhatsun and Hung Thaiji, sons of Pon Khorloche, whom Zhalngo had recruited in Amdo with their armies to expel the Tsangpa from U the previous year; in the meantime they had become the governor’s personal friends and allies. Depa Apel, writes the Dalai Lama, had broken his spiritual relationship with the Fourth Dalai Lama Yonten Gyatso and was ‘consumed by fear of Tibetans working under him, including Zhalngo; he imagined they might harm him like small pebbles underfoot which can spring up when trodden on and hit one on the forehead.” He was also irrationally fearful of the lang of Tsang, saying that “if he cannot be stopped at the Gampa La pass,’’ I will be unable to stay in Tibet.”®® However, the Dalai Lama, having grown up and spoken to witnesses years later and examined the notes made at the time by people like Zhalngo, he realised - and he explains this in Dukula - that if these Mongols had decided to return home, then Depa Apel would have felt so insecure that he would have abandoned his ■post and left the region. While he, Depa Apgl, believed, or imagined, that if peace between Tsang and U continued, he would gradually lose his political authority, he also thought that if there was a war, his real ambition was to lead the Mongols to fight the king of Tsang to his own political advantage. Finally, the crux of the problem was that Depa Apel also calculated that ifthe Dalai Lama could somehow be taken to Mongolia it would enable him to provoke a war with Tsang, lead the Mongols against the king and thus fulfil his destiny.” »Ibid.. 51-52 (Dukula 58-59) * This is the title of the Lhasa Valley Governor The Gampa La (or Kampa La) is a major pass on the main southern route between Shigatse and Lhasa. located in between the Yarlung Tsangpo and the lake Yamdrok Tso. * Karmay 2014,52 (Dukula 59-60) ” Ibid., (Dukula 60)

27

28

The Fifth Dalai Lama

Hoping to stir up trouble for his own purposes in this way, Depa Apel cunningly persuaded Lhatsun and Hung Thaiji to formally and insistently invite the Dalai Lama to visit Mongolia, impressing on them how much this would please their father Pon Khorloche, and what a great honour it would be for the six great Mongol tribes in Kokonor to host the Dalai Lama, covering the two leaders in glory. Not understanding Depa Apefs twisted motivation, the Mongols were fooled and took this seriously They made the invitation, accordingly urging Zhalngo to send the Dalai Lama to Mongolia under their auspices. Zhalngo looked into it and tried to explain to them that they were being manipulated by Depa Apel, but they would not believe him, taking this refusal as a lame excuse and an indication that their role as the Dalai Lama’s protectors in a sacred prelate­ benefactor relationship was being eroded unjustly. After all they had done for the Gelug, they were upset and tried to persuade the Dalai Lama themselves, presenting the idea to him as if all came from Zhalngo and the Kachuwa. Ihe child, however, did not believe them, not having heard it from his guardians directly. He was terrified and cried his eyes out at the thought of undertaking the long and perilous journey to Mongolia. “I was as scared as if I were going to be led

to my death,” he writes.^“ At this point, Panchen Rinpoche annoyed Zhalngo intensely by his interference in support of the Mongols, rather than supporting him against them, which would

have helped enormously. Instead, the Panchen said the Mongols’ invitations were persistent and therefore should be accepted, siding with Depa Apel and started planning the Dalai Lama’s journey to Mongolia, saying it was best to travel via Barkham in northern Kham. He even offered to accompany the Dalai Lamk personally as for as Gyal Metogthang at Chokhor Gyal Monastery in Gyatsa to see him off, even though this lay to the south east of Lhasa. Zhalngo, however, understood that the Panchen Rinpoche’s real intention was to receive the gift of Gyalde Monastery, which must have lain on this route and this lack of transparency on Panchen Rinpoche’s part made Zhalngo angry. This appears to be the first of a

number of instances that caused feelings of distrust and disharmony between

Zhalngo and Panchen Rinpoche. z

‘"Ibid. Ibid., 52-53 (Dukula 60-61)

The Dalai Lama’s Secret Escape to E Riga, 1622-1623

In order to avoid the problem altogether Zhalngo suddenly decided to send the Tulku south to Rigo Tashi Chodzong, a place also known as E Rigo, in E Yul, Lhokha Province, now Chusum County, without letting anyone know who was non-essential to the scheme. Rigo Tashi Chodzong is the seat of the ancient Lhagyari family which had always, since the time of Gendun Gyatso, maintained close relations with the Dalai Lamas. However, first he needed to send the Kachuwa to Dechentse, presumably referring to the hilltop castle called Dechen Dzong twenty one kilometres up the Kyichu Valley from Lhasa in Tagtse and on the way to Ganden Monastery, in order to seek permigsion from a Tsangpa government official or steward who was stationed there called Gangchenne, “the man from Gangchen.” Dechen Dzong on the Dechentse hilltop above the Kyichu river guarded the northern approach to Lhasa and was where the Dalai Lama would stay several times on his journeys, for example en route to Chokhor Gyal, Lhamo Latso and the south; returning via Yarlung Valley and Samye in 1651 in order to avoid imperial officials who had come to invite him to China; returning from China in 1653; travelling locally in Tagtse in 1656; and finally when travelling to Samye Monastery in 1662 to consult the oracles there.*®^

Gangcherme promptly granted permission for the young Tulku to be taken

away to Rigo in Lhokha. Ro)^ approval from Tsang, applied for and given as a matter of courtesy and protocol, was also sought and received. The next evening. Ibid., 51-53,244,323,360,462 (Dukula 58-61,320,435,487,623); Dorje, 168

I

The Fifth Dalai Lama

on the twenty sixth day of the fifth month of the Water-dog year, mid-1622, the Dalai Lama left Drepung in secret with his close attendants and travelled overnight, arriving at Tashigang Monastery in Nyethang at dawn the next day. Zhalngo remained in Lhasa. The small party crossed the Tsangpo in a coracle, reached

*

/

Rong Chekar and were hosted for two days by one Drungtsho Wonpo who invited « them to stay in his tiny dispensary hut. They then moved on to a welcome at Chekar Dzong and eventually reached their destination, Rigo Tashi Chodzong at Lhagyari, where they were received by the locals, both laymen and monks, who formed a procession led by the general Ngaggi Wangchug and his steward Rabten.^'” Hung Thaiji and Depa Apel with eight hundred soldiers came searching for the Dalai Lama three days after they had left Lhasa, but to no avail; they had to give up the hunt and return. It is doubtful that they, a foreign army, would have received much information from the people on the way about where the Dalai Lama had

gone when they were clearly chasing him.’°^ After arriving safely in Rigo the Dalai Lama spent almost a year there, playing as a child and studying in peace with the gelong, learning to read and write and memorizing the text of Palden Lhamo Magzorma. The castle was not a monastic environment, so one of his favourite aunts, Pekar Chonyi Zangmo, could come, help look after him and provide food and toys to play with - wooden horses and lions, he remembered, “that were good for distracting children” - so that he could enjoy a slightly more normal childhood for a spell. The Mongol leaders sent messages to him to clarify their situation, which was patched up, and no harm was done to their sacred prelate-benefactor relations because of the skilful way it had all been handled by Zhalngo.^®® In the fourth month of the Water-pig year of 1623-1624 it was felt safe for the Dalai Lama to emerge from hiding at Lhagyari and return to Drepung. He travelled by way of Ronglha, lodging at Chekar Dzong for four days and stopping for lunch at Chekar Monastery When they crossed the ford at Nyangpo, the whole community of the Nyingma monastery of Palri in Chonggye came to meet him,# because being born at Chonggy^ they considered him one of their own. They also stayed at Namgyal Ling the great monastery of Tsethang where so many monks and laymen came out that they filled the entire area and it was difficult for the travellers to pass through. The governor of Chonggy6 Dzong and his wife invited

them in for tea and took the seven year old Tulku by surprise by requesting a Ibid., 53 (Dukula 61) Ibid., 54 (Dukula 63) Ibid., 53 (Dukula 61) Ibid., 54 (Dukula 63)

;

,i

j

The Dalai Lama’s Secret Escape to E Rigo,

1622-1623

protection blessing from him, for which he was completely unprepared; he could barely hold the book and just managed to recite Palden Lhamo’s mantra and blow on their heads, “feeling like a clay pot that just missed hitting against something.”'”^ At this time a conflict was ongoing between the Phagmodru and the Drigung. The forces of Tsang were involved and had penetrated as far as Cheri Taktse but it became known that some of their soldiers were infected with smallpox, so the Dalai Lama’s party travelled up the valleys of Tra where Samye Monastery is situated to avoid the danger, lodging at Gartsa in the evening and arriving back at Drepung after two more days journey?'” In the meantime in Lhasa in 1622, in the absence of the Dalai Lama Zhalngo had been mending relations and resolving the misunderstandings between Depa Apel, the Mongols and the king of Tsang as well as overseeing the administration of the Ganden Palace. Just one example: at Legshe Chokhor Ling, the small private monastic institute at Drepung whose function - like that of Namgyal Monastery - was the performance of rituals for the welfare of the Dalai Lamas, for some reason the monks had all dispersed prior to the previous dramatic journey, so Zhalngo re-established it and restored its functions with a complement of thirty newly appointed monks, complete with a senior teacher called Zangdrong Rabjampa, and he had arranged to fund the institute by levying a tax on certain villages.*'^’ At this time, in an attempt to foster and cement good relations between U and Tsang, Zhalngo appointed one of his best lieutenants, Dingpon Namkhadrug,^'’ as the Ganden Phodrang’s special emissary to the Tsang court. The Mongols approved of this idea but Lama Dungkar, who was a senior member of staff and also part of the travelling retinue of the Dalai Lama, seemed to disapprove and spread rumours about the emissary’s abuse of power. Perhaps he was resentful of Zhalngo’s appointment of Namkhadrug; he alleged that they unduly favoured the Tsang king and though Namkhadrug “used to pretend to be a prisoner, now when one needs to talk to Zhalngo everything has to go through him - and he puts every single detail in writing - even the offering of a bowl of tsampa”^^^

Ibid, 54-55 (Dukula 63-64) Ibid, 53, 54-55 (Dukula 61, 63-65) Other place names are mentioned on these routes, like Ronglha, Nyangpo, Gartsa, Drongzhol, Driuna and the Byela pass, but they are difficult to locate on modem maps. Ibid, 53, (Dukula 61) “Dingpon” is the title for an army lieutenant with fifty men under him. Karmay 2014, 53 (Dukula 61-62)

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

Also in 1622, the Treasurer of Riwo Dechen Monastery at Chonggye, the birth village of the Dalai Lama, sent a number of valuable gifts to the king of Tsang, who was very pleased and responded positively, by sending “a seal for the purpose of peace that could be used by Tibetans and Mongols alike.” Zhalngo recognised how important this was for peace and good relations and declared it a universal good sign.^*^

Ibid-, 53 (Dukula 62)

The Dalai Lamas Early Studies, Travels and Ordination, 1623-1625

On returning to Lhasa in the spring of 1623, the Dalai Lama spent the rest of the year immersed in study, where his tutors were some of the leading religious scholars and pandits of the day: three of his closest teachers were Lingme Zhabdrung, Panchen Rinpoche and Zur Choying Rangdrol '‘the omniscient.” In addition to the Gelug curriculum, he studied and mastered most of the arts and sciences as well as the teachings of the Nyingma and Sakya traditions.”’ In early 1624 Zhalngo decided that it would be time for him, at the age of seven, to have a break and visit Chokhor Gyal, the monastery built in Gyatsa Province by the Second Dalai Lama near the Lhamo Latso "vision” lake, about two hundred kilometres east of Lhasa by road. They left on the eleventh day of the third month of the Wood-mouse year 1624 and unlike his secretive departure to Rigo, this was a very public tour with all the custom^ ceremonies, including Zhalngo and other attendants hoisting flags and playing shawms and so forth before large crowds of spectators who had come out to try to catch a glimpse of the Tulku.”^

Hie grand procession left Ganden Palace and Drepung heading east towards Lhasa and, half way to the Jokhang Temple in the middle of the city, the Dalai Lama and his close retinue stayed overnight at the house of a wealthy family called Gonashag where they were served tea and broth as appropriate evening Kapstein, 136; Dhondup, 27 Karmay 2014,56 (Dukula 66); Mullin, 193

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Thb Fifth Dalai Lama

refreshments for monastics. Zhalngo chose to stay over at this house because the powerful Gonashag were his relatives by marriage. One of his siblings, most likely a sister, who was born in Tolung, married into this family and had a son called Ngodrup. This is known because the same Ngodrup became a close associate of Zhalngo’s younger brother Norbu who was employed by Zhalngo as one of his aides at Ganden Palace; Ngodrup is referred to in Dukula as Norbu’s nephew. The Dalai Lama says that Norbu and Ngodrup were closely related and he often refers to the pair of them as “the Uncle and the Nephew:’Much later, Norbu succeeded

Zhalngo as next-of-kin, to become the Fifth Dalai Lamas second Administrator but, with Ngodrup as his main co-conspirator, he then fomented a rebellion against the Ganden Phodrang government - as described in his own biography."® Next morning the Fifth Dalai Lama, escorted by Zhalngo and the rest of the entourage, left the Gonashag residence and continued ceremoniously through the crowds towards the Jokhang, also called the Tsuglakhang, Tibet’s largest and most sacred temple. Before entering it the procession respectfully circumambulated the temple clockwise via the outer circuit path, where a mule suddenly broke free, stampeded, “came galloping and stamped down” on the Dalai Lamas right, before leaving slowly. Some said this was a bad omen but others said it was a sign that the protector-goddess Palden Lhamo, the tutelary deity of Tibet with a special connection to Chokhor Gyal Monastery and Lhamo Latso Lake, who is usually depicted riding a mule, had come to meet and escort him. The Dalai Lama’s more pragmatic opinion was that there were many mules in the vicinity and this one must have simply taken fright - which, for him, was neither good nor bad."’ At Sangngag Khar, the first monastery after crossing the Lhadong ford from Lhasa, the physician Tshedzin, formerly Lord Yonten Gyatso’s chamberlain,^ presented the Dalai Lama with a bronze statue of Chagdor - Vajrapani. He muses in Dukula, probably in retrospect since at the time he was hardly seven years old, that while great lamas have no difficulty accumulating wealth, and due to their famous names people feel it worthwhUe to meet them, there were still but few who taught Buddhism according to the teachings of the Buddha."® «J' The Dalai Lama describes his long and eventful journey to Gyatsa. covering about two hundred kilometres, and then all his many activities at Chokhor Gyal

in fascinating detail, including his nine days in retreat performing the atonement rite of Palden Magzorma in her special place, the monastery’s Tantric enclave,

Ibid., 410,411 (Dukula 554,556) etcetera Ibid., 56,338,403-425 (Dukula 66-67.455,547-577)

Ibid., 56-57 (Dukula 67) “8 Ibid.. 57 (Dukula 67)

_

Thb Dalai Lama’s Early Studies, Travels and Ordination,

1623-1625

Lhundrup Gatshal, “a place where the rites ofpower and violence can be performed and it was also believed to be the Devikoti,” meaning the abode of the earlier DevL During the retreat, his masters found errors in the synopses of the Jataka Tales written by Lord Rangjungpa, and he praised them as being most learned. Lingme Zhabdrung also gave him a text of dedication prayers to memorise with thirteen catechism sections in the form of a scroll. When he returned from Lhundrup Gatshal to the main body ofthe monastery he could recite this entire text, morning and evening, as easily as repeating the mani mantra}^^ This retreat is the first indication of the Dalai Lama’s close relationship with Palden Lhama or Shri Devi and especially with her wrathful form as Protectress of Tibet called Remati - a relationship which recurs through his life.^^® ’ There is little mention of Zhalngo in all this - apart from the fact that he was present and that when they were ensconced in Lhundrup Gatshal. Zhalngo encouraged his charge to study the thirty-fourth Jataka Tale for the reason that it would help him at the New Year Monlam Festivals where, being the latest Dalai Lama, he would eventually resume the tradition of teaching the assembly the previous lives of the Buddha from the Jataka Tales.’^’ Nevertheless, despite his remaining in the background most of the time, it becomes clear that Zhalngo was responsible for and in control of everything on this tour. Towards the end of the stay at Chokhor Gyal two important brothers of the Phagmodru family in Yarlung, Nangso Nornor and Yudrug of Sawa Drupa arrived to offer tea and food to the assembly of monks and - combined with the rest of the public and other donors - an enormous quantity of other items, probably as part of a public ceremony to propitiate a long life for the Dalai Lama. Indeed, the Dalai Lama was invited to preside; he was thus obliged to recite all the dedication prayers for the gifts, offerings, m^jrit and so forth - prayers that he had to know by heart. He saw that Zhalngo, like the chant-master and the attendants and so on, was terrified that he would forget the lines of the prayers; he writes that in fact Zhalngo was “more afraid than people passing through a gorge infested with brigands.” However, the yoimg Tulku succeeded in doing everything impeccably, as usual. He writes that Zhalngo was always most anxious whether he could carry out his public performances to perfection, at least until he reached the age of sixteen in 1633, and he used to reassure - and console - himself by saying to himself and others repeatedly: “As his master he has Lingme Zhabdrung, a Geshe who is skilled in both Sutra and Tantra; even his attendants are leaders in "’Ibid, 57-59 (Dukula 67-69)

Ibid., 58,366,476 (Dukula 69,495,641), Done (et al) 2010,11, 16,84,86, 87,97 ‘^'Ibid.

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

their own right. I never fear that he might prove incapable of being a lama from both religious and political viewpoints. He does everything correctly - he is

fortunate!”’^^ Before leaving Chokhor Gyal, as a demonstration of his authority over the Gelug monastic community in general, Zhalngo was called upon to settle a bitter quarrel over nothing much between the monks of Chokhor Gyal Monastery’s two dratsangs or colleges. During renovations, perhaps for the Dalai Lama’s visit, the monastery’s outer wall had been slightly damaged. On the classic excuse of blaming their tools, some of the monks began fighting each other. Though it is unclear which monks were to blame. Zhalngo sternly ordered one monk, Ogpa Chodze of Phende Legshe Ling College, to collect stones as a punishment for his

arrogance. He also forbade certain other monks from accompanying the retinue when the party left for Lhasa. So, as the Dalai Lama notes, there were fewer people in their camp on the return journey. He also says that later in the summer, the people of Ongseb, a market near Lhasa through which they passed on their return journey from Chokhor Gyal, claimed that wherever the Dalai Lama’s horses and

mules had passed there were abundant harvests; he observes that this may have been a sign of their deep faith.’^ In the winter of 1624-1625, hundreds of impressive-looking lamas and monks in sheepskin garments with silks trailing on the ground arrived in Drepung, led by Zhabdrung Champa Tulku from Hohot in Mongolia.'^^ They were escorted by five hundred of Lhatsun’s and Hung Thaiji’s soldiers. The king of Tsang, who surely was invited, might have seen them as being admirable travellers but Zhalngo knew there were badly-intentioned people from the Turned among them.'^" He, the

Ibid., 58 (Dukula 69-70) Ibid., 58,59 (Dukula 70,71) This leader is the main religious person, rather than a military commander. His full name, title and position are given as “Gedun Palzang Gyatso the Zhabdrung Champa Tulku who held the seat of Lord Sonam Gyatso at Khar Ngonpo, Hohot, Mongolia.”

The Turned Mongols take their name from the Tinned plain which sweeps down to the south and southwest from the Dalanhar range and the city of Hohhot in south central Inner Mongolia, the east of greater MongoUa. to the great northern bend of the Yellow River. The Turned Mongols reached their peak of power under the rule of Allan Khan (1507-1582) who was converted to the Gelug by Sonam Gyatso, Third Dalai Lama in 1578 and who coined the title "Dalai Lama.” The power of the Turned declined after Altan Khan’s death. Subsequently. "During the endemic fratricidal rivalries of the Mongols tribes, hegemony in Mongolia was wrested from the Turned by Gushri Khan” (Richardson, 388). Gushri Khan’s Khoshut tribe belonged to the Oirat federation which was converted to Buddhism by the Gelug around 1615 and they soon supplanted the Turned as the main

,

Thb Dalai Lama’s Early Studies, Travels and Ordination, 1623-1625

37

king, gave Zhalngo a seal, in the hope that he might not do anything to undermine his government and Zhalngo, who feared interference from the Turned, encouraged the other, non-Tumed travellers to speak eloquently and diplomatically to give the

best impression to the king.*^'^ A general assembly was called to honour the visitors; it lasted six weeks while the Mongols made daily tea offerings, scarves and silver to the monks in the great square of Drepung. Zhabdrung Champa Tulku had a very fancy throne built for the Dalai Lama in the middle, with beams of pearls, a fantastic backdrop, Mongolian curtains at the sides and a canopy above and cushions, all specially made for the occasion in Mongolia. Invited to sit on it, the Dalai Lama was then offered thousands of “marvellous and inestimable Chinese objects in gold and silver, musical instruments, silks, crystal, jade, porcelain and trees of pearls,” and

people were amazed “as if they saw the treasury of Vaishravana.” However, despite its extravagant and decorative appearance the throne was not very solidly constructed and in the end it fell apart. The Dalai Lama made a number of rather cynical - or philosophical - remarks about attachment and the giving of gifts, such as: “Lamas put on their pandit’s hats if they receive a hundred gifts, but merely touch the heads of devotees with a crystal rosary if they only get a bag of barley or salt.”*’^ The Mongol visitors also invited Panchen Rinpoche to come from Tashilhunpo, and since the Dalai Lama had not seen him since 1622 he consulted Zhalngo about how he should greet him. After some thought, Zhalngo said, “If I raise my finger, don’t greet him, but if I bend it, do.” When Panchen Rinpoche arrived in the doorway, the Dalai Lama saw out of the corner of his eye that Zhalngo had decided to raise his finger, so he ignored him. The next day, however, he took private teachings from Panchen Rinpoche, who became one of his senior tutors, and he explained to him what had happened, saying he had wanted to greet him but for some reason, Zhalngo had told him not to; but Panchen Rinpoche told him not to worry, that he should do whatever Zhalngo told him. This instance is the second sign of the rivalry between Zhalngo and Panchen Rinpoche, after their

Mongol benefactor of the Dalai Lama and the Gelug. Thus, in 1624-1625 there would be Turned Mongols who felt threatened and displaced and resented the rising power of western Mongols like the Oirat challenging their influence in Tibet. See also the Appendix on Mongol-Tibet History and the Wikipedia articles on the Third Dalai Lama, Altan Khan, and the Oirats. Karmay 2014,60 (Dukula 72) '^Ibid., 60-61 (Dukula 73)

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

disagreement about sending the newly-enthroned Dalai Lama to Mongolia in 1622?“ At the end of the Tibetan year, early in 1625, and before the celebrations for the Wood-ox New Year (1625-1626), on behalf of the Dalai Lama, now aged seven, Zhalngo received three sets of new monk’s robes kindly provided by the boy’s aunt, Lady Ane Drungpa, who is possibly the same aunt who had kept him company as a small child when he was hidden away in the Castle of Lhagyari in E Rigo?“ The robes were made from wool given by the Chogyal Palace and this aunt continued providing robes every year, even after his mother Tricham died in 1639, and until her own death?“ In the spring of 1625, shortly before Zhabdrung Champa Tulku left to return -to Mongolia, he took the getshul ordination together with the Dalai Lama and they were both given Tantric initiations by Panchen Rinpoche. As parting presents the Dalai Lama offered him sacred images, corals, amber, doth, raw brown sugar and rice. He was coached by Zhalngo to give parting advice to the Mongolian, saying “Work for the benefit of Buddhism in Mongolia!” but he mispronounced ' this so badly that - to the shock of those listening - it sounded like “Work for the benefit of tsampa, which is harmful for the people!” Zhalngo helped him out, however, intervening with excuses about his age, saying that what he wanted to say was “Work for the benefit of Buddhism!” Everyone was relieved, he writes.^’^

Ibid., 61 (Dukula 74) Karmay 2014,551. The Index gives the name of the aunt in E Rigo as “ane drung pa pad dkar chos nyid bzang mo,” and the name of the aunt sending the robes is given as “dpon sa a ne drung.” Karmay 2014,61 (Dukula 74-75) Karmay 2014,62 (Dukula 76)

Zhalngos services to the Dalai Lamas Family, 1619-1628

We have seen how an important lama’s Chandzeu like Zhalngo is fully responsible for his charge in childhood and later as his official guardian and this responsibility can extend to assisting with any of the lama’s particular personal family needs that might arise?’^ In this respect, Zhalngo had to arrange appropriate funeral rites for Hor Dudul Rabten, also called Hor Dudul Dorje,”’ who was the Fifth Dalai Lama’s father and the leader of the ancient and prestigious Hor family of Chonggy6. Dudul Rabten’s line boasted Zahori ancestry having a distant link with the Indian royal family of Bengal and he was a chieftain of Tibet’s historic Lukhang clan.'-'" His home was the legendary Chingwa Taktse Dzong, a impregnable fortress “as wonderful as the city of the gods descended'on earth” in the Chingwa district of Chonggye which in pre-Tibetan Empire times had belonged to the early kings of Tibet until the first Emperor, Songtsen Gampo (d. 649), moved his capital to Lhasa.”’ Hor Dudul Rabten had been the governor of the Chonggy6 district, just to the south of Yarlung Valley, and a military commander acting for the noble, but

by then much weakened, Phagmodru dynasty, but he eventually died in a Tsangpa

’“Mullin, 198-199 Shakabpa 2010,329,330 Mullin, 187 Karmay 2014,23-35 (Dukula 19-37); Ahmad, 132 39

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

prison?’® One modern historian adds that “some people wondered whether he

had been murdered” but gives no source for this allegation.'” We give the following account of his family background and his fall, imprisonment and death, compiled mainly from the Fifth Dalai Lama’s own account in Dukula and from other histories, mostly derived from Dukula, but the exact sequencing of some of the minor events and the actual locations of some of the place-names involved are difficult to establish with full certainty. In Dukula, the Fifth Dalai Lama traces his personal family ancestry in great detail - a lengthy chapter is devoted to if" - here are some brief, relevant extracts. Firstly, it is clear from two references to Dekyi Ling, a residence and its estate of

Lhashong near Chubu in Chushul - on the north bank of the Tsangpo close to its confluence with the Kyichu, and in between Tolung valley to the north and the Gongkar region to the south - that it was part of the family’s ancestral heritage for multiple generations. These references appear in the Dalai Lama’s introduction to his “Hor” clan,'” his family, ancestry, roots and properties at the beginning of his autobiography. Hor Dudul Rabten’s family had long been based at the family s ancient castle, Chingwa Taktse, which had been very strongly reinforced and rebuilt seven or eight generations earlier by his ancestor Nangso Konchog Rinchen, after which “there is no sign that it will fall over, to the right or the left - it is as solid as an iron pole.”' *® Secondly, Hor Dudul Rabten’s father Lhai Wangchug was an astute governor and military commander but he became too well-disposed toward the Kagyu order, a leaning which disturbed his good spiritual relationship with the nearby Gelug monastery of Riwo Dechen. Otherwise, the Dalai Lama writes, had he listened properly to his advisors in 1612 and 1613 - named as Kyirune and the steward Rabten - and acted on their guidance, then Depa Kurab Namgyal and his army would have been vanquished at that time, the Tsang forces would have been Ibid., 41 (Dukula 45); Karmay 1998,507; Shakabpa 2010,332; Pommaret (Chapter 5, S. Karmay), 68; Karmay 2005,102 ‘3’ Shakabpa 2010,332 Karmay 2014,23-38 (Dukula 19-42) The name “Hor” for the clan of the Fifth Dalai Lama has no connection with the term “Hor” that Tibetans used at the time to refer to Mongols who had settled in the

Kokonor region since the 16* century. Karmay 2014, 30, 31, 34, 42-43 (Dukula 29-32, 35,46-47); Mullin, 188. Glenn H. Mullin’s assertion here that “the Chushur Lhashong estate was a part of Hor Dudul Rabten’s wife’s dowry” appears to disagree with what is written in Dukula, pages 29-32. If the property had already belonged to Hor Dudul Rabten’s family for generations then it could hardly be part of her dowry.

Zhalngo’s services to the Dalai Lama’s Family, 1619-1628

41

stopped at the Gampa La pass and the history of the whole era that followed would have been very different. Riwd Dechen Monastery evidently wielded such influence and power that this alliance with the Kagyu ended the political career of Lhai Wangchug. Kunga Migyur’s grandfather, to the extent that in the course of the general conflict that followed the Tsang king and his ally, the ruler Kurab

Namgyal ended up accepting a ransom pledge from one Lord Dompoche to spare the defeated and disgraced Lhai Wangchug’s life, while continuing with their relentless series of attacks on the Phagmodru in Yarlung and the Gelug in Lhasa.'^' This new leaning towards the Kagyu on the part of Hor Dudul Rabtens father points to a third significant factor in the underlying course of events influencing Hor Dudul Rabtens story as recounted by his son: his religious allegiances. The Dalai Lama declares that his family was "predestined” to have the Nyingma as their tradition; in other words, it was their karma. However, he points out, the family had good relations with certain Kagyu and Gelug lamas, but this did not mean they should have gone so far as approaching Karmapa and the Drugpa Kagyu - yet this was what they did and was, he writes, the cause of the turmoil to

come. Hor Dudul Rabten, he says, formed a close relationship with the Drugpa and the Karma Kagyu, the castle’s officials followed suit and it was these actions which triggered a marked decline in his fortunes.’*^ Hor Dudul Rabten’s main problem arose with this Depa Kurab Namgyal, also known as Dagpo Kurab Namgyal - for short, Kurabpa - who was the king’s close ally. He hailed from Kurab Namgyal village in Dagpo in the Nang region, bordering on Kham. It lies in the Kurab Chu valley, not far from Dromda on the south bank of the Tsangpo, and on the hilltop above it stood Kurab Dzong from which the whole of the vast Tsari region used to be administered - at that time, by Kurabpa himself. He was able to raise armies from J)akpo and Kongpo and personally commanded them in U as a major division of the Tsangpa king’s overall army in 1618. Kurabpa marshalled these two armies against the Gelug and the Phagmodru alongside the king’s forces from Tsang during their ferocious combined assault on

Lhasa following the failed uprisings of that year?'*’

Ibid., 34-35 (Dukula 36-37). Lhai Wangchug together with his elder brother Ngaggi Wangpo practiced polyandry and took Sadag Nyonma, the sister of the great local leader Yargyab, as their wife; and she became the mother of Hor Dudul'Rabten. Lhai Wangchug s failure to act on his advisors’ guidance, and thus to miss opportunities to vanquish Kurabpa and block the Tsangpa forces is not explained in any more detail.

Ibid., 41 (Dukula 45) Karmay 1998,507; Shakabpa 2010, 327,329-330; Dorje, 268; Karmay 2014,41,183 (Dukula 45,240); TibetMap.com sheet 2892, NE sector (top right).

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

Despite the wavering of Hor Dudul Rabten’s father Lhai Wangchug a few years earlier, Karma Phuntsog Namgyal, who reigned as king of Tsang from 1611 until his death in 1621, had continued to respect the Hor family. Hor Dudul Rabten’s mother was Sadag Nyonma. also referred to as Dagnyonma, who was a sister of the great local leader Yargyab. In fact the king regarded the Hor family so well that having no daughter to offer for their son Hor Dudul Rabten in marriage he himself arranged a bride in the person of his relative Tricham from the Nakartse family, also of impeccable and illustrious pedigree going back many generations, the daughter of the eminent lord Kunga Dragpa who was highly skiUed in the two

traditions - spiritual and temporal. In 1616 Tricham and her attendants came to Chonggy6 and she was married to Hor Dudul Rabten. Late the following yeif Kunga Migyur, who would soon be declared to be the Fifth Dalai Lama, was born to them.''” ’ For the Gelug order, the crushing defeat of 1618 must have been its lowest and most vulnerable point since its inception, but this coincided with the time when the redoubtable Sonam Rabten - a man of destiny for Tibet who had, until then, done nothing of note - first made his mark and started to wield significant influence within the Gelug administration. The following year, 1619, he first successfully initiated the search for the Fourth Dalai Lama’s reincarnation'^ and second, by going to Amdo, he personally conjured up crucial Mongol military support for the battered Gelug community in U, enabling them to recover from Tsang military occupation by defeating their army and permanently expelling ^^t

from U by 1621.*^® ' But 1618 was also the year when the Fifth Dalai Lama’s father Hor Dudu Rabten became involved in the plot which enraged the king so badly that he swiftly brought about his downfall. The nature of the plot is not explained in any of the histories but some refer vaguely to his association with the same Kurabpa who had fought alongside the king against the Gelug and the Phagmodru in Lh’asS that summer. After that battle, the two, Hor Dudul Rabten and Kurabpa, are sai< to have become allies in a way which “caused much apprehension” for the kinj who thenceforth suspected Hor Dudul Rabten, becoming so displeased as tc order his arrest and imprisonment. Until this point, the king had been on the besi

Karmay 2014,35-39 (Dukula 37-42) i« Ibid., 43-44 (Dukula 48-49); Karmay 2005, 97, 103; Richardson, 447; 2010,331; Shakabpa 1984,101; Dhondup, 14-15 *« Ibid.. 46 (Dukula 51); Kapstein. 135-136; Dhondup. 15

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of terms with Kurabpa - and with Hor Dudul Rabten - but now he suddenly became angry with both.*"" The implication is that the two were discovered plotting “against the royal government” behind the king’s back. Hor Dudul Rabten was a Phagmodru army commander; and after this point, 1618, in English language histories or translations Kurabpa is no longer named as fighting alongside the Tsangpa king against the Gelug or against the Phagmodru. In Dukula, Hor Dudul Rabten’s son writes niany years later - that after allying with the Kagyu order, his father “seemed unable to contain himself” and that he became confused between “the Lama with the Black Hat with the Golden Front” - Karmapa - and “his friend the King of the East” - in other words, Kurabpa, the powerful ruler from Dagpo and ruler xSf Tsafi. Ihis confusion, continues the Dalai Lama, caused Hor Dudul Rabten to “enter into solidarity with Kurabpa.”*"® The king, who always demanded total loyalty from his allies, now “developed a hostile attitude due to the misconduct of Hor Dudul Rabten and his servants.”**’ Considering all this, there is the possibility that the plot the histories do not explain was simply that Hor Dudul Rabten had managed to persuade Kurabpa, as a leader from eastern U, to cease his military alliance with the king - and stop attacking the Gelug and the Phagmodru - which would have constituted a very serious blow to the king’s expansionist plans. Jf this was indeed the case then it is little wonder that the king was so furious when he found out about it and we note that what followed is omitted from Dukula en bloc; perhaps it was too painful, emotionally, for the Dalai Lama to record the details of his father’s imprisonment and the harrowing mode of his death at the hands of the Tsangpa. Straightaway - and understandably - the king sent his men to arrest Hor Dudul Rabten for betraying him and ruining his main military alliance. Hor Dudul Rabten, aware that the king would now be targeting him, was trying to escape to Kham, Eastern Tibet, but had not planned ahead in sufficient detail and so lacked the necessary government-issued travel permit. Unluckily, somewhere on the road he was caught by the king’s men and escorted away under arrest to attend the king’s court in Samdrubtse (Shigatse). Here he was condemned to imprisonment in Tsang, where he was kept until his death and never allowed to see his wife or son again. After his death at the prison in Tsang, Hor Dudul Rabten’s body was transferred, for unexplained reasons, to Zamkhar Dzong at Lhakhang

on the Lhodrag Shar Chu in Lhodrag, just ten kilometres from the Bhutan border; otherwise he may have been transferred there from Tsang not long before his Ibid., 41 (Dukula 45-46); Shakabpa 2010,327,329-331; Karmay 1998,507; **• Ibid.; Shakabpa 2010,329-330; Dorje, 268

Ibid.; Karmay 1998,507; Shakabpa 2010,327; Pommaret (Chapter 5, S. Karmay), 68

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death. In either case, after his death his body was discarded at a site behind Zamkhar Dzong.*®® , As for his statement “the misconduct of Hor Dudul Rabten and his servants, the Dalai Lama explains that the root of the problem had been a monk called Khyenrab Pelzang from Phagde, the Nyingma monastery somewhere near Taktse. He had left the nearby Yargyab district after being prosecuted there and "due to a karmic connection” he came to Hor Dudul Rabten, befriended him and became his minister at Chingwa Taktse Dzong in Chonggye. He and four other supposedly

close officials at Chonggye, including the secretary Sakyong, were all dishonest, writes the Dalai Lama, and, apparently in collusion with this minister, they contrived a plot against their governor Hor Dudul Rabten, the nature of which is not divulged.*’’ In addition, when Hor Dudul Rabten consulted the local spirit Dzongtsen at Tsethang through its oracle, his own guilt and vulnerability were exposed; the spirit threatened him with the words “Today I shall divulge all that is corrupt amongst us!” In reply. Hor Dudul Rabten. while offering his interlocutor a zho of gold and a ceremonial white scarf, begged the spirit to “postpone this declaration to another day, because the omens at the moment are not good! The Dalai Lama explains here that the spirit intended to expose the plot that his father

had contrived against the king while giving no further detail. Whether the spirit complied and postponed its declaration is not stated; at this point all he says is that

the people of Phagde allowed Hor Dudul Rabten to escape from the area giving the reason or excuse of going on pilgrimage to Mount Shampo m Southern Yarlung.*’^

>» Ibid. 66 (Dukula 82-83); Karraay 1998,507; Shakabpa 2010,329-330.332; Location: TreasuryofLives.org, "Zamkhar’; Tibetmap.com. sheet 2891, SW sector (lower left). Karmay 2014,41-42 (Dukula 45-46). The other three assistants who plotted againSt Hor Dudul Rabten were called Sangye of ChangUng. Satewa and Ngonmowa. Karmay 2014, 41-42 (Dukula 45-46); Karmay 1998, 387, 423, 435, 530. Samteft Karmay explains here that according to the Bon tradition. Mount Shampo Ri. 6,632in., at the head of the Yarlung valley and of the Yarlha Shampo Chu in Nedong (a tributary of the Yarlung Chu) is said to be the residence of the sku bla Yarlha Shampo, the ancestral local deity of the Tibetan royal dynasty in Yarlung. The first Tibetan king descending from heaven to Mount Lhari Gyangto in Kongpo, Nyatri Tsenpo, is said to have left Kongpo for Yarlung where he was welcomed by Yarlha Shampo - who then became the dynastic ancestral deity in Yarlung.

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The Dalai Lama then wonders rhetorically “Were the people of Phagde also complicit in the plot?”'” Next, Hor Dudul Rabten lost his ancestral home. Either the king confiscated Taktse Dzong from him and transferred it to his own minister Gangzug or it was “handed over to Gangzug as a means to appease the king’s wrath.”'” Tricham had to move with her infant from Chingwa Taktse in Chonggy^ to Hor Dudul Rabten’s secondary family property Dekyi Ling at the Lhashong estate in Chushur - which, according to one historian, was part of Tricham’s dowry and more valuable than the estate of Chingwa Taktse. In Dukula, however, Dekyi Ling, part of the Lhashong estate, is described as the ancestral property of the Hor family, to which her husband belonged, so it can hardly be part of Tricham’s dowry; and Dukula provides no information on their comparative values. Before Chingwa Taktse was handed over to Gangzug, (but perhaps after Tricham had left it with the infant and her attendants), Hor Dudul Rabten’s men at the Dzong had killed one Rinlhun of Pelnag, a member of nearby Riwo Dechen Monastery, for unexplained reasons. In revenge, the monks of Riwo Dechen killed Ngodrup, the steward of the Dzong and in response Hor Dudul Rabten had called up his private army, surrounded the monastery and made threats, though nothing further is said to have occurred except that the monks felt malice towards him and showed their satisfaction the morning the Dzong was to be handed over to Gangzug, some of them looking down from on top of the monastery and chanting down at him, either mockingly or triumphantly, as he left.'®® Then, persons unidentified but possibly from the monastery threatened to break into the castle Karmay 2014, 41-42 (Dukula 45-46). Phagde’s exact location is not given but it seems to have been a Nyingma monastery near Chingwa Taktse in Chonggy6, see Karmay 30, 253 (Dukula 30, 333). Karmay 1998, 507; Shakabpa 2010, 330; Karmay 2014, 42 (Dukula 46). Note: not only do these two versions of the how Taktse Dzong was transferred to Gangzug disagree but also Shakabpa’s footnote “c” (p. 330) about it seems partially inaccurate: it says “The transfer of the estate is seen as an effort by the Tsang government to undermine and control the Dalai Lama and his family.” However, according Shakabpa’s own statement on the same page as confirmed by Dukula pp. 45-47 (as per Karmay 2014,41-43) the eviction of Hor Dudul Rabten and Tricham from Chingwa Taktse took place in 1619, two years before the Dalai Lama Tulku was identified as their son, for which see Karmay 2014,46 (Dukula 52) and above. Therefore, it is not clear who sees the transfer in the way that Shakabpa describes in his note “c.” Karmay 2014, 42-43 (Dukula, 46-47); Mullin, 188; Karmay 2014, 31, 34 (Dukula 31-32,35)

Ibid., 42 (Dukula 46-47). The monks chanting from the monastery roof that morning are named as Gyal, Ling and Ding.

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by force but were dissuaded. This made the Taktse tenants feel insecure, so they petitioned the king for some other land they could cultivate and he thoughtfully allocated to them the Lhashong estate where Tricham, her son and her attendants had already been sent.^^’

Tricham’s route from Taktse to Dekyi Ling at Lhashong with her child and her attendants can be traced. On leaving Taktse, they saw three good omens: one

person carrying a pot full of water, another carrying a vessel full of food and finally Minister Gangzug coming to meet them. They left their ancient castle on the hillside and reached level ground below the village where many people lit lamps as they passed; some were weeping and some scattered barley flour, a little of which settled on the infant’s face; whether this was a good omen or a bad one, the Dalai Lama could not, or would not say. Guided by one Zurtsepa they first travelled west though Dra, which corresponds with Dranang district between Chonggye and Gongkar, probably taking the road up the south bank of the Tsangpo via Drachi and Dratang. They were received first as acquaintances by one Dumpowa the leader from Dra and then by the Zhabdrung of Gongkar, another major leader who had somehow managed to annoy the king of Tsang. Their news caused him to panic; he wanted to leave for Kham in haste but his attendants could not organise his departure and he was eventually handed over to the king’s men and taken away to Tsang and an unknown fete. From Gongkar, Tricham would most likely have continued west and crossed the Yarlung Tsangpo just above the confluence, arriving in Chushul town which is a short distance - six kilometres to the south from her destination of Chubu village and the Lhashong estate.^"® As is common in wartime, it was a period of confusion and disorder and Tricham and Kunga Migyur could only remain at the Lhashong estate for a short while before they were forced to move on. This time the following circumstances caused them to transfer to Nakartse Castle in Yardrog, Tricham’s own family ancestral home near the shores of Yamdrok Tso, less than a hundred kilometres to the south west.*5’ At Lhashong, Tricham had become worried, not only because of stories of Mongol armies arriving in Tibet but also because of opaque local prophecies from the oracles ofspirits giving rise to rumours about the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama which, some people apparently had said, pointed to - among others - her child, Kunga Migyur. Perhaps news of Zhalngo’s secret visits to Chonggye when he had tested the infant successfully had leaked out. Due to thes6 Ibid., 42 (Dukula 46-47) Ibid., 42-43 (Dukula 46-47); Tibetmap.com, sheets 2991 (S) - 2990 (SE); Mullin, 188

Tibetmap.com, 2990 - 2890.

Zhalngo’s services to the Dalai Lama’s Family, 1619-1628

concerns Tricham had gone to consult with Kuncho. the local government official about what options she might have had when royal messengers arrived, hot-foot from the king himself, to summon Tricham to attend the court in Tsang with her child, without delay - an order which bothered her even more. She had severe doubts about the reasons behind this demand and in something of a panic she sent an urgent appeal to her brother, the Yardrog Zhabdrung, also called the Nakartse Zhabdrung, for sanctuary at their family home. As he was still on good terms with the king he sent a messenger by fest horse relay to Tsang asking him for permission, which was granted. This was how Tricham and Kunga Migyur quit Lhashong for Nakartse Castle in Yardrog in the first eleventh moi)th of the Earth-sheep year, that is, either late in 1619 or early in 1620,‘“ All this disruption to the life of Hor Dudul Rabten and his family came after Zhalngo’s secret visit to Chonggye and his identification of Kunga Migyur as the Fourth Dalai Lama’s Tulku, and after the confirmatory visit there by Panchen Rinpoche and one other lama. Zhalngo’s departure, or escape, to Amdo in search of military assistance from Gelug Mongols also followed after these events. Although there is no exact indication given as to the timing of his departure he must have left in the latter part of 1619. Hor Dudul Rabten remained in prison in Tsang until his death in 1626. There is only one mention of any contact with him over these seven years: in the autumn of 1625, four years after the death of Tsang king Karma Phuntsog Namgyal who had imprisoned him and been succeeded by his son Karma Tenkyong Wangpo. The Kachuwa visited Tsang and Zhalngo sent him, via the Tsangpa steward Gangchenne, a consignment of provisions for Hor Dudul Rabten, along with a request for Gangchenne’s permission to deliver the provisions to the prisoner, which he granted, though with a cautionary reminder to Kachuwa and the Gelug establishment that back in 1621 in Chonggy6, the Gelug monks of Riwo Dechen Monastery and Hor Dudul Rabten’s own officials had done whatever they liked such as entertaining Mongols while ignoring the king of Tsang. He warned

Ibid., 44 (Dukula 49). “Yardrog” is the same as “Yamdrok*; the Wylie is the same; yar grog.” The date is taken as the “second eleventh month of the Earth sheep year” because this month is taken from page 49 of Dukula, the last year given is on page 45 Where the author says he was “three years old in the Earth sheep year” (1619-1620) and the next year given is on page 50 where he says he was “four years old and it was the end of the ^on monkey year” (1620-1621). According to the Tibetan aging system a person is

1617 of birth which in Kunga Migyur’s case was late in • e move to Nakartse is therefore calculated as being made either late in 1619 or ®^ly in 1620.

47

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Kachuwa that this over-friendliness with foreigners angered the government of Tsang, and was unhelpful to the Gelug?** Another attempt to visit Hor Dudul Rabten, reported to have taken place late in 1625, was unsuccessful. A number of Nyingma lamas came together in conference and agreed between them that it was true that Hor Dudul Rabten was a descendant of the fabled Indian king, Tsuglagdzin of Zahor, said to have been the father of Padmasambhava’s main Indian consort, Mandarava. They requested permission to visit him in the prison but the Tsangpa authorities, deeply suspicious of their motives, refused. His son, then aged nine, received final news of Hor Dudul Rabten in the late summer or early autumn of 1626. The provisions that Zhalngo had sent Hor Dudul Rabten the previous year had been delivered and had proved helpful to him, now referred to as **the Zhabdrung”^^ by the Dalai Lama in Dukula, but he had died and sadly his corpse had been abandoned on a site at the back of Zamkhar Dzong in Lhodrag, although there is no explanation about how or why his body was left to rot in the south of Lhodrag when he had been imprisoned in Tsang. Perhaps his tormentors in Tsang wished to remove the dead body from their

territory and still had enough shame as to take the corpse to a place nearer Chonggy^ and to inform the family, so that they could recover it and arrange his funeral appropriately; thus lessening the Tsangpa’s culpability. In any case the Dalai Lama writes that his body was recovered by an unnamed yogi from Chonggy^, who went to Zamkhar Dzong, near Lhakang on the Lhodrag Shar Chu only a hundred and twenty kilometres south of Chonggy^. The yogi removed Hor Dudul Rabtens remains and offered them to the birds according to proper Tibetan custom. A witness reported that at the sky-burial on one of Hor Dudul Rabten’s shin bones appeared an image of Mahakaruna •- the personification of Great Compassion also called Avalokiteshavara, or Chenrezig - but the Dalai Lama says he did not see it and therefore could not vouch for this. Zhalngo discretely undertook the appropriate funeral services for Hor Dudul Rabten at the

Karmay 2014, 63 (Dukula 77). Note: in Dukula this steward is referred to here as Gangchenpa. “sgang chen pa.” ("the man from Gangchen") but he has already been referred to as "sgang chen nas” (“Gangchenne:” same meaning, same function) as the Tsangpa steward at Dechen Dzong who in 1622 had given permission for the Dalai Lama to be taken in secret to E Rigo, see above. Therefore to avoid confusion the same appellation

is retained here. Ibid., (Dukula 78) "Zhabdrung” is a title normally used for important lamas holding a hereditary lineage formally associated with a monastery, meaning “at whose feet one submits.”

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monasteries in and near Lhasa, presumably at the Jokhang, Drepung, Sera and Ganden Monasteries and elsewhere?^ The point of this digression in Zhalngo’s biography is to provide some of the little-known historical background that is in Dukula concerning his charge the Fifth Dalai Lama’s family and ancestry and to emphasise the gamut of responsibilities Zhalngo, as Chandzeu and guardian of the young Dalai Lama, assumed for the relatives and particularly for the boy’s father who had been dishonoured and deemed a criminal. It was Zhalngo alone who consigned provisions to Hor Dudul Rabten held in the king’s dungeon and Zhalngo alone who arranged funeral services for him. Nobody else bothered; whether nobility, lamas or laymen, as for as we know, despite Hor Dudul Rabten’s scandalous fall

from grace at the hands of such ignoble despots as the two Tsangpa kings Karma Phuntsog Namgyal and Karma Tenkyong Wangpo.*^® Only Zhalngo took the initiative to rescue and restore at least a veneer of respectability to the fallen aristocrat and provide moral support to one literally abandoned by his peers. Quite possibly Hor Dudul Rabten’s shameful treatment and death stiffened Zhalngo’s long-term resolve to bring about the downfall of these arrogant and cruel oppressors of the Gelug. Zhalngo would also have acted towards Hor Dudul Rabten out of compassion and a sense of duty for his charge, the only son, now fully committed into his personal care, by ameliorating the contentious humiliation and disgrace thrust on Hor Dudul Rabten, the complexity of which his nine year old son would have had limited capability to understand. The Dalai Lama does not express any specific feelings for his father and, apart from stating the bald facts in Dukula, he makes no personal comments about what had happened. Perhaps, like any other child from a tragically broken home, internally he naturally may have felt lonely, unloved and abandoned - not to mention the shame of hearing about the gruesome and ignominious fate suffered by his father - and thus compartmentalised Ibid., 66 (Dukula 82-83) The Tsangpa dynasty arose from a sixteenth century uprising by Karma Tseten Dorjee, a servant (stable manager and tax collector) who usurped the Rinpung throne, which itself arose from a fifteenth century uprising by Norbu Norzang, a minister from Rinpung who had served, then usurped the power of the aristocratic Phagmodru dynasty. These serial usurpations are described in more detail in the biography of the second Administrator, when at the end of 1659, Panchen Rinpoche’s messenger apparently tries to persuade the Dalai Lama to accept the rebellious Depa Norbu’s attempted usurpation as normal political development and practice. Karmay 2005, 102; Shakabpa 2010, 328-330, 332; see also the Prologue to this biography, “Military Attacks” numbers 12 to 18.

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the tragedy and suppressed the ramifications to protect his own mental wellbeing. There is little doubt from the evidence in Dukula that Zhalngo did what he could

to deflect such emotional trauma by being a surrogate father, providing a strong sense of belonging, security and self-worth to the young Dalai Lama throughout his minority and for years after as he grew up and matured into an adult. Zhalngo was by all accounts rather stern, austere and authoritarian, without much warmth or gentleness about him; he was well suited to the strict paternal role he seems to have fulfilled so well towards his charge. However, for the young Dalai Lama there was no substitute for motherly love. Kunga Migyur was taken from his mother Tricham to enter the monastery at the age of five. In a rare reference to her, in his fifties he recalls their parting: “I cried for her because I was used to being with her all the time.” When he was taken away from her for ten days, Tricham was allowed to stay in the nearby house of the keeper of the willow park and visited him daily till he grew accustomed to his new surroundings and she had to leave. She is next mentioned in Dukula in 1628, when he was eleven years old; Tricham came from Nakartse and stayed in Lhasa but each time she tried to visit him at the monastery a cataract would manifest in his right eye. Therefore, “due to superstition” he could only see her three times in the three months she stayed in Lhasa. “I could not fulfil her wish” he laments, “It looked as if I did not have the merit for repaying the love

of my parents.”^^’ This was the last time he mentions seeing her.

Karmay 2014,49.52,73,142 (Dukula 56, 59.73,185)

Zhalngos roles as guardian and educational supervisor, 1621-1658

Putting to one side Zhalngos dutiful and personal involvement with the Dalai Lamas family, and turning to the spiritual relationship between him and the young novice monk Dalai Lama, Zhalngo was his main guardian rather than one of his spiritual and religious tutors, yet, as a fully ordained monk, he would still regularly oversee and guide him in the monastery’s standard religious practices. For example, after returning from E Rigo in 1624 to avoid the unwanted invitation to Mongolia, the Dalai Lama at Zhalngo’s urging learned from the monks of the protectors’ shrine at the Ganden Phodrang how to prepare the protectors’ altar in the shrine-room called “Dewachen” for the rituals to be performed on the tenth and twenty ninth days of each month.• Zhalngo would also advise the Dalai Lama at this age what rituals to perform and which prayers to say on what occasions. In early 1626, for example, a large group of Mongol monks arrived from the north led by the chieftain Thubpa lhaiji, son of the king of Jinong, master of the White Tent and a descendant of Chinggis Khan, looking very impressive in his traditional costume from the Empire period. Zhalngo, who had come to know the Mongols and their habits quite well, told the Dalai Lama that it would be suitable if he performed the guruyoga ceremony for them and if he recited the Tan Barma prayer, “Long May the Teachings Blaze

Ibid., 59 (Dukula71) 51

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Forth,”'® to dedicate the merit of any offerings made in honour of the visitors. This ceremony took place at the Jokhang where a huge crowd of monks had gathered in the Sungchorawa, the main assembly courtyard, and in the midst of

the gathering Thubpa Thaiji made offerings of ten thousand gold and silver objects from China and Mongolia to the monks, foUowed by many additional offerings from his entourage. The Dalai Lama did as Zhalngo had suggested and conducted the guruyoga ritual with the Mongols as guests of honour and participants. He then recited the Tan Banna prayer for them before paying homage to the }owo Buddha and witnessing a debate by the prize debaters of all the scholar monks, Gomang Gungru and Dungkarwa, who “pulled each other’s flesh and skin” while debating.'^'’ The arrival of this Mongol group at Drepung is also reported by the pioneer western historian of Tibet, G, Tucci, drawing at least in part from Dukula, but interpreting it slightly differently and mentioning neither Zhalngo nor the Dalai Lama. He says in 1625, not 1626, Toba Taiji - the son of Jinong Gyalpo, a descendant of Chinggis Khan - “attended by a large retinue of great dignitaries and authoritative monks” arrived at Drepung from Khar Ngonpo in Hohot. He

had forty thousand Turned warriors under his command, in Mongolia. He writes: “The uninterrupted arrival of Mongol notables and pilgrims, and the rich gifts offered to the new church, proving the barbarians* favour and respect for Tsongkhapa’s school, increased the Tsang princes jealousy and suspicion.”

The king himself. Karma Tenkyong Wangpo, also sought foreign help but, of more importance to him, he developed a domestic web of alliances of lay and religious communities as a bulwark against the Gelug, and “started to plot against them.” The king saw himself, continues Tucci, as upholding Tibet’s national cause, just as Changchub Gyaltsen had freed Tibet of the Yuan yoke accepted by the Sakya three centuries earlier. However, whether this is how the king - and

Changchub Gyaltsen - had actually reasoned, or whether it is Tucci’s projection based on western or European concepts of nationhood, is open to question since he does not cite any source for this interesting information and it is not found in Dukula.'^' Another pioneer western historian of Tibet, H. Richardson, makes the A prayer from the collection “Rituals of Nechung Dorje Drayang Ling,” with the title coming from its last line. Many thanks to Michael Richards for this information. Ibid., 63-64 (Dukula 78-79) Tucci, 59. Toba Thaiji is clearly another rendering of Thubpa Thaiji. The fact he was said to be at the head of forty thousand warriors in Mongolia has been misread by some

historians as meaning he invaded Tibet with this army.

Zhalngo’s roles as guardian and educational supervisor, 1621-1658

point that not too much should be made of claims that the Tsangpa “were brave and patriotic nationalists defending Tibetan independence ” for within a few years the king and his allies Zhamar Tulku and the Karma Kagyu were beseeching the Northern Khalkha Mongol poet-prince Chogthu Hung Taiji (1581-1637) and his son Arsalang to invade Central Tibet from Kokonor and destroy the Gelug altogether.*’^

By 1625, however, the Dalai Lama was already finding his religious education generally inadequate. He starts expressing in detail his frustration at age eight over this in Dukula, complaining that the Gelong’s tutoring under Zhalngo and the Kachuwa’s direction was lacking and viewed some of his obligations as unnecessary, like memorising many small prayers, which he still h^ad to do to recite at public events like Lhasa’s annual Monlam Prayer Festival. He saw this kind of work as time lost, when he could have been learning things more important to him. His real interest lay in more appealing subjects such as tantric ritual practices and the arts, but Zhalngo and the Kachuwa were not keen on him studying tantra yet and shielded him from it and from the development of associated skills.*’^ Zhalngo possibly feared him becoming a tantric adept too young and then in the long run being difficult to control. On the other hand, the Dalai Lama writes that in 1626 Zhalngo noticed he was already reciting a text of the tantric deity Hayagriva that was composed by an author of whom Zhalngo apparently did not approve. Zhalngo therefore referred him to his senior tutor Lingme Zhabdrung who began to mentor him on the subject, providing a more authentic text; one authored by the Second Dalai Lama Gendun Gyatso.*’^ Zhalngo considered the practice of the protector deity Gonpo Zhal (Four­ faced Mahakala) so inauspicious that he tried to ban it. In 1626 the Dalai Lama defied his wishes by secretly memorising the practice’s ritual texts and reciting them daily. Somehow, a neighbouring Zimkhang Gong official representing Tulku

Dragpa Gyaltsen got to know this and made it public, complaining that “This year, the ravens are fighting among themselves. It is very disturbing, and it is because the Dalai Lama has memorised these texts.”’” This incident may have been the

*” Richardson, 352 Ibid., 62-63 (Dukula 76-77) Ibid., 66 (Dukula 82); Karmay 1988,28

As opposed to the Ganden Phodrang which was also known as the “Lower Chamber” C Zimkhang Wog”), being lower down on the slope of the hill at Drepung Monastery, the Zimkhang Gong was the “Upper Chamber” where Tulku Dragpa Gyaltshen lived, see also the biographies of the second and third Administrators for more details of his life and mysterious death from their respective points of view, as described in Dukula.

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54

Start of the disharmony between Zimkhang Gong and the Ganden Phodrang. Anyway, once he heard of the rumour, Zhalngo explained to the Dalai Lama that he had considered it unsuitable because this deity was said to be disquieting, but

if he had completed the memorisation, which he had, he should carry on reciting it. Evidently, Zhalngo knew that once he had established the practice it might be more problematic for him to cease doing it than to continue.*’® The Dalai Lama was hardly nine years old at this stage and it would be another eight or nine years before he would start worrying Zhalngo more seriously by developing his lifelong interest in the teachings of great Nyingma masters of the day like Zur Choying Rangdrol (1604-1669) and “pseudo-Nyingma” masters like

Paljor Lhundrup (1561-1637).*’’ After the Fire-hare New Year of 1627, Zhalngo, Lingme Zhabdrung and Kachuwa agreed it was time for the Dalai Lama, then in his tenth year, to start studying metaphysics, but he was not interested: he only wanted to study tantric meditation and ritual practices. Having been denied this, he agreed to study

metaphysics to appear amenable to them, despite feeling that it was a mere digression and waste of effort as tantra was not involved. Yet when he started on basic metaphysics, his tutor was delighted to find he had natural aptitude for it, sohe took him straight to an advanced level where he made rapid progress.*’® By the fifth month, monks from Rawatopa College at Tagtshang - regarded as best in metaphysics - were invited to Luding to practice debate with the Dalai Lama. Zhalngo offered them tea and donations and the Dalai Lama sat on the bare ground in debates, in his ordinary robes with his own tea bowl and water bottle like any ordinary monk and told his opponents to debate with him without any^ deference. His teacher was pleased with his performance. The Dalai Lama noticed one monk, Jotrug Kunga Rabten, was wearing a very old monk’s skirt and so asked Zhalngo for a new one, which he then gave to him.*” By now the Dalai Lama had become keener on metaphysics than Tantra and in the absence of Lingme Zhabdrung, who went to Sangphu for the summer term and Ganden for the winter, he asked Zhalngo for permission to go to Rawatopa to study there, rather than “just attending the everyday tea in the assembly hall.” Zhalngo, however, refused to let him go. After Panchen Rinpoche came to Lhasa to preside over the Monlam after the Earth-dragon New Year (1628), the Dalai Lama invited him in

the second month to give him twenty jenang or minor empowerments to practice Karmay 2014,67 (Dukula 83-84) Ibid., 4, 7-8,119-121 (Dukula 155-157)

"«Ibid. 69 (Dukula 87) Ibid., 71 (Dukula 90-91)

Zhalngo’s roles as guardian and educational supervisor, 1621-1658

different tantric deities, although he now considered himselfmore of a dialectician, and confessed that he had changed his mind by acquiring a dislike for Tantra as just a means to earn one’s keep!’®® It is clear from Dukula that Zhalngo was such a strict and fanatical Gelug purist that he had no tolerance for other schools and traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, as evidenced by his policies during the numerous wars he provoked of was involved and from the many instances in Dukula that reveal his prejudice. For example, in the fourth month of 1626, the rejected candidate to be Fifth Dalai Lama from Nyangpo was carried to Drepung by his father who now claimed he was the Tulku of a Kagyu yogin, Nakhawa. Zhalngo said "Nakhawa was said to be like Milarepa - so it would be better if there were no Tulku of him at all!” Nevertheless, Zhalngo consulted Lingme Zhabdrung on this case who thought the father was probably right, so he sent him to Dagpo with a letter to one Changrawa, about whom nothing is said. Eventually the boy studied at Dagpo College, did well and became a Gelug geshe.’®’ More importantly, after the 1648 Bhutan war Zhalngo, by then called "the Administrator” and basically ruling the country, launched a coordinated country-wide campaign to systematically stifle all non-Gelug traditions and absorb them all them into the Gelug by a variety of highly sectarian measures, such as the forcible prevention of all other traditions from recruiting any new monks to swell their ranks. How this pernicious campaign of discrimination and suppression was effectively torpedoed by the Dalai Lama in 1652 will be dealt with further on. In addition to supervising the Dalai Lama, Zhalngo now found himself dealing with serial visits by Mongol chieftains of varying importance coming from Amdo or Mongolia on pilgrimage to the holy city of Lhasa. Some came to make offerings, others to visit their relatives who were monks in the monasteries, others to receive initiations, blessings and teachings from lamas, yet others to do all of these things and more. Zhalngo, while receiving these visitors, must have wondered whether some of them might have made reliable allies to help protect the Gelug establishment from future Tsangpa attacks in the medium to long term. His Amdo recruiting success in 1619-1621of obtaining a Mongol force to expel the Tsangpa army from U would have led him to think this way, because the Tsangpa regime still remained a constant threat. Ihe new king Karma Tenkyong Wangpo, bom in 1606, had grown to be even more belligerent, expansionist and sectarian than his

*" Ibid., 71 (Dukula 92)

Ibid. 66 (Dukula 82)

55

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

father and, according to one historian, he persecuted Gelug monasteries in Tsang whenever he could?®’ Thubpa Thaiji’s arrival in Lhasa early in 1626, was soon followed by a delegation from Wonpo Hung Ihaiji of a Turned Mongol royal lineage who commanded a hundred and forty thousand soldiers and from Khar Ngonpo he sent his envoys Ulchi Nangso, Tongkor Wonchung and Thapona to bring funds and resources for the Ganden Phodrang to build a magnificent tomb for the Fourth Dalai Lama Yonten Gyatso who had been bom into their same royal lineage. They brought ten thousand sang of silver including a silver cauldron big enough to make tea for a thousand people as well as large quantities of silk and gold. A workshop was set up for construction of the silver tomb and it was completed by the second month of the Fire-tiger year, 1626-1627. Zhalngo suggested that the Dalai Lama attend the consecration ceremony on the day Thubpa Thaiji was the benefactor, and for that appearance he had to memorise and recite the “Eight Auspicious Symbols” prayer, hence his comment that “if that was all that was needed for the consecration, then

there was not much to it**’*’ The Mongolian invited the Dalai Lama to Mongolia, but it made him recall his previous traumatic experience when at the age of five he had been taken and hidden away in E Rigo to avoid such an invitation and so he became upset and wept a little. The Mongolian lamas, jumping to conclusions, declared that he wept “because he remembered the meeting between Lord Sonam Gyatso and Altan Khan!” However, when these same lamas finally went back to Mongolia, the government of the king of the Chakhar had just collapsed - so then, even though five or six years had elapsed in the meantime they said “He knew it! That’s why he wept!” The Dalai Lama heard this when he went to China twenty six years later, and he comments in Dukula: “This kind of guessing is a useless patch for a lama’s biography? In any case, it was nothing for the Dalai Lama to weep about, since the

king of the Chakhar was a sworn enemy of the Gelug.’®* In the fourth month of 1627, Zhalngo arranged a farewell party for Thubpa Thaiji at the Ganden Palace hall and at Dratshang Choje’s request he ensured it “ Mullin, 196 Karmay 2014,64-65 (Dukula 79-80) Ibid., 65 (Dukula 81). The meeting between Third Dalai Lama Sonam Gyatso and Allan Khan in 1578 (Mullin, 146) marked the start of the mass conversion of Mongols to the Gelug - and the conferral of the “Dalai Lama” title. “The collapse of the Chakhar king’s government? can only refer to the time in 1632 when under the massive military campaign of his Mongol and Manchu enemies Legden Khan’s North Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia was defeated and he was forced to flee west to Ordos and Gansu, where he died. See Appendix on Selected Mongol History for a more comprehensive summary.

Zhalngo’s roles as guardian and educational supervisor, 1621-1658

57

yfos carried out in the authentic style of the early Mongol tradition. Thubpa Ihaiji re-enacted the ceremony of bestowing the title “Dalai Lama Vajradhara” as an auspicious gesture and the Dalai Lama responded by conferring the title “Thaisun Hung lhaiji” on him and other titles on his dignitaries; precious parting gifts of coral, amber, silk and cloth were offered and the whole event was splendid.’®’ Ihubpa lhaiji was so pleased with his visit that on departure he offered additional resources for the rebuilding of the old assembly hall at Drepung which “did not

look too pleasing.” Zhalngo therefore initiated and took charge of this major project early in 1628, hiring a chief architect from Riwo Dechen and other appropriately skilled officials from the Lhasa area to ensure its implementation.’®® After Ihubpa Ihaiji’s departure, Zhalngo arranged a similar farewell event*for Phagpalha, a Tulku who had come from southern Tibet with his entourage, bringing gifts including tea, horses and mules, at the same time as the arrival of Thubpa lhaiji from the north. At this event gifts were exchanged with prayers recited continuously rather than there being a debate since the Tulku’s attendants feared that somebody might ask challenging questions of him. “But who would

have done so?” wonders the Dalai Lama, aside.’®’' In 1518, the Neudong Gongma Ngagwang Tashi Dragpa, monarch of the Phagmodru, had offered the Second Dalai Lama Gendun Gyatso new land and a magnificent new residence at Drepung that on completion became known as the Ganden Phodrang.’®® “The Omniscient” Gendun Gyatso’s prior residence at Drepung Monastery had been a smaller building called Luding which, over the intervening century, had become dilapidated through lack of upkeep. It was here that Zhalngo set up a workshop in 1625 for the construction of the silver tomb for Lord Yonten Gyatso that was funded by the Ihubpa Ihaiji’s Mongols.’®’ Zhalngo must have seen that Luding, the former residence of Gendun Gyatso and many other great lamas, was a sacred building full of traditional charm and so made arrangements for it to be renovated.”® He then used it as somewhere pleasant for the Dalai Lama to move in and stay with his teachers and retinue as a change from the Ganden Phodrang from the summer of 1627. The Dalai Lama stayed therein spring and autumn while his main tutor had duties elsewhere.”’ However, Ibid.. ** Ibid., 72 (Dukula 93) ’" Ibid., 63,65-66 (Dukula 78,81-82) ”® Kapstein, 131; Mullin, 112 Karmay 2014,64 (Dukula 79) «® Ibid., 140 (Dukula 182) ”* Ibid., 71,72,73,79-80 (Dukula 90.91,93,102-103)

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

Zhalngo’s affection for Lading had its limits. A dozen years later, in the fourth month of 1639, Chokhor Ling College at Drepung needed new monks’ cells and Zhalngo was the first to propose that Luding be pulled down to make way for them. There was much opposition to this at the monastery in order to preserve the old building: the General Clerical Office of Drepung offered all the available space it had for the new building, adding that the historic sanctity of Luding made its conservation imperative for the monastery. Other monks threatened to leave the monastery if it was demolished. Nevertheless work began and, although nof explicitly stated in the Dalai Lama’s account for 1639, it seems that Zhalngo got hi§ way and Luding was indeed demolished because an entry in Dukula one year later, in the fourth month of 1640, refers back to the time “when Luding wai pulled down in the previous year.”*’^ There was also supposed to have been a concealed stupa at Luding thaf contained the body of one Panchen Bumtrag Sumpa. It was enclosed in a wdll behind the apartment called Nyiwo, "Rays of the Sun.” Hoping the body would still be there, Zhalngo looked for it during the demolition but found only an old brass vessel in the vase in the upper part of the stupa. To dispel fears of this bein^ an inauspicious omen, the Dalai Lama had a new silver stupa made for the vessel, wrote dharani for its contents and performed a consecration ceremony for the stupa, which was to be kept in a chapel of the new building, yet within a few months Tibet was being torn apart by catastrophic civil wars. In fact by this tinie - 1639 - according to Dukula the immediate cause that launched the wars ha^d already occurred, at Tashilhunpo in 1638.”^ Back in 1628, Zhalngo was having a change of heart about the Dalai LamA; now ten, studying Tantra. Several members of staff, including Wonpo Damcho and the steward Norjin, had voiced the opinion that dialecticians were not real religious practitioners and that the boy, as a lama, was now ready for some real spiritual exercises. Tt would not do if he keeps up like that!” they said, meaning his study of metaphysics. So Zhalngo agreed for him to go into retreat but, as the boy lamented, without a tantric master available to guide him: a condition he felt was obligatory. His mother came to see him at this time but, as we have already recounted, a cataract manifested in his eye and he became distraught. In theory the Panchen Rinpoche was his tantric master but being the Abbot of Tashilhunpo based in Shigatse he was not often available in Lhasa. He did advise Zhalngo that for important lamas, apart from the subject matter of the classics, it was less ’«Ibid., 140,146 (Dukula 182,190-191) Ibid., 146 (Dukula 190-191) ’*• Ibid., 147 (Dukula 192)

ZHALNGO’S roles as guardian and educational supervisor, 1621-X658

necessary to study debate. There was also gossip, he writes, from others both inside and outside Drepung; like Sangye Tashi of Gomang College, who criticised his senior tutor Lingme Zhabdrung as professing heretical doctrines, and his sutric curriculum as the study of Hinduism.*’^ Zhalngo continued to vacillate about the Dalai Lama’s education. He was out of his depth, writes the Dalai Lama, and in a quandary about what to do. He was supposed to oversee Lingme Zhabdrung’s tutoring and educational programme for the Dalai Lama and there followed a period of confusion and discussion between Zhalngo, the Kachuwa and Lingme Zhabdrung, with the Dalai Lama trying variations of the sutric and tantric paths but not yet able to understand his own role or situation. He writes he “could not disobey Zhalngo and Kachuwa,” and that he himself was not a tantrist skilled in meditation so when, after two months of Hayagriva practice, he had a vivid dream of praying before a huge statue of the deity in a large and dusty temple, he did not know what to make of it and neither did the others; he writes: “I was a dialectician with the pride that everybody who dares to debate with me would fell to the ground after a single round. Because of this pride I did not know whether I liked or disliked the dream.”

Deciding that the one million recitations of the mantra he had completed was sufficient, he “stopped reciting the tantric practice and saying 'hum hum, phat phat’ complete!/’ Feeling calmer, he went back to simply revising his lessons morning and evening.’’®

In the second month of 1629 Zhalngo received several large groups of travellers from Kham, some of whom were Mongols, including one Tawon Choje who had taken the round-about Chinese route-hpcause the northern route was unsafe as the king of the Chakhar had toppled the government.””’ Tawon Choje brought generous offerings, including funds to gild the roof of Drepung, one thousand zho

*’5 Ibid., 73 (Dukula 93-94) Ibid., 74-75 (Dukula 94-96) Ibid., 76 (Dukula 97-98). This 1629 reference to “the king of the Chakhar,” meaning Legden Khan, must refer to the upheavals of 1627-1629 in Mongolia when there was a massive rebellion against him, which felled - despite being supported by the rising Manchu under its first Emperor Hong Thaiji. Thus this “lack of safety on the northern route” - meaning the caravan route from Mongolia via Kokonor to Lhasa - would have been due to the general state of war in the region. However the travellers could detour via

western China, Dartsedo and Kham. See Appendix on Selected Mongol History for a more background information.

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

6o

of gold and a thousand chests of tea, and requested jenang empowerments from the Dalai Lama, which were conferred?” At this point, Zhalngo was involved in a petty dispute about the possessions of Drepung’s retired treasurer Nangso - a servant of one Jedrung Rinpoche of Chamdo in Kham - who had died at Chokhor Gyal Monastery, his bags already packed for his return to Drepung. Zhalngo sent Kachuwa there, where he argued with Dromdawa about the treasurer’s possessions before dividing them up between them. Unhappily this resulted in the unfortunate expulsion of the Jedrung, who then was suspected of performing magical incantations to harm both Kachuwa and Dromdawa. Zhalngo then fell so ill with colic that he told the Dalai Lama that the time had come for the Dalai Lama to look after him with compassion. Zhalngo, it seemed, comments the Dalai Lama, had finally gained

some faith in him.’”

’’’Ibid. Ibid., 76-77 (Dukula 98-99)

Civil war looms; the Dalai Lamas travels and education, 1630-1635

When the rite of the twenty ninth day of the twelfth month in the Earth-snake year - early in 1630 - was performed in Lhasa, a merchant called Dralha Jengyidong^oo delivered an ominous message to Karmapa at his “great camp” from Donyo Dorje, the anti-Buddhist Bonpo king of Beri in Kham?“' The king wrote

Shakabpa 2010, 338-339. Shakabpa does not provide the Wylie transiteration for this Dralha Jengyidong, but the person is referred to in Dukula as “Drabla the merchant”

tshong dpon dgra lha. Karmay 2014, 151 (Dukula 197-198). Here and elsewhere in Dukula Karmapa is sometimes referred to in the text as “the Garpa^ (sgar pa) meaning “the person of the tent encampment.” It is a soubriquet of his, used by the Fifth Dalai Lama, since he was seen as constantly on the move, of no fixed abode, and Karmapa’s camp was known - citing from Karmay 2104,124 (Dukula 162) - as "the Great Camp, being the unique ornament of the World." I am indebted to Samten Karmay for this information in a personal commimication. Stein, 83, calls the sgar-pa “a military camp” and, 119, says that "from the 12* to 17* centuries Karmapa’s camp (sgar-pa)” was “like a mobile palace, or city, thought of as his capital... always on the move, most of the time engaged in warfare.” Similarly, Richardson, 514, note 6, describes the Karmapa’s mobile “Great Camp” as a “tented monastery with a regular retinue of officials and servants known as sgar-pa” which spent much of the year travelling between their many monasteries and the headquarters of their lay patrons.” Other authors, however, identify “The Garpa” as the head of a powerful Khampa family of militant lamas of the Karma Kagyu school who were enemies of the Gelug dating back at least to the time of Donyo Dorje of the Rinpungpa, who attacked U and the Gelug six times between 1480 and 1498 (see Prologue for details). Examples: Richardson, again, 61

6z

The Fifth Dalai Lama

that “because the Gelug had not undertaken to refrain from inviting Mongols to Central Tibet,” he intended to lead his own army there. He also wrote that the copper Jowo Buddha statue at the Jokhang attracted foreign armies so it should be thrown into the river; that the three great Gelug monasteries near Lhasa should be destroyed and stupas built on their sites. He further proposed that his own family should intermarry with that of the Tsang king, but generously added that both Bonpo and Buddhist monks should always be respected, whether in Central Tibet or Kham. Karmapa sent a reply to the Beri king with the trader. The Dalai Lama learned of this message and - writing decades later - he considered it had been the influence of the Jowo which had rendered the Tsang Desi and his allies powerless to succeed in all those aims. He concludes that Donyo Dorje fulfilled all the ten criteria of being an enemy of the Dharma and clearly deserved to have been the target of destructive rites. “He was a deserving object for the practice of ritual murder {las spyor) as he certainly possessed all the [negative] attributes that characterise the ten [types of beings] that can be violently dispatched to the [Buddha] fields,” notes the Dalai Lama in Dukula.^’’^ 353: “the Garpa were an east Tibetan clan, perhaps from the Karma Densa region, whence sprang the Rinpung princes.” Aris, 224: “the Garpa, a family that led the opposition of the older schools against the joint forces of the Mongols and the Gelug.” Tucci, 67: “Garpa is a family name derived from a place-name in BCham,” and 68: “(the Garpa] were powerful lamas of Karmapa sect.” Dhondup, 26: “Garpon Yapse, a follower of Karmapa led a revolt against Ganden Phodrang.” Shakabpa 1984, 111: “a Karmapa supporter named Garpa Yapse planned a revolt against Ganden Phodrang: a general uprising took place.” Shakabpa 2010, though, describes the late 1632 revolt in detail without mentioning any Garpa, only Karmapa. Karmay 2014, 151 (Dukula 197-198); Dhondup, 20-21; Smith, 107; Mullin, 198; Dorje (et al) 2010,144-145 and 157 note 21 (Part 2, by Tashi Tsering, and dating Donyo Dorje’s message on the 29* day of the twelfth lunar month of the Earth-hare year - the last day of the lunar year, used for exorcising negative forces - stated here to have been in 1639); Shakabpa 2010, 338-339; Shakabpa 1984, 105-106. Notes: Shakabpa 2010, p. 338 (citing p. 99-na of Dukula as his source for this passage in his footnote p. 375) says this message was sent, not to Karmapa but to the Tsang king, and “around the same time” as the Dalai Lama’s full ordination, which occurred on the 5* day of the 3*^ month of the Earth-tiger year, i.e. in the spring of 1638. Although the passage is inserted in Dukula out of chronological order (it is included as a retrospective insert in the account for the Irondragon year of 1640-1641) it is stated to have occurred on the 29* of the 12* month of the Earth-snake year, although that does not agree with Dorje, which says “it was in the Earth­ hare year, 1639.” According to Dukula the Earth-snake year covered 1629-1630, whereas 1638 covered the end of the Earth-tiger year (1637-1638) and most of the Earth-hare year (1638-1639). The version given in Shakabpa 1984 adds that the Beri king’s message to the Tsang king (not to Karmapa as stated in Dukula) was intercepted and handed to Gushri

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63

In the ninth month of 1630, Zhalngo and other attendants accompanied the

Dalai Lama on a visit by invitation to Ganden Monastery. They travelled with stops at Namgyal Monastery and Sangngag Khar, and then at Ganden Monastery, staying at Trithogkhang for fourteen days and circumambulating the tomb of Tsongkhapa many times. Their departure was delayed because Zhalngo engaged in a long discussion with unnamed parties on recriminations and reconciliation for the dispute at Chokhor Gyal Monastery the year before, but that is all that is said. The party continued its tour, visiting Bamso Monastery for lunch. The Dzongpon of Dechen welcomed them to a beautiful tent in the willow park of Dargye for meals and gifts, and they continued to Sangngag Khar for two nights where various public events took place, such as a reading of the Boot of Kadam by

the Dalai Lama from the balcony of a turret. Zhalngo’s horse took fright on the road; the crowds in Lhasa were so enormous that the procession had to dismount at the flower garden and stay at Dokhang.^^ In 1630, Tawon Choje, apparently unaware that Legden Khan had sworn to wipe out the Gelug, told Zhalngo in a meeting with Lingme Zhabdrung that the king of Chakhar - in other words, Legden - had conquered all the Mongols, and therefore it would now be best to accept any invitation from him, even advising on how to respond and prepare for the trip?^ The Dalai Lama, however, saw it as an

Khan - but, as stated, he says the message was sent early in 1630, i.e. four years before Gushri Khan was first contacted by Tibetans, in Dzungaria, by Zhalngo and others. Shakabpa, having cited Dukula as his source, then frames this incident as the immediate casus belli for the civil wars on 1641-1642. Dukula, however, tells a different story, as shown in the text above. Authors Smith, Mullin and Dhondup have all either copied Shakabpa’s misreading ofDukula from Sh^abpa’s translation or made the same misreading of it themselves. Finally, Dorje’s renderingpf Dukula “be ri ‘di zhing bcu tshang nges pas las sbyor yul yin par mngon" says “It became transparent that this [King of] Beri was a [deserving] object for the practice of ritual murder {las sbyor} because he certainly possessed all the [negative] attributes that characterise the ten [types of beings] who can be violently dispatched to the [Buddha]fields," whereas Karmay translates it, 2014, 151 (Dukula 198) as follows:" .. the Beri king, in whom the ten conditions (of an enemy of the doctrine) were complete, obviously deserved to be the aim of destructive rites.” Unlike Dorje, he does not present or define the action as “ritual murder.” Ibid., 85-86 (Dukula 110-112) Ibid., 81 (Dukula 104-105). Tawon Choje refers to Legden Khan of the Chakhar Mongols, who by 1629 had defeated all the Mongol allies who had rebelled against rule as well as the auxiliary armies of the rising Manchu. He had also attacked the Ming dynasty with some success and forced them to pay him an annual subsidy of 81,000 taels of silver (about 3 tonnes). However, being historically inimical towards the Gelug he was unlikely to invite the Dalai Lama. On the contrary, being long affiliated with the Sakya and Karma

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Thb Fifth Dalai Lama

unwelcome waste of time, admiring as he did the lives of Indian saints and yogins

of old and wished he could go and study Buddhism in India instead. Forty years later, however, he candidly admits in Dukula that despite his good intentions at that time, “I became so consumed by the wealth given by the faithful that these aspirations never returned.”^®’ Zhalngo had little patience with monastic officials. When the Dalai Lama was requested by Choling, the Zangdrong Rabjampa, to preside over a ceremony at Gyuto (the Upper Tantric College) he asked for Zhalngo’s advice but Choling interjected, “the way in which the Dalai Lama studies there is a risk he wiU be taken for Lord Gendun Gyatso!” Zhalngo interpreted this as insulting to Lords Sonam Gyatso and Yonten Gyatso and later scornkilty said of Choling, “The monks regard such a stupid lama as the embodiment of Manjushri!” The College later postponed the invitation and in the end the Dalai Lama never went. Come the Iron-sheep New Year of 1631, Zhalngo decided that the Dalai Lama, now thirteen, was capable of presiding over the ceremonies on the third day of the Great Prayer of Monlam, chanting prayers alone. He accepted and he did well, and even took part in debates after the prayers. However, Zhalngo vetoed a suggestion that he arrive like his predecessors amid the fanfare of shawms and a magnificent Chinese canopy. Zhalngo told him it would be beneficial if he took part in the

public geshe examination of one Baso Tulku when it came up. Advised by Lingme Zhabdrung to debate with the Tulku quietly and gently rather than being too aggressive with him. the Dalai Lama posed him some simple questions on the division of time in monastic discipline over the year, but when the Tulkus response was calculated the months summed up to fourteen instead of twelve, causing the listeners mirth at his expense.^*'^ Zhalngo had become preoccupied with a court case concerning the people of Taglung to the north of Lhasa who had attacked Girti Tulku, so at the end of Monlam when the Dalai Lama returned to Drepung, Zhalngo had to stay in Lhasa for the case. In the spring term, the Dalai Lama was expected to be Leader of Recitation” but he writes that his condition became dull and he felt incapable of it:

Lobzang Chodrag of Changdrong was therefore called in to help his memorisation and improve his performance. Lobzang Chodrag, though evidently respected as a

Kagyu orders - and allied with the king of.Tsang - he was bent on destroying them. See Appendix on Selected Mongol History for more background information. /

IhidIbid., 81 (Dukula 105). According to Michael Richards "Zangdrong Rabjampa is a title meaning, literally, “noble degree holder for the performance of village rituals.” Ibid., 86-88 (Dukula 112-115)

Civil war looms; the Dalai Lama’s travels and education, 1630-1635

65

scholar and teacher, was an ugly monk who wore old clothes, had rough manners and a blunt way of speaking and this caused him to be disliked by Zhalngo and also generally. When the Dalai Lama foiled to fulfil his expected role as the Leader of reciution," Lobzang Chodrag berated him roundly for his “weird” behaviour giving rise to anxiety; he also criticised Zhalngo for his vacillation. Declaring he was already too busy “having to look after this wretched monastery;’ he mocked the Dalai Lama, saying “High-ranking lamas like you, who sit on high thrones, cover themselves in silken robes and spend their time acting in a pompous manner. Your two predecessors were the same. While you yourself have not been engaged in what you are supposed to do, you begin to judge other lamas!”

>

The Dalai Lama then urged Lingme Zhabdrung to persevere with him and in the end did manage to lead the recitation as required. Lingme Zhabdrung was also

cross with him and criticised him for being so absorbed in childish play for years, telling him he must now begin to study in earnest if he wanted to become a proper lama. “If the red chiefs have no purpose, better to be a blue chief!” he exclaimed.

“What is a red chief?” asked the Dalai Lama. “They are the high-ranking lamas

like you!” he retorted. The Dalai Lama, looking back at this over time, comments that it was “profoundly incomparable advice for urging one to practise religion.”^“ That summer of 1631 Zhalngo accompanied the Dalai Lama who was mvited back to E Rigo and they travelled south in procession “foUowing the pompous ways of high-ranking lamas who made much of the eight kinds of worldly activities.” There had been a severe drought that year and at Cholung one Nakha

Zhalngo requested the Dalai Lama to do something that would cause rain. “How could a simple dialectician like me summon rain?” he wondered to himself. However, he had with him a special statue called Dorje Phurba that had come to the Lord Sonam Gyatso through Kunzangtse. Its real name was Pephur Khamsum Namgyal. Pausing by the side of a river, he performed an ablution ceremony for it and that evening a heavy rain feU - so heavy that it produced bubbles on the groimd.^® On the way back from E Rigo, Zhalngo arranged for the party to stoy at several places. At Kadam Phodrang he urged the Dalai Lama to do a week’s retreat, which

he did - but unwillingly. Zhalngo then suffered a skin disease and stayed two days at the hot springs at Dzingchi. While they were visiting Depa Dragkhawa. some serious reports of Mongol incursions in the north came via Khartag and royal Ibid., 74-75,89-90 (Dukula 95-96,117)

Ibid., 91, (Dukula 118)

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

letters from Tsang also came to Zhalngo, one after the other, wrapped in ceremonial scarves. At Yarlung, Zhalngo talked enthusiastically about the noble qualities of the Phagmodru who lived close by at Neu Dongtse, and although no invitation to the travellers was forthcoming, a meeting with officials was contrived nevertheless at the ford of Gerpa where a lady of the noble house passed on her way to visit relatives. They erected a tent by the ford with cooking facilities to welcome her and a crowd of people led by three generals assembled and saluted her in a manner appropriate for the status of a lady of the Phagmodru.^'® They came to the temple of Samye and while the Dalai Lama was on the top floor of the temple, the “religious protector,” a powerful but subjugated spirit, entered the medium but Zhalngo advised the Dalai Lama, who was called down and ready to meet it, against conducting a dialogue with the spirit because it had

a reputation for being hostile to high lamas, even Karmapa Mikyo Dorje and Lord Yonten Gyatso. The Kachuwa volunteered to intercede with it instead but the protector evidently felt snubbed, complaining that the Dalai Lama could not come, saying “Outside, the earth is so spacious! Why should the mandala be so narrow inside? I have been as far as Bodh Gaya, why can’t he come to the place where I, the ghost, lives?” It then showed its displeasure, adding “Will there not be harm to the animals?”

On the last stage of the journey to Drepung, five or six horses and mules among their pack animals perished, giving surprising credibility to this veiled threat and to the power and reach of the supposed spirit.^" On the approach to Lhasa, they were welcomed at the Kyichu ford of Lhadong at Sangngag Khar by two hundred Oirat Mongols led by Wensa Tuiku, who followed the procession and came to visit the Dalai Lama personally after he had reached his Lhasa lodgings, the home of the Gonashag family.^*^ The arrival of these Oirat late in 1631 signalled new waves of Mongol arrivals in Tibet that

winter. There had been several years of political turmoil in Mongolia since the last Great Khaghan of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, Legden Khan (1588-1634), started the attempt to re-unite the left and right wings - eastern and western - of the Mongol nation under his rule in 1625-1627. He was a sworn enemy of the Gelug because Altan Khan, a Gelug Mongol, had subjugated his great-grandfather in the mid-sixteenth century and weakened the Dynasty. He was also allied with China’s Ibid., 97-99 (Dukula 126-129) Ibid., 99 (Dukula 130) Ibid.

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1630-1635

failing Ming dynasty against their Jurchen challengers from the north east, the rising Manchu, who were in the course of founding the Qing Dynasty. As a result of Legden Khan’s persistent attempts to coerce and dominate other Mongol Tumen and attack the Gelug, there was a massive Mongol rebellion against him in 1628, but by 1629 he had rallied and defeated them all, as well as the Manchu auxiliary forces. He then attacked his own Chinese Ming Dynasty allies, successfully extorting from them double his annual subsidy or tribute, from forty thousand to eighty one thousand taels of silver, about three tonnes. Legden Khan was already allied with the king of Tsang, through his long affiliation with the older Tibetan Buddhist orders. By 1629 or 1630 he had subdued all his Mongol, Manchu and Ming enemies but in 1631 was beset by a new and powerful alliance that rose up against him. This signalled the end of the Dynasty and with the remnants of his own Chakhar people he was forced to retreat from China and Mongolia towards Gansu and Kokonor in the west, via the south western region of Mongolia, Ordos.^'^ As a symptom of these Mongolian upheavals, in 1631, in Tibet, “a great horde” of Mongol armies suddenly arrived in Dam, the pasturelands of the broad Dam Chu valley a hundred kilometres north of Lhasa, a favourite place for Mongols to roam in since at least 1558?*'* Groups from the Mongol left and the right wings converged there, causing great anxiety to the king of Tsang and everyone else in central Tibet. In Lhasa, however, small groups of a thousand Khalkha, three hundred Oirat, three hundred more Thumed and various others all came bearing gifts for the Gelug, requesting the Dalai Lama for teachings and initiations and inviting him to Mongolia. During the Water-monkey New Year celebrations of 1632 they were well received by Zhalngo and the Gelug. In their honour, the Dalai Lama presided over the congregation, conferring a public jenang of Chuchigzhal - Eleven-faced Ihousand-armed Chenrezig - as well as a wang of longevity of the’ Drugyal tradition and finally reciting the prayer to Maitreya.^^’ In retrospect, the Dalai Lama deeply regretted missing his Guru Panchen Rinpoche’s masterful discourse at the New Year’s Great Monlam, so in the first month he invited the Rinpoche from Lhasa to Drepung for instruction and

Atwood, 9-10, 88-89,334-335,407-410,421, 550; Stein, 82; also Wikipedia articles on Ligdan Khan, Northern Yuan Dynasty, Chakhar, Khalkha Mongols, Altan Khan and Choghtu [Chogthu] Khong Tayiji for additional details. See also Appendix on Selected Mongol History for a more comprehensive summary. Atwood, 573; Karmay 2014,101 (Dukula 131) Karmay 2014, 101-102 (Dukula 131-133). Drugyal is Niguma, the consort of Naropa.

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68

received twenty days of tantric teachings and initiations? ® *

This started a new

complicated discussion with Lingme Zhabdrung, the Kachuwa and Zhalngo

about the Dalai Lama’s further education as a tantric practitioner or scholarly

dialectician. The Dalai Lama mockingly declared his low opinion of how see sees Tantric Lamaism, an occupation which he refers to at this stage of his education as

“being religious:” “I have absolutely no interest in being religious like a pretentious great lama, a meditator with his meditation hat and cord, a meditator who raises his eyebrows, a tantrist who plays musical instruments and rattles his raksha rosary, or one of

those who do village rituals like vultures hovering about the corpses!

Lingme Zhabdrung praised him for saying this, commenting that the first

Dalai Lama, “Gendun Drub, learned and taught till his hair was white,” and that “the final end of the Kadampa’s life is always good!”

i

1 Zhalngo, however, faced with opinions offered by “influential men and poor people” apparently criticising dialectics, became confused, and the Dalai Lama

characterises his somewhat incoherent attempts to justify his stance as being

deceitful. He lists some of the attitudes confusing Zhalngo as follows: “That a great lama must be learned; that a dialectician, who is dry as a horn, will not go very far. That no occasions will arise where he needs to engage in metaphysical debate, leaning forward on the ground with right knee or left knee; engaging ordinary people in debate wiU be useless. It is pointless to engage those who just

ask for the wang”

For the time being, the Dalai Lama did not respond to this? ^ * It is then reported that Khalkha Mongol forces had apparently invaded and

defeated “the Hor Topa and the Yami at Ger.”^* ’ More detail is not forthcoming and the Hor Topa and the Yami are not further identified, but it appears that a

Ibid., 102-103 (Dukula 133) Ibid., 103-104 (Dukula 134-135) “Hor Topa” means the “Upper Mongols” of Kokonor in Amdo who played a majof role in Mongol-Tibetan politics in the 17 *** century. They originated from the Mongols who moved into Kokonor for various reasons in the 16th and 17th centuries, beginning in 1509, eventually subjugating the Tibetan population and becoming Tibetanised themselves in the process. See Atwood, 573. Hor Mepa means “Lower Mongols” and judging by G. Tucci’s reference (p. 60) it refers to the Khalkha, in other words Mongols still living al

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battle took place somewhere in Dam - “Ger” is not identifiable apart from being

the Mongol name for the circular tent, the better-known Siberian name for which is “Yurt” - where Mongols of the left and the right wings had gathered earlier, and had now fought - which severely alarmed the Tibetans. The Tsang king - who had

mustered all his Tibetan forces around him to protect himself from any attack -

now urgently requested both Zhalngo and Panchen Rinpoche go to the Mongol camps together to broker peace, but Panchen Rinpoche went there alone without

saying a word to avoid Zhalngo, who felt snubbed. Panchen Rinpoche also left

without waiting for Dingpon Namkhadrug the lieutenant - or the Dalai Lama’s message to the Mongols, which was crucial. This was the third instance of

misunderstanding and lack of communication between Panchen Rinpoche and Zhalngo. Zhalngo, suspecting the Panchen was being poorly advised, wanted to parley with him, but the Panchen, under the influence of his attendants Chopal

and Lunpubachen and fearful of risking his advantage and that of his attendants,

just went ill-prepared straight to the Mongol military camp. Lingme Zhabdrung correctly observed that without bearing a message from the Dalai Lama the Panchen’s mission would fail, so Zhalngo, accompanied by the lieutenant, followed after him with the message which he delivered. Panchen Rinpoche is not mentioned again, but the Mongols, whose original intentions are unclear, accepted whatever was contained in the Dalai Lama’s message, packed up and headed north, leaving Central Tibet.^'’ The Tsang king was now extremely pleased with what Zhalngo had managed

to do; a great Mongol army had advanced into central Tibet as far south as Kochim in Dam and was now retreating without having achieved a victory but without any loss of prestige. Perhaps they comprised two rival factions and had managed to settle their own differences with the help of the Dalai Lama’s message, but this is not made clear in Dukula. In Lhasa, everyone had been starting to panic in fear of

a terrible attack and all the sacred objects were being taken from the monasteries to be hidden away in safety. Zhalngo and his assistants arrived at Drepung on their way back to Lhasa, their faces wreathed in smiles to everyone’s great relief. Zhalngo

initially had been worried when rumours abounded and had consulted clairvoyants at Phabongkha, only to be assured there was no danger.^® In the spring of 1632, the Kachuwa fell seriously ill and died that autumn. Without him, the Dalai Lama was unable to communicate directly with Zhalngo

lower altitude than Kokonor, i.e. in Mongolia. However in general Mongols not settled in Tibet, i.e. those based in Mongolia, were also referred to by Tibetans simply as “Hor.”

«»Ibl» Ibid., 147 (Dukula 192)

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aj^pointment as abbot of Zhalu, as was his wish. He also gave him some parting gifts. No reference was made to the Gego’s rebellion or any other earlier events. Zhalu being a Sakya monastery, the Panchen’s chandzeu, Lhundrup Lingpa, talked about “the unsuitability of changing one’s religious tradition.” He claimed that by

stating this he was giving a service to his lama, but the Dalai Lama saw it as a disgraceful thing for him to have said. This all took place two years after their first sign of discord, over the "Gego” rebellion. However when Panchen Rinpoche died the following spring aged 93, in 1662, the Dalai Lama, rather than travelling to Tsang to attend the funeral of the great scholar who had been his lifelong guru sent Lhakhang Chodze and two assistants to Shigatse to represent him, and, summoned urgently to Samye by “the great religious protector,” set off in the opposite direction two weeks later. Based on this, one historian, ignoring the Panchen Rinpoches warm, amiable and productive visit from Zhalu in 1661, asserts that his support of Depa Norbu’s rebellion had, in fact, turned the Dalai Lama against him permanently?^ The next petition on behalf of Norbu during the rebellion came a few days later, at the beginning of the eleventh month of 1659-1660. Damcho Namgyal of Tsethang, abbot of Ganden Monastery’s Jangtse Dratsang, obtained an audience with the Dalai Lama. He was accompanied by an impressive team of influential religious figures in support, made up of the hierarchy of the great Gelug monasteries in U. It included a former Ganden Tripa,'^^ the abbot of Ganden Shartse, the head teachers of Sera and Drepung, the leaders of monastic hostels, other rteachers, the Tulku of Nyiding Trewo and the treasurer of Taglung. The leader, Damcho Namgyal, began his audience by asserting that he was Norbu’s own brother and claimed to own multiple attestations to prove it, as if such a relationship were to his great advantage, and demanded benefit from the state, such’as being granted a substantial estate. He evidently came before the Dalai Lama a little too soon after the last petitioners, for his host wasted no further time listening and dismissed him and his companions with a scornful tongue-lashing. Nobody alive, he declared, could claim to be a brother or a descendant of Norbu. The officials of Kyisho and Shun, he pointed out, were all related to each other in

I* Ibid., 456-457 (Dukula 617-618); Dorje, 327 Ibid., 461-462 (Dukula 622) Yamaguchi, 25 “Ganden Tripa” is the title of the spiritual head of the Gelug order, a post which alternates every seven years between the abbots of the two colleges of Ganden Monastery, Jangtse and Shartse. The title is awarded on merit according to learning and scholastic achievement.

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

any case, but if he had to care about all that there would be no time left and he would be “doing it until he lost his hair.” He asked them rhetorically whether it would be appropriate if Tsedong Dagchen (presumably a minor and obscure relative of the Dalai Lama) was invited to preside over the annual Monlam festival, lit with an oil lamp, on the excuse that he was the Dalai Lama’s nephew. He continued to ridicule the unfortunate abbot’s petition, in front of all his followers and supporters, finally saying that Gushri Khan had not presented him, the Dalai Lama, with the Thirteen Myriarchies of Tibet just so that he could hand them out to the likes of the Gego - meaning the abbot. In summary, he writes that he “explained to them in detail whether the events of that year amounted to a rebellion by his subjects, or not,” and that was the end of his account of this important mass audience and the discussion. Clearly, he would have forcefully concluded that the situation did amount to a revolt.^” The visitors must have left much chastened, but this instance shows, again, the notable extent of the sympathy that existed in support of the Gego - even among the Gelug hierarchy. Mongol support aside, it would begin to appear, surprisingly, that rather than enjoying massive support from his Gelug community, the Dalai Lama seems to be comparatively isolated in his opposition to the Gego, even in U and among the Gelug. The current Ganden Tripa, though, together with masters from Sera and Drepung - Erteni Khenpo and the Taglung chandzeu - withdrew from the main group of petitioners and asked the Dalai Lama’s permission to mediate with the Gego, rather than support them. “If there were any conflict” observes the Ganden Tripa, “one may need to hoist a flag, hurl a torma or fly banners,” implying that things could get ugly and conflict should be avoided. The Dalai Lama comments that his mind was pure and that this mediation would not carry much weight, but kindly consented to their participation in the process. He also notes that Erteni Khenpo and the Taglung chandzeu prided themselves on their insight and mastery of worldly affairs and accomplishments, which boded well for any mediation by this small group with the Gego.*”

”® Ibid., 414 (Dukula 560-561) Ibid., 414 (Dukula 561)

The Siege ofKhamsum Zilnon and War by Wrathful Ritual, 1659-1660

Here the focus of the story shifts away from Lhasa to the rebel headquarters in the magnificent early-seventeenth century fortress, or Dzong, of Shigatse, also known as Samdrubtse Dzong, also called “Khamsum Zilnon” meaning “Dominating the Three Realms,astride a rocky outcrop that dominates Nyangme (the lower Nyang Chu valley) where the Nyang Chu River, flowing from Gyantse, debouches into the Yarlung Tsangpo. It was built of stone in 1615 by king Karma Phuntsog Namgyal (1587-1621)5 the descendant of the mid-sixteenth century founder of the Tsangpa Dynasty Karma Tseten Dorjee. The power of his dynasty had transformed the sleepy village estate of Samdrubtse into the city of Shigatse and the capital of Central Tibet. This Dzong is said to have been a model for the Potala. Palace built three decades later in Lhasa. In 1642 its main assembly room hosted the enthronement of the Fifth Dalai Lama before a large gathering of leaders to witness Gushri Khan’s offer of his conquered territories - the whole of Tibet - after the destructive civil wars of 1640-42. It stands proudly to the north of’the town, dominating the broad flat area where the Nang Chu River flows northwards from Gyantse in the south east and flows into the Yarlung Tsangpo. One road goes north of the Dzong to connect with the ferry across the Tsangpo and to the south it splits into two main roads connecting Shigatse with Sakya (south-west) and Gyantse (south-east). The original Dzong was destroyed in 1961 after the Chinese occupation, but rebuilt in concrete in 2007 on a somewhat less Karmay 1988,9

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massive and imposing scale, seen by comparing photographs made pre- and post1950?°^Today there is a large built-up area and a thriving market, for Shigatse was for many centuries an important trading post for goods from India, China, Ladakh and all over Tibet. In the winter of 1659-1660, this area around the base, called Zhol (“Below”), is where the Ganden Phodrang forces camped and laid siege and negotiated with the Gego and rebels inside the Dzong.^“ “It was understood at the start,” grumbles the Dalai Lama at this point, evidently^ taken by surprise by the unexpected seizure by the rebels of Zhol, the village and market area spreading outside below the Dzong, “that only the Dzong would be held,” as if a provisional pact to limit or define the rebels* territory had already been made discreetly with the Ganden Phodrang, though there is no mention of how, by whom or when - a significant omission, deliberate or accidental, showing another aspect in the account of the dealings with the Gego in Dukula is incomplete. Tregangpa Tshering, who appears to have been charged with preparing the rebel military defences, was now reported to have returned from Phagri although until now in Dukula we had not been told he had gone there - and since arriving he had already caused this broad area at the base of the Dzong to be occupied and fortified.^®’ From this we deduce two things. First, Tregangpa’s visit to Phagri, the town at the main crossing of the Tibet-Bhutan border by which all Tibetan armies had invaded western Bhutan via the nearby Tremo La pass, can only mean one thing: he went to the border to ensure the Bhutanese forces were ready to invade. This is the first sign in Dukula that a Bhutanese invasion of Tibet was part of the rebel plan. Second, the occupation and fortification of the built-up area at the foot of the Dzong violated an “understanding” that the Gego “would only hold the fort,” indicating the rebels were not acting in good faith.^*^ Ihaiji of Ukhere and his hundred Mongol warriors now reached the Dzong and he did not hesitate to attack, about a week after the decision was made in Lhasa to send them to the Dzong in the middle of the tenth month. “There was no hope to hold back the waters,” writes the Dalai Lama. The Mongols’engaged >the holders of the outer fortifications in skirmishes right away, forcing their way in, to capture rebels and take them out of the Dzong, though strangely, only Tregangpa

See Harrer’s 1950 photo of the Dzong for an illustration, as well as the WP photo of the present building for use. See also Plate #3 in “The Illusive Play” and many, including Plates 86,89 and 90, in Richardson’s “High Peaks Pure Earth.” Karmay 2014,166 (Dukula 216-217); Dorje, 319-320,322 Ibid., 415 (Dukula 561) "*Ibid.

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Tshering was caught and brought out - “like a sheep being led to the slaughter,”

writes the Dalai Lama?®’ "This is a second indication that Tregangpa could have been a double agent, affecting to work with the rebels while reporting back to the Ganden Phodrang. Was-his capture knowingly faked, enabling him to warn the government that the Bhutanese had been summoned by the Gego and were about to invade, while not breaking his cover as a rebel? If not, how else could the government have known about the invasion, and that Tregangpa had been to Phagri? There may have been other spies at work but this was vital information, which the Gego would have striven to keep top secret. It enabled the Ganden Phodrang to send an army to Phagri and block the Tremo La pass - a crucial move, as we will see. The-skirmishes at the fort halted once Tregangpa was “brought out” and his name, is not mentioned again until the rebellion is over. Nowhere is it stated he was imprisoned or punished for his treason. Soon after this the “Two Royal Brothers,” Tendzin Dayan Gyalpo and Tendzin Dalai Han, summoned by the Dalai Lama’s men, arrived at the scene of the siege with their Mongol army, having ridden down to Tsang from their pastures somewhere on the southern slopes of the Western Nyenchen Thanglha mountains.^®’ Was their discreet but handy positioning there part of contingency plans made at their last summer’s conference with the Dalai Lama, in the event of being needed in Central Tibet?^®^ Had the political situation been normal, they would have wintered in their own territories farther away to the northeast, in Amdo. The rebellion and the Ganden Phodrang’s reaction were now out in the open, yet the skirmishes stopped and talks began. The Dalai Lama states that “it was from here” that the plan for recapturing the fort from the Gego - one not hitherto referred to in Dukula - was brought into play. The Uncle and Nephew and the Two Royal Brothers began discussions, beginning - and ending - with their assurances that the Brothers had been misinformed by the Dalai Lama’s aides Jrinle Gyatso, Ngari Drungpa, Tagrune and Dapon Worpa, though the Dalai Lama in an aside assures his readers all thes6 four aides were innocent of the charge. The Dalai Lama reveals his tactics when he writes that the Gego had thought the Mongols merely came to mediate a settlement. Though they were indeed not ready for battle, the Mongols nevertheless wore their battle armour menacingly. This opening gambit put the rebels on the defensive, being afraid of the Mongols .“5 Ibid. Ibid. Ibid., 402 (Dukula 546-547)

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in battle and not confident enough to fight. No further dialogues are reported in Dukula, though plenty did take place, leading the Dalai Lama to ask rhetorically: “How could these two take the fort unless they themselves engaged in a fight? The answer came in the form of more rounds of wrathful, magical ritual. First, he set his chief ritual official, Nyingma Master Rigdzin Perna Trinle, the Fourth Dorjedrag Tulku (1641-1717) and his team of thirty attendants, to work at Dorjedrag Monastery, recently built at a tranquil spot on the north bank of the Tsangpo at Gongkar, forty kilometres south of Lhasa. This important Nyingma lama and his monastery had been forced out of Tsang in 1632, when the Third Tulku had to flee the wrath of the king of Tsang, a supporter of the Kagyu and persecutor of the Nyingma. The Dalai Lama had helped the Third Tulku to re­ establish Dorjedrag at Gongkar in U, and assisted the Fourth Tulku’s development;^'® he writes, long after the rebellion, that this young Tulku was learned, diligent and a master of Buddhism, and that he gave him every help and encouragement, answering all the Tulku’s questions without hesitation.^’” He now, to accomplish his strategic policy - victory over the rebels - sent for the nineteen year old Tulku to conduct the destructive rite of the wind wheel and the rite of suppression. There was a sign of success: the wind wheel rapidly produced flames. Before they returned, he instructed them and paid them for their services - as was considered necessary for such wrathful activities. A letter came from back from the Tulku saying good signs confirmed the rituals had worked. Similar rites of suppression and destruction were also ordered at Chonggye to be performed by the men of Palri, again to ensure the effectiveness of the strategic policy?” In addition to his strategy of isolating the rebels from their supporters throughout the countryside, the Dalai Lama considered restricting the movements of independent owners of castles and estates, as was customary in times of disturbance in order to prevent such things as the rebels visiting their allies in Tsang to summon troops to their aid at the Dzong. Realising such restrictions would be impracticable, he decided not to do so, quoting a quaint Tibetan proverb as his rationale:

Ibid., 415 (Dukula 561-562) “5 The same Tulku, the Fourth, was killed at the age of 77 and the new Dorjedrag monastery was destroyed by the Dzungar Mongols in 1717, see Epilogue and Dorje, 197. Karmay 2014,421 (Dukula 570) Ibid., 415 (Dukula 562)

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"When there is a tax on birds, one shows the teeth of a mouse; when there is a tax

on mice, one shows the wing of a bird.”’*’

The Dalai Lama was not alone in having wrathful rites performed to frustrate the rebel cause. The physician Lobzang Norbu Palden of Pusang wrathfully cursed the Gego while performing the atonement rite (bskangs bshags) of Palden

Dungkypngma. His curse must have been very impressive, for the Dalai Lama comments that “if some of the monks of Losal Ling (a coUege of Drepung), Rawatopa (also known as Rato Monastery, near Lhasa) and Kyepa (a college of Sera Monastery) could have observed this, their faith in him would have intensified.”^*^ As the struggle between the Dalai Lama and his antagonists spread ever wider, it even began to influence the Tibetan spirit world and its invisible agents. The “king spirit” Gyalpo Tshangpa Dungthochen, a form of the Indian god Brahma wearing a headdress topped with a white conch?'^ through its oracle, issued a detailed set of instructions for Gelug estabUshments to implement “religious services of loyaltyT All Gelug monasteries, Vantric establishments and village­

based temples were told to perform the “demon-exorcism” (bdud bzlog) rite in defence of the Gelug-based doctrine in general and to avert obstacles in such neighbouring countries as Mongolia. PhUosophical establishments were directed to carry out the “torma exorcism” (gtor bzlog} rite. The Dalai Lama ordered the lamas, and stewards of two hundred and fifty monasteries to carry out these services nonstop and the government funded tea offerings for all participants three times a day during the services.^*^ One can imagine the impact that the show of such.intensive, country-wide religious activities of loyalty to the Ganden Phodrang from on high might have had on those superstitious members of the public who harboured sympathy for the rebels. Many of them might have had second thoughts when threatened with supernatural retribution. Lhatsun Kunzang Namgyal of Dzogchen revealed the ritual cycle of Yizhm Norbu Sai Nyingpo in Dremojong, Sikkim, and sent the texts, including a prophetical one, to the Dalai Lama with Namchag Dragbeb of Magsog Khampa.^*^

d

Ibid. Ibid. In his wrathful form, he is called Gyalchen Setrabpa and is the principal protector

of Sangphu Monastery, mentioned below as south of Lhasa. Karmay 2014,416 (Dukula 562-563) Ibid., 416 (Dukula 563)

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At this stage of the struggle, the reader of Dukula is made aware of the Dalai \ Lama’s personal prowess as a tantric magician. Taking things into his own hands, he put into practise skills he had learned from tantric gurus. First, he himself; conferred the jenang of Nojin Begtse^^’ for those Namgyal monks who had not yet received it, empowering them to participate in the wrathful rite, and on the fifth of the eleventh month he began conducting it on a daily basis, based on Nojin Begtse’s torma. Each evening, he writes, when the torma was hurled, it moved “in,; a malignant fashion.” When the wind-wheel was hurled from the Potala temple hall, the tso burst into flames that flashed repeatedly. The flashes were seen by the monks of Sera Monastery as they finished off their evening ritual in the Sera courtyard north of Lhasa. On the eleventh and the twentieth^’® when the torma was hurled from the Potala temple hall, its tso burst into flames and was bizarrely said to have ignited the tamarisk brushwood border of the wall of Shigatse Dzong, two hundred and fifty kilometres to the west as the crow flies. Witnesses at the Dzong, both defenders and attackers, saw these flames. Many other wonderful signs occurred, such as the torma representing Begtse’s retinue falling out of its container and down onto the ground. The Dalai Lama writes that when he saw this he concluded the rite immediately.^*’ He also writes to confirm the extent of support for the Gego in U - an impression we already have from the petitions from Gelug hierarchs. “It was probable,” he muses, “that there were many who sympathised with the Gego and who were hiding themselves at Zhol and Lhasa, and up and down the Monasteries.” The fact that he knew that Zhol, the village at the foot of the Potala, and Lhasa itself, were just two among many other nearby places in U where pro-Gego factions quietly lived their lives - or, as he put it, “hid themselves” - further indicates the broad and widely known extent of the Gego’s support base, even in U. There was a lot of “disturbance,” he added - arguments and disputes presumably, both within and without the monasteries - accompanied by fear, expressed by Nojin Begtse is also known as Begtse Chen, Red Mahakala, Jamsaran and Chamsing, “the Great Coat of Mail” and is a particularly wrathful Buddhist “Dharmapala” protector spirit or "lord of war.” He wears a chainmail shirt; see the Himalayan Art Resources website description under “Begtse Chen.” According to this H.A.R. website information, Begtse Chen is derived from an Indian deity figure (SKT “Prana Atma”), and not from a pre­ Buddhist, female Mongolian war-god, as mistakenly asserted by some Western scholars for over a hundred years. The text says this was of the tenth month but an error is evident as it would be completely out of sequence: between the eleventh and the twentieth of the tenth month the rebellion was only just beginning. Karmay 2014,416 (Dukula 563)

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loyal-'supporters, that they might unwittingly come into contact with rebels and share meals with them, and that such innocent communal acts with people considered contaminated by rebellious thoughts would also pollute and attract karmicTetribution. We can therefore say that, firstly, the populace did believe the rites could bring them harm if they were disloyal in the slightest and secondly, the atmosphere among the Tibetan community throughout the region had become tense and unsettled, if not poisonous, due to the rebellion Now, Nojin Chenpo and its associated spirits entered the fray. Nojin Chenpo, • the ancient spirit at Samye Monastery, was also known as Tsi’u mar, and encompassed the “eight categories of arrogant deity-demons. ” It declared, through its oracle,'on behalf of this group of spirits, that they all wanted to go to Nyangme to join’lhe battle, adding, “As an auspicious sign, ritual armour, weapons and musical* instruments are needed.”^^* The Dalai Lama, receiving this message, “amply offered” the required articles and replied with a written invocation to the arrogant ones urging them to take action by transforming the rebels - Gego and Tregangpa were named, in particular - into their red meals.^ The names of the Ibid. “Nyangme” refers to the lower valley of the Nyang Chu, the river which flows in a north/Westerly direction from Gyantse - which is upstream and to the south-east of Shigatse. After arriving at Shigatse in the broad Nyangme area (containing the town, the Dzong,; Tashilhunpo and other monasteries and villages) the Nyang Chu river then debouches into the Tsangpo The text of this letter from the Dalai Lama invoking Tsi’u mar caused a misun'derst^ding when late Tibetologist Professor Elliot Sperling misread it as an order from the Dalai Lama to one of his Generals - to massacre the rebels, their families and servants." Wisdom Publications then published an essay Sperling wrote presenting this as an order for mass murder, called “Orientalism and Aspects of Violence in the Tibetan tradition” in their 1996 book “Imagining Tibet: Perceptions, Projections, and Fantasies”. Sperling, however, acknowledged his error prior to his death in 2017, but not before the accusation that the Fifth Dalai Lama had ordered mass murders had been picked up and repeated in various other publications as a result, and even used sometimes to criticise Tibetan culture and the Fifth Dalai Lama himself, labelling him a mass-murderer, including in his Wikipedia article. See Sperling’s footnote 5 in his same article that was re-published on the “info-Buddhism.com” website (info-buddhism.com/Orientalism_ Violence'_Tibetan_Buddhism _Elliot_Sperling.html#fn5), where he writes: Note by Elliot Sperling, Feb. 4, 2016: “Rather than indicating military action, as the original article mistakenly implied, the missive from the Sth Dalai Lama was addressed to a protector deity and sought the punishments that are mentioned therein via divine means. I’m grateful to Samten Karmay for pointing this out and to Sean Jones for spurring further inquiry. ES”. Sperling also argued that ordering murder by divine means was tantamount to ordering it by mundane means. However, the fact remains that this rebellion was

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rebels were placed in the skull-cup of Dorje Phagmo. The deity Tsen-go Tawara. also demanded, through its oracle, offerings of a scarf and ritual armour and weapons, which the Dalai Lama obliged?^ While the Dalai Lama was preparing to perform a destructive rite based on Namchag Urmo, a messenger came bearing a samta board with a message from the Dragna Choje, the wrathful ritual master from an old Nyingma monastery in Tsang, Changchub Ling, which, like Dorjedrag, had been treated badly by the king of Tsang. Its lama had rebelled against the king and by 1654 the monastery had abandoned its estate, called Kholma, which lay in ruins; like that of Milarepa’s father, comments the Dalai Lama.^^ Changchub Ling was a Nyingma monastery in Chushur founded by the Dalai Lama in 1651 to maintain the ritual practices during his absence while in China?^^ jje expected the lama's samta board message to contain advice on performing some destructive rite, but instead it defended and justified the Gego at length, asserting they were in the right, not the Dalai Lama. Clearly exasperated, the Dalai Lama made no reply at all and, contrary to the polite Tibetan custom, the unfortunate messenger was sent back to Chushur without being offered any food or tea for his trouble or his long journey. Nothing more was heard from this particular Dragna Choje.^^^ In Kyisho, the Lhasa valley, the wrathful rituals performed by those loyal to the Dalai Lama and imder his control were increasing in number, intensity and effect. From the eleventh day of the eleventh month onwards, the Dalai Lama had the destructive Namchag Urmo rite performed by ten monks including the renowned tantric magician Chingpa Ngagrampa. Frequent signs of success occurred: sudden windstorms, ritual wheels bursting into, flames, torma flashing and the like. Nyingma artists Agur and his brother Ngagban Ngagwang Trinle of Zhikashar m Lhasa drew the wind wheels of Lungmar, the “Red Wind” deity and Begtse, “the Great Coat of Chainmail” on paper, and by the end of the month the rite was performed immaculately. Led by their own Dragna Choje, a group of Namgyal

quelled without a single injury or death being reported by anyone, and as for as actual fighting was concerned, only some initial “skirmishes” took place. This result serves to vindicate the Dalai Lama’s whole strategy throughout the potentially serious crisis created by Gego which threatened to set off a new civil war: he achieved the opposite outcome to what Professor Sperling envisaged and portrayed in his essay. Karmay 2014,416 (Dukula 563-564) Ibid., 218,340 (Dukula 289,457) Treasury of Lives, biography of Depa Norbu, TBRC reference number TBRC P1TD48. Ibid., 417 (Dukula 564)

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monks enacted the same rite over a number of days at Luphug, a park or open area in Lhasa. Then, on the seventh day of the first twelfth month, two of the monks, Lodro Chodar and Ngopa Shenyen Palzang, were told to “shoot the torma of Lungmar” towards Nyangme where Gego and company were ensconced at the Dzong. They placed the wheel of Begtse at the corner of the Potala’s temple hall; every day, as soon as they began the wheel rite, a powerful windstorm blew up the valley.“^ Meanwhile, the physical standoff continued in Nyangme. The Mongol army and government forces were encamped at Zhol, the village close to the river at the foot of the Dzong, and their encampment had been steadily swelling in size with the arrival of reinforcements, supplies, facilities and new mediators and their parties approved by the Dalai Lama such as the incumbent Ganden Tripa, teachers from Sera and Drepung, Erteni Khenpo and the Taglung chandzeu. Communications were maintained with the rebels inside while the Dalai Lama in Lhasa ratcheted up the pressure with his constant barrage of magic ritual. It was reported that when the army commanders sent one Mechag Jampal to talk with Gego inside a felt tent, a sudden, violent squall of wind nearly overturned the tent as they conferred. Wind storms blew so violently from midday every day until evening dark that the Taglung chandzeu and the doctor Pontshang Changngopa, now billeted in the outside encampment, said they had to eat their meals well before noon; after that, the gale was so blustery that all they could do was to pull down the lower, flapping sides of the tents and have them held down by men or

heavy objects. Ngari Chikang’s tent, where the chandzeu was staying, was constantly flapping in the sky.“® In the great Gelug monasteries around Lhasa, to complement the wrathful tantric rites, thousands of monks were still chanting prayers en masse for hours on end, sustained by tea, soup and food rations sponsored by the Ganden Phodrang. The monks of Sang Neuthog, the great interdenominational Buddhist college located fifteen kilometres south of Lhasa^^’ were invited to Sangphu and offered similar rations, and fees, for reciting sutras while invoking deities - who were made to accept ritual offerings by shouting the command to eat them at the appropriate point in the ritual. As “bound” deities and protectors, the entities invoked were thereby obliged to somehow undermine the aims of the Gego. The

Ibid., 417 (Dukula565) ^Ibid. From “Treasury of Lives” Sangphu Neutok TSang Neuthog” in Dukula] was an important monastery 15 kilometres south of Lhasa, founded by a disciple of Atisha in 1072. A Kadam monastery, it later embraced both Sakya and Gelug traditions.

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same invocation was also being shouted at intervals by the Dalai Lama’s own master of wrathful rituals from Namgyal Dratsang, Dragna Choje Lobzang Ngagwang, as he violently slammed the anthropomorphic linga into the triangular hom” box (brub-khung, thab-khung or during the rituals while shrieking the command to eat?’® Nevertheless, the Gelug monastic support against the Gego was not unanimous: the master of Rawato (also known as Rato, near Lhasa) Monastery, Chenye Tendzin, “showed no concern” and other monks such as Lama Minyag of Losal Ling, Drepung and others from Kye in Sera were said to have acted inappropriately “ but how, exactly, the Dalai Lama does not reveal; perhaps they expressed sympathy for the rebels or neglected to carry out the requested rituals The Namgyal monks performed the atonement ritual of Palden Magzorma and that of both Le and Shin a million times at Gyal Metogthang, performing with care the rite of hurling the torma, a rite which the Dalai Lama had evidently identified as effective for these purposes since it was used so in many of these rituals.’”

Dewa Zangpo, the Nyingri Choje. “a descendant of the Darcha Rupa,” possibly a yogi from Darcha in Lahaul - visited to carry out the do rite of Khyabjug and other rites for protection, aversion and destruction. On completion of the recitation of the mantras of the deity Perna Yangsang Tropaa he had been endowed with great psychic powers and yet was leading the unpretentious religious life to be found in the biographies.”’ ”®Karmay 2014,418 (Dukula 565-566) Ibid. ”’Ibid.

Ibid.; Martin, Dan. 1997. Tibetan Histories: A Bibliography of Tibetan-language Historical Works. London: Serindia Publications,108, item 223: Perna Yangsang Tropa is a form of Hayagriva, the wrathful horse-headed deity associated with Avalokiteshvara that was a Nyingma transmission of Bon terma origin, ultimately adopted by the Gelug and quite popular in Mongolia. "Khyabjug” is the Tibetan equivalent of the Indian god, Vishnu, also known to Tibetans as Rahula. According to the Great Sino-Tibetan Dictionary'(&od rgya tshig mdzod chen mo), “mdos: this is an offering ritual involving ransom. It has two parts, the upper trap which is an offering to the deities and the lower trap which is given to evil spirits and hindrances to repel them, see page number 1387. According to Dungkar’s “White Conch Great Dictionary* a do {mdos) rite involves an image made of woollen threads of five colours and bamboo sticks woven into many squares or pens of various colours and placed in front of a house {khang bzang, “a good house”) to be an object of ransom; or else a sympathetic magic object for a well-off person who has fallen ill for example. Around the perimeter of the wrapped object, many drawn images are placed: nine that fly in the sky, nine that burrow through the earth, nine prowling animals and

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It was by now the second twelfth month on 1659-1660 (mid-winter at the latest) and yet another set of special rites of protection, aversion, liberation and suppression was being performed by monks led by Choje Lobzang Ngagwang of Dragna, based on Jampal Mei Putri, a wrathful form of Manju^ri known as “Flaming Sword” that the Dalai Lama also practiced himself.^ Here the Dalai Lama interrupts his narrative of magical and wrathful rites aimed at bringing down the Gego to refer to one Wondrung Zhiwa Zangpo, a chieftain from the Chamdo region in Kham who for some reason depended on Norbu to protect his position. Ihe Wondrtmg, meaning "an assistant to the nephew of someone in power,” who was currently in Lhasa, voiced his fears that if Norbu fell from power he might then be imable to retain his own estate and holdings, and complained that "Kongtsetun in Kham intends to increase in size.” This was in reference to an aggressive and acquisitive neighbour seeking to enlarge his own land holdings at the Wondrung’s expense. The Dalai Lama observes that the Wondrung often claimed loyalty to the Gelug, and behaved as if on the side of the Ganden Palace; but he adds that he subse’^juently realised all this was “simply a ditch full of straw” - worthless talk. The Wondrung is not mentioned again for another two years, when he provokes fighting in Kham or Kongpo, as described in the third Administrator’s biography.^’®

nine carnivores with claws. Around the perimeter of these are various substances: cloth, scarves, grain, and jewels. These many offering substances to the deities and the nine evil spirits fill the perimeter. This is done to a greater or lesser extent according to the means of the person sponsoring the rite. I am indebted to Michael Richards for this rendering from Dungkar, see page 1143. Ibid., 328,418 (Dukula 443,566) Ibid., 418 (Dukula 566-567)

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As for the rebels in Shigatse, such a ongoing crescendo of continuous and frenetic public ritual activity aimed at the Gego must have caused endless gossip and speculation among the Tibetans who would be wondering what would become of the.Gego and their sympathisers under this impressive, unrelenting spiritual onslaught, complete with invoked wrathful spirits and deities with all the trappings of frightening masks, costumes, dramatic mudras, choreography, drums, bells, cymbals and trumpets that Tibetans were brought up from infancy to look upon with wonder, respect and even deep-seated fear if they somehow were involved with the target of such rites, as Gego sympathisers?^® Superstitious fear was always a powerful force and, no doubt due to the personal power and charisma of the Fifth Dalai Lama, the pre-eminent lama in Tibet and driving force behind all these rituals, rebel support would have been limited and disempowered by this metaphorical and spiritual cold water thrown over the rebel cause, disheartening the Gego and their henchmen and influencing them to negotiate and eventually consider abandoning the Dzong. ' The Dalai Lama now mentions a “rumour” which demonstrates the strength of Gego’s hand and the depth of their support. It was credibly being said - otherwise the Dalai Lama would not have noted it in Dukula - that Gekhasapa (the Uncle) - Norbu - would “probably” be awarded in negotiated settlement by the mediators a handsome fort at Khartse in Penyul in return for standing down from his Ibid., 415-418 (Dukula 562-566) 297

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rebellion; and that Gona Shagpa (the Nephew) - Ngodrub - would likewise be given the fort of Maldro Gungkar. In other words, they had been ‘‘bought off” However, the Dalai Lama is adamant that he had not given his personal approval to any such an arrangement at all; he reserves his rights and is clearly in no mood to cede these forts, although he had evidently delegated the responsibility of reaching a peaceful settlement to the Two Royal Brothers who led the other important mediators at the Dzong?’^ Next, in an apparent non-sequitur, the Dalai Lama relates how an old and trusted aide had just returned to Lhasa after an eleven-month journey to the Kokonor region. It was Sonam Wanggyal, who had accompanied the Dalai Lama to Beijing in 1652, delivered a letter with gifts to the Emperor for him there, and to whom he had also taught poetics in the past. More recently - in the second month of 1659 - the Dalai Lama had dispatched him as his official representative to Lake Tsho Ngonpo, or Kokonor in Amdo Province, charged with ensuring that each of the Mongol princes and chiefs in the region received and honoured the Dalai Lama’s personal written seal, also approved by the two Royal Brothers in Lhasa, and placed the “Vajra thunderbolt”^’® - sent by Nechung Chogyal - on their heads as they accepted the seal to bind their vows of allegiance and obedience. Ihis exercise solved most of the political problems in the region, promoting peace between all the princes and settling their territorial and other quarrels. Sonam Wanggyal was later rewarded with fiefdoms.’” Accompanying Sonam Wanggyal from Amdo was one Ulem Jikha Shakha, of whom we know nothing, but whose name seems more Mongolian than Tibetan. Ihe Dalai Lama simply notes that it was argued (by person or persons not mentioned) that these two had swoiyi improper and excessive oaths to some lineage, and he therefore sent them to'the Two Royal Brothers who were still at Shigatse Dzong. This passage seems inconsequential, and somewhat obscure, but it coincides with the end of Gego’s revolt and it might possibly even have prompted it in some way not yet explained.’® Ibid., 418 (Dukula 567)

A vajra is a weapon used as a ritual object to symbolize both the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force); the Sanskrit word has both these meanings. Ihe vajra is essentially a type of club with a ribbed spherical head. Karma 2014, 304, 362, 394,418, 429,443,450,456, 528 (Dukula 408,490, 533, 567, 580,599,609,617,714)

Ibid, 418 (Dukula 567). Samten Karmay, translator of Dukula, inserts a translatQr’s note here that the two returnees from Amdo were “said to have sworn allegiance to each other to support Gego.” As can be seen from Sonam Wanggyal’s history as aide to the Fifth Dalai Lama which is documented, in Dukula, back to 1652 and up to 1665 (see above references), including the later awards of three fiefdoms for his faithful service, it seems

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In any case, suddenly the rebellion was over. Both of the Gego - Norbu and Ngodrub - quit the fort, handing it over to government forces. Their abrupt and apparently unanticipated departure from the Dzong seemed to have been triggered by another rite carried out by the Dragna Choje Lobzang Ngagwang of Namgyal, who practised “the Wheel of Expulsion” rite in which a ritual object representing the rebels was taken away to the northern plain - that is, a hundred kilometres north of Lhasa, maybe three hundred north west of Shigatse - as a ritual gesture of expulsion.2^^ Norbu and Ngodrup actually travelled in the same direction to the northwest taken by the Dragna Choje’s “ritual object” - whatever it was - and they duly arrived at the new settlement of Samdrub Dechen in Dam, built by Sonam Rabten in 1648 as a major halting place for the Dalai Lama and his accompanying caravan on their journey to China.^*^ It does not appear on modern maps of Tibet but “Dam”‘is a place that can be identified as the valley of the Dam Chu river which flows south-west in a number of channels across broad grassy plains at the southern base of the Western Nyenchen Thanglha Range of mountains, to the north of which lies Nam Tso lake. Maps show this area as Damchuka, in modern Damzhung County. To reach here, the Gego would probably have followed the Tsangpo east as far as D^drong in Nyemo, then up the Zhu Chu valley to the edge of the northern plains at Yangpa Chen - and on to Dam.^^’ Dam was the same area of pasture-land in the northwest of U where the Two Royal Brothers had been camping before the rebellion occurred. Norbu and Ngodrup were still under Mongol control, indeed, they had an official government escort to ensure they did unlikely that he would have, at this time, sworn himself to support the rebels against his master. On the other hand, any allegation that he had done this could have been known to be false. If his companion was indeed a Mongol they would have been even less likely to support Gego together. Ibid., 419 (Dukula 567) ’^ Tucci, 72, citing Dukula, writes that “Norbu and his men tried to flee through Phagri to join their allies of Bhutan,” but there is no evidence for this to be found in Dukula. He appears to be confusing the event with a later passage given in Karmay 2014,420 (Dukula 569) \^hich'describes Gego conniving with the enemy, the Bhutanese and urging them to send their army which reached Phagri, but there is no evidence in Dukula that they went to Phagri after the siege; on the contrary. , This routing is a purely speculative interpretation but from the maps it would seem the fastest and easiest way to go and in the narrative Gego seem to arrive quickly at Dam. Later, when Gego escaped from their escort they sought refuge at Taglung Monastery which is maybe fifty kilometres as the crow flies south of the Dam Chu via Chomdo and Phudo (where the third Administrator was granted a fiefdom posthumously by the sixth Administrator Sanggye Gyatso). Therefore, this route generally ties in with the narrative.

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as had been agreed. So, by quitting the Dzong and entrusting themselves to a presumably Mongol escort, they had made themselves isolated and vulnerable, and in spite of the promised forts which might have materialised had they played their cards right they were now prisoners of their deadly enemies, the Mongols?**^ Early in the second twelfth month of 1659-1660, about January 1660, the Gego rebellion was over, barely three months after starting in middle of the tenth month. An officer called Nangso Gogo (not mentioned elsewhere in Dukula) took up residence in the Dzong, presumably appointed to be the Ganden Phodrang’s new Dzongpon or Governor of Shigatse.^® This sudden conclusion must have been a shock for the rest of the rebel forces, none of whose fates are mentioned again, except for Tregangpa Tshering and Depa Sepo. The Dalai Lama writes that the Tibetan soldiers besieging the Dzong now dispersed, without mentioning the Mongols, and confirms that in Kyisho, the Lhasa valley, many people still had political ties with Gego. His main concern was the short-term risk that the Gego would contact their supporters in Kyisho so he had to ensure that they did not.^^ Thus the Gego were escorted to the comparatively remote and isolated pasturelands at Dam, a hundred kilometres north of Lhasa, as an interim measure.

Now, after three months of constant involvement with the rebellion, in his narrative the Dalai Lama puts the whole issue aside and his account of the second half of the second twelfth month of the Earth-pig year of 1659-1660 describes more routine rituals and various visitors. On the fifteenth, for example, the master Menlungpa, an accomplished scholar, came to perform the end-of-year ritual purification of the sky-goers - and also of the eight categories of spirits - the same eight who had wanted to go from Samye to Nyangme to join the battle against the Gego in the eleventh month. On the seventeenth, the Dalai Lama initiated a project to make a new crown for the image of Champa Chokhor, the Maitreya Dharmachakra, which took six months to create and was made using five hundred zho of solid gold (one and a half kilograms) inlaid with precious yellow lapis lazuli, seven hundred pieces of turquoise and a hundred pearls. Then he says that as Gongkar Monastery had lost its estates, he awarded it new ones as compensation: he then awards various other estates to other parties including Deyang College of Drepung. On the eighteenth, he makes substantial offerings for funeral services for the great yogin of Drigung who had passed away. Finally, the Namgyal lead chant and steward had convinced him of die need of funds for the College so he Karmay 2014,419 (Dukula 567) Ibid. Ibid., 419 (Dukula 567)

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grants it an estate of fifty households at Kharnga with an annual income of three thousand four hundred bushels of grain. Another dozen estates are awarded elsewhere, and so forth.^^^ As for Tregangpa Tshering, the Dalai Lama then returns to Gego’s rebellion and reveals that following Tregangpas secret rebel mission to Phagri referred to above,2*“ the Bhutanese had indeed invaded Tibetan territory at Phagri via the

Tremo La pass. On the twenty-fifth of the second twelfth month, just a few days before Losar, the Two Royal Brothers, having broken camp after the siege, finally arrived back in Lhasa from Shigatse Dzong with more news from the Phagri sector at the head of the Chumbi valley, an area bordered by India, Sikkim and Bhutan (also known as Dromo and Yadong). It was confirmed, he writes, that the Gego had entered into connivance with the enemy and urged Bhutan to mobilise it^ army, which in breach of the treaties in place had crossed over the border into the Tibetan town of Phagri, seizing it, a grave act of war on their part - and one which made the rebels doubly treasonous for causing it. The Two Royal Brothers and the joint Mongol-Tibetan army had somehow anticipated this incursion, however, and had sent punitive forces to Phagri to repel them before they could march deeper into Tsang and, crucially, join the rebel forces at Shigatse. On the twenty-ninth, the Dalai Lama "received signs of their heroism,” he writes, referring to the Mongols, and this happened on the very same day that a ritual torma of the deity Jampal Dudra was taken out of the Potala to be hurled. He does not describe the extent of any fighting at Phagri, but it is clear the attempted Bhutanese invasion of Tibet was nipped in the bud. The Bhutanese generals, faced with fierce Mongolian cavalry on the flat and open Tibetan plateau, were used to jungle warfare among their steep, humid and forested hillsides and valleys. One supposes they felt discretion was the better part of valour - and negotiated an orderly retreat"’ How did the Ganden Phodrang discover the extent and timing of this invasion and be able to block it in time? One theory is the Mongols were informed by Tregangpa Tshering when he was captured at the Dzong at the beginning of the siege, just after he was said to have returned from Phagri - information which might have saved his neck but again this is pure conjecture. In any case the entire rebellion had now collapsed without any significant violence. Not a single mention of an injury or death is to be found, a tribute to the Dalai Lama’s skilful diplomacy and handling of the situation from the start. From

,

Ibid., 419-420 (Dukula 567-569) Ibid., 415 (Dukula 561) Ibid., 420 (Dukula 569-570)

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his account, it seems the battles were, in effect, fought by gods and demons on the spiritual plane?’® Nevertheless, after the barrage of wrathful ritual employed over the previous months, gods and demons were in effect still about and supernatural consequences still affected the participants. For example, the Dalai Lama writes that when the second of the two twelfth months ended, at the Iron-mouse New Year in the winter of 1660 - a month after the rebellion collapsed - an assembly of monks, according

to custom, performed the atonement ritual of Dokham Wangchugma (Sanskrit: Shri Devi). When the symbolic materials were offered and the Two Royal Brothers and their senior entourage, were invited to the front to sit with the Dalai Lama, a sudden and terrible windstorm from nowhere swept the whole sky According to Dukula the storm was said to be caused by the protectors of religion showing their displeasure over the Two Royal Brothers having shared meals with the Gego during negotiations at the Dzong.^” In the first month of the new year, the generous and brave Thaiji ofUkhere who four months earlier, with his small detachment of Mongol troops had ridden swiftly to Shigatse at short notice to contain the rebellion at the Dzong when it first broke out, now wished to leave for the north with his party. The Dalai Lama gratefully paid tribute to his ability and achievements for the Ganden Phodrang, showering him with gifts of many holy objects on his departure, including a Chinese image of Yamantaka and a great number of material presents.^” In the second month, the establishment of a permanent religious retreat house at Phagri gorge was decided upon as a spiritual deterrent against further Bhutanese army incursions through the remote gorge, in the belief that religious practitioners in retreat there would attract protective deities and friendly spirits to the area. Trinle Gyatso, soon to be appointed third Administrator, was involved in the centre’s design and construction and this project is further described in his own biography.2”

By the third month of the Iron-mouse year (the spring of 1660), the Dalai Lama notes that the resurgent conflict in Tsang had quietened down by itself,^ but adds that he realised if he had he simply left things as they were or allowed the

Ibid., chapter 32:409-425 (Dukula 553-577) Ibid., 421 (Dukula 570) Ibid., 422 (Dukula 571) »»Ibid., 422 (Dukula 572) Ibid., 424 (Dukula 574). By using the word "resurgent” to describe the conflict, the Dalai Lama reminds us that this was the second time he had been involved in a warlike situation with Tsang, the first one being the bloody civil wars of the early 1640s.

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rebellion to fade away on its own by not visiting any consequences on any culprits or supporters of the Gego, it would have created a bad precedent.’Ihe affair might encourage others in the longer term to attempt similar revolts around the country in hope of territorial gains or fiefdoms, so he dispatched one Dzamla of Do (an officer who appears nowhere else in Dukula) to Tsang to impress upon the new officials the need to assume positive control of the territories - and, more importantly, to punish rebel offenders and anyone else who had aided the Gego?” Dukula provides no further details on how this progressed,.but we assume his instructions were carried out. Three months after the rebellion collapsed, in the middle of the third month of the Iron-mouse year, the Dalai Lama again addresses in Dukula the still unresolved issue of the Gego. His mind appears to be in turmoil over his obligation to uphold the settlement. ' As he had made dear, the result was not as he wished: “If Khartse and Maldro Gungkar were allotted in trust (for Gego), I would be like an athlete with broken collarbones,” he fumes, “It would be acceptable in reality, but not in word. I thought that I would not worry, even if I had to go away to China 'or Mongolia rather than accepting the situation. As I stood by this firmly, I did not have to give in.”’”

All the same, subject to the insistence of the Two Royal Brothers and out of respect for them and.their word of honour, he writes that he was making arrangements to award properties to the rebels, though after much procrastination. Finally overcoming his reluctance and aversion to rewarding the Gego, he began arranging official paperwork to cede estates and castles to them, when there was a timely and fortuitous interruption: the Gego - both Norbu and Ngodrup - were being brought from Dam to Lhasa - evidently to receive their awards - when, “due to the magic power of the religious protectors,” writes the Dalai Lama, they escaped from their escort, became fugitives and sought refuge at the nearby and neutral Taglung Monastery, a hundred kilometres north of Lhasa. They must have absconded out of bad conscience and fear of what they imagined would happen to them in Lhasa, although as far as the Two Royal Brothers and the Dalai Lama were concerned (according to Dukula) they were being brought there to be given the official documentation for their promised fiefdoms. The Two Royal Brothers now considered this noncompliance with the agreed arrangements on the Gego’s part as an act of disloyalty that broke the agreement negotiated at the Dzong. It angered ’”Ibid. Ibid., (Dukula 574,575)

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them, and they withdrew their support. To the Dalai Lama’s great relief the Brothers’ offer of estates and forts lapsed as a result, and Gego were put under

guarantee at Taglung Monastery - and that is the last we hear of the Gego’s activities in Dukula, though Norbu is mentioned one more time.^^^ The third rebel, Tregangpa Tshering, is also suddenly mentioned here as being attached to the officials of the senior of the Two Royal Brothers. Tendzin Dayan Khan. The Dalai Lama writes it was “rumoured” he was being escorted to Gongkar - implying that the Two Royal Brothers had taken charge of mopping-up operations in the wake of the rebellion without troubling the Dalai Lama for his approval at every step - and the Tibetan text makes it dear he was being taken there under escort and as a prisoner This last mention of Tregangpa Tshering

suggests he had not necessarily acted a double agent after all. as per earlier indications and we can therefore assume he was duly imprisoned at Gongkar and punished in accordance with the Dalai Lama’s instructions for rebels to be penalised to discourage others in future.^’’ There were stiU some loose ends to tidy up after the rebellion and the termination of Norbus family connection - and his life-long career - with the Ganden Phodrang. First, the Dalai Lama kindly acknowledges the monks of Sang Neuthog Monastery: “During the conflict of the Earth-pig year,” he writes. "Sangphu had great responsibility for carrying out rituals, but received no help. Therefore, sharecropped fields producing one thousand five hundred bushels of

grain were awarded to it, which became the basis of the funds for its rations.” He also acknowledged that Tradrug Monastery, founded by Songsten Gampo at Riwo Choling in the seventh century in the Yarlung Valley and possibly Tibet’s earliest

geomantic temple (suppressing the left shoulder of the supine demoness of Tibetan mythology) had its anti-rebellion prayers funded by the Lady Yangchenma of Tashitse, who generously donated her own inheritance of a sharecropped field. Several similar awards were made for other monasteries that assisted the campaign, and many other awards of estates are listed by the Dalai Lama for various other reasons, according to his administration’s annual review of such grants after the rebellion.2^°

Still, lingering effects of the conflict recurred as disturbing manifestations, apparently generated by supernatural entities invoked during the rebeUion. and Ibid., 424 (Dukula 575)

Ibid. The word used in Dukula for “escorted” here is “bskyar which implies the use of force and coercion. “’Ibid. Ibid., 428-429 (Dukula 579-581); Treasury of Lives, ref. TBRC G2820.

The Fort Surrenders, “The Gego” are Escorted to the North, i66o

305

continued to interfere with the rebels and their proceedings. Tregangpa Tshering’s family, for example, were affected by one of these and had a narrow escape. Tregangpa Tshering’s mother and wife lived on the second floor below the top of Panam fort, fifty kilometres south-east of Shigatse. During the rebellion, as part of the Wrathful forwa-hurling ritual of Nojin Begtse that the Dalai Lama performed personally at the Potala, agents of the Ganden Phodrang’s master ritualists had hidden a “Red Wind Imprecation” in the Panam fort roof and on the floor below. This curse had been drawn on paper as a chakra by the Dalai Lamas Nyingma ritualist, Ngagban Ngagwang Trinle of Zhikashar, taken to Panam, and secreted in a hiding place specifically to bring harm or obstacles on the Gego and rebels in the Dzong at Shigatse from closer range than from Lhasa, acting as a kind of booster for the.magical power of Nojin Begtse projected towards Tsang by the flashing torma the Dalai Lama had hurled from the Potala roof. The imprecation had not yet been removed when, on the third day of the fourth month, the fort was struck by a lightning bolt that killed one Lodro Chodar; the lightning also struck the roof of the fort within a metre of the very spot where the imprecation was concealed. The people beneath the top floor, Shenyen Palzang, Ramatse and Mangra, and all the members of Tregangpa’s family on the floor below, fainted from the shock The unfortunate Lodro Chodar was the only casualty recorded in the entire rebellion and]the Dalai Lama immediately dispatched his ritualist Ngagban Ngagwang Trinle to extract and retrieve “the superstition” - the chakra of the Red Wind Imprecation that he had earlier drawn and secreted - from its hiding place and bring it back to Lhasa.^^^ The Dalai Lama then took care to deal with the wind chakra of Nojin Begtse utilised in his torma-hurling rituals in the temple hall of the Potala during the rebellion. He burned it ritually in a triangular box but when he threw the resulting ashes into the wind, another great gale sprang up, so violent that it blew down the great flag pole in Lhasa and all the prayer flags at the Potala.^“ These were, notes the Dalai Lama, the last supernaturally-emanated interferences to officials who had aided the rebels at the Dzong, sarcastically adding that “since these Dzong officials were deeply superstitious, they accordingly perceived disturbances.” Saying they were superstitious implies somewhat mockingly he thought the spiritual retribution that they feared was purely subjective, that they were just imagining things,^^ yet it was he, the Dalai Lama, who had systematically caused these rituals to be done incessantly everywhere. Ibid., 430 (Dukula 582) -»»Ibid. ’“Ibid.

3O6

-

The Fifth Dalai Lama

Perhaps he was being disingenuous to imply it was aU just a facade to scare naive officials at the Dzong and the general public, given aU the influential figures who had petitioned and pressured him to leave the Gego alone - and the lesser number of people who supported his wish to foil them. Yet, on the basis of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s secret spiritual autobiography, where he documents in detail his deep involvement in profound interactions with

|-

supernatural beings on a regular basis, it would also have been disingenuous to characterise all this ritual warfare as purely a propaganda weapon. In any case from the perspective of a tantric magician, he would have exercised restraint from making any reference to his attainments.^ Two months later, however, in the sixth month of 1660-1661. Norbu’s name

a

reappears in Dukula for the last time in surprising circumstances. The Dalai Lama and his court were considering the appointment of a new. third Administrator because current political and administrative duties were now too much of burden on the Dalai Lama who said he needed more time to devote to religious activities and retreats, as a lama should. Everyone hesitated, especially the Dalai Lama himself: he writes that he would rather reflect profoundly than choose in haste so die decision was continually postponed. Ihe Mongol king eventuaUy sent him a ktter from the north on the subject while the two Mongol princes. Jinong and i

’ j ’

HW'IMi,seizedtheinitiativeby5endingbyletterashortlistofthieecandidates: ■ Norbu, Depa Sepo and Trinle Gyatso. though with the rider, “The first two are no ! longer acceptable! Thus no person is more acceptable than Trinle Gyatso.” With ■ the impasse thus broken, aU concerned decided to confirm Trinle Gyatso for the p0St.2®5

’

The fourth rebel, Depa Sepo, appears just once more in Dukula almost two years later. The Dalai Lama was stfll making occasional grants of minor fiefdoms to reward certain people for their support against the rebels. In the fourth month of the Water-tiger year (1662-1663) he notes that, during the Gego rebellion when Depa Sepo became drunl^ at the Dzong, another rebel caUed Tridzo had a son who sent secret notes, to the government forces we assume; to reward his loyalty, the Dalai Lama granted this unnamed son an estate at Yugpa in Lhodrag of five households with a yield of two hundred bushels of barley.^

Karmay, 1988 (the entire book) “’Ibid., 435 (Dukula587)

ffiid.,y3 (Du^a 637). Here some of the context is obscure - the author also writes about gum and felt” m the same sentence - and Samten Karmay s translation indicates that Depa Sepo was the beneficiary of this grant, but perhaps the reading makes more sense with Tridzos son as the recipient.

I

I ! I I

The Fort Surrenders, “The Gego” are Escorted to the North, 1660

307

Dungkars Tibetological Great Dictionary finally adds that after turning his back on the Fifth Dalai Lama, Norbu fled into exile in Bhutan. Though Dungkar does not cite a source, Norbu’s flight to Bhutan to escape retribution from the Ganden Phodrang - whether at the hands of Tibetans, Mongols, or both - would be a fitting conclusion to his career in Tibet, reinforcing rumours of his various collusions with the Bhutanese enemy.“’ G. Tucci goes so far as to say “His behaviour during the war with Bhutan was ambiguous: he let himself be defeated and retired.”2“

Dungkar, 1,205 Tucci, 70

Reflections on Depa Norbus Character: Traitor or Patriot?

In retrospect, the Dalai Lama’s policy on Norbu after the death of the first Administrator in 1658 may have been a calculated plan to excise Norbu from his administration once and for all, and at the same time discourage any other Tibetans who might have followed or sympathised with him from rebelling themselves. Throughout Dukula, starting from 1626, he is always critical of Norbu’s behaviour. In 1638, at the age of twenty-one, the Dalaf Lama stoutly resisted

Sonam Rabten’s desire to appoint Norbu as his personal attendant, a measure of his dislike of Norbu, for the first time in his life successfully challenging a decision by his guardian.^’ Much later, in 1659, referring to Norbu’s catastrophic role in the Bhutan invasions, he sarcastically tells the Panchen Rinpoche’s officials that Norbu was “a demon when he led his army, but later when engaged in action, he was praised like the Buddha by the likes of you!” He also recounts to them details of various events earlier and later in Norbu’s life, no doubt highly critical^ So why on earth did the Dalai Lama appoint Norbu as his Administrator? He did so less than two years after Norbu’s catastrophic involvement as commander­ in-chief of an invasion of Bhutan by a large Tibeto-Mongolian army which was soundly thrashed and retreated in disarray, an unmitigated military disaster and humiliation for the Ganden Phodrang in 1657 for which Norbu was held

“’Karmay 2014, 135 (bukula 175)

Ibid., 413-414 (Dukula 559-560) 309

310

The Fifth Dalai Lama

responsible?^' Only a few months after the appointment he told Panchen Rinpoches officials that Norbu was demonic. Although a text states that the nextof-kin was to be preferred on the death of an Administrator, and Norbu was Sonam Rabten’s brother?^ it is clear from the way that the Dalai Lama appointed Norbu that he was not obliged to do so. Even the Dalai Lama’s own chamberlain was so shocked when told to inform Norbu of his appointment, he tried manfully to dissuade him, but the Dalai Lama persisted with his plan.^’’ Perhaps it was to entrap Norbu into incriminating himself, thus providing theexcuse to banish him from the court - and from Tibetan politics - once and for all, a classic case of “giving someone enough rope to hang themselves.” It also explains why the Dalai Lama was unwilling to consider any petitions to reach a

compromise with Norbu; two of them from his elderly guru, Panchen Rinpoche, a respected and proven mediator, whose mediation in 1621 for example had prevented deadly aU-out warfare in Lhasa between the army of Tsang trapped on HUI and the large and powerful Mongol cavalry on the point of attacking There is substantial circumstantial evidence to support this theory: for example, the Dalai Lama’s cryptic summary of his discussions with the Two Royal Brothers

just before Norbu arrived in Lhasa, freshly relieved of his duties as Shigatse governor in the summer of 1659?^= There is also abundant evidence of a mutual lack of respect between Norbu and the Mongol leaders, especially during the Bhutanese campaigns of 1648 and 1656-1657.2^^ Lastly, there is even more evidence throughout Dukula of deep mutual trust, confidence and respect between the Dalai Lama and his Mongolian aUies, in contrast to the lack of trust between him and certain Tibetan factions, Norbu’s in particular. We saw that, just as the first Administrator relied on the Dalai Lamas’ disciple, Gushri Khan, to besiege the Tsangpa king at Shigatse Dzong, so, twenty years later, the Dalai Lama could rely on his two disciples, Gushri Khan’s two sons, likewise to besiege and thwart the plans of the Gego in the very same place.

Ibid., 374-375 (Dukula 507); Phuntsho 262-263; Thcci, 71; Aris. 247; Shakabpa 2010,360-361 22^ Richardson, 444-445 2” Karmay 2014,403 (DukiUa 547) 2’* Ibid., 46 (Dukula 51) 2” Ibid., 402 (Dukula 545-546) 2’*' Ibid., 215, 374-375 (Dukula. 284,507-508); Aris, 227,247-248; Phuntsho, 244-247 262-263; Shakabpa 2010,352,360-361,363; Shakabpa 1984.113; Tucci, 71

Rbfi^ctions on Depa Norbu’s Character: Traitor or Patriot?

In other words, the Dalai Lama allowed Norbu. to abuse his power as Administrator and to rebel against him, betraying the Ganden Phodrang and inviting an enemy Bhutanese army into Tibet in the process, with the ultimate purpose of ousting him from his court thus definitively ending Norbu’s family’s involvement in Tibetan politics. He prepared his plan, Norbu took the bait, the Mongols stood by the Dalai Lama and Norbu and his accomplices were neatly trapped, rendered helpless, seduced by the offer of forts and land until they finally losf'their nerve, whether subtly encouraged to do so or not, but breaking the negotiated settlement they had agreed with the Mongols on behalf of the Ganden Phodrang and ultimately escaping into obscurity. In this view, the Dalai Lama was skilful in setting up all the circumstances and managing the situation so well, including all the rituals, that he achieved his purpose and the rebellion was quelled without any violence, injury, death or destruction - apart from the person struck by lightning at the fort in Panam due to the Red Wind Imprecation.

Even so, consider the attitude of the Tibetan patriots and nationalists - insofar as we can use these terms in relation to seventeenth-century Tibet - who detested foreign troops on Tibetan lands,^” and we are left with a dichotomy. From the long-term historical perspective, they had a point. On the one hand, the ongoing involvement between the Gelug hierarchy and the Mongols - specifically, the Dzungar - led directly and inevitably to the so-called Manchu protectorate over Tibet beginning in 1720 and lasting, in theory if not in practice, until the fall of the'Qing dynasty in 1912. Sadly, its existence lent a veneer of credibility to Chinese twentieth century claims that Tibet was a part of China. On the other hand, there is the triumph of the more internationalist Great Fifth Dalai Lama who, following the precedents of the Third and Fourth Dalai Lamas, made the most of the Oirat Mopgol forces at his disposal, who not only saved the Gelug from obliteration by their Tibetan and Chogthu Mongol enemies but also established the Ganden Phodrang with him at its head.

So, to indulge in unrestrained conjecture. let us speculate that Norbu’s aim was tn,oust Mongol forces from Tibet in order to establish a new, purely Tibetan regime akin to the former Tsangpa dynasty, or the Phagraodru, and that unfortunately he and his supporters failed in their quest for Tibetan primacy in Tibet, with the possibility of a strong secular government, with its regular army.

Norbus invitation to the Bhutanese to invade Tsang is not considered as bringing in foreign armies as such since the Bhutanese at the time enjoyed a tradition of Tsangpa Tibetan leadership formerly based in Ralung; plus, the basic culture and language of Bhutanese rulers was then, and is still now Tibetan.

311

312

The Fifth Dalai Lama

and even an independent judiciary, separate from the monastics who would have no political clout. Of course, we do not actually know what Norbus policies, strategy or arguments to defend the rebellion were - for he certainly had some motivation and justification for his actions; motivation and justification that have been systematically suppressed in Dukula. It will not be known what these were unless new evidence in the form of an old text describing this is discovered; something which might happen any day or not at all. It is a pity most historians covering this period have airbrushed Depa Norbu’s entire life out of the history books, despite all the exceUent, first-hand information about him available in Dukula, the bulk of which we have included here, regardless of its consistent bias against Norbu, his actions and his associates. On the face of it, historians have taken their cue from the Fifth Dalai Lamas own writings. The first and most important precedent for this “airbrushing out” of Depa Norbu was initiated by the Fifth Dalai Lama himself, and it continues to the present day. Firstly, in Dukula’s entry for the sixth month of 1660-1661. only six months after the second Administrator Depa Norbu’s fall from grace. The Dalai Lama refers to Trinle Gyatso as the second Depa.”^"** Secondly and more explicitly, in his 1679 decree appointing Sanggye Gyatso as his sixth Administrator - the original of which is stiU visible to this day in the Potala Palace by the staircase leading up from the great eastern courtyard - he declares that, as if Depa Norbu had never existed: “...after Depa Sonam Gyatso had carried out the task of Administrator, as all members of his family had died, I appointed Depa Trinle Gyatso and others in succession to bear that responsibility”.^’®

We know that after Depa Norbu’s failed 1659-1660 rebellion he took refuge at Taglung Monastery before eventually going to Bhutan, in exile, and no record has

yet come to light saying that he had died, and definitely not by the end of 1660. Had that been the case, it would certainly have been mentioned somewhere. Furthermore, his name was included in the list sent to the Dalai Lama in the sixth month of the Iron-mouse year, 1660-1661, by Jinong and Hung Thaiji, nominating the most likely three candidates for the vacant post of Administrator: “Depa Norbu, Sepo and Jaisang Depa.”^®®

2’® Karmay 2014.436 (Dukula 588) Richardson, 444-445

Karmay 2014,435 (Dukula 587)

Reflections on Defa Norbu’s Character: Traitor or Patriot?

313

Not only had Depa Norbu not died before Trinle Gyatso was appointed, in flat contradiction of his 1679 decree, the Dalai Lama unequivocally declares in Dukula that he appointed Depa Norbu to succeed Sonam Rabten as Administrator on the

sixteenth day of the sixth month of the Earth-pig year (1659-1660)?®' Thus it was the Fifth Dalai Lama himself who created the precedent of expunging Depa Norbu’s appointment as Administrator from the official records of the Tibetan government - a precedent which is still upheld today by the Central Tibet Administration (CTA) in Dharamsala, also known to some as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. For example, in 2008 the CTA published an historical booklet entitled “Tibet and Manchu” which lists the rulers of Tibet - Dalai Lamas and Administrators, which the CTA refers to as Regents - omitting Depa Norbu and stating under item number 2 that between 1658 and 1660, Tibet was ruled by the Fifth Dalai Lama exclusively?®^ A copy of that list is reproduced here:

The Rulers ofTibet (The Regents and the Dalai Lama) yS. fe

Enthroned Appointed End of Rule ”«• s •.... ■* y g . f' 1642 1658

^Reign Period

1

Desi Sonam Rapten

2 4

The Fifth Dalai Lama remainder of and 1658 1659 Desi Trinley Gyatso 1660 1668 The Fifth Dalai Lama Remainder of 1668

5

Desi Lobsang Thutop 1669

Defrocked and 6 years desposed in 1674

6

Desi Lobsang Jinpa

1675

Resigned 1678

4 years

7

Desi Sangye Gyatso

1679

1705

TJ years

8

Lhasang Khan

1706_______________ 1717

12 years

3

17 years

2 years 9 years

A Few months

Ibid., 403 (Dukula 547), Richardson, 444-445

CTA: Central Tibetan Administration: The Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR). 2008. Tibet and Manchu, An Assessment of Tibet-Manchu Relations in Five Phases of Historical Development. Dharamsala, India: DIIR Publications.

Bibliography

Aris, Michael. 1979. Bhutan: The Early History of a Himalayan Kingdom. Warminster: Aris & Philips. Dhondup, K. 1984. 'The Water-Horse and Other Years. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives History Series. Dorje, Gyurme. 2009. Tibet Handbook, 4*^ Edition. Bath, England; Footprint Handbooks. Dorje, Gyurme (with Tashi Tsering, Heather Stoddard and Andre Alexander). 2010. Jokhang, Tibet's Most Sacred Buddhst Temple. London & Bangkok, Hansjorg Mayer, in association with the Tibet Charitable Trust, London.

Dungkar Losang Trinle. 2002. Dungkar Tibetological Great Dictionary. Beijing: China Tibetology Publishing House.

Karmay, Samten G. 1998. The Arrow and the Spindle: Studies in History, Myths, Rituals and Beliefs in Tibet. Volume I. Revised edition. Kathmandu: Mandala Book Point. Karmay, Samten G., translator, 2014. The Illusive Play: The Autobiography of the Fifth Dalai Lama. Chicago: Serindia Publications.

Ngag dbang bio bzang rgya mtsho.1991-1995. Jig rten dbang phyug thams cad mkhyen pa yon tan rgya mtsho dpal bzang po’i rnam par thar pa nor bu’i ‘phrengba. Gangtok; Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology. TBRC W2941813. Phuntsho, Karma. 2013. The History ofBhutan. London: Haus Publishing.

Richardson, Hugh E. 1998. High Peaks, Pure Earth; Collected Writings on Tibetan History and Culture. London: Serindia Publications.

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316

Shakabpa, Tsepon W.D. 1967.Tibet: A Political History. New York: Yale University Press, and 1984, Singapore: Potala Publications.

Shakabpa, Tsepon W.D. 2010.0ne Hundred Thousand Moons. An Advanced Political History of Tibet, Vol. 1. Derek F. Maher, trans. (2 volumes). Leiden, Boston: Brill’s Tibetan Studies Library. Trijang Rinpoche. 1967. Rgyal chen bstod 'grel. Tucci, Giuseppe. 1949. Tibetan Painted Scrolls, Vol. 1. Rome: La Libreria dello Stato.

Yamaguchi, Zuiho. 1995. The Sovereign Power of the Fifth Dalai Lama: sPrul sku gZims-khang-gong-ma and the Removal of Governor Nor-bu. In Memoirs of the Research Department of The Toyo Bunko (The Oriental Library) No.53. Tokyo, The Toyo Bunko 1995.

Other sources - online Tibet map: http://tibetmap.com/eros3fr.html is a 157-page, detailed modern map of Tibet giving the traditional Tibetan appellations in English phonetics, rather than the new Chinese names in Pinyin or Chinese characters. However, many place names that were current in 17* century Tibet have changed and other locations have disappeared so it is often difficult to establish which places exactly are referred to, especially minor ones, for example, in Dukula, referring ter the travels of the Fifth Dalai Lama and his court and others. Treasury of Lives, (https://treasuryoflives.org/), an online biographical encyclopaedia of Tibet, Inner Asia, and the Himalayan region. Founded in 2007 as a project of the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation based in New York.

Administrator Number Three

Depa Trinle Gyatso (circa 1600-1668)

Name variants: Depa Trongmepa; Trinle Gyatso; Desi Trongmepa Trinle Gyatso; Trongme; Drungmene; Jaisang Depa; Jaisang Depa Trinle Gyatso; Nyangden Depa; The Depa; The Desi? Depa Trinle Gyatso (d. 1668), as he is now known, began as a junior attendant of the infant Dalai Lama in the early 1620s and gradually rose to lead the Tibetan civil government as Desi or Administrator from 1660 until his death in 1668. In mid-career he was also known as Jaisang Depa. He was born at the estate village of Trongme in Nyangden to the north of Lhasa, just west of Sera Monastery.^ He belonged to an influential family also called Trongme’ which claimed descent frorti the eleventh century Kagyu teacher Tsurton Wangnge?

‘ The number of different names a Tibetan is known by, and the titles he is given, indicate his importance. Titles “Depa,”, “Desi” and “Sakyong” during this period were interchangeable for “chief administrator,” “ruler” or “prime minister,” although “Depa” was also a more commonly used and general title for lesser, secular positions such as chieftain, governor or the head of a clan. Here, for our three main subjects we shall employ the capitalised term of “Administrator” for this title, as used by Z. Ahmad in his translation of Sanggye Gyatso’s Dukula Volume IV. vRichardson, 450-451 ’ Ibid., 451; Karmay 2014,6; 351 (Dukula 473 - Lhasa Edition) * Ibid., citing the Vaidurya serpo (p. 415) by Sanggye Gyatso in 1698. Tibetan Buddhist Resource Centre (TBRC) has a few biographies of an 11th century Kagyu master named 317

318

The Fifth Dalai Lama

Trude Gyatso was the son of Gopa Tashi. also referred to as Drungme, who was a close aide to the Fifth Dalai Lama. Ngagwang Lobzang Gyatso (1617-1682).5 Tnnle Gyatso had a nephew caUed Trongme Asug who was the fether of the Fifth alai Lamas sixth and last Administrator Sanggye Gyatso (1653-1705). also teown_ as Zhalngo TYongme, “The Leader from Trongme.-^ The name of Trinie Gyatsos brother, who was the father of this Asug. is not given in the available

sources and no information about him has yet come to light.

Trongme after the Earth-snake New Year (early in 1629) when he was eleven, probably at the invitation of Gopa Tashi. In the Dalai Lamas political autobiography “Dukula”. Volume I - our main ^urce for Trinie Gyatsos life - he notes that he stayed in Trongme overnight, was weU received and given gifts by his hosts before journeying on to Sera the next day.^ Trongme is also mentioned as being “the lower town” of Sera Monastery in olume IV of Dukula, composed by Sanggye Gyatso. He writes that in 1679 on his way back to Lhasa from Sera, the Dalai Lama stayed in Trongme, and scattered arley grams m the top. middle and lower storeys of the house he visited, which was probably Trinie Gyatso’s main famUy residence although this is not specified by the author. In the house, he saw the Torma off-erings of the king of the Gandhanras. “showing many signs of happiness” at the sight before proceeding to the Potala.® °

dbangnge tneir reference P3074, and though they record his name as mtshur ston dbanggi rdo rje they are one and the same person ’Karmay2014.158,159(Dukula206.207).AfterthedeathofGopaTashi."Drungmene” to'S c ' Trongme” as weU as “Trongme,” is used with refoence to Trude Gyatso: Karmay 2014,175.189 (Dukula 231, 249) and 384. 385 (Dukiaa-520) 3^,” 'n VKarmay 2014,266.271. Drun^ T' ' of Trongme and Dr^gme are the same (grongsmad), so the different renderings in phonetic EnglSi in the

159, 175, 189) and later (266, 271, 322, 351,369, 384, 385) passages of The lUusive Play’ can be assumed to be a slight inconsistency on the part of tne translator.

Richardson, 451; Karmay 2005,97 ’ Karmay 2014,2-3; n (Dukula 97 - Lhasa edition). The first three volumes of Dukula covermg the yems up to 1665. from 1665 to 1675 and from 1675 to 1681 respectively, were y he sixth Administrator Sanggye Gj^tso after his appointment in 1679. • Ahmad, 265 (Sanggye Gyatso 155b)

““posed

Personal Attendant to the Dalai Lama from an Early Age, c. 1620

Tfinle Gyatso’s birth date is not recorded, but since he served as attendant to the infant Fifth Dalai Lama (born late in 1617), his birth was probably around the end of the sixteenth century. His father Gopa Tashi would probably have negotiated a place for him to start his career as a novice monk of the Ganden Phodrang, the Dalai Lamas* establishment at Drepung Monastery, before 1620. Within a year or two he was in charge of the personal care of the child Dalai Lama, no doubt due to his good family connections, becoming his close attendant from a very early age.’ In 1622 Trinle Gyatso accompanied the Dalai Lama when, immediately after his enthronement and induction into Drepung Monastery, he was evacuated from Lhasa in secret to E Rigo in the south with his close companions.^® It was the result of a misunderstanding caused by Depa Apel, the Kyisho Zhabdrung who ruled the Kyisho valley. This is explained in the biography of the first Administrator, but in brief it was done because the Mongols in Lhasa were intent on taking the fiveyear old Dalai Lama off to Mongolia against the wishes of the Tibetans." The entire journey to E Rigo would be made on horseback but it is possible that the

’ Karmay 2014,6 " Ibid., 5-1-58 (Dukula 58-70) ** Ibid., 52 (Dukula 59-60) 319

320

The Fifth Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama was borne on a palanquin?^ During his eventual return to Lhasa in the spring of 1623, the Dalai Lama first stayed at Lhundrup Gatshal, part of Chokhor Gyal, the triangular-shaped monastery founded in 1509 by Gendun Gyatso (1475-1542, posthumously recognised as the Second Dalai Lama) north of Dakpo in Gyatsa province of U and ten kilometres south of the sacred Oracle Lake of Lhamo Latso?’

According to one pilgrim’s guide, Chokhor Gyal was in triangular form not only owing to its position at the confluence of three rivers between three mountains, but also to represent the three elements of water, earth and fire as well as the symbolic triangle of the female principle Palden Lhamo.'^ The Dalai Lama stayed here a number of times later in life, usually for study and retreat. Here he

notes in Dukula that Lhundrup Gatshal, the restricted inner sanctum of the monastery reserved for Tantric practice and retreat, was an especially holy place: "Devikoti,” or the residence of Palden Lhamo, a spot "where rites of power and violence can be performed”.^^ He also writes during a subsequent visit that Lhundrup Gatshal itself was also triangular,’® indicating that this part of the complex occupied one of the monastery’s three corners. The particular form of Palden Lhamo at Lhamo Latso is Gyalmo Magzorma. On this, his first visit attKe age of six, the Dalai Lama performed a Magzorma ritual in the mornings and during the day he studied the twenty-fourth Jataka Tale, reading it three times, and memorised long texts. He also visited the Gonkhang, the protectors’ shrine, renewed the torma and offered ceremonial scarves there. After nine days of retreat in Lhundrup Gatshal he returned to the main area of Chokhor Gyal monastery.’® These details recorded in Dukula (composed by the Dalai Lama after 1667) were likely drawn from notes made at the time (1624) by Trinle Gyatso. acting as one of his close personal attendants. In the Dalai Lama’s introduction to Dukula, Trinle Gyatso’s name is given as the first - and presumably the most notable - in a list of seven people whose written notes the Dalai Lama relied upon to compile the record of events in his life before the age of fifteen. Trinle Gyatso had been, as

Richardson, Hugh. 1993. Ceremonies ofthe Lhasa Year. London: Serindia Publications, 8: “...no Tibetan official was ever seen in public except on horseback accompanied by several mounted servants. Karmay 2014,51-58 (Dukula 58-70), Dorje, 266 “ Dowman, 257 Karmay 2014, 58 (Dukula 69) Ibid., 185 (Dukula 243) ” Dowman, 258; Dorje, 286 ” Karmay 2014,58 (Dukula 69)

Personal Attendant to the Dalai Lama from an Early Age, c.1620

we have seen, a close monk-attendant to the Dalai Lama from early childhood?’ This period of the Dalai Lamas life until he reached the age of fifteen in 1631 according to Tibetan reckoning - takes up a significant proportion of Dukula, 130 pages out of a total of 718, equal to 18%. After this age. the Dalai Lama says he relied on his own memory for the autobiography and “wrote in a spontaneous manner all that occurred naturally to his mind-’’^” Thus, the notes taken by Trinle Gyatso are important in the record kept for posterity of the early life of the Fifth Dalai Lama.

”Karmay2014,6 Ibid., 20 (Dukula 17)

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lie first mention of Trinle Gyatso’s name in Dukula also occurs in its introduction,

wherejie is said to have requested the great Nyingma lama Zur Choying Rangdrol “the omniscient” (1604-1657) to write a text called Byin rlabsphan bde’i snyingpo can (roughly translated as “A Blessing, with the Essence of Benefit and Happiness”). The Dalai Lama mentions Trinle Gyatso and this text because it was one of two texts ‘shown to him as models of good composition when he was finally persuaded to begin writing his autobiography in 1667 after turning down various earlier requests. In his introduction, the Dalai Lama judges both texts to be “beautifully composed” but still “laden with errors and incompleteness,” showing, he says, that the authors did not know their subjects.’’ This comment indicates he was quite a perfectionist as regards detail, authenticity and accuracy, which is also clear from the standard of his own writings which fill twenty-seven volumes of works.” The same Zur Choying Rangdrol, commonly referred to in Dukula as “Zur,” despite such criticism of his text made by the Fifth Dalai Lama in 1667, had by then been one of his most respected teachers for over twenty years. In fact, the D^ai Lama declares in Dukula in 1645,1648 and 1655 that this same Zur was his spiritual master, root master and root guru.” Another measure of their closeness is that in Volume I of the Dukula alone the Dalai Lama refers to Zur no less than

’’•Ibid., 19-20 (Dukula 16) ” Pommaret, 79 (Samten Karmay) ” Karmay 2014,264,284,345 and 479 (Karmay, trans., 2014,200,215,263 and 355) 323

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sixty-five times - more than to anyone else except for Tsongkhapa who, according to the index, has eighty-nine mentions?^ That Trinle Gyatso, a Gelug monk, formally requested a prominent Nyingma lama like Zur to compose such a text demonstrates his non-sectarianism and sincere respect for other traditions. He may have gained this attitude from working closely with the Dalai Lama, whose own lifelong predilection for the Nyingma and respect for and appreciation of other Tibetan religious traditions such as Kadam, Sakya, Drigung Kagyu and even Bon and Tibetan Muslims, is well documented.^ The Dalai Lama’s non-sectarianism enabled him to eventually authorise, on request, the reinstatement of many non-Gelug monasteries that had been confiscated because their monks had fought against the Gelug during the civil wars and the ensuing rebellions of 1642-1643. For example, in 1653 in response to a petition from Gyaltsab Rinpoche, the Karmapa’s regent, he returned to the Karma Kagyu community some twenty-one of their most important monasteries that had been confiscated, closed or converted to Gelug a decade earlier. The giving back of these monasteries, which included Tshurphu, Yangpa Chen, Nyinje Ling, Legshe Ling and Odzer Ling, was approved by Administrator Sonam Rabten and Mongol leader Gushri Khan (1582-1655), and is described in the biography of Choying Dorje, the Tenth Karmapa by Mendong Tsampa.“ Sonam Rabten had been the powerful Chandzeu or treasurer and principal attendant to the Fifth Dalai Lama from his installation at Drepung at the age of five in 1622,^’ and that of the Fourth Dalai Lama Yonten Gyatso (1589-1617)

Ibid., 578,580 (65 being the number of references to Zur or Zur Choying Rangdrol in the index for the translation of Dukula, and 89 being the number for Tsongkhapa) “ Among his non-Gelug teachers listed in the Collected Works of the Fifth Dalai Lama, TBRC, W294-1813, 1814 are: Zur Choying Rangdrol (1604-1657), Nyingma; Khonton Paljor Lhundrub (1561-1637), Nyingma and Gelug; Rigdzin Ngaggi Wangpo (1580-1639), Nyingma; Terdag Lingpa (1646-1719), Nyingma; Gonpo Sonam Chogden (1603-1659), Sakya; and Tratshangpa Lodroe Choggi Dorje (1595-1671), Sakya. He also wrote biographies of all these non-Gelug masters. In addition, in 1656 he adopted the Drigung Kagyu hierarch (Zhabdnmg Rinpoche of Drigung) Choki Drakpa (1595-1659) as his teacher, as described in Karmay 2014,370f (Duk^a 501 f). See also Mullin, 208 and Dhondup, 27. Richardson, 511. Taken from Richardson’s translation of 10th Karmapa Choying Dorje’s biography by Mendong Tsampa. See also the biography of the first Administrator, Sonam Rabten. Karmay 2014,51-52 (Duldila 58-59)

Tbinle Gyatso’s Lack op Sectarianism

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before him?® He became the Fifth Dalai Lama’s first Administrator when Tibet was re-unified in 1642 and by all accounts, until his death in 1658 he had always acted as Trinle Gyatso’s manager. In Dukula, until 1642 the Dalai Lama always referred to Sonam Rabten by his title “Zhalngo,” meaning “Presence but also a designation for a monk with official responsibilities. After 1642, when the Dalai Lama became the sovereign of Tibet with Sonam Rabten as his Desi or Administrator, he then referred to him in Dukula as “the Depa.” The title “Desi” had already been used during the rule of the Phagmodru dynasty from the fourteenth to the early seventeenth century, when it meant simply “ruler.”’® In order to avoid confusion, we shall refer to Sonam Rabten as “Zhalngo” until 1642, and after that, when his official status changed, as “the first Administrator.” Besides Zur, another of the Dalai Lama’s close but non-Gelugpa disciples-cummasters was the great Nyingma revealer Of treasure texts Terdag Lingpa (16461719), founder of Mindrolling Monastery?' In 1676, the Dalai Lama would not only authorise him to establish this great Nyingma monastery to replace several older Nyingma monasteries, but he also provided him with every facility to enable

himtodoso?^ As for Trinle Gyatso’s own lack of sectarianism, the first example we have already seen is his request to the Nyingma master Zur to compose a text which was later cited to the Fifth Dalai Lama as a model of good composition for his autobiography,” contrasting with the sectarian zeal exhibited by some of the Gelug hierarchy at the time, a zeal epitomised in the ultra-Gelug policies pursued by Zhalngo, the first Administrator and fully described in his own biography. As the Fifth Dalai Lama’s Chandzeu, Zhalngo also acted as his chief of staff. In 1632, one staff member. Tashi Phuntshog the Jangngo Chodze (“the religious preceptor from the northern sector”) - who had taught and assisted the Dalai Lama to perform rituals since he first entered the monastery at the age of five displeased Zhalngo by staying on with Gelong Ngagwang Chogyal, the fully

“ Yamaguchi, 4-5 (Gyatso 46a5-6) Karmay 2014,4; Karmay 1988,7 “ Karmay 1988,9 ” Ibid., 21. Terdag Lingpa also performed rituals as a last service for Lobzang Gyatso shortly before his death in 1681 and consecrated thangkhas and statues of tutelary deities in his apartment at the Potala. ” Berzin, Study Buddhism, Advanced Studies (https://studybuddhism.com/en/ advanced-studies/history-culture/monasteries-in-tibet/nyingma-monasteries-

mindroUing) ” Karmay 2014,19 (Dukula 16)

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ordained monk who had been appointed as the Dalai Lama’s companion and teacher at the same time. Tashi Phuntsog was therefore dismissed and replaced by Trinle Gyatso, who, probably in his early thirties at the time, was thus promoted from being one of the Dalai Lama’s personal attendants to the formal status 6f Lfl^ogor Personal Assistant.” Over the following four years, serious political problems began in Tibet, some of which are briefly described above, but Trinle Gyatso is not mentioned in Dukula or in other sources during this period. As part of these troubles, in 1635 Chogthu Hung Taiji (1581-1637), leader of the Northern Khalkha Mongols who had conquered Amdo sent his son Arsalang to Central Tibet with an army of ten thousand to attack the Gelug and it did not end well for him, as described in the biography of the first Administrator, but some of Arsalang’s troops became infected with smallpox, “the breath-winds of the ghosts of the borderlands,” which had been slowly spreading from China to Mongolia. Carried by them, it became an epidemic in northern Tibet, eventually reaching the province of Tsang. Then, early in 1636, a peace treaty involving all the warring parties was drawn up and signed, mediated and witnessed by Lobzang Chokyi Gyaltsen, the Panchen Rinpoche’" (1570-1662).”

” Karmay 2014.52,56,105 (Dukula 59,66,137-138); Richardson, 450 ” Ihis “Panchen Rinpoche” who appears regularly in Dukula is, of course, now known as the First Panchen Lama. ” Karmay 2014,122-126 (Dukula 159-164); Shakabpa 2010,336-337; Shakabpa 1984, 103-104; Atwood. 550; Dhondup, 18-19; Mullin, 197; Tucci. 60-61; Stein, 82; Richardson, 427 although Richardson is the only one of all our historians to say that Arsalang was killed by Tsang troops rather than by Mongolian assassins sent by his father.

Travels and Astrology Studies with the Dalai Lama, 1636-1639

This resolution allowed the Dalai Lama and his court, including Trinle Gyatso, to escape that summer’s smallpox epidemic before it reached Lhasa - by travelling to Qhokhor Gyal monastery in the east of U in the sixth month of 1636. They took the northern route over the Gokar La pass’^ between Dzingchi and Chokhor Gyal and the Dalai Lama undertook a two month retreat at Lhundrup Gatshal,” the same hermitage where he had stayed in retreat when returning to Lhasa from E Bigo at the age of six in 1623.” In the autumn of 1636 he explored the lakes at a place called Lathog, including the lake of Mahakala in which he saw visions of villages and the army of Tsang on the attack. His Nyingma teacher Zur also came to Lhundrup Gatshal and stayed five months, giving him innumerable teachings.'*® „ Ihis was the situation after the Fire-ox New Year of 1637, when, while at Lhundrup Gatshal, Trinle Gyatso began to teach the Dalai Lama the Inga bsdus and sgra gcan parts of astronomy (‘The Compendium of Five Texts” and the Rahula, i.e. eclipses), and also astrology. He requested the Dalai Lama to confer upon him in turn the transmission of the religious text, Zhu Ian nor bui ’phreng

” The Gokar La pass is now called the Gyelung La, see Tibetmap.com. “ Karmay2014,127 (Dukula 165-166) »Ibid., 58 (Dukula 69) «Ibid.. 127 (Dukula 165-166) 327

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ba*^ Although nothing is stated about the education Trinle Gyatso received at Drepung, evidently he had attained expertise in these subjects. The Dalai Lama records in Dukula that when Trinle Gyatso had to return from Chokhor Gyal to Kyisho, the greater Lhasa area, at the end of the winter, he paid Trinle Gyatso generously for teaching him while he himself stayed on for a number of months, focussing on his other studies, returning to Lhasa when the epidemic had subsided and the route was clear of infection.*’ Later in 1637, Gushri Khan came to Lhasa in triumph after defeating his fellow Mongol Choghtu Hung Taiji and his army in battle at Ulaan-Koshuu in Amdo.^ As we have seen, the vanquished Choghtu had become an ally of the sixth king of the Tsangpa dynasty based in Shigatse, Karma Tenkyong Wangpo (1606-1642), who had followed in the footsteps of the fifth king, his father Karma Phuntsog Namgyal (1587-1621) as a rival and an enemy of the Lhasa-based Gelug. The Dalai Lama conferred on Gushri Khan a Tibetan honorary name or title, “Tendzin Chokyi Gyalpo” meaning “Upholder of the Dharma and Religious King” in recognition ofhis victory. Gushri responded by awarding titles to the Dalai Lama’s senior staff, including Trinle Gyatso who was given the title of Jaisang Depa,*^ “Jaisang” being a Mongolian honorary title of Chinese origin for an Oirat clan head.*® “Depa” is a Tibetan title meaning “ruler,” “leader,” "governor” or “chieftain;” it could also be used as a synonym for “Desi” or "Sakyong.”*^ Gushri Khan then hastened to leave Lhasa, returning to his pastures at Kokonor in the north to reorganise his newly-won territories and distribute them among his sons and so forth.*^

Trinle Gyatso retained the title of Jaisang Depa as his public designation for the next twenty-three years, from 1637 until his appointment as third Administrator in 1660, when the Dalai Lama changed his name back to Trinle Gyatso. To avoid confusion, however, in his case we shall refer to him as Trinle Gyatso throughout until his appointment as Administrator, after which we shall call him “the Administrator.”*®

*‘ Ibid., 127 (Dukula 166). As advised by Michael Richards, the title of this text means “Questions and Answers: A Rosary of Jewels”, by Legpai Sherab. *’ Ibid., 127-129 (Dukula 166-169) *’ Ibid., 130 (Dukula 169-170); Smith, 107; Atwood. 550 ** Ibid., 130 (Dukula 170) *®R6na-Tas, 151

*® Richardson, 448-449; Mullin, 199,290; Dhondup, 25 R6na-Tas, 151; Shakabpa 1984,105; Shakabpa 2010,338; Mullin, 198; Dhondup, 20 *• Karmay 2014,435 (Dukula 587-588)

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329

Early in 1638, in the twelfth month of the Fire-ox year,^’ the same, slowspreading epidemic of smallpox that had caused the Dalai Lama to move to Chokhor Gyal in 1637 finally began to infect people in Lhasa. After the Earth­ tiger New Year (1638-1639), he and his court - including Trinle Gyatso - left the Lhasa area again to avoid the threat of infection, evacuating this time to Cholung Tashigang.5^ Here, in the first two months of spring, Trinle Gyatso and the Dalai Lama worked together to develop a new, detailed astrological calendar. The smallpox threat must have receded because after three months they returned to Lhasa. On the fifth day of the third month, during a ceremony attended by prominent lamas and teachers and presided over by the Panchen Rinpoche, the twenty-one-yearold’Dalai Lama took the full ordination of a Buddhist monk before the Jowo Buddha statue, and in the spring of 1638 his studies began in earnest.®^ Trinle Gyatso next appears that autumn when, for some unexplained reason, Zhalngo was displeased with him and sent him away to Olga, about a hundred kilometres east of Lhasa, to collect the bariey harvest. Zhalngo wanted to install his‘own younger brother Depa Norbu (d. 17th c.) in Trinle Gyatsos place as the Dalai Lama’s senior personal assistant but the Dalai Lama firmly rejected the proposal. For once, Zhalngo seems to have deferred to his wishes because Norbu

The Tibetan calendar is lunisolar and the Tibetan New Year usually occurs during February or March of the Gregorian calendar, overlapping it by about one to three months. Thus, the last one to three months of the Tibetan year, depending on the cycle, coincide wflh the first one to three months of the "western’ year. Thus, the Fire-ox Tibetan year might have run from the beginning of March in 1637 until the end of February in 1638. Therefore we can posit that the twelfth month of the Fire-ox year would have occurred early in 1638. When the dating of incidents in Dukula is not precise, the chronology of events described in these biographies has been estimated on this basis. “ Karmay 2014,133 (Dukula 173); as for Tashigang, see Dorje, 185; unless this location has disappeared, this may refer to the Sakya monastery of Tashigang on the west bank of the lower Kyichu river at Nyethang, fifteen kilometres southwest of Dongkar, near the border between Tolung Dechen and Chushul counties. There is also a Tashigang village in Tolung Dechen County between Gurum and Namkhar on the way from Dongkar to Tshurphu, but the Dalai Lama would most likely stay in a monastery. See tibetmap.com sheet 2990 for both locations. A third Tashigang is east of Lhasa on the way to Chokhor Gyal, a monastery in the Medroma Chu valley between Gungkar and Rutok (tibetmap. com sheet.2991). Four other references to Tashigang in Dukula say it is in Nyethang, e.g. Karmay 2014,324 (Dukula 437) refers to dancers from Tashigang of Nyethang performing in the Potala courtyard after the Dalai Lama’s return from China. But there are a number of villages called Tashigang in Tibet. 5* Ibid., 133-134 (Dukula 173)

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was rejected and a monk called Lopa Chodze was eventually appointed to fill the vacancy?^ It was not the last of Norbu, however, whose career in the Ganden Phodrang was to continue uninterrupted for another dozen years. Trinle Gyatso was not discarded altogether, however, as he returned to the Dalai Lama’s private office within a few months. Early in the spring of 1639, he was reported to be working closely with the Dalai Lama on the calendar he had commissioned as a major, long-term project. The Dalai Lama, having first gone on a pilgrimage to the Yerpa valley, north east of Lhasa, one of the three most

important centres of retreat and meditation in Central Tibet,and visited all the sacred places with Zur and his retinue after the Earth-hare New Year in 1639, finally returned to Lhasa where he began in earnest to compile this calendar in tandem with Trinle Gyatso. For the next twelve years Trinle Gyatso mainly made the calculations for the calendar based on astrological studies such as the Jetsi and Za-nga Gyogtsi, “Ready Reckoner for the Five Planets.” It was the Dalai Lama himself, however, who made most of the calculations of the Drubtsi Za-nga Nga’i Tsalong and the Dromdrig; he also composed the commentary for the year and the month and the verses of eulogy, following the traditional practice of P/iwgfor the calendar’s annual commentary and embellishing it with poetry?'’ Trinle Gyatso evidently continued to tutor the Dalai Lama in the science of astrology over many years during this central phase of both of their lives. Their enduring interest and research eventually bore fruit when the Dalai Lama composed a comprehensive treatise on the subject, a text which became one of his most celebrated works. Commencing with a classification of all the sciences, the treatise described the Chinese system of astrology and well as the Indian, since both had been adopted in Tibet and were widely taught and practised there. This treatise, which also included sections dealing with iconography and iconometry, took the Dalai Lama until 1656 to complete.®’

“ Ibid., 135 (Dukula 175). The translated text mentions “he was sent to collect the autumn grains” which we can presume means barley. Although this entry is not dated we can thus assume it took place in the autumn. “ Dowman, 73-79; Dorje, 169-170; see also Wikipedia, “Yerpa.” ^Karmay2014,138-139 (Dukula 179-181) “ Pommaret, 185 (Lo Bue). This text is entitled rtsis skar nag las brtsoms pai dris Ian nyin byed dbang po'i snang ba - “The appearance of having the power of making daylight - a Question and Answer on Astrology.” I am indebted to Michael Richards for identifying this text in the Dalai Lama’s collected works and translating its title.

The Nyingma Rite ofjampal Zilnon used as a Weapon of War, 1640

i

Ifi Zhalngo the first Administrator’s biography, the occurrence and execution of the.civil wars waged by Gushri Khan and his Mongol army against the Tibetan adversaries of the Gelug between 1638 and 1642 are described in sufficient detail for the purpose of this trilogy, so they do not need repeating here. Trinle Gyatso, however, did play at least a small part in the actual fighting towards the end of hostilities when he,led a force to Southern Tibet to seize various places from Tsangpa control. In the meantime, from 1640 to 1642 he became deeply involved in effecting the restoration of the practice of a comply Nyingma ritual called Jampal Zilnon. As chief administrator of the pre-war Ganden Phodrang, Zhalngo would often delegate religious projects to Trinle Gyatso and this tendency highlights Trinle Gyatso’s main area of preference and competence. As a wartime illustration of this policy of Zhalngos, in 1640 for some reason he took the decision to reinstate the originally Nyingma practice of the deity Jampal Zilnon^^ and then delegated it to

“ Jampal Zilnon, also known as Jampal Chaggya Zilnon, “the overwhelming seal of Manjushri” is a Nyingma cycle deity and is an aspect of Yamantaka, the wrathful form of Manjushri, lord of the life span {tshe bdag). The various extant lineages suggest that this practice was introduced to Tibet in the 9th century by the great Nyingma master Nubchen Sangye Yeshe. A search of TBRC gives over thirty texts concerning the deity, mostly of Nyingma and Drukpa Kagyu lineages. I am indebted to Gyurme Dorje for this information which was kindly confirmed by Samten Karmay. 331

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Trinle Gyatso. Ihe Dalai Lama notes in Dnkula that this practice had been customary during the time of the Third Dalai Lama Sonam Gyatso (1543-1588) when this ritual and its recitation were carried out daily; but the tradition was discontinued during the reign of the Fourth Dalai Lama Yonten Gyatso (15891617)57 arrived in Lhasa from Mongolia in 1603 at the age of fourteen.^® The Fifth Dalai Lama was already familiar with Jampal Zilnon, having practiced it since he was eighteen. In the summer of 1635, when Zur Choying Rangdrol came to stay with him, he went into strict retreat reciting the mantra of Jampal Zilnon a hundred thousand times under Zur’s guidance.’’ He went on the same retreat again the following year, 1636, at the fourteenth-century Gephel Hermitage on the ridge behind Drepung Monastery, though he could not finish all the mantra repetitions. The following year, 1637, while on another retreat at Lhundrup Gatshal he resumed the practise and completed all the missing recitations, this time with an additional Jampal Zilnon rite of “enemy suppression,” near the end of which several signs of success manifested: people heard whispers and cries, and “a small bird came and fell into the pit.”“ In 1640, Zhalngo initially re-established Jampal Zilnon as a Gelug practice by simply appointing a group of monks, probably from Drepung Monastery, to recite the ritual text daily. The Dalai Lama, however, by now aged twenty-three and gaining in confidence, took a personal interest and decided it would be more effective to restore the practice in full at his own Namgyal Monastery which, being non-sectarian, is less focussed on the Gelug tradition. He thus gave the wang of the deity, presumably to the Namgyal monks, and wrote a manual on the practice.^* At the end of the third month of the Earth hare-year, 1639-1640, when the Dalai Lama visited Drepung, the ritual master, the Choje Dragna, had already requested him to write a recitation manual for the complex Jampal Zilnon ritual and the ritual dance using recreations of the authentic traditional costumes - which he did. The practice became established at Namgyal and perhaps also at Drepung. Over the years, though, this manual needed numerous amendments, improvements, and deletions, as the Dalai Lama discovered the main "treasure

” BCarmay 2014,146 (Dukula 190) « Mullin 2001,172-173 5’Karmay2014, 121 (Dukula 157) “ Ibid., 128 (Dukula 166-167); Dorje, 132; Dowman, 72. The resident caretaker monks at Gephel Hermitage still look after a cabinet of yak and dri which graze on the medicinal herbs, and the curd made from the milk of the dri used to be reserved for the Dalai Lamas (this is taken from both G. Dorje’s and K. Dowman’s accounts) Ibid., 146 (Dukula 190)

The Nyingma Rite of Jampal Zilnon used as a Weapon of War, 1640

texts” and old manuscripts of the practice. He was never fully satisfied with it, he writes, until the Water-ox year of 1673 by which time he had reached the age of 56, showing his lifelong commitment to this practice.^ He mentions making one such improvement early in 1642, shortly before the end of the civil war, when he composed the liturgical part of the initiation ceremony of the deity at the request of Gungnang Choje Dzepal and the teacher of Namgyal.^ ► In 1640 when Trinle Gyatso was put in charge of the Jampal Zilnon restoration project, a group of monks from Phurba College of Narthang Monastery were visiting Lhasa to make offerings, playing much ritual music. Narthang, of course, was,the original Kadam monastery of Gendun Drub (1391-1474), the First Dalai Lama, who lived to the age of 83, older than any subsequent Dalai Lama - until the.Fz)urteenth Dalai Lama reached that age in 2018. Gendun Drub entered Narthang Monastery at the age of seven and brilliantly completed his studies there before leaving for central Tibet where he eventually met Tsongkhapa in 1415. The visit of these Narthang monks to Lhasa was therefore of some interest to the Dalai Lama. He deputed four of his monks, including the lead chant-master Dongag Lingpa, to go and meet them to request teachings on the sacred arts of ritual dance,.music and chanting.®^ So why would Zhalngo, well-known as a Gelug purist, want to re-establish an old Nyingma practice discontinued by the Gelug at least five decades earlier, and ask Trinle Gyatso to oversee its restoration? It seems somewhat out of character. Was it out of respect for the ‘Dalai Lama who had already shown a personal commitment to the practice for at least the past five years? Unlikely as this might appear, the Dalai Lama hinted at Zhalngos real motivation. In Dukula, he notes that Zhalngo did not normally approve of any Nyingma practices at all, but shrewdly adds that Zhalngo now faced the reality of civil war. In other words, he implied that Zhalngos purpose in suddenly wanting to re­ establish this non-Gelug practice in Gelug monasteries was to support Gelug armies with wrathful magic rituals of destruction and so forth against the enemy. The feeling was, even to Zhalngo, that Nyingma lineages were more effective for such things than his own Gelug.“ Zhalngos feeling is adequately borne out by an exchange between the two during the actual war. The general context was Zhalngo’s disapproval of the Dalai Lama’s student-guru relationship with the Nyingma master Zur Ch'oying Rangdrol. “ Ibid., 140 (Dukula 182) “Ibid., 161 (Dukula 210) Ibid., 146 (Dukula 190) Ibid. ,

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He constantly tried to prevent Zur from giving teachings and initiations to the Dalai Lama, so much so that the Dalai Lama confesses in Dukula that he deceived Zhalngo about his time spent with Zur. He admits he had lied to him during his 1636 retreat at Lhundrup Gatshal with Zur, pretending that he only needed to ask him some questions about his practice; he also “made excuses, saying they were performing rituals,” when in fact, behind Zhalngo’s back, Zur was conferring upon him “a feast of innumerable teachings” and they were establishing new do rites of the goddess Magzorma and Khyabjug.^ So, with the war raging in Kham in 1640, the Dalai Lama and Zhalngo had the following exchange. They were debating what supporting wrathful rituals should be performed. Zhalngo demanded Nyingma rituals but the Dalai Lama demurred

and proposed the Gelug Yamantaka practice, saying he hadn’t learned enough of Nyingma rites. Zhalngo dismissed Yamantaka, saying it had failed in 1618 when the Tsangpa had sacked the great Gelug monasteries in Lhasa and killed or dispersed all the monks. He insisted that the Dalai Lama carry out Nyingma rituals such as Palden Magzorma or Zhal, but the Dalai Lama denied all knowledge of them, despite the fact that he wrote in Dukula that at the age of six and thereafter he performed Magzorma rituals frequently at Lhundrup Gatshal and elsewhere.®^ “I have not even satisfactorily obtained ihejenang of the two deities!” he declared. To this, Zhalngo retorted, curtly: “If it’s good for the wound, even dog fat is fine! So practise Nyingma!”®® To return to Trinle Gyatso’s part in the restoration and reinstatement of this Nyingma practice at Namgyal Monastery, once the Narthang monks had provided all the costumes for the sacred dance, Zhalngo delegated all the rest of the project to him.® In 1642 the Dalai Lama was requested to write the liturgical part of Jampal Zilnons initiation ceremony^® and the deity continued to be practiced since it was repeatedly mentioned in Dukula over the following decades.^*

Ibid., 127 (Dukula 166). “Khyabjug’ is the Tibetan equivalent of the Indian god, Vishnu, also known to Tibetans as Rahula. Ibid., 58 (Dukula 69) “ Ibid., 149-150 (Dukula 195-196) Ibid., 146 (Dukula 190) ™ Ibid., 161 (Dukula 210) Ibid., 205,216,422,500 (Dukula 271,286,572,674)

Trinle Gyatsho’s Other Activities During Civil Wars of 1640-1643

By mid-1641, with Kham already conquered and pacified, the Tibetan civil war ras now raging in Tsang. For several months Gushri Khan’s Gelug Mongol army had besieged the well-defended headquarters of the king of Tsang inside the great Dzong or fortress called Khamsum Zilnon/^ “Dominating the Three Realms” at Samdrubtse, also called Shigatse, without any sign of success. The warring parties were deadlocked and Zhalngo began to vacillate. Lx)sing confidence, he begged the-Dalai Lama, who had opposed this war from the start, to mediate and broker a peace agreement between the two sides to end the conflict.” The Dalai Lama, however, became angry and scolded him for his aggression and subterfuge, telling him he had already gone too for and must now finish what he started otherwise they were all doomed. He foresaw that if a peace agreement were brokered, their Mongol allies would have to quit Tibet leaving them at the mercy of the Tsangpa forces.^* Zhalngo had to concur and an all-out parallel war effort was launched in U by the Lhasa Gelug in support of the Mongol forces in Tsang, and Zhalngo himself assumed overall military leadership of the new Tibetan campaign with determination. First, he recruited a body of novice monks from Drepung and Sera to attack Dongkar fort, a stronghold just ten kilometres west of Lhasa that was still ” Karmay 1988,9 ” Karmay 2014, 148-149, 154-155 (Dukula 193-194, 201); Shakabpa 2010, 339, 342; Shakabpa 1984,106-108

Ibid., 156-157 (Dukula 203-204) 335

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held by the Tsang king’s supporters/® Then, after capturing it in one day, he recruited other Gelug leaders to assiune new responsibilities in the fight to capture the few remaining Tsang-dominated districts in U which continued to resist. Trinle Gyatso was one of the leaders who answered the call; he participated in this phase as commander of a body of troops which seized Gyok and Rigo in E to the southeast of Tsethang “and other such places.”’® Trinle Gyatso’s father, Gopa Tashi, one of the Dalai Lama’s most close and trusted aides, also commanded Gelug forces against Tsang. The Dalai Lama writes how Gopa Tashi, also called “Trungme” - “the man from Trongme village” assigned some of his men to operate the cannons and others to take positions on mountain peaks. One of his men was Nangso Norbu and when the cannon station was lost to the enemy he was the first to run away, but Gopa Tashi, standing his ground, was fatally injured by shrapnel from a cannonball.” His teeth and hair were brought to the Dalai Lama to be purified and then burned. The ash was then tinged with gold and used to make ink to write the kinds of dharani that “liberate through wearing it” and that “purify the Lower Realms.” Some of the ashes were also mixed with clay and used to make small votive images called tsa-tsaJ^ This was a personal service to Trinle Gyatso’s family that the Dalai Lama repeated some fifteen years later when Trinle Gyatso’s nephew Nangso Asug also died, showing the close bond between them and the high esteem in which the Dalai Lama held this family.” Following the conclusion of the 1640-1642 Tibetan civil wars in the spring of 1642 and the resulting enthronement of the Dalai Lama as Tibet’s supreme leader, Trinle Gyatso played a small but vital role in preventing a major rebellion from breaking out in Tsang, saving Panchen Rinpoche from being captured and held hostage or otherwise harmed by rebels. At this time uprisings large and small against the new regime in Lhasa were cropping up here and there in Tibet, and needed dealing with.®“ In the autumn, there was one such open and large-scale ” There appears to be a misreading in Karmay 2014, 157 (Dukula 205), where th? description of the attack on (and capture of) Dongkar Fort is taken by the translator as an attack on Samdrubtse Dzong instead. Karmay 2014,157 (Dukula 205); Shakabpa2010.344-345; Shakabpa 1984,109-110. “Gyok appears in Shakabpa 2010 p. 345 but the Wylie is not given, neither are any further details of the campaign carried out by Trinle Gyatso and his force; and the source of Shakabpa’s information about Trinle Gyatso’s action is not clearly indicated. Ibid., 159 (Dukula 207); Richardson, 451 ™ Ibid., 174 (Dukula 229) ’’ Ibid.; 369 (Dukula 499-500)

•» Ibid.. 173-177 (Dukula 228-234)

Trinle Gyatsho’s Other Activities During Civil Wars op 1640-1643

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revblt in central Tibet. As part of this, following their defeat in the civil war, the remnants of the Tsangpa Karma Kagyu, a major element of the vanquished opposition forces, had regrouped and established themselves in camps in Lhodrag on the Bhutanese border. From there, they were busy fomenting rebellion among their sympathisers in U, Tsang and Kongpo. Meanwhile, Mongol chieftain Erteni Hung Thaiji and his force of Khalkha Mongols had just arrived on pilgrimage in Lhasa and, somehow, the leading Tibetan rebels were led to believe that they, the Khalkha, sympathised with their cause. This was perhaps because Erteni and his followers belonged to the same subgroup of Mongols as Choghtu Taiji whose Khalkha army was destroyed by Gushri Khan in Amdo five years earlier. In any case, the rebels expected this new force of Khalkha would take their side against the Gelug and support the Karmapa’s planned insurgency. On the contrary, it turned out that this was not the case at alL®^ On its launch in Tsang, the revolt made early territorial gains as the rebels seized Namling and Rinpung. Panam was surrounded by rebels and the people of Tanag, Onion and Yagpa declared their forces were ready to attack Shigatse itself, where Panchen Rinpoche was in residence, probably at Tashilhunpo Monastery. On hearing this, Panchen Rinpoche sent an urgent request to Lhasa asking for troops to defend Tashilhunpo and the new Gelug establishment at Samdrubtse Dzong. In U, however, Gushri Khan and the Depa (Zhalngo) and all their forces were already fully occupied fighting a large rebel army from Zhoka, commanded by its local leader, Zhoka Nangso. The Dalai Lama writes that in this battle between five and six thousand rebel troops, including Zhoka Nangso himself, “perished like dried grass burned in the fire.”®^

When Sonam Rabten, now the first Administrator (previously referred to as “Zhalngo”) received the Panchen’s desperate appeal for help from Tsang, he was fully occupied with rebels in U. In an effort to save Panchen Rinpoche’s life he summoned Trinle Gyatso and Dronnyer Tshogsogpa and sent them to meet the same Erteni Hung Taiji, the Khalkha Mongol leader in Lhasa - upon whose help the rebels had been counting - to request him to intervene by sending a strike force of his troops to Shigatse urgently to control the situation. Trinle Gyatso duly went to meet him, delivered the message and tried to persuade the Mongol chieftain to act, but at first Erteni showed reluctance, taunting Trinle Gyatso. He said, as a pilgrim and a neutral party, "I came here to do virtuous work, not to make war. You, the Gelug, do such things [i.e. indulge in making war] without being able to stand on your own feet!” Trinle Gyatso persisted, no doubt stressing 8’ Ibid., 174 (Dukula 230) 8^ Ibid., 175 (Dukula 231)

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the urgent need of the situation and the threat to the Panchen Rinpoche’s life. Eventually, after much prevarication, the Mongol leader agreed saying that after all, it would not be so difficult for him and his army to suppress the rebels and re­ establish control. He ordered his younger brother Dayan Noyon to march on Tsang with three hundred Khalkha Mongol troops, and they were reinforced by Aldar Khoshorchis, an aide to Gushri Khan’s senior queen, who was despatched to join the Khalkha force with a detachment of Gushri’s Khan’s troops. They rode to Shigatse and soon brought the situation in Tsang under control, preventing any harm to Panchen Rinpoche.’’ Over the next year or so, peace was fully restored and the rule of the Dalai Lama over the whole of Tibet was stabilised with the help of Gushri Khan’s military, which was placed at his disposal if required. According to one historian, thirteen monasteries that had actively supported the rebellion, including the prestigious Jonang monastery in Tsang, were closed by order of the Dalai Lama as their punishment and also as a deterrent to all monks and monasteries from engaging in warfare in future.®* A Bhutanese historian, however, points out a little more pertinently that the Karma Kagyu and the Jonang had been at the forefront of Tsangpa sectarian campaigns against Gelug monasteries in Tsang, so some serious retaliation was only to be expected.”

«Ibid. ” uUin, 205-206 “ Phuntsho, 238

Peacetime Activities and Travels with the Dalai Lama, 1643-1651

Late in the Water-sheep year of 1643, yet another epidemic of smallpox broke out in the Lhasa area and to avoid it the Dalai Lama went on another extended pilgrimage in the countryside as winter began. Trinle Gyatso accompanied him with the rest of his entourage, including the Administrator and Gushri Khan. They first travelled east to Chokhor Gyal and Lhamo Latso, taking the route via Maldro Gungkar and staying in monasteries, spending two days at Dzingchi and another ten at Olga Dzong en route.®® At Ghokhor Gyal, the Dalai Lama entered a strict retreat in Lhundrup Gatshal and remained in the area over the winter. In the spring of 1644 it was decided for

various reasons to go to Zadam, probably a region of pastures favoured by the Mongols to the north of Lhasa, and the party set offin that direction from Chokhor Gyal to Olga. Leaving Olga however, Trinle Gyatso was taken ill with convulsions or choleraic cramps {begen mugpo') and though the Dalai Lama’s doctor Pontshang Changngo who was in the entourage treated him, his condition worsened when they reached Wozerkyang, the next stop; he became so ill that he was confined to bed. The Dalai Lama conferred a protective initiation on him and performed other rites in an effort to improve his condition, evidently quite serious, and after three days he began to feel better. The party moved on to the Medroma Chu valley between Gongkar and Rutok and stayed at the monastery of Rinchen Ling in Maldro Gongkar. It was decided to leave Trinle Gyatso there, at Rinchen Ling, to “ Karmay 2014,185 (Dukula 243)

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recuperate under the care of the doctor Pontshang Nangso Dargye and Dragna Choje, the ritual master of Drepung monastery, while the Dalai Lama and the rest of the entourage moved on to Zadam.®^ Trinle Gyatso recovered from his '"begen mugpo” however and he is next mentioned a few months later, still in 1644, as supplying the provisions for outside picnics in Lhasa attended by the Dalai Lama and his retinue by the side of the Kyichu River. Lhasans are known for their picnics in the city’s twenty-two parks that existed in the city before the 1950s and the Fifth Dalai Lama was no exception. “The time came”, he writes, “when the god of water transformed the river water into “nectar*”. This must have been when cooler autumn weather brings the mountain snow-melt to an end and the waters of the Lhasa River become crystal clear after the muddy flow of midsummer. He requested that a camp be set up by the riverbank at the park of Denbag Lingka, just to the west of Lhasa. Denbag is a former village, now absorbed as a city suburb of the same name south of Nechung Monastery, so the park would have been between it and the river.®® It was evidently the Dalai Lama’s favourite spot where he would stay for a week to partake in medicinal bathing, and no doubt at the same time, to enjoy a break from his busy life at Drepung. The magnificent Norbulingka palace and park were eventuMly created by the Seventh and Eighth Dalai Lamas over a century later, just to the east of Denbag Park As his contribution to the event, Trinle Gyatso was deputed to make all the arrangements for the picnic provisions and from this year of 1644 onwards the week’s camp at Denbag Park became an annual event in the Dalai Lama’s diary - he notes that it was Trinle Gyatso who always in charge of making the catering arrangements for him, his party and guests.®’ Trinle Gyatso is also mentioned by the Dalai Lama in his spiritual autobiography “Secret Visions of the Fifth Dalai Lama,” as well as in Dukula his political autobiography, and some of these references are worthy of mention. He writes in “Secret Visions,” for example, that one day in 1645 he saw a rainbow very clearly, as if it was painted in the sky, just above the balcony, presumably at his residence at the Ganden Phodrang in Drepung. Inside this rainbow he saw a vision of Orgyan Zahorma, a particular form of Padmasambhava. Trinle Gyatso, described

Ibid., 186 (Dukula 245). Tibetmap.com sheets 2991/2992. ®® Barnett, Robert. 2010. Lhasa: Streets with Memories. New York; Columbia University Press, 67. "Lhasa used to have twenty-two parks where the people were accustomed to picnic, but by 2010 all except three had been built over with dormitory blocks, office blocks and army barracks. The three surviving parks are Norbulingka, Lhukang and a small part of Shugtri Lingka.” ® Karmay 2014,189 (Dukula 249)

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here as "The Treasurer” (Chandzeu), was at his side at the time and the Dalai Lama writes that he also witnessed this paranormal rainbow.’® This reference shows that Trinle Gyatso remained not only an intimate attendant to the Dalai ^ma but also shared in his visionary and mystical experiences^ at least to some extent. “Dukula” consists of the three volumes of the Fifth Dalai Lama’s political autobiography.’* Trinle Gyatso’s grand-nephew Sanggye Gyatso was also known as “Zhalngo Trongme;”’^ from 1679 to 1705 he was destined to be the Dalai Lama’s sixth and last national Administrator, and as such he wrote an additional three volumes of biographical history of the period, covering the search and finding of the Sixth Dalai Lama, the construction of the Red Palace of the Potala and the building of the gold stupa that contains the Fifth Dalai Lama’s remains placed in tha Red Palace,” The first of his three volumes refers several times to Trinle Gyatso. The first instance occurs in 1645, when, Sanggye Gyatso states, three officials with titles of Sikyong and Sakyong were appointed to administrate different districts. As it happened, each of these officials subsequently became national Administrators. In 1645 Trinle Gyatso was made responsible for “Lhasa middle circle,” Lobzang Tutob was put in charge of Ramoche district and Lobzang Jinpa was given “Tradrug in Yuru” with its shrines and enshrined objects to take care of, Tradrug being the most ancient temple in the Yarlung Valley and the second of Tibet’s earliest great geomantic temples after the Jokhang.’^ Trinle Gyatso next appears in our sources after a hiatus of three years from 1645 to 1648, during which the Dalai Lama describes in Dukula aff his religious activities, including beginning the construction of the Potala Palace, establishing new monasteries, giving and receiving many teachings, ordaining monks and nuns, receiving dignitaries, foreign leaders and travellers and issuing decrees and so forth. We can surmise from Trinle Gyatso’s complete absence from these accounts that, imder the Administrator’s direction, he continued to provide satisfactory administrative, and financial and accounting support over this period, fulfilling his main role of bearing responsibility for Lhasa Middle Circle with

Karmay 1988,30 ’* Karmay 2014,2-3 Karmay 2005, 97 ” For the contents summary of Sanggye Gyatso’s additional three volumes I am indebted to Samten Karmay who kindly outlined them in a personal communication dated 27"’ September 2019. Ahmad, 267 (Sanggye Gyatso 156b, line 6); Dorje, 233

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minimal fuss as was his habit, while still attending to the Dalai Lama’s needs as required. In 1648, most likely organised and supervised by Trinle Gyatso - although his input is not mentioned these kinds of religious works and projects were normally his special responsibility - extensive improvements were made to the Jokhang including the painting of exquisite murals on the walls of the inner walkway illustrating historical figures and scenes from the Avaddnakalpapalatd and theBhadrakalpikasutra. The murals of the north wing depicted Tsongkhapa flanked by Nyingma, Kadam and Gelug lineage holders, those of the east wing showed Tsongkhapa and his retainers, those of the south Sakyamuni flanked by his retainers and those of the west depicted Gushri Khan and either Sonam Rabten or Sanggye Gyatso and their retainers. Since Gushri Khan died in 1656, Sonam Rabten lived until 1658 and Sanggye Gyatso was only born in 1653 it seems most likely that the figure is that of Gushri Khan’s lifelong close collaborator Sonam Rabten (see illustration). This assemblage in murals of Gushri Khan and Sonam Rabten - or Sanggye Gyatso, if not related to the chronology of the period surrounded by their Chinese, Tibetan and Mongol courtiers, is known as the “Khamsum Wangdu”’^ In addition the Dalai Lama created a new mask and stuffed image of the wrathful Remati with his own hands; storerooms adjoining the inner walkway were were converted into chapels and the walls of the Great Courtyard and inner walkways were also painted with more exquisite murals. Old lacquerwork and paintwork throughout the three floors was restored, in the Great Courtyard long and short swags (dra ba dra phyed) of finest silk suspended from the rafters were renovated, as were the silk pendants (phan) draped from the tall columns and small silk pouches of scented offering flowers (phye phur).^ It also emerges in 1648 that one of Trinle Gyatsos responsibilities as personal attendant was to nurse the Dalai Lama back to health when he fell ill. According to the record in Dukula, this trusted role continued at least for the next dozen years. The Dalai Lama writes about falling ill and being cared for by Trinle Gyatso at least seven times over this period and we shall deal with these in chronological order along with his other activities. In the eighth month of that year, the Earth­ mouse year, the Dalai Lama fell ill with a heavy cold. He had been receiving some new “travellers” (a term he normally used for Mongols, but also Chinese and Indians), including Karma Sonam the leader of the Hor tribe, and had given them the wang of longevity when he fell ilL It was Trinle Gyatso who took care of nursing ” Dorje (et al) 2010,97 and 121, note 225. ** Dorje (et al) 2010,19,59-60, see also 121 note 225.

Peacetime Activities and Travels with the Dalai Lama, 1643-1651

him, along with the doctor Pontshang Zhenphen who also treated him until he had recovered.” In 1649 Trinle Gyatso was only briefly mentioned once, shortly after the Earth­ ox New Year, when the Dalai Lama performed the wang of Khyabjug for him as well as for his regular doctor Pontshang Changngo (who had treated Trinle Gyatso when he fell sick returning from Chokhor Gyal in 1644), and the eight-year-old Nyingma lama, the Fourth Dorjedrag Tulku and his entourage.’^ Trinle Gyatso was mentioned again once in 1650, in the tenth month, when some of the Dalai Lama’s staff fell ill with fever, “as if it were caused by displeasure of the religious protectors due to lapses in the vows of monks,” and the Dalai Lama himself also fell ill with a cough. The two Changngo brothers, physicians, treated him and Trinle Gyatso and the younger Changngo brother nursed him back to health. The Administrator arranged rituals for his wellbeing and in ten days the Dalai Lama had made a full recovery.” In the autumn of 1651, Trinle Gyatso accompanied the Dalai Lama in southern Tibet, on a pilgrimage to Samye Monastery. sAfter crossing the Tsangpo on the ferry and arriving at Samye, the news came that the Nangso Tshepal of Gyaltse Trongme, head of the Trongme private estate of Trinle Gyatso’s family, had suddenly died after eating tainted food. Trinle Gyatso requested the Dalai Lama to send someone there to help perform the funerary rites. He deputed Dragna Choje, the ritual master of Drepung, to go back on the ferry bound for Trongme in Tolung to do what was required, although he was to leave as the newly-appointed abbot of Gaden Sangngag Ling, a monastery at Gongkar. Showing the high esteem in which Trinle Gyatso was held, the Dalai Lama responded positively to his personal request without hesitation.^'" At Samye, after an extraordinary conversation, through its oracle, with Nojin Chenpo - the oath-bound wrathful spirit also known as Tsi’u mar who had been installed there by Padmasambhava in the eighth century*"’ - the Dalai Lama visited the various sacred places throughout Samye. These included Hepori Ridge, Kachu Temple, the yogi caves complex at Chimpu and the Sangphu hermitage where he stayed for two days of retreat, offering a ceremonial scarf to the ancient image of Orgyan Chenpo, or Padmasambhava, created by his contemporary and close disciple Bairo Tsana. Now the Dalai Lama composed a dedication for Trinle ” Karmay 2014,220 (Dukula 292) Ibid., 226 (Dukula 297) ” Ibid., 234 (Dukula 309) Ibid., 255 (Dukula 337) Kalsang, 115

343

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Gyatso and wrote it on a label for the ceremonial scarf to be offered to that statue by Trinle Gyatso on behalf of the newly deceased Nangso Tshepal?“ By this time in his life, as Treasurer of the Ganden Phodrang and senior aide and personal assistant to the Dalai Lama, Trinle Gyatso exercised significant personal influence within the court. For example, his nephew Asug was then living with a woman called Butri Gyalmo without an official marriage arrangement (bza' tshag). Trinle Gyatso was displeased by his nephew’s impropriety and he ordered not only their separation but also Butri Gyalmo’s banishment from court and exile to a place called Gyalasa. He then found a suitable young woman of the Namgyal Ling family from Tsethang for Asug to marry, which he obediently did.'“ The story does not end there, however. Neither Butri Gyalmo’s exile at the hands of Trinle Gyatso nor Asug’s marriage spelled the end of their relationship. Butri Gyalmo’s uncle, one Gonshar Chodzay, consulted the “Lamo oracle” of Tsangpa who prophesied that his niece would give fortunate birth to a man of peace. A little later, Asug’s wife from Tsethang died of a dental disease and somehow Butri Gyalmo was allowed to return to Trongme and to Asug’s side. While the Dalai Lama was away on his nineteen-month long trip to Beijing accompanied by Trinle Gyatso, Sanggye Gyatso, destined to be the sixth and final Administrator, was born to the couple in the seventh month of the Water-snake year, about three months before the expedition’s arrival'back in Lhasa. They sent a request for a blessing for their newborn child to the Dalai Lama when he was encamped at Lung Karmo in Dam. Asug died just four years later but Butri Gyalmo lived on in Lhasa until at least 1681 as a woman ofimportance and dignity, well known as Ponsa, and had two more children.*®*

«« Karmay 2014,255-257 (Dukula 337-340) *" Richardson, 455, citing information from W.D. Shakabpa taken from a text by Administrator Sanggye Gyatso, "Dzam gling rgyan gciggi, “A Jewel to the World,” his third volume of biographical history of the period which is a basically catalogue of the contents of the golden tomb that Sanggye Gyatso built for the Dalai Lama. This text (Mchod sdong “dzatn gling rgyan gciggi dkar chag. Bod Ijongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 1990, p. 818) provides further information included above, e.g. that Trinle Gyatso was Sanggye Gyatsos mes khu (great uncle) which means Asug was Trinle Gyatso’s nephew, not his brother as stated by Richardson and/or Shakabpa. I am grateful to Samten BCarmay for kindly confirming this. Ibid. Richardson speculates here that it was, perhaps, one of Butri Gyalmo’s other children who is referred to several times in Dukula as grong smad nos (phonetic “Trongmene” or “Drungmene”), but according to Karmay 2014, 6, “Trongme” is the influential family from the village of the same name and according to Karmay 2014,130 (Dukula 170) and elsewhere “Trongmene” meaning “the man from Trongme” is used to

on the Dalai Lama’s Journey to China, 1652-1653

In 1652, the Administrator appointed Trinle Gyatso as Head of Delegation and Joint Treasurer of the Dalai Lama’s historic visit to the Manchu Imperial Court in Beijing, made at the repeated invitation of the Shunzhi Emperor. The enormous, partly-mounted expedition left Lhasa on the fifteenth of the third month of the Water-dragon year, 1652 - camping first in Denbag Lingka and visiting Drepung, seen off by massive crowds - before taking the Tolung valley route north west to Yangpachen and then turning north and eventually east to Kokonor and on to Beijing.*®® The Dalai Lama had two horses named Phende Ngangpa and Khyungmug which he rode alternately all the way, recording that until their return from China “they proved to be very dear among the horses that had been looked after.”*®’ After seventeen days of stately progress from Lhasa the enormous caravan reached the station of Samdrub Dechen, the major stopping place and campsite

refer to Trinle Gyatso. In Karmay 2014, 266, 271 and 322 (Dukula 351, 357, 433) Trinle Gyatsos nephew is referred to as “Trongme Asug.” The same appellation with the same Tibetan spelling (grong smad) but rendered by the translator in English phonetics as “Drungme” is also used in Karmay’s translation with reference to Trinle Gyatso’s father Gopa Tashi, see Karmay 2014,158 (Dukula 206), as well as in reference to the name of the village: “Gopa Tashi from Drungme,” Karmay 2014,158,174 (Dukula 207,230). >« Karmay 2014,6; 269 (Dukula 355) ’«Ibid., 264f (Dukula 347f) *°’ Ibid., 264 (Dukula 348) 345

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with buildings constructed by Sonam Rabten in the spring of 1648 in readiness for this journey. The complex would have included a furnished and roomy “Phndrang” or rest-house where the Dalai Lama and his retinue would reside. He would also hold meetings and rituals there and receive visitors such as the Mongol princes who passed their time in the surrounding pastures with their tribes and their herds and flocks. The site was situated in Dam. the broad valley of grasslands to the south of the western branch of the Nyenchen Thanglha Mountains a hundred or so kilometres north of Lhasa as the crow flies and a favourite pastureland of the Mongols. In 1648, to insure Sonam Rabten against any accidents from disturbing the location during construction works, the Dalai Lama had carried out a ritual to

propitiate the spirit of the mountain range, Drizai Gyalpo Zurphu Ngapa, offering it a ceremonial scarf. * ’’®

Up to Samdrub Dechen, the caravan had been accompanied by Panchen Rinpoche and a large contingent of mounted officials and others from Lhasa who, after halt of nineteen days, bid the travellers goodbye and returned to Lhasa or Shigatse as the remainder recommenced their journey north towards the Nagchu region and, eventually, Amdo and western China. * ”’ Trinle Gyatso’s nephew Trongme Asug accompanied the travellers part of the way and the Dalai Lama notes that before leaving Samdrub Dechen he suddenly fell into a deep depression. He tried to cure him with protective rites and mantras. Perhaps Trongme Asug was missing Butri Gyalmo, his consort in the above story.

He must have stayed with the caravan for the following stages of the journey, because the Dalai Lama also notes that he recovered from the depression after a couple of weeks. ** ”

The next seven weeks passed in leisurely travel through the Nagchu region along broad river valleys, with halts at pleasant camp sites where the Dalai Lama would busy himself in writing, performing rites and conferring almost daily teachings, wangs and lungs, not only upon the numerous members of his vast procession of camp followers but also on the local people who flocked from far and near to catch sight of the Dalai Lama as he passed by and if possible to seek his blessings and teachings. In the course of the whole journey, the populations they passed through included, in addition to the Tibetan and Mongol villagers and nomads who lived in Central Tibet, Tibetans and Mongols of Amdo, Mongols ** Ibid., 216-217 (DukiUa 285) *”’ Ibid., 266 (Dukula 350). Most of the place-names on the route taken as describedin Dukula, except for the Dangla Pass, have now disappeared or been changed so it is difficult to trace the exact route on modern maps. Ibid., 266 (Dukula 351)

Head op Delegation on the Dalai Lama’s Journey to China, 1652-1653

coming from adjoining territories to the north, Manchus, Chinese and also the Mongours who live in the borderlands between Arado and China and to whom the Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s family belongs. As word spread ahead of the caravan,

many people, hoping to see the Dalai Lama himself, constantly flocked to meet it bearing numerous gifts and offerings of gold, silver, tea and silk as well as large numbers of horses, camels and other livestock Along the way, various contingents of monks, nuns and laypeople requested the Dalai Lama to perform the nyendzog, getshul and genyen ordination ceremonies for them, and he invariably complied.'" By the middle of the fifth month of 1652, the caravan and its followers had covered five hundred kilometres (three hundred miles), about one-seventh of the way to Beijing. It was approaching the Dangla Mountains, the border range between Amdo and U which separates the upper extremity of the Yangtze River basin in south west Amdo from the eastern reaches of the Changthang in Central Tibet. When they camped at Shag, the Administrator announced that since he had to return to Lhasa, he was appointing Trinle Gyatso and Chandzeu Norbu to represent him and share the work of running the expedition. The Dalai Lama, however, foresaw that the job would prove to be a very busy one. He felt that Trinle Gyatso needed help in this role and proposed Mentrong Tshewang Dargye as his assistant. The Administrator concurred; although he and a second tranche of accompanying officials were scheduled to split off and return to Lhasa before crossing these mountains, the expedition would still be enormous, consisting of three thousand people and all their thousands of horses, camels, mules and other pack animals and edible livestock to manage, with a long way still to go and difficult terrain to negotiate."^ A few days later they reached the foot of the high pass over the mountains, the Nyuglai Lanying."’ Here those who had to return split off from those continuing all the way to Beijing. The Dalai Lama, having given his parting orders to the Administrator, described an emotional leave-taking as he and the rest of the party, including Trinle Gyatso, headed oyer the pass to face the unknown.”*

”• Ibid., 11; 267-269 (Dukula 351-355) Ibid., 269 (Dukula 355); Karmay 2009,512; Karmay 1988,10-11. This is also known as the Dangla Pass. See Karmay 2014, 320 (Dukula 430) and Karmay 1988, 36 for confirmation. In 1939 the Fourteenth Dalai Lama was brought to Lhasa by the same route in a large caravan from Kumbum Monastery, crossing the Dangla pass towards Nagchuka and then taking the route to Lhasa stopping at Radreng Monastery. The modern main road and rail links between Xining and Lhasa take a similar route, crossing this same pass. Karmay 2014,269-271 (Dukula 355-357)

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Many of the travellers would have harboured fears and misgivings, recalling the fate of the Third Dalai Lama Sonam Gyatso who had left Lhasa, despite the desperate pleas of his followers, to teach Buddhism to the Turned Mongols at the request of their king Altan Khan. He never returned to Lhasa and after seventeen years of travelling in central Asia he died in Mongolia at the age of forty five.’*’ Incidentally, the Fifth Dalai Lama comments in Dukula before his departure to Beijing to meet the Emperor, that “the omniscient Sonam Gyatso” did not wish to return to Central Tibet from Mongolia “because of his many detractors such as Gungru Chojung,” adding that the Annual Prayer of Aspiration was brought forward as an additional gathering before his departure which Sonam Gyatso took as an inauspicious sign, contributing to his inability to return. The Fifth Dalai Lama writes that he therefore made sure he stayed at least eight days in Lhasa to preside over the gathering of the Prayer of Aspiration - the Monlam - on its correct astrological date before leaving for China.**® The travellers and their animals climbed the high and steep pass as clouds massed on the horizon with rainbows and drizzle. From part way up, they saw those who remained at the foot of the pass far below waving scarves and calling out auspicious words, so the riders turned about with their horses as an auspicious gesture for a successful homecoming. They eventually reached the five-thousand metre high summit exhausted, amidst light snowfall, and most people agreed, writes the Dalai Lama, that “the large fragments of snow connected to each other on the ground in the form of the eight auspicious symbols;” this phenomenon, he added, “concurred with what Trongme Asug had noted down in his memoir­ scroll, so it was a good sign.”**^ Whether Trongme Asug was still accompanying the caravan over this pass into Amdo is not clear, since, according to a text by his son Sanggye Gyatso cited by Richardson, he must have left the expedition and returned to Lhasa at some point. If he returned to Lhasa with the rest who went back before approaching the pass, it raises the question of how he could have noted the formation of symbols in the snow seen on top of the pass. He must have returned at some point because sixteen months later, around Septemberl653, a son, Sanggye Gyatso, was born to him and Butri Gyalmo in Trongme - just as the slow-moving caravan was on its way back from China. That autumn, when the Administrator and his entourage left Lhasa to go and meet it in Dam, the couple sent the Dalai Lama a petition for his blessing

’*’ Mullin, 143-153 '*® Karmay 2014,261 (Dukula 343) Ibid.. 270-271 (Dukula 356-357)

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on the birth of the child."® One stage further on, when the Dalai Lama reached Radreng Monastery in the Lhundrub region not far north of Lhasa, he notes that he met Trongme Asug there - as we shall see - so it is probable that Trongme Asug went from Lhasa to Radreng to meet the caravan there."’ Returning to the outward journey, having descended into Amdo and crossed the'upper reaches of the Marchu - the Yellow River - thousands of horses and thousands of sang of gold having been offered to the Dalai Lama by inhabitants along the way he allocated a horse each to every “Grade 2” person in the caravan and he also sent five hundred horses and two thousand sang of gold - over fifty kilograms - back to Lhasa, with Nangso Ngodrup and Dapon Worpa in charge, to offer to the Administrator. Ihere is the possibility that Trongme Asug accompanied them, and that is how he returned to Lhasa after crossing the Dangla pass with its mysterious symbols in the snow, although he is not mentioned in Dukula as

having done so."° The caravan having reached Amdo, the Dalai Lama’s travelogue continues in detail but no further mention is made of Trinle Gyatso in Dukula until the arrival in,Beijing in midwinter of early 1653, witli the Dalai Lama’s descriptions of the receptions held in his honour by the Shunzhi Emperor. Along with fifteen other senior members of the entourage, Trinle Gyatso was invited to the receptions by name, treated as a Tibetan nobleman and presented with personal gifts by the Emperor."’ 'Approaching China and still outside the Great Wall west of Beijing, on the sixth of the twelfth month the Dalai Lama and his entourage, headed by Trinle Gyatso, arrived at Taikha*" where the youthful Manchu Emperor, keenly anticipating the Dalai Lama’s visit, had arranged in advance suitable accommodation for the entire party. Though he gladly accepted the Dalai Lama’s invitation to come out and meet him there, his Chinese ministers objected to this as diplomatically inappropriate so, as a compromise, he sent Manchu princes in his-stead to welcome him at Taikha. The Emperor, being a Manchu and a

J ”• Richardson, 455 (citing Sanggye Gyatso’s text ^Dzatn-gling rgyan-gcig-gi dkar-chag)

Karmay 2014,322 (Dukula 433) ‘^Ibid., 273 (Dukula 361) Ibid., 297 (Dukula 397) This location is also referred to in Dukula, Secret Visions and elsewhere variously as Taika, Khiri Taika, Kheritaka, Lake Taika, and also, it seems, in Smith, 109, as Khoto Khotan, near Tatung. According to the itineraries given in Dukula it was 18 days journey to and from the Yellow Palace residence in the capital. Karmay 2014, 291-294, 302-303 (Dukula 390-393,405-407)

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descendant of the Jurchen people from the north of China, had enormous respect and reverence for Buddhism and the Tibetan religious leader, but he was made to restrain his enthusiasm by advice from the senior Han Chinese officials who insisted on his following their traditional rules of diplomacy when dealing with what they considered to be leaders of lesser foreign states like Tibet?^ Ihe Dalai Lama, when originally accepting Shunzhi’s invitation, after some hesitation, had written to the Emperor before leaving Lhasa to say, perhaps with the Third Dalai Lama’s failure to return from Mongolia in mind, that he would

accept on condition that he would not be obliged to stay for a long time, citing heat and fear of smallpox as excuses. Now, the Emperor wrote to him at Taikha

accordingly, thoughtfully pointing out that it would faciliute the Dalai Lama’s early return to Tibet if most of his three thousand camp members remained in Taikha and only one tenth of them, three hundred, accompanied him to the Yellow Palace especially constructed to accommodate the Dalai Lama and his close entourage in the capital for the Imperial visit. This was not only because of the heat and smallpox cited by the Dalai Lama but also because the Emperor

mentioned there had been a poor harvest the preceding autumn. Of course, the Dalai Lama and Trinle Gyatso complied with his suggestion.’’^ While in Beijing with the Dalai Lama. Trinle Gyatso dreamt that he was at a place called Tsunmo Tshal near Samye Monastery when he heard a voice saying the Nechung oracle was coming to welcome them. He then saw, in his dreamj.the four divisional leaders of the Nechung retinue. The history of the “King” spirit Nechung Chogyal, or Pehar, states this spirit was oath-bound to protect Buddhism and installed at Samye-by Guru Rinpoche in the eighth century. Now Trinle GyatSo related his dream to the Dalai Lama, who felt it was significant enough to.be recorded in Dukula because it was also reported that a guard called Chophel Zangpo, a member of the expedition who had stayed on at Taikha, had been possessed by the same spirit, Nechung Chogyal, for the first time. The report also says that while possessed, this Chophel Zangpo had, through the supernatural power of the spirit, tied his sword into a knot before dictating a message for the Dalai Lama. Mentrong Tshewang Dargye, an assistant of Trinle Gyatso whom he had left in charge at Taikha, brought this knotted sword and the letter to the Dalai Lama in Beijing immediately. The contents of the letter were not revealed, but the

. ’“Karmay2014,291 (Dukula388-389);Smith, 109-112;Shakabpa2010,354;Shakabpa 1984,114-115 Ibid., 291 (Dukula 390); Karmay 2009,512 confirms the poor harvest

Head op Delegation on the Dalai Lama’s Journey to China, 1652-1653

Dalai Lama comments, “Dreams are given as examples of things that are untrue, but.sometimes they can become true”?^ -The Dalai Lama, with Trinle Gyatso as his right-hand man, stayed in Beijing forXwo months of warm and friendly diplomatic formalities, receptions and meetings with the Emperor and his officials before setting off with the rest of the retinue of three hundred back to their main base at Taikha beyond the Great Wall along with their Imperial escort, a journey taking eighteen days. The Dalai Lama then spent another ten weeks at Taikha receiving thousands of visitors from all over the region, conferring an endless array of teachings and initiations, ordaining monks and nuns and receiving and redistributing masses of offerings. When all was auspicious for departure, by the first day of the second fifth month of the Water-snake year (1653-1654) the Tibetans had packed up their equipment and belongings and the expedition set off on its return journey from the Great Wall along the ancient Silk Road caravan routes, back towards Kokonor and Tibet?®' -The return journey went as smoothly and was as incident-free as had the outward journey. The only disharmony during the entire expedition reported by the Dalai Lama occurred on the outward journey, just before Trinle Gyatso was appointed Head of Delegation and the Administrator and his other staff returned to Lhasa. When the caravan was approaching the Dangla Mountains between Central Tibet and Amdo, the group of monks from Chokhor Ling College’^’ became dissatisfied with their status within the camp. They started disputing their allotted position on the right-hand side and claimed special treatment. The Administrator who was still with the caravan became angry and threatened to send them all back to Lhasa without equipment, which resolved the situation and they calmed down. There were contingents of about thirty monks from each of

various monasteries, all of which then requested the Dalai Lama to write sets of rules for their encampments, which he did.‘^ -Although in Dukula the Dalai Lama does not praise Trinle Gyatso for his efforts as leader of the expedition and does not express any appreciation of his leadership, organisational ability or other qualities during or after the journey, it

Ibid., 300 (Dukula 402) ‘“Tbid., 294-303 (Dukula 393-407) Ibid., 303-311 (Dukula 407-417)

A small college of Drepung Monastery, later transferred to the Potala Place, whose main function, like that of Namgyal College, is (or was) to carry out rituals for the welfare of the Dalai Lamas (Karmay, 2014,13-14). Full name, Legshe Chokhor Ling Dratshang. Karmay 2014,269 (Dukula 354)

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is clear that he did an excellent job. The fact that under Trinle Gyatso’s direction the rest of this nineteen-month journey was harmonious and trouble-free is in itself an extraordinary testament to his leadership, skilfulness and diplomacy. Putting aside the challenges faced in dealing with local people and authorities along the way, and in provisioning the enormous number of people and animals in the caravan and their needs, and monitoring and controlling them, and considering, for example, just the task of dealing with the huge volume of things offered to the Dalai Lama along the route, that had to be assimilated into the caravan, accounted for, managed, looked after and often redistributed according to the Dalai Lama’s wishes, this further illustrates Trinle Gyatso’s ability-to efficiently organise and oversee the reception, maintenance and disposal of such

vast wealth as the expedition’s main manager. To indicate the enormity of this job alone, an attempt to roughly estimate the total quantities of all the gifts received throughout the journey - although details of some gifts are omitted from the

account and exact figures of others are not always given - comes to three thousand sang of gold (about ninety kilograms), two thousand five hundred ounces of silver (over seventy kilograms), twenty thousand horses, twenty five thousand sheep and thousands of mules, camels, yak and dzo, plus large quantities of tea and innumerable valuable objects such as precious malas, mandalas, utensils, saddles, tea-churns, coats of mail and other items of gold, silver, jewellery and porcelain,

not to mention splendid bejewelled garments and thousands of rolls of silk, cotton and other fabrics. Most of these offerings were redistributed by the Dalai Lama to Buddhist monks and monasteries and others along the way to support their projects, fund their improvements, needs and activities or else sent back to Lhasa for the improvement or construction of monasteries or for other religious purposes. Not a single item is reported as lost, stolen or damaged and this is also all to the credit of Trinle Gyatso for his skilful administration.^’® The constant presence of the revered Dalai Lama must have had a positive effect on the comportment ofall members ofthe partybut still, the unacknowledged Head of Delegation deserves credit not only for the safe and successful completion of such a complex enterprise as this hazardous journey, but also for its many achievements and outcomes, the implications of which have resonated through the history of the region and been analysed, examined and argued over by scholars, political commentators and historians of all colours ever since. After crossing Amdo and the Dangla Pass and descending through Nagchu and over the Kyogche La pass to Dam, the now south-bound caravan was joined again at Nalung Karpo by the Administrator leading a party of lamas and officials

'I J

■ Ibid., 261-324 (Dukula 343-434)

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who had travelled north from Lhasa to welcome them back to Central Tibet, within sight of the snow-capped Nyenchen Thanglha range. It was during the three-day halt here that the petition to the Dalai Lama from Trongme Asug and Bhtri Gyalmo for blessings for their newborn child was presented.^’* Continuing south from Dam into the Lhundrub region and now accompanied by the Administrator, the Dalai Lama and his entourage visited Radreng Monastery for three nights. Here, after giving teachings to a great assembly he met Trongme Asug, who must have arrived there from Lhasa, and gave him a mala made of “large and good pearls” as a present, but Trinle Gyatso did not agree that he should give him anything else. He was possibly still out of favour with his uncle over his affair with Butri Gyalmo.The final stages of the journey were made with stops at-Taglimg Monastery, Lhundrub Dzong, Gaden Chokhor Monastery and Chari Tagtse in Phenyul and finally Dromto in Tagtse.’” • After the triumphal return to Lhasa towards the end of 1653, with all formal welcoming and thanksgiving ceremonies over, the Dalai Lama went into retreat be’fore tackling the backlog of tasks after his long absence and before seeing all the people he needed to see. Trinle Gyatso resumed his usual duties. Five months pass before he appears again in Dukula, and then only because at the end of the third month of the Wood-horse year (1654) the Dalai Lama writes that he composed a text or manual for the manufacture of tsa-tsa votive images “at the request of Trinle Gyatso.”*’^ A perennial fear in Tibet was that China’s hot and humid climate and dense population were unhealthy, causing various illnesses for visitors from the plateau, so'many Tibetans were now very concerned about the health and safety of the Dalai Lama. Yet he did return in good health, and went into retreat in the fourth and fifth months of 1654 to recite the mantra of a Garuda or Khyung deity from a text rediscovered in Lhodrag. A rumour then began that he was ill from his Chinese visit and was keeping it secret by going on retreat. People, he writes, showed their anxiety in various ways. He then went into a very strict dark retreat to perform the violent rite of Namchag Dragpo Dzago and notes that signs of success of the practice occurred, “as described in the text.” At the end of the fifth month, the evening before he was due to come out of his retreat to preside over an “atonement rite” with do offering to Sisum Dagmo, he began to feel pain at the top of his right leg. He still attended the assembly the next morning, but his pain and Richardson, 455 >« Ibid., Karmay 2014,321-322 (Dukula 432-433) Karmay 2014,322-323 (Dukula 433-435) Ibid., 330 (Dukula 444,445)

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discomfort worsened. By midday he felt unable to continue and vacated his place in the assembly to sit apart, with Trinle Gyatso and the acolyte in attendance to nurse him until the arrival of his doctor Pontshang Changngo to eyamine and treat him properly. It was ten days before the pain began to lessen. Meanwhile, the Administrator was waiting for him in Tsang and sending messages urging him to hurry. The Dalai Lama felt obliged to follow the Administrator’s wishes and was sorry there was no time for the doctor’s preferred course of treatment The doctor pointed out that each individual illness required its particular treatment, regardless of the patients wishes or his status in society, saying ** If one travels without letting the illness be cured, only a corpse would remain.” The Administrator, however, was most insistent, so the doctor gave him something to lessen the fever and he left; but probably as a result of the incomplete treatment this illness became * chronic. ’®

As regards Trinle Gyatso, this incident shows that, in spite of his seniority and well-proven leadership and organisational abilities - and despite all the interference and lack of consideration for the Dalai Lama’s state of health displayed by the Administrator - he still served as the Dalai Lama’s close attendant and nurse of first resort for health emergencies.

After two months oftravelling in Tsang on official duties with the Administrator, the Dalai Lama wanted to go on pilgrimage to a dozen monasteries in the Shigatse

region, including Narthang, but now for various reasons the Administrator suddenly decided they had to return to Lhasa immediately and urged him to postpone the pilgrimage. * ’® However, on this occasion the Dalai Lama prevailed and they remained in Tsang, but in the eighth month, the autumn of 1654, once

again the Dalai Lama was taken iU with the return of his chronic head cold. Once again it was Trinle Gyatso and the acolyte who nursed him through the sickness while Doctor Pontshang Changngo acted as his physician. While ill, he composed a poetical reply to a letter and various texts, including verses of prayers for the long life of Panchen Rinpoche. * ’" For the next six months there was no further

mention of Trinle Gyatso but the Dalai Lama writes that in the second month of the Wood-sheep year, in the spring of 1655, two months after the death of Gushri Khan, he hosted a lunch for the members of Trinle Gyatso’s family from Trongme and conferred on them the long life wang of Chi-me Palter. * ”

*” Ibid., 330 (Dukula 445-446) *” Ibid., 336 (Dukula 451) *” Ibid., 337 (Dukula 452-453) ’’’Ibid., 351 (Dukula473)

Creating Sacred Images and the Death of the Tulku, 1655-1657

From 1655 and for the following years, Trinle Gyatso was appointed to direct a long-term project of the Ganden Phodrang to create numerous sacred images of lamas, lineage-holders and deities, both two- and three-dimensional. He was placed in charge of three expert Tibetan supervisors, each with his own team of Nepalese artists headed by a master image-maker. A long list of the nominated subjects of the images is given, including two portrait masks of the Dalai Lama himself as desired by Trinle Gyatso, a set of the Ten Sthaviras (the Elders of the Second Buddhist council held in 383 B.C.). an entire set of paintings of the Lam rim lineage holders, the three religious kings, two images of Guru Rinpoche, thirty six portraits of major lineage holders and great lamas such as Atisha, Buton, Phabongkha, Zur and the Dalai Lamas and many more of deities of which thirtythree are named. * ” *• Ihese Nepalese artists are next mentioned at the end of 1656, as being in a rush to make a new set of day images before the winter solstice; they even worked at night by the light of butter lamps, but the weather became so cold that the images froze solid and had to be thawed by the heat of the butter lamps. They just managed to finish the work in time. *** Similar image-making projects are referred to later in Dukula, always with Trinle Gyatso in overall control. *^ Ibid., 352 (Dukula 474-475 *• Ibid., 359 (Dukula 485) Ibid., 392-393 (Dukula 531-532) 355

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In the summer of the Fire-monkey year of 1656-1657, the Dalai Lama’s neighbouring high lama at Drepung, Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen (1619-1656), commonly known at Drepung as the “Zimkhang Gong Tulku,” fell ill with a high fever and the Dalai Lama was asked to visit him to bestow on him a spiritual blessing, a jenang, to relieve him. The Administrator prevented him from going, with the excuse that the illness could be infectious, although normally this condition would not have prevented it. The Tulku, however, seemed to make a full recovery, but there followed a strange sequence of events. The Dalai Lama writes that an eclipse was going to occur on the fifteenth of the fifth month, so he decided to practice the wrathful ritual of Mashin by entering into a strict retreat from the morning of the twelfth and reciting the mantra of Jamkar. At midday he was suddenly overcome by uncontrollable drowsiness, forcing him to stop the session. He told Trinle Gyatso he hoped this would not become a chronic condition otherwise it would prevent him doing any practice. They then heard that at the very same time the Tulku had suffered a sudden relapse and his high fever had returned. That evening, the Administrator sent Trinle Gyatso to the Dalai Lama asking him to go to the sick lama urgently and administer theyen^zn^ to him. The Dalai Lama therefore broke his retreat to visit his neighbour and bestow thejenang of Gonpo based on the Bar chad kunsel (“Removal of All Hindrances”). He remarked that Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen appeared to be under the influence of a spirit and unconscious, or “without recollection” and felt his intervention had not helped. Indeed, the Tulku (whose fate was subsequently closely linked to the “Shugden” protector practice which remains controversial to this day) died the following day at noon. The Dalai Lama ascribes his drowsiness the previous day to “an evil impurity” arising from his failure to give the jenang in good time when needed.^'*’ Like other incidents involving the other Administrators of the Dalai Lama, this event also appears in the other biographies of this trilogy where it is described according to their respective involvement.

This Tulku is never mentioned by his name in Dukula but is invariably referred to as “Zimkhang Gong Tulku,” meaning “Tulku of the Upper Chamber.” His residence was referred to “the Upper Chamber’ because it was higher up the slope at Drepung Monastery than the residence of the Dalai Lamas, offered to the Second Dalai Lama in 1518 by the Neudong royalty of the Phagmodru dynasty. The latter was first called “the Blue Stone House’ (rdo khangsngon mo) and later renamed by the Second Dalai Lama as “the'Joyous Palace’ i.e. the Ganden Phodrang. See Karmay 1988,5 and Mullin, 111-112. Karmay 2014,364-365 (Dukula 492-493)

Creating Sacred Images and the Death of the Tulku, 1655-1657

Perhaps Trinle Gyatsos next appearance in Dukula illustrates the mutual trust that must have developed between him and his master over the previous three and a half decades of working together. Not long after the death of Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen in 1656, the Dalai Lama describes a vivid but disturbing dream he had one night, that the bridle path of the Potala was crowded with hostile soldiers, Causing him and Trinle Gyatso to make a hurried escape together, exiting through the Potala’s northern door in darkness and rain without even having time to put their shoes on.^** Whatever its other implications might have been, from the psychological point of view this dream illustrates the closeness between the two, the depth of the Dalai Lama’s confidence in Trinle Gyatso and Trinle Gyatso’s allegiance to his master. Later that same year, in 1656, the Dalai Lama refers to Trinle Gyatso again in his spiritual autobiography “Secret Visions.” They were at the Ganden Phodrang,

Drepung, in the early autumn, he writes, when Trinle Gyatso called him over to the balcony to see what appeared to be “a heap of rainbows” over Pangchung, a small grassy meadow to the northwest of Lhasa, south of Drepung. The Dalai Lama looked and saw the thirty-five Buddhas, presumably the thirty-five Buddhas of Confession, in the middle of these rainbows, but, he writes, he was unable to make out their individual attributes.’*® At about the same time, the Dalai Lama carries out a funerary service for a member of Trinle Gyatso’s Trongme family, his nephew Asug who suffered food poisoning at Zabkhog in Shigatse while Trinle Gyatso was in Trongme. He heard the news and in order to propitiate his nephew’s recovery by making profuse offerings, he sought assistance from Chotrong Topa, the treasurer of Lhasa city, and took money and a supply of tea to Shigatse to offer to monasteries to sponsor prayers and rituals for Asug’s recovery and long life. He also made similar offerings in U, mainly to the monks of Sakya and Gelug monasteries and Asug’s health gradually improved, but then he unexpectedly suffered a relapse and died. The Dalai Lama asked Trinle Gyatso to obtain samples of his remains to enable him to perform the ritual for incorporating Asug’s hair and bones into tsa-tsa images.’*® In the eleventh month of 1656, three days after the winter solstice, the Dalai Lama fell ill again, this time with a relapse of the chronic illness of his right foot combined with a fever of the upper body. The standard treatment for one of the afflictions made the other one worse, so it was difficult for the doctors to deal with. Trinle Gyatso nursed him with the help of an assistant and doctor Changngo '** Ibid., 365 (Dukula 493) **® Karmay 1988,32 ’** Karmay 2014,369 (Dukula 499-500)

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bled him, but it was not helpful. Other doctors tried to treat him but for several months nothing worked, so Trinle Gyatso, no doubt, continued to nurse him through the winter. Eventually, treatments consisting of cow dung and a horn, given by the doctor Ngagwang Dondrub of Drangye in the third month of 1657 seem to have been more successful. In the fourth month, these were followed by a treatment of hot water brought from the Tolung valley and applied to his foot, and finally, for one year, as he puts it in Dukula. he was “elevated to the ranks of those who have no illnesses.”*^’

Ibid., 371-373 (Dukula 502-505)

The Death of the First Administrator Concealed, 1658

One year later, in the third month of the Earth-dog year, the springtime of 16581659, the aging first Administrator fell seriously ill and one Nyashur Kyaril, a member of his staff, informed the Dalai Lama of this through Trinle Gyatso. Despite efforts to treat the Administrator, he died two days later. To avoid potential political instability, the Dalai Lama decided to suppress the news of his death. Two days later he visited Drepung, where Trinle Gyatso met him and enquired about the latest news on the Administrator’s health. The Dalai Lama had just appointed Tagruwa Norbu, the director of construction and mural painting and "a very handy person, to take charge of all arrangements concerning the Administrator’s death, keeping it secret from the public while informing Depa Norbu and the Mongol king and his brothers. In reply to Trinle Gyatso he told him to ask Tagruwa Norbu for information and to relay what he said. Trinle Gyatso, in response, “requested many things with reason and foresight.” Further explanations to these

somewhat cryptic comments are not forthcoming.^" Trinle Gyatso was presumably only temporarily staying at Drepung, since the Dalai Lama and his government, including Trinle Gyatso, had moved offices from Drepung’s Ganden Phodrang to the newly built Potala Palace nine years earlier.*^’ On this same visit to Drepung, the Dalai Lama suffered a relapse of the chronic condition in his right foot. Pontshang Changngo treated him with medicine and speUs that helped to relieve the pain and once again Trinle Gyatso nursed him.

’"Ibid., 384 (Dukula520) Karmay 2009,511 359

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assisted by Lobzang Yonten the chant-master. Hot water was fetched from the spa in Rong.'5o Early in the second month of the Earth-pig year of 1659-1660, Nechung Chogyal advised the Dalai Lama through the oracle to have an image of Dorje Drolo - a wrathful form of Padmasambhava riding a pregnant tigress - fashioned and installed in the Protector Temple, the Goenkhang of his room for his wellbeing?®^ Dorje Drolo is the name of one of the eight main manifestations of Padmasambhava, who subdued demons at thirteen different Himalayan locations with the name of “Tiger’s Lair,” including in Bhutan?^ Trinle Gyatso was put in charge as director of the project, which commenced on the sixteenth of the second month, 1659.*5’ The project custodian or manager, Ngagwang Tshering from Kharag Ngon-ga, set up a workshop at the previous residence of Losal Ling College abbots in Drepung. This project continued and expanded with the engagement of eight more Nepalese sculptors to create new sets of gold and bronze statues in addition to the Dorje Drolo. Following the installation of this image in his personal quarters at the Potala, the Dalai Lama records in his spiritual biography that he had numerous visions of this form of Padmasambhava during his ensuing meditation retreats, and, while having these mystic visions, that he often had the experience of becoming Dorje Drolo himself.*^ The image-making project was continued and further extended into the following year for the production of one hundred and eight images, including six bronze sculptures of the Dalai Lama himself to be presented to other people. Ever precise as regards quantities and numbers, the Dalai Lama notes that eighty-four and a half bushels (khal) plus nine nya ga of copper, zinc and lead (nearly a tonne and a half in total) and over thirty ounces (three hundred zho) of gold were utilised, so we infer Trinle Gyatso was equally strict in his standard of project accounting and reporting.xhis project was completed within two years and the

one hundred .and eight statues, eighteen of gold and ninety of bronze, were

‘50 Karmay 2014,385 (Dukula 520) '5' Ibid., 392 (Dukula 531) ‘5’ A detailed description of Dorje Drolo “The Pot-bellied Vajra’ can be found on Robert Beer’s ‘‘Tibetanart.com’ website under “Galleries’ - “Yidam and Wrathful Deities.” ‘5’ This commencement date is given only at the project’s conclusion in 1661: Karmay 2014,443 (Dukula 599) ‘5* Karmay 1988,34-74 Karmay 2014,392-393 (Dukula 531-532). A fc/iti/anda according to Karmay 2014,535-536.

are both about 13 Kg.,

The Death of the First Administrator Concealed, 1658

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delivered to the Dalai Lama on the sixteenth of the first month of the Iron-oxyear, 1661?“ Interestingly, as to this project, the Dalai Lama recalls in Dukula that when he had stayed at a place called Kharu back in 1642’5’ ^fter the Tibetan civil War, he had a vivid dream which indicated to him that a demon with violated religious vows was likely to try to undermine his long-term plans for peace in Tibet and for the suppression of external aggression. He had noticed that apparent demonic interference was indeed disrupting such work from time to time. After this image of Dorje Drolo was created on the advice of Nechung and installed under Trinle Gyatso’s supervision in 1659, the Dalai Lama started performing the relevant ritual, going into very strict retreat for two weeks, focussing on the original dream he had had in Kharu and reciting the “mad mantra” aiming at the supposed culprit. As a result he found that the demonic disruptions to his work ceased.’^®

*5® Ibid., 443 (Dukula 599) ’5^ Apart from this recollection there is no record in Dukula or in “Secret Visions” of the Dalai Lama having stayed at a place of this name on his travels. It is only ever mentioned in Dukula once, as a place in Tsang where Panchen Rinpoche had stayed during the civil war, in 1641, see Karmay 2014,155 (Dukula 202). However after the war Lobzang Gyatso did go travelling in Tsang in 1642 and must have stayed at Kharu without mentioning it in his otherwise detailed itinerary, see Karmay 2014,163-172 (Dukula 212-227). In addition there is a Kharu La pass on the road from Gyantse to Nakartse on a southern route between Shigatse and Lhasa but no other location of that name could be identified. ‘5® Ibid., 393-394 (Dukula 533)

The Rebellion and Exile of the Second Administrator, 1659-1660

In the summer of 1659, fifteen months after the first Administrator died, the Dalai Lama appointed his younger brother Depa Norbu as his successor. When Depa Norbu, now the second Administrator, rebelled against the Ganden. Phodrang government and seized and occupied Shigatse fort with his accomplices, the Dalai Lama summoned Trinle Gyatso and other aides and allies to a council of war. They appointed a Mongol force to ride immediately to Shigatse, with more to follow, to contain the rebellion and negotiate a settlement.^®’ In Shigatse, the rebel Depa Norbu tried to convince the Mongol negotiators that his cause was justified and they had been misled by Trinle Gyatso and other officials in Lhasa.*®® At the same time, Depa Norbu was instigating an invasion of Tibet to support his uprising through his contacts in Bhutan and the Bhutanese army, but this had been foreseen in Lhasa and was thwarted by sending a force to block the invasion at the Tibetan border town of Phagri.*®’ After a three months’ standoff from the autumn of 1659 ijito the winter of early 1660, with little or no actual fighting, Depa Norbu surrendered the fort, took refuge under guarantee at Taglung Monastery and eventually went into exile in Bhutan.*®’

*®’ Ibid., 412 (Dukula 557) *“ Ibid., 415. (Dukula 561) ’®* Ibid., 420 (Dukula 569-570) *®^ Ibid., 419,424 (Dukula 567,575); Dungkar, 1205 363

3^4

The Fifth Dalai Lama

From the time of Depa Norbu’s rebellion onwards, the Dalai Lama took personal charge of all matters, religious and political, without an Administrator, relying instead on his aides and officers like Trinle Gyatso to assist him. He describes how, after the crisis had been averted and in order to avoid the rebellion becoming a precedent, he first took the necessary steps to ensure the aftermath of the uprising was properly dealt with, and saw to it that his appointed officials assumed full control of affected territories and that any offenders were punished appropriately. He was also busy as usual dealing with all sorts ofpeople, important' visitors and applicants, giving teachings, consulting oracles, making offerings, ordaining monks and nuns, performing rituals and creating numerous new religious projects including ordering the creation of new monasteries and

improving or enlarging existing ones.^®’ In the second month of the Iron-mouse year of 1660-1661 for example, within three months of the collapse of the rebellion, after consulting the deity Tshangpa Dungthochen through its oracle, he ordered a new project to construct an establishment for continuous retreat at the gorge near the Phagri border post. The first Administrator Sonam Rabten had used Phagri as a military base for launching

attacks during his 1644, 1648 and 1656 invasions of Bhutan and it was also the place where the attempted Bhutanese invasion in support of Depa Norbu’s rebellion had been prevented just two or three months earlier. Perhaps the deity had advised that building a retreat centre here would spirituaUy heal or stabilise this border area after this military activity. Timber for the construction was taken from a place called Yung Dargye Ling, an abandoned or closed Bon monastery in the region, and Trinle Gyatso was delegated to organise the transportation, which he achieved through compulsory service, meaning that he had it moved by the local population as a service to the Ganden Phodrang. He also made the rough design for the fenced courtyard of the establishment but the detailed work was carried out by Trongsarwa the designer?'^'’ Trinle Gyatso that same month raised funds for the preparation of a large quantity of “precious fever medicine” made by the Dalai Lama’s doctor Pontshang Changngo; he also supervised the physician Lhaksam in gathering all the necessary medicinal herbs and other substances. Pontshang Changngo failed to “tame the mercury’ immediately and had to depend on weakening it with sulphur, but the Dalai Lama writes that the medicine might be beneficial for treating plague, leprosy and fever. Ibid., 409-425 (Dukula 553-574) ‘"Ibid., 422 (Dukula 572) ■“Ibid.

The Rebeixion and Exile of the Second Administrator, 1659-1660

365

Ihe following month, the third of the Iron-mouse year 1660-1661, the Dalai Lama writes that he was requested by one Ngari Gyalsepa from Drigung to confer upon him the lung of “the twenty-five texts’* and he began to do it but there was not enough time to finish them all; it is interesting to note that Ngari Gyalsepa in leaving says that he would return "after the enthronement of Trinle Gyatso as Administrator,” although apparently no such enthronement or appointment had yet been proposed or considered. After the trauma of Depa Norbu, the Dalai Lama did not seem anxious to appoint a' replacement.’^ Ihe Dalai Lama continues recording his narrative while sole leader and during this busy period he details his negotiations with Mongol princes, his new appointments, the conferral or reallocation of estates in support of various monasteries and his granting of territories to numerous people and families for various reasons in the wake of the recent upheavals.*'’^ He orders numerous new statues to be made and installed in the Jokhang on the advice of the spirit Tshangpa Dungthochen through its oracle.*®® Along with all these and among many other actions, he performs rituals for monks, ensures that monks gathering for the summer session at Sangphu are always served tea and, in secret, he requests and receives tantric teachings for himself from the great tantrist Darnag Dewa Zangpo.*® On the eleventh day of the fifth month, however, the Dalai Lama was urged by Nechung Gyalpo through the oracle to enter a strict meditation retreat, as the protector felt that he was becoming unduly distracted by political duties. Ihe Dalai Lama believed there must be a good reason for this advice, so he discussed it with Trinle Gyatso and four other senior officials and it was agreed in general that his time spent on administration should be reduced by delegating as much as possible to Trinle Gyatso, including dictating important decisions briefly to him while in retreat, providing further clarification when required. This arrangement would allow him to enter retreat with brief daily breaks for consultations and he ruled that his communications with Trinle Gyatso be strictly verbal. Ihis was, he writes, so that critics could not accuse him of carrying on business as usual, with sealed documents, petitions and samta boards going in and out of his chambers while pretending to be in retreat. This shows that he was concerned about potential public criticism but still insistent on being in charge of the country and having a

Ibid., 425 (Dukula 576) Ibid., 427-430 (Dukula 578-582) Ibid., 431 (Dukula 583) Ibid., 429-430 (Dukula 581-582)

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

hand in making aU crucial decisions, even while in retreat?™ Nevertheless, in his

spiritual autobiography he describes in detail, over a number of pages, the remarkable series of mystic visions he experienced whUe engaged in this fourweek retreat?^^ It is possible that after the political crisis surrounding Depa Norbus appointment, rebellion, and defeat coming hard on the heels of the death of the first Administrator, who had dominated the Dalai Lama for practicaUy his whole life, the Fifth Dalai had had enough of Administrators, and felt reluctant and

cautious about appointing a third one. For nine months after Depa Norbu’s rebellion, he took personal charge of all administrative and political matters. His dense autobiographical account of this period, from the tenth month of the Earth­ pig year (1659-1660) to the seventh month of the Iron-mouse year (1660-1661), is packed with daily events and runs to thirty-three pages of Tibetan?^^

Ibid., 431-432 (Dukula 5844) Karmay 1988,47-52 '^Karmay 2014.411-436 (Dukula 556-589)

Trinle Gyatso is Appointed Third Administrator, 1660

Others in the court considered that the Data! Lama’s paramount role was as a religious leader and an Administrator should be appointed to deal with more worldly matters, as before. From the time of the second Administrator’s defeat and disgrace at the beginning of 1660 onwards, senior officials, other staff and the chief Mongol allies had been asserting verbally and in writing that Trinle Gyatso was the best candidate to fill the vacant post. Tenzin Dayan Khan, the Mongol king, wrote to the Dalai Lama to say this and in midsummer, the influential Mongol princes Jinong and Hung Taiji’^’ both visited him in person to urge him to appoint Trinle Gyatso. Ihe Dalai Lama, however, delayed making up his mind as long as possible, insisting that he needed to reflect profoundly on such a crucial choice before deciding. Note that the shortlist of three candidates given by these two princes to the Dalai Lama consisted of the rebel Depa Norbu, his accomplice Depa Sepo and Trinle Gyatso, who were, they said, “regarded as the best of all candidates,” with the added proviso that the first two were “no longer acceptable,” so there was really no choice at all, showing the ineffable manner of presenting things in Tibet and the high popular esteem in which Trinle Gyatso was held as leader, organiser and administrator. Following detailed discussion with the princes, the Dalai Lama finally decided and issued an invitation to the king to come to Lhasa from Dam for the inauguration, while sending his chamberlain to inform Trinle Gyatso “it was his duty” to accept the role of Administrator. Trinle

Ibid., 436 (Dukula 589). The Dalai Lama refers to these two Mongolian princes as brothers of the king, Tendzin Dayan Khan, so all three were sons of Gushri Khan. 367

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

Gyatso respectfully declined the first two requests, claiming that the weight of additional responsibility would hinder his religious practice, but accepted on the third occasion?’* The Scottish scholar Hugh Richardson, without quoting sources, has suggested that Trinle Gyatso might not have been the Dalai Lamas first choice, arguing that he had relied on his other senior aide Dronnyer Drungpa in the years following the first Administrators death and intended to appoint him to the position?’’ But his name was not included in the shorthst of candidates and over this two-year period Dronnyer Drungpa is only mentioned once in Dukula, whereas Trinle Gyatso is referred to repeatedly, page after page?” Thus there is scant evidence in Dukula or elsewhere to support this contention; in any case, had the Dalai Lama wished to appoint him or nominate him for the approval of the court there was nothing to prevent him from doing so but it evidently did not even occur to him. After months of delay and uncertainty it was now felt imperative to enthrone the new Administrator as quickly as possible. The two princes were in a hurry to leave for Kokonor and, like Gyalene, the humble and patient Administrator ofthe Fourth Dalai Lama who had travelled throughout Kham and Amdo and came to dislike the fastidious formality of Central Tibet, Trinle Gyatso was not keen on

pomp and ceremony, especially with himself as the centre of attention; he was concerned that many people might gather together and “It would not do if there was too much excitement over such simultaneous movement.” The Dalai Lama notes that Lhasa had many visitors up from Drigung and down from Chushul at the time but no festivities had been programmed to mark the occasion and it was even rumoured that the Administrator’s enthronement had already secretly taken place.*”

Note that even at this early point the Dalai Lama already refers to Trinle Gyatso as the second Depa showing that Depa Norbu’s doomed appointment as Administrator was, for him, best forgotten.*’® Norbu’s appointment, though brief, was according to Dukula an indisputable fact, yet almost every historian covering this period in Tibet has omitted him from their lists of Tibetan Administrators, Rulers or Regents, despite the thirty pages of Dukula, the primary contemporary

*’* Ibid., 435 (Dukula 587-588) *” Richardson, 450 *” Karmay 2014,435 (Dukula 587-588) Ibid., 435-436 (Dukula 588) *” Ibid., 436 (Dukula 588)

Trinle Gtatso is Appointed Third Administrator, 1660

369

source covering the period from both political and historical points of view, that detail his appointment as Administrator, his rule, his rebellion and his downfall?’’ It only remained to choose an astrologically favourable day for the event and it was calculated that within three weeks, the thirteenth day of the seventh month would be most suitable, having six auspicious conjunctions?®” Accordingly, Trinle Gyatso was ceremonially enthroned with a modest ceremony in the Ganden Yangtse, an official reception room in the Phodrang Karpo, the White Palace at the Potala. He was offered a meal that included a plate of sweet potatoes, tea and broth. The Dalai Lama conferred the title of Sakyong on him along with the interchangeable titles of Depa and Desi'®* and the name Trinle Gyatso, which was the same as his birth name?®^ This henceforth replaced the title of Jaisang Depa

that he had received from Gushri Khan in 1637. “The three brothers, the king, Jinong and Hung Thaiji, presented gifts, saluted him and paid thfeir respects with words of praise... And on that day all the officials of the Potaia, lamas, monks and lay officials, led by Menlung, offered the Depa and the kingmeals in porcelain cups. Following this event, day after day, people with gifts came without interruption; they were from

For example, Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa in his 1100-page-long history “One Hundred Thousand Moons: An Advanced History of. Tibet’ skips the entire period of Depa Norbu’s appointment, rebellion and downfall in the middle of a single sentence (page 361). He also omits to mention that Norbu was Governor of Shigatse for fifteen years (1644-1659). The Department of Information and International Relations, a ministry of the CTA (Central Tibetan Administration) in Dharamshala, in its 2001 publication Tibet and Manchu, edition 2008, page 7, simply omits Nofbu from its list of “Rulers of Tibet (Regents and Dalai Lamas).” Other historians ofTibet who cover this period but do not mention Norbu’s appointment, or his rebellion against the government, include K. Dhondup, Thomas Laird. Glenn H. Mullin, Warren W. Smith, Jr. and Thubten Jigme Norbu. Samten Karmay (2009,514)-refers to his rebellion but not his appointment, as does H. E. Richardson (1988, 450). Tucci (70-72) refers to both, but says Norbu was the brother of the king of Tsang rather than that of the first Administrator. Stein refers very briefly to the revolt but not at all to Norbu (p. 84). The only historian I have found who covers both Norbu’s appointment and his rebellion is Zuiho Yamaguchi (1995) but his account of events, ostensibly drawn from Dukula, is both difficult to follow and difficult to reconcile with Samten Karma/s 2014 translation. See the biography of the second Administrator. Karmay 2014, 436 (Dukula 588). The six astrological combinations are given as follows: skar ma chu stod, “the constellation;” dpal be’u, “the glorious knot;” sbyor ba mdza’ bo. "combination of lovers;” bdud rtsi, “nectar;” skye ba, "interdependent birth,” and bu mo’i dus sbyor, “the girl hour.” ’®’ Karmay 1988,9; see also: footnote #1. Karmay 2014,436 (Dukula 588-589); Richardson, 451

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

the residences of lamas of the great religious establishments, Lhasa, Nyangpo, Dagpo and the old establishments such as Dezhi and Neshun.”

A seal was created for him as the new Administrator and its first imprints were offered to the Jowo Buddha at Lhasa’s Tsuglakhang temple and to other important

statues - the Dalai Lama wrote special “labels of wishes” on this occasion for the imprints,the Jowo BuddhaandtheimagesofChenrezigandDokhamWangchugma and many other special rituals were carried out over the foUowing month?” Despite the new Administrator’s dislike of formality and ceremony, three weeks later public celebrations were still continuing in and around Lhasa with the monks of various colleges putting on cham dances and people from up and down the Kyichu vaUey coming to picnic, sing and perform folk dances?^ Dignitaries and ordinary people from far and wide took the opportunity to ^it Lhasa to pay their respects, congratulate the new Administrator and present with gifts. These included the representative of Kongpo Phende, monks and laypeople from Dagpo and Tutob Paljor. the great abbot of Dromda, who was M^y learned in "the two traditions,” meaning both the religious and secular

fields, and was a patriot who had given "much information” to the Depa, notes the Dalai Lama approvingly?®^

Trinle Gyatso’s appointment as third Administrator is referred to in the Dalai L^as 1679 decree appointing Sanggye Gyatso as his sixth Administrator, a copy of which, bearing the Dalai Lama’s handprints, can stUl be seen today as a framed document on the waU by the steep triple stair leading up from the great eastern courtyard caUed Deyang Shar inside the Potala Palace. ■“ Referring back to the time of the civil war when, as instigated by Zhalngo, the Mongol King Gushri Khan and a combined Tibetan and Mongolian army had defeated the rulers of Tsang,'®’ following which, in front of a large gathering of Tibetan and Mongolian leaders and ordinary people. Gushri Khan had given the twenty-five year old Dalai Lama all of the Tibetan territories he had conquered,'®® the Dalai Lama states in this 1679 decree (italics mine)-

Ibid., 437 (Dukula 590) Ibid., 439 (Dukula 593-594) Richardson, 440 '”Karmay2014,154-162 (Dukula201-211) Ibid., 166 (Dukula 216-217). Just how much territory Gushri gifted to the Fifth Dalai Lama is an open question; the precise meaning of the “Thirteen Myriarchies” during Ae period is unclear. See Richardson, 448: "... with what appears extraordinary self denying rehgious devouon, Gushri conferred on the Dalai Lama the sovereignty of Tibet

Trinle Gyatso is Appointed Third Administrator, 1660

“At that time, in the water-horse year when all the people - especially the subjects of the palace of Samdrubtse and also the [Tsang] king’s own femily - were set under me by a religious offering of selfless generosity, since I was unable by myself to undertake the government in both the religious and the temporal sphere, after the

Depa Sonatn Rahten had carried out the task ofAdministratorfor secular affairs, as all members of his family had died I appointed Depa Trinle Gyatso and others in succession to bear that responsibility."*®’

This passage makes no reference to the violent and ignoble civil war which had preceded this “setting of all the people of Tibet under me” by the victor, Gushri Khan; it also omits Norbu’s name from the line of succession of the Administrators. Furthermore, contrary to the assertion in this decree that all the members of Depa Sonam Rabten’s family had died, his brother Depa Norbu was still alive and well as far as anybody knew - after all, bizarrely, Depa Norbu’s name was included alongside Trinle Gyatso’s in the shortlist of candidates for Administrator, despite his recent failed rebellion. He was last reported to have gone into exile in Bhutan at some time, after being given sanctuary and allowed to stay under guarantee at Taglung Monastery north of Lhasa in 1660.*” Sanggye Gyatso himself, the subject of this decree, was, as we have seen, the son of Trinle Gyatso’s late nephew Trongme Asug. The future sixth Administrator had lived with Trinle Gyatso from an early age and was trained and educated by him, studying all fields of knowledge.*’^ In 1660, at the end of the month after Trinle Gyatso’s enthronement, the Dalai Lama records that the eight-year-old Sanggye Gyatso, then known as Sangyampa, came to Lhasa from their family’s village of Trongme and joined the household of the Dalai Lama on a more or less permanent basis.*’’

including territory he had conquered in the east of the country.” Shakabpa (1984, 111) interprets it to mean that Gushri "conferred on the Dalai Lama supreme authority over all Tibet from Tachienlu [Dartsedo] in the east up to the Ladakh border in the west.” *” Richardson, 444-445. The italics are inserted by the author of the biography.

Karmay 2014,403,409-424 (Dukula 548,553-577); Dungkar, 1,205 *” Ibid., 369 (Dukula 499-500); Richardson, 451 *" Shakabpa 2010,400; Shakabpa 1984,125 ’» Karmay 2014,437 (Dukula 591)

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The Third Administrators Main Activities in Office, 1660-1662

The Dalai Lama’s first mention ofTrinle Gyatso’s activities as his third Administrator is rather critical. He notes that Trinle Gyatso thought that “if there were too few monks at Chokhor Ling College there would be little development there, but if there were too many it could adversely affect the general treasury’s rations budget for the monks of Drepung.” Although this might sound logical enough, the Dalai Lama, showing the sometimes fault-finding side of his character towards those under him, quotes it in Dukula as an example of what he saw as Trinle Gyatso’s tendency to be “generally rather narrow-minded.”^’^ In 1643, the main Jonang monastery Tagten Damcho Ling in Lhatse, Tsang, had been closed because as stated elsewhere its monks were alleged not only to have been involved in sectarian, anti-Gelug campaigns in Tsang under the rule of the former king, but also in participating in the post-civil war rebellion - in effect, fighting alongside the Karmapa rebels against the Dalai Lama’s “Ganden Phodrang”

government.^’® Tagten Damcho Ling’s community had been transferred elsewhere and fifteen years later, in 1658, its ruins and its arable land had been taken over to

Ibid., 440 (Dukula 594)

Phuntsho, 238, Mullin 205-206. Note; this monastery was founded in 1615 by Taranatha, the Jonang lama who helped arranged the Fifth Dalai Lama’s parents’ marriage and who gave their child his birth name of Kunga Migyur. See Karmay 2005,101, and the first Administrator’s biography’s passage dealing with the Dalai Lama’s recognition process. 373

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

found a Gelug monastery on the same site. It was given a new name, Ganden Phuntshog Ling.'^ Two years later however, the Dalai Lama still refers to it as “Tagten Monastery.” He says this in his next remarks about his new Administrator, which are somewhat cryptic, if not obscure. It seems that the situation at Tagten, or Ganden Phimtsog Ling monastery was still unsettled following its conversion to Gelug, and the Dalai Lama tactfully suggested to Trinle Gyatso that he should go there in person, as Administrator, presumably with a view to asserting his authority and regulating the situation. He felt this would benefit the internal state of affairs at the monastery and also its external religious estates. For unexplained reasons, however, Trinle Gyatso was unwilling to do so and made excuses, which were unconvincing to the Dalai Lama. It is not stated where Trinle Gyatso was at the time, nor whether he actually went to Tagten, but the Dalai Lama comments that “Being inclined to get out of a large bag and enter a small one, Trinle Gyatso hurriedly left, like a prisoner getting out of prison."

If going from the Potala Palace to the distant monastery can be likened to going from a large bag into a small one, in the end the Administrator must have decided to do as the Dalai Lama had suggested. Without confirming that he actually went, or what he did there, the Dalai Lama next just writes that, with his assistance, Trinle Gyatso arrived back at Drepung and then came to meet him at the Potala with his attendants. The rest is left to the reader’s imagination.*’^ Towards the end of the twelfth month of the Iron-mouse year (1660-1661), in mid-winter, the Dalai Lama became ill again after bathing in the hot springs at Rong, probably near Yamdrok Lake. 'Hie joints of his right leg became painfully swollen, making it difficult for him to move or walk about. Trinle Gyatso nursed him as usual to the best of his ability notwithstanding his new status as Administrator, at least until the Iron-ox New Year of 1661, after which the assistant took over from him. His leg was cured by the thirteenth of the first month and the Dalai Lama notes that he remained in good health for the next few years.”® In the second month Trinle Gyatso settled a dispute between two generals, Gyangtron and Zerchen, who had clashed since the previous year over who should be in charge of the army in Tsang. The disharmony was apparently caused by an

** Ahmad, 269 (Sanggye Gyatso 158a) Karmay 2014,440 (Dukuia 594) Ibid., 442-443 (Dukuia 598). Stein, feeing page 65, notes there are hot springs'at Rong near Yamdrok Lake.

Thb Third Administrator’s Main AcnvmfiS in Office, 1660-1662

375

astrological opposition between Libra and the star Vega in Lyra (Radha and Abhijit in Sanskrit, Saga and Drozhin in Tibetan). The Administrator used his expertise in astrology to settle the dispute by choosing an astrally favourable day to appoint one of them and not the otherJ^ In the fourth month, at the request of Lhasa’s societies the Dalai Lama wrote some verses for the long lives of himself and the Administrator.^'” In the summer of 1661, a dispute arose between the areas of Nemo and Panam in Tsang, near Shigatse. The people of Nemo thought their roasted barley flour had been affected, or infected, by flour scattered in Shigatse by the people of Panam. They were very superstitious and believed this alleged contamination of their flour was causing disastrous thunderstorms, lightning and hail. The Dalai Lama writes that he tried to intervene to calm the situation but nobody would listen to him. The Administrator then took up the case and apparently settled the problems by redistributing landed estates to officials and local leaders "who asked no questions,” and to some monasteries. About twenty estates of various sizes were,awarded to those who had previously not received anything, each one being granted between one and fifty households of serfs with yields of between thirty and several thousand bushels (khal) of grain, that is between four hundred and fifty kilograms and several tens of tonnes. It is not mentioned, however, from whom, if anyone, all these estates were transferred or confiscated; some of the losers, writes the Dalai Lama, were compensated by being given other land. It seems that these grants which would have increased the beneficiaries’ income in yields of crops and grain were the end of the matter and the redistribution settled the, problems in these areas. This account, written by the Dalai Lama, indicates that the Administrator was.indeed a skilful negotiator and respected arbitrator, capable of resolving such thorny social problems and disputes when the Dalai Lam^ himself had foiled.^* The Dalai Lama then records that under the rule of the first Administrator, the third Administrator was entitled to receive the estates of Tshome and Paltrong, and they had been earmarked for him, but, prior to his enthronement, perhaps during the brief rule of Depa Norbu, these estates were deemed useful awards for other beneficiaries - probably nobles or others who had sided with the Ganden Phodrang against the Gego - and he never actually received them. Although the Ibid., 446 (Dukula 602). I am grateful to Michael Richards for help with this interpretation. ™ Ibid., 447 (Dukula 604) Ibid., 449-451 (Dukula 607-609). One khal of grain equals 13 Kg (Karmay 2014,

536).

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Administrator had never asked for them or said he needed anything, in view of his entitlement the Dalai Lama decided to grant him the estates of Paltrong and Triblung comprising fifty households of serfs and a combined income of two thousand five hundred bushels {khal) of grain, or thirty two tonnes?®^ Perhaps this was the same occasion when, according to Richardson’s history, the Administrator’s family was said to have acquired the wider estate of Nyangden “probably after he was elevated to the post of Administrator,” after which he also became known as Nyangden Depa, as well as Depa Trongmepa after his birth estate?®’ He was also referred to as Desi Trongmepa Trinle Gyatso?®^ Early during the third Administrator’s rule the first Europeans entered Lhasa: the Jesuits Albert d’Orville and Johannes Grueber in 1661. In their travelogues they refer to the Administrator as the “King” and “the brother of God the Father,” presumably the Dalai Lama. The Administrator appears to have treated them kindly. The Jesuits stayed two months. Grueber reported that the king, with the title of Deva [Depa], was descended from an ancient race of Tangut Tatars and resided at the “Butala” [Potala], a castle on a hill, as in Europe, with a numerous court. “It was he,” writes Grueber “who carried on the government,” evidently referring to the Administrator, with the title of “Depa”?®’ Grueber made many sketches during his travels in Asia that were later converted into plates in Kircher’s “China Illustrata,” published in Amsterdam in 1667, These included a life-drawing of the Administrator, the “Deva,” made at his own request, in which he appears shaven-headed and in monks’ robes and, as might be expected, wearing a mild and unassuming expression.^®® That same year, 1661, an epidemic of “black pox” broke out in the broad Zhe valley, west of Shigatse on the north bank of the Tsangpo and in Shelkar, further west and south of the river towards Mt Everest. The Administrator directed that the disease should not be allowed to spread uncontrollably and various rites and recitations were widely performed to abate the outbreak, apparently successfully since no further mention of the disease is made.“’ At the end of the ninth month, in late autumn, the Administrator himself fell ill with a relapse of his chronic convulsions, which are here referred to for the first

Ibid., 451 (Dukula 609-610) Richardson, 451 Shakabpa 2010,361,363,400 Richardson, 451 Ibid., 452. See plates. Karmay 2014,456 (Dukula 616)

The Third Administrator’s Main Activities in Office, 1660-1662

time in Dukula. He was afforded medical treatment, blessing and welfare rituals and made a full recovery within the month?®® .The Administrator was then informed about communal fighting that had broken out between two local leaders at an unspecified location?*’^ 'The aggressor was" one Wondrung Zhiwa Zangpo of Chamdo whose worried comments at the time when Depa Norbus rebellion was about to collapse had already been noted in.Dukula almost two years before. He had been a supporter of the second Administrator and voiced his concerns that if Depa Norbu fell from power he might not be able to retain his holdings; he complained that “Kongtsetun in Kham intends to increase in size,” presumably to his own detriment. The Dalai Lama had already observed then that the Wondrung often claimed to be loyal to the Gelug, and-,behaved as if attached to the Ganden Palace, adding that he subsequently realised that this was “simply a ditch full of straw? or empty talk.^^® Now, in late 1661 with his steward Namse, this person had sent armed forces against his opponent Demowa, “causing great upheaval and unrestrained criminal acts committed by the Wondrung faction.” The Administrator attempted to restrain further aggression by appointing three officials to go there and calm the situation down}-- further details are not disclosed. Later developments, recounted below, indicate that they failed.^”

On the twelfth of the second month of the Water-tiger year, 1662, the Dalai Lama’s spiritual master Panchen Rinpoche died. At the same time, a message came from Nechung Gyalpo“^ at Samye calling on the Dalai Lama to come immediately

to re-consecrate the monastery. He therefore sent deputies to Tashilhunpo to take his offerings to the Panchen’s bodily remains and so forth on his behalf and prepared to travel to Samye, leaving on the twenty-ninth, accompanied by Trinle Gyatso and the Mongol king, Tenzin Dayan Khan. They took the route up the Kyichu valley to Dechentse and then south through the hills towards Samye and were welcomed en route at Tshal Zurkhang, where the people of Yanggon and Wulirig offered a reception and cham dances. In the evening they halted at Cholungdor and the next day, escorted by a welcoming party of mounted men

"Ibid., 456 (Dukula 617 “’Ibid.

Ibid., 418 (Dukula 566-567) Ibid., 456 (Dukula 617)

This "“king spirit,” Pehar, or Gyalpo Pehar, was later transferred from Samye to Nechung Monastery by the Fifth Dalai Lama and renamed “Nechung Gyalpo.” Since he compiled Dukula after the move, he still refers to Pehar as Nechung or Nechung Gyalpo even when referring to the time before the move took place, as here.

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and crowds of local people of Dechentse, they went on to Dara for lunch. At Ngagkhar the Dalai Lama gave a lung to a gathering and in the evening they stopped at Gyabyo Ihang. The next morning the Administrator and the king returned to Lhasa to take charge of the government while the rest of the party climbed the pass of Serla and continued towards Samye Monastery. The Dalai Lama stayed in Samye and its hinterland for ten days, communicating with the spirits Gyalpo Pehar (Nechung Gyalpo) and Nojin Chenpo (Tsi’u mar) through their oracles, consecrating the newly renovated monastery, witnessing cham dances, making and receiving offerings, performing various kinds of rituals, visiting local pilgrimage spots, giving blessings and lungs and meeting visitors of all ranks who had come from far and wide to witness and participate in the event?*’ Returning to Lhasa, the Dalai Lama and his retinue took the Yarlung Tsangpo valley route west via Dragda and Tranggo to avoid the snow that had fallen in the hills. Turning north from the river after Tranggo, they crossed the Chela pass in Gongkar and were met and welcomed again by the Administrator and the king on the other side, in the lower Kyichu valley. Escorted from there by a procession of monks from Rawatopa and dancers of Nyetreng Phubda, they camped for the night in the willow grove of Trangong. Continuing north up the valley in similar fashion the next day, escorted and joined by the local population, they spent the next night at Neu Lingkha and after being met at Rinchengang next morning by a party of mounted monks from Drepung Monastery and stopping with them for tea, they eventually reached the Potala in time for lunch.’** In Dukula, the Dalai Lama writes very little, if anything, about his new Administrator’s political work, referencing primarily the religious activity which was evidently his main'area of expertise and of more interest to the Dalai Lama. In the fifth month of 1662, for example, the Dalai Lama laments that “like a person thirsty for water” he earnestly wished to make new crowns for sacred images such as the Jowo Buddha and a mandal but he was unable to do so. The Administrator, however, he writes, was well versed in the scriptures and his experience in religious matters was “a little better than expected” - high praise, presumably, and a’little surprising since they had been working so closely together for several decades that one would think by now the Dalai Lama would have been well aware of his level of religious experience. The Administrator therefore graciously undertook to realise his wishes, he writes, by launching a project to create a suitable crown and mandal for the Jowo on his behalf.’*® Karmay 2014,461-468 (Dukula 622-631) Ibid., 468-471 (Dukula 631-634) ’*® Ibid., 475 (Dukula 639)

The Administrators Great Survey of the Monasteries, 1662-1663

In the next month, the sixth, two widows of the deceased leader of Duriyal came to Lhasa to distribute the wealth of their deceased husband as religious offerings,

sponsoring his funeral services on a large scale by making extensive offerings to monasteries for prayers dedicated to the benefit of the deceased. The Dalai Lama performed a funeral ceremony himself, told them how to dispense their

sponsorship for tea to the monasteries in U and advised which particular ritual texts would be most appropriate for the monks to recite in return. This occasion appears to have prompted the Administrator to decide to survey and regulate aJl monasteries to facilitate the equitable allocation of government subsidies and graijts among them on a sound basis. Seeing how beneficial this policy could be, before the departure of the men who were going out to distribute the widows’ tea donations, he therefore started planning an in-depth monastic survey. Such an inspection had never been carried out before. The Dalai Lama must have agreed with the Administrator’s plan, because he sent sealed letters to each monastery, no doubt instructing them to co-operate fiiUy with the proposed survey.^^^ The results of this survey were published early the following year, 1663.^*^ In the sixth month of 1662, following the Administrator’s recent attempt to control disturbances reported at Kongtsetun in Kham, or more likely somewhere

"^Ibid., 476 (Dukula 641) '"Ibid., 487 (Dukula 656) 379

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in Kongpo,2i8 two more representatives, Phende Tulku of Drepung and his brother, being natives of Kongpo were sent to Kongtsetun to investigate the trouble. They, too, were ineffective. There had been an ongoing debate in Lhasa whether to send a military expedition. The Administrator equivocated, having already asked the Dalai Lama to perform a divination to clarify the issue in the springtime, over which he had initially hesitated, but eventually performed using the Yangchar method of “arising vowels.” The divination indicated that if an army were sent that year, it would succeed but if delayed it would become a failure like the earlier invasions of Bhutan. As the likelihood of conflict increased, various destructive rites were carried out at the monasteries of Namgyal, Dorjedrag and Palri. The Dalai Lama also drew the sword of the Tantrika Depa Yug and punched the air with it. The Administrator arranged for an astrological consultation about the expedition and finally, on the first day of the seventh month of the Water-tiger year of 1662-1663, he left Lhasa to accompany, for the first part of the way, the Mongol king Tenzin Dayan Khan, son and heir of Gushri Khan, leading a substantial army. On the way, the Administrator and the king had discussions and exchanged advice, surveying the commanders, divisional leaders, and other officers. They reached a place called Zichenthang, after which the Administrator returned to Lhasa with his entourage, arriving back by the end of the same month. Extensive welfare rituals for the expeditionary force were performed in the

monasteries.^^’ In the eleventh month (early 1663) news came back from Kongpo, the apparent destination of the force, about the result of the expedition. The trouble involved Wondrung Zhiwa Zangpo who appeared to be the aggressor. No actual mihtary engagement is described but it was later described as a great victory for the government so some actual fighting, heavy or otherwise, must have taken place; we have seen that in general the Dalai Lama prefers not to depict violence in Dukula. He did report that Wondrung the Khampa had been very obstinate and

Wondrung Zhiwa Zangpo is stated to be from Chamdo in Kham, and Kongtsetun, which cannot be foimd on modern maps, is also said to be in Kham, see Karmay 2014, 418,476 (Dukula 566,641). However, in Karmay 2014,483-484 (Dukula 651-652) it says that having controlled the situation, in the eleventh month the expeditionary force was stationed in Kongpo. Some Khampas have always claimed that Kongpo is a part of Kham; in the imperial period Kongpo was a separate state from the territorial organisation of the "Four Horns”; and furthermore, in later centuries Kongpo has often been a bone of contention between Utsang and Kham (my thanks to Samten Karmay for this relevant i background information). So, in the end, it remains unclear whether this action took 1 place in Kongpo or in Kham, or in both. i Karmay 2014,476-477,478 (Dukula 641-642,644)

The Administrator’s Great Survey of THE Monasteries, 1662-1663

there was a lot of argument, back-stabbing and counter-accusation and eventuaUy the case came to depend on the court of a judge at Barkham in north-east Kham,

an important staging post and hub on the ancient tea-horse road between Tibet and China. The Administrator bluntly directed this judge to decide “who was black and who was white.” A torma ceremony was held on the twenty-ninth, at which Wondrung did not dare to discuss the issue with the leader, Khadro, thereby putting himself and his political accomplices to shame. The judge’s finding is not stated. Whatever he decided, the Dalai Lama writes that the resulting peace that prevailed in Dokham, the whole of eastern Tibet, was “like a single roll of soft silk.” This was the end of the matter, apart from later celebrations and thanksgiving ceremonies in and around Lhasa. The Namgyal monks, for example, spent three days performing the thanksgiving ceremony of all the protectors, in particular Zilnon Remati, Chidag Bhepa Sato, Khyabjug and all Gyalpo and tsen ("btsan*’)

spirits, as well as smoke purification ceremonies. At Sera and Drepung the monks recited sutras and turned their brass cauldrons upside down as a sign of rejection - of what, it is not said; perhaps of the Wondrung s trouble.making, or else the use of violence as a means to an end.--'^ Although this internal Tibetan conflict seems

quite serious it does not appear to have been referred to in other histories, apart firom Dukula.

Referring to the 1642-1643 rebellion in Kongpo. the Dalai Lama also notes that, considering what Phendewa did, there was a certain amount of arrogance on the part of our own men.”^^ He being a master of understatement, we can only guess what he is referring to, and neither is he forthcoming about “what Phendewa did.” He writes this decades later when composing Dukula, but from other entries about this lama from Kongpo we can see why the Dalai Lama, with good reason, has a somewhat ambivalent attitude towards him. The evidence indicates that Phendewa, also called Phende Tulku, was most likely the lama of Kongpo Phende Monastery. Tibetan historian K. Dhondup, however, who does not cite specific sources for any o£his information apart from listing them en masse in his Introduction, does provide a clue as to the Dalai Lamas reference, although no substantiation of his account is to be found in other English-language histories. He asserts that in 16421643,after Shigatse Dzong was captured and the king of Tsang had been executed.

Ibid., 483-484 (Dukula 652). One author refers to a Tibetan lama’s habit of turning his empty teacup upside down at night and then putting it back right way up in the morning with the thought “I’m still here!” as a reminder of impermanence. Jeffers, Susan. 2002. Embracing Uncertainty. Hodder Mobius. Ibid, 177, (Dukula 233)

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the Tenth Karmapa, on the run from the Ganden Phodrang, escaped from Lhodrag to Kongpo Phende Monastery, as described in the first Administrator’s biography, when Gushri Khan laid waste to the Karmapa’s camp in Lhodrag. Phende Tulku, Dhondup writes, not only gave the Karmapa refuge at his monastery, the Karmapa then took full advantage by using it as his base to foment a broad-based antiGanden Phodrang rebellion centred in Kongpo as well as the general uprising in Tsang and Lhokha (Southern Tibet) which were put down at the cost of many thousands of Tibetan and Mongolian lives. Phende Tulku, assuming he condoned the Karmapa’s action while hosting him at Kongpo Phende Monastery, and may even have aided him, thus bore significant responsibility for the uprising and its

consequences, essentially, according to Dhondup, betraying the Ganden Phodrang.’ Despite this, in 1645 the Dalai Lama mentions a Phende Kukye Tulku from Kongpo, apparently Phendewa’s brother, who led a hundred monks at a nyendzog ceremony, presumably at Drepung, and who requested the Dalai Lama to write a prayer, which he did. The Dalai Lama goes further and compliments him for being intelligent and diligent in his practices, saying that the following year, 1646, he composed a ritual longevity text based on the deity Dechog Karpo (White Heruka)

especially for this Tulku and one Changra Depa.^^’ In the second month of the Water-hare year of 1663-1664, Dukula details the final results of the Administrator’s survey of all monasteries, Gelug and otherk ordered in the sixth month of the previous year for the purpose of setting up a new system for the equitable distribution of offerings. The exact area covered is

not specified but this survey went further and was more detailed than a previous one carried out in Sonam Rabten’s time, which included Tsang only up to the Gampa La pass. Comparatively rough and ready, it had not distinguished so clearly between the different types and classes of monasteries, nunneries and other religious establishments and their communities. The Administrator s survey was more thorough and inclusive, taking in communities of nuns, non-celibate monks, yogis and hermits of all traditions. In total it showed - in round figures that there were over one thousand eight hundred monasteries, inhabited by a total of about a hundred thousand monks. The monasteries were then divided into three categories: first, those with celibate monks, numbering seven hundred and fifty establishments, most of which were Gelug, and containing around fifty thousand monks. Second were those with monks who were not celibate for their entire lives, comprising about four hundred monasteries with thirty thousand “ Dhondup, 26-27 ^23 Karmay 2014.193,208 (Dukula 253,275)

The Administrator’s Great Survey op the Monasteries, 1662-1663

monks. The third category covered the rest: six hundred and fifty establishments with other classes of monks, nuns, male and female lay practitioners, yogis and hermits totalling around twenty thousand in all. The first and second categories were graded according to their hierarchical positions and it was agreed that in winter and spring, tea would be distributed to them all, along with gold.' silver, grain, horses, molasses, iron, cotton and whatever other material goods were available. In the following year, distributions were also extended to the third category of religious establishments. Thus an important and non-sectarian precedent was established by the Administrator: a precedent that twice a year, in the autumn and the spring, the Tibetan government donated available funds and supplies to monasteries of every tradition, perhaps including Bon?-' There is no

suggestion anywhere in Dukula about the government taking steps to ease the lot of impoverished or disadvantaged Tibetans directly, so perhaps the monasteries and nunneries were expected to support their local communities in various ways, such as taking in children from parents who could not afford to feed them, to look after them as novice monks or nuns in return for their work; or ifnot, then perhaps

sometimes such people were left to their fate: In any case this kind of question is outside the scope of this study and needs further research. According to Stein, traditionally a Tibetan family’s land and holdings, including property at the monastery where some of the brothers might be monks, was indivisible and inalienable and the collective ownership normally abided in the person of the eldest, usually a male. The family’s landless agricultural labourers as well as aged parents or other relatives with only a tiny plot of land allotted to them, all depended on the indivisible property of the family; thus, the family and its combined resources served as a basic safety-net for all those within the clan.^“

Ibid., 487-488 (Dukula 656-658) Stein, 97-98

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Phende Gon, Chokhor Gyal and the Origins ofNamgyal Monastery

Still on the general subject of Phende Mon'astery and the Phende Tulku brothers, to clarify the origins of Phende Gon, Phende Monastery, Phende Legshe Ling ^d their connection with the emergence of the Namgyal Monastery of the Dalai Lamas, we have to go back to the time of Gendun Gyatso the Second Dalai Lama when the monks of Phende Gon, a small monastery or college most likely situated within the Drepung Monastic complex, were struck by an epidemic that left only eight of them alive. The survivors abandoned the monastery site and left on an extended pilgrimage to perform rites for their deceased colleagues at holy places. It was en route they encountered Gendun Gyatso, who was also on pilgrimage; their meeting was felt to be auspicious and some or all of them stayed and they travelled together.^® A recent book written on the history of the Potala Palace by a Namgyal historian partly confirms this, mentioning four wandering monks from Phende Gon, two of whom went to Kongpo and two who met the Second Dalai Lama Gendim Gyatso on their pilgrimage. According to another monk-historian, formerly of Namgyal Monastery, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama has confirmed publicly that Namgyal Monastery first became established at Chokhor Gyal Monastery, to the north of Dagpo and near Lhamo Latso. At the time of founding, he confirms, Namgyal was called Phende

.2“ Bryant, 95 ^^’Yarphel, 955 385

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

Legshe Ling and still retains that name although it is commonly known as *Namgyal.*“’ Thus it is possible that these monks from Phende Gon and the Second Dalai Lama first met at or on the way to the site of Chokhor Gyal, where Phende Legshe Ling was then founded, taking its name in part from Phende Gon. The book also says ten Geshes from Dagpo were with the Second Dalai Lama and that along with the two monks from Phende Gon they established Chokhor Gyal Monastery in 1509. It also states that the Second Dalai Lama founded four monasteries as part of and within Chokhor Gyal Monastery, namely, Ngari, Dakpo, Garpa and Phende Legshe Ling. All these four monasteries later established themselves outside Chokhor Gyal in different places as independent monasteries.^^ Within a decade of the establishment of Chokhor Gyal, in 1518, the Dokhang Ngonmo or “the Blue Stone House” was constructed by the Kyisho Gongma within Drepung Monastery as a residence for - and as an offering to - the Second Dalai Lama. This palace was later renamed the Ganden Phodrang. Following this, the former Phende Gon monks and their new monastery, now called Phende Legshe Ling, moved back to Drepung from Chokhor Gyal; this was because in 1564-1565 their connection with Phende Gon was formally recognised when the Third Dalai Lama re-established it at Drepung on the old Phende Gon’s abandoned site-^o

Phende Legshe Ling was a non-sectarian monastery whose purpose was to perform rituals for the wellbeing of the Dalai Lamas, and at this time of the Third their repertoire already included rituals that belonged to the Nyingma and Sakya traditions. During the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682) it developed into a college having about a hundred and eighty monks and on the Dalai Lama’s orders it was moved from Drepung to Sangngag Gatshal, the Western, redcoloured part of the Potala Palace at some time after its construction in 1649.^' Whether the original monks of Phende Monastery or others also founded Phende Monastery in Kongpo is not clear, but a monastery of that name did exist

Yarphel, 956. Also as advised by Losang Samten, former Namgyal monk now in the USA, in a personal communication on 7* October 2019. Yarphel, 958-959. My thanks to Ven. Kunga Gyatso, Namgyal monk, for providing the information and copies of the relevant pages of this book, and to Michael Richards for his assistance in translating and interpreting the information. ™ Bryant, 95; Mullin, 112

My sincere thanks to Samten Karmay for this information included in a personal communication on 8'*' October 2019 and citing Sanggye Gyatso’s historical work, Baidurya serpo, the Yellow Lapis Lazuli.

Phende Gon, Chokhor Gyal and the Origins of Namgyal Monastery

in or near southwest Kongpo Gyamda since the Fifth Dalai Lama records in Dukula that he stayed just below it when on his way from Dzingchi to Gyal in 1651, following the Loyul Chu Valley east. He notes that at that time the monastery, having been destroyed earlier by the Dagpo anpy. had already been completely restored.^^ However whether this location is considered-to be in Kongpo is doubtful since according to modern maps it appears to be very near the tripoint where Gyamda, Zangri and Gyatsa Counties meet?” Furthermore, so far no indication has been found to say that it had any connection with Drepung Monastery, or the original Phende Gon at Drepung, or with Phende Legshe Ling, or even with Phende Tulku or his brother. It has thus not been possible to establish where, exactly, in Kongpo this Phende Monastery was established, being the location of the Karmapa’s stay at Phende Tulku’s invitation - according to Dhondup.

As regards Phende Legshe Ling, in 1571, a few years after its relocation from Chokhor Gyal to Drepung, the Khan of the Turned Mongols, Altan Khan was ill and requested prayers from the Third DalatLama, who had travelled to meet him at Ahrik Karpatang in Mongolia and converted him to the Gelug; the Third Dalai Lama then sent instructions back to the Phende Legshe Ling monks to recite the long life prayer of the female deity Namgyalma. From that time on the monastery also became known as ‘‘Namgyal.”^^ Early in 1662, the Fifth Dalai Lama mentions “the two Phende Tulku brothers” again, this time respectfully. While visiting Mount Hepo in Samye he honourably entrusts them and their people to the care of “the petty chiefs of the arrogant spirits.””^ That summer he sent both of them to investigate the trouble in Kongtsetun, as has been mentioned, and relations seemed normal, but in the eleventh month, after referring to “much tergiversation” - that is, contradictory and irreconcilable statements - and the serious court case already referred to involving Wondrung Zhiwa Zangpo, he writes that following thanksgiving rituals “the destructive rite on the solstice day was performed mainly against Phendewa,” indicating he was the real villain of the piece; and when Phende Tulku returned to his residence in Gomang, a college of Drepung, “a sudden, loud cracking noise was heard” obviously not regarded as a good sign.”^ Karmay 2014,246 (Dukula 324) Tibetmap.com, sheet #2992, approx 29.50 degrees x 19.50 Mullin, 143-145; Yarphel, 956; Kapstein, Matthew T. 2006. The Tibetans. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK, 133.

Ibid., 467 (Dukula 631) Ibid., 476,484 (Dukula 641,652)

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The name Phende crops up again in Dukula when Officer Wor returns from Kongpo the following spring, 1663, bringing “a copper thangkha painting that had resided among the relics of Phende Tulku ” and this is all we are told, apart from the fact that owing to the arrival of the painting a great hailstorm suddenly arose - another inauspicious sign?’^ Nevertheless, that summer, when the annual awards of estates were made, the Dalai Lama writes, blatantly favouring the Gelug: “The men of Phende in Kongpo did not deserve anything due to their own faults, but they were Gelug and so were granted the estate of Worshong Chukor with sixty households, yield: 1,500.”“®

Finally on the subject of Phende, early in the spring of 1664 the Dalai Lama was offered many items by various people and one of these was the skull of the daughter of the knowledge-holder Hung-ga which had been rediscovered “when the lady of the Phende family in Kongpo, through her own fault, came to meet Ihosam who was the steward of Phende Monastery, and he, in complicity with her, broke the government seal and took possession of the monastery””’ In summary, going backwards in time, what we do know about Kongpo Phende Tulku is that for unexplained reasons by 1664, Kongpo Phende Monastery (probably not the one located between Dzingchi and Gyal) had been shut down and sealed by order of the Ganden Phodrang; that in 1663 the men of Phende Phende Tulku and his brother Phende Kukye 'Ihlku - were awarded estates by the Dalai Lama and Trinle Gyatso just because they were Gelug, despite the facts that earlier in 1663, Phende Thlku’s thangkha painting had caused an inauspicious hailstorm and in 1662 he had been the villain in'a court case at Barkham, causing the central government to have destructive rites performed against him. On top of all this, it is alleged that back in 1643, he had invited the fleeing Karmapa to stay at his Kongpo Phende Monastery and helped him foment country-wide rebellions against the D^ai Lama’s new government.

Ibid., 491 (Dukula 662) Ibid., 493 (Dukula 666). The "yield of 1,500” refers to the income of the estate in khal or bushels of grain (1,500 of which being equivalent to twenty tons or so of barley). Ibid., 504-505 (Dukula 681)

Exchanging Gifts, Making Offerings and Subsidising Monasteries

Besides such political matters, in gener^ the Dukula is replete with accounts of the many (and) valuable gifts being offered to the Dalai Lama by disciples and visitors, especially after 1642, such as all those on the journey to China, and gifts given or passed on by him to others, including those offered to appease various protector spirits which frequently requested, through their oracles, specific material objects. Reports and lists of gifts received and offered occur in Dukula with such regularity that it seems like the practice of generosity was very much in vogue during this period. Precious reEcs and personal items of all sorts that belonged to legendary lamas and great kings of the past are often given and received, as well as artworks, images, jewellery, bullion, domesticated animals, silk, wool and cotton cloth, carpets, and other manufactured goods from China and elsewhere, often made of silver and gold and so forth, not to mention prized consumables such as tea and rice. On the China visit in 1652-1653, our attempt to quantify and summarise material offerings received from well-wishers along the way resulted in immense figures Eke twenty thousand horses and countless other items, most of which were dispensed to fund Buddhist monasteries and activities as the huge caravan proceeded. After it left Amdo and crossed the Dangla into Central Tibet the Dalai

Lama also recalls the gifts he had made: “From the previous year, when I crossed the Dangla pass until this year when I arrived back to this border, communities of monasteries and laity, major and minor chieftains, laymen and monks with high and low status, to all of them 1 offered gifts that included things they would like to have as well as religious items such as the

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

‘three supports’ and sacred objects. If I record all of what I did in detail here, I am afraid of the written length; moreover, no details of all this exist in the notes. I therefore have no time to write them down clearly. However, such worldly affairs as giving presents were practices of all the religious practitioners and particularly an important activity of the great lamas. I did it within whatever means I had, and put great effort into it.”^*’ The Administrator is also reported as being given rare items, for example in the eighth month of 1662, a person called Dechen Chokhor offered him, along with an application, a statue of the protector Gonpo Zhal that had been sculpted in kha‘u stone by Sapan (i.e. Sakya Pandita). This image had originally been given to the Zhabdrung Ngagwang Dragpa of Gongkar by the omniscient Sonam Gyatso, Third Dalai Lama, as the Zhabdrungs protector. No doubt it was now intended for the Dalai Lama, and his Administrator doubtless passed it on to him, recommending approval of the applicant’s request.^* In addition, whenever Mongol princes visited Lhasa on pilgrimage, usually with their courts and members of their tribes, they brought with them valuable offerings in abundance for the Dalai Lama. For example, at the end of 1657. Duriyal Khoshochi - who had already visited in 1639 with similar rich gifts as noted in the life of Sonam Rabten - arrived from Oirat bringing five hundred sang of gold (about fourteen kilograms), sixty thousand sang of silver (nearly one and three-quarter tons), fifteen hundred rolls of silk and ten thousand other items such as rolls of cotton and bricks of tea.^^ On certain fixed dates or certain occasions each year, the government made numerous grants of landed estates to dozens of Tibetan families, headmen; officers, nobles and monasteries. Details are provided in lengthy lists taking up page after page in Dukula as being approved by the Administrator and ratified by the Dalai Lama, each estate being mentioned with its nqmber of households of serfs and its “yield” in terms of the standard currency of bushels of barley, but without ever mentioning from whom they had been taken, if anyone. We are also

occasionally told of this or that family, nobleman or monastery lobbying the Dalai Lama or his Administrator, sometimes successfully, to have a suitable estate

Ibid., 320 (Dukula 430) Ibid., 480 (Dukula 646). Gonpo Zhal is a form of the protector Mahakala which was favoured by the previous Dalai Lamas and for which the Dalai Lama felt a special affinity, see Karmay 2014,67 (Dukula 83-84). ^Ubid., 142,376 (Dukula 185,510)

Exchanging Gifts, Making Offerings and Subsidising Monasteries

awarded to them in recognition of some service they claim to have rendered the government or in settlement of a debt they were owed, moral or otherwise.^ In the tenth month of 1662, the Administrator undertook an important project to create one thousand new images of the Buddha. As his project manager, he appointed Lhugpa from Lhatse, who had been one of the three expert Tibetan supervisors in his earlier image-making project starting in 1655. It began with five Nepalese artists, led by Siddha. -The required materials included three hundred and twenty bushels (about four tonnes) of Chinese bronze, thirty-two bushels of zinc (four himdred kilograms), ten of iron (a hundred and thirty kilograms), over thirty ounces of gold and a little silver. The overall budget for the project, including honoraria, fees, rations and feasts was equal to the value of almost two thousand mkhar bushels (about twenty-six tonnes) of barley grains and the project lasted forlour years and eight months - almost as long as the Administrator’s remaining lifespan?^'’

At the end of the first month of the Water-hare year of 1663-1664. an elaborate four-day thanksgiving ceremony for the victory in Kongpo was performed by the Namgyal monks and the Dalai Lama wrote a verse of gratitude to be inscribed on ceremonial scarves and offered to each of the religious protectors. Ten days later news came that the expeditionary force led by Mongol king Tenzin Dayan Khan was .returning from Kongpo and the Administrator travelled out from Lhasa to meet him. After another ten days the Namgyal monks began to recite one hundred thousand Vajra Kilaya mantras and the next day the Administrator and the king arrived together and had tea and detailed discussions with the Dalai Lama, no doubt concerning what had happened during the military expedition but again, like so many other violent military actions, not shared with the readers ofDukula.^^ In the third month of the Water-hare year, the spring of 1663. the Dalai Lama went into retreat for a month and the Administrator started organising new sets of fresh offerings to be made into statues in various important locations in Lhasa. With Dradul Tshering of Langbu as his project manager, these offerings were prepared for the large bronze images in the assembly rooms of the Gandeh Phodrang and in the Kunga Rawa hall at Drepung, and also for the bronze statues of lamas kept in the rooms of the old and new palaces and even for the small

statues made in China. When the Dalai Lama ended his retreat, as an auspicious conclusion he went straight to the great hall at Drepung that afternoon to deliver

Ibid., 427-429,449-451,493-494,523 (Dukula 578-581,607-610,666,707-708) “ causing the caravan to divert south into Ming China as far as Chengdu, thence climbing west up to Dartsedo on the Tibetan Plateau, a longer but safer route. Since these Mongols were evidently followers of the Gelug, and Chogthu had established himself in Kokonor, this might have added an extra risk to the usual northern route.^ By late 1632, however, we read in Dukula that “the government of the king of Chakhar was toppled” and the four chiefs of Yunshiyebu, a tiimen which had rebelled against Legden, left Mongolia and came to Lhasa on pilgrimage, being Karma Kagyu adherents. One was LamachaB.a benefactor of the Taglung, and they were all grateful to Sonam Gyatso for bringing Buddhism to Mongolia.® 1630 was the peak of Legden’s career and from there his fall was rapid. In 1631 he crossed back east over the Greater Khinggan Range and successfully attacked the Khorchin and Tumedbut these two Mongol tribes allied with the Yungshiyebu, the Ordos and the Abaga and retaliated with some success, destroying one militia of four thousand Chakhar troops and another of three thousand that was on its way to collect his tribute of silver bullion from the Ming. The following year, 1632, Nurhachi’s son the new Emperor Hung Taiji (r. 1627-1643) and his southern Khalkha and Khorchin allies launched a massive expedition against Legden who, fo avoid a confrontation, fled west into Ordos with a hundred thousand of his Chakhar warriors. In Ordos, though, starvation reigned on the overburdened pastures of the three western Tumen. He made himself even more unpopular among Mongols by deposing the Ordos prince, Erinchin Jinong, seizing his wife and taking the sacred “Eight White Yurts,” the mausoleum of Genghis Khan, away with him en route to Kokonor - although he was destined never to arrive. He was hoping to join his sole remaining ally-Chogthu Hung Taiji in Kokonor with the am of establishing a Mongol base there, out of the Manchu emperor’s reach, and from there it would be easy to attack and destroy the Gelug in Central Tibet, On the way, however, he was infected with ‘Chinese smallpox’ and died in Shara Tala

’ Karmay 2014,76 (Dukula 97-98) ’Ibid., 106 (Dukula 138)

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

in modern Gansu along with most of his followers. His son Ejei Khan and his wives surrendered to Hong Thaiji’s generals at Toll in Ordos in 1635 and later handed over the imperial seal of the Northern Yuan Dynasty rulers to the Qing Emperor Hung Taiji, thus signalling the end of the dynasty. Ejei Khan was made a prince by the Manchu.’ Also in 1635, Zhamar Tulku finally succeeded in persuading Chogthu to send his son Arsalang into Central Tibet with an army of ten thousand to lay waste to the Gelug, although this did not turn out quite as planned. Arsalang attacked and looted monasteries indiscriminately before allying with the Gelug - and for this disobedience ended up being assassinated by the order of his father.’® I

,

Seventeenth century from 1635 onwards It was not until 1636 that the Dalai Lama mentions in Dukula the outbreak of smallpox that decimated Legden’s army, although he writes this took place in Kokonor instead of what is now called Gansu, to the northeast. He adds that the epidemic spread from there to Yonru and eventually to Tsang, but did not affect U.”

* ‘

Chogthu Hung Taiji, however, was still alive and well in Kokonor with his army of forty thousand and in 1636 he heeded the urgings of the Karma Kagyu lama Zhamar Tulku to invade Central Tibet, lay waste to the Gelug and destroy their monasteries, a wish no doubt supported by the king of Tsang. He sent his son Arsalang, with -a quarter of his armed forces, with instructions to carry this out

1

■ 5

I i

’ Atwood, 88. 162-165, 335, 411, 505, 550; Karmay 2014, 164 (Dukula). Among available sources, Tucci and Richardson appear to be alone in saying that Legden Khan began as a Gelug supporter despite his historical reasons for abhorring them and furthermore neither cites any source in support of their contention. It is possible that Richardson got this idea from Tucci since he acknowledges on p. 352 that Tucci showed him his copy of Dukula in Rome. However, there is no evidence cited in Dukula or in Atwood’s Encyclopedia of Mongolia, or elsewhere that Legden ever supported the Gelug. Richardson also appears to be the only historian to say that Legden was killed by Gushri Khan, see p. 352, rather than dying of smallpox; whereas Tucci makes no mention of Legden Khan’s death. Further, according to Gray Tuttle’s paper "A Tibetan Buddhist Mission to the East: The Fifth Dalai Lama’s Journey to Beijing, 1652-1653” in Cuevas & Schaeffer, p. 66, note 1 and p. 70, note 18, Legden Khan was in fact a powerful sponsor and supporter of the Sakya sect which was still competing with the Gelug in Inner Asia at the time (i.e., 1634-1635), and Thttle cites three sources for this information. Ibid., 9-10,334-35,411,505,550; Shakabpa 1984,89; Dhondup, 17; Richardson, 352 “ Karmay 2014,124 (Dukula 161)

Appendix

433

and the rest of this history is recounted in detail in the biography of the First Administrator, Sonam Rabten?^ By this time Sonam Rabten and others had recruited the Khoshut Mongol General Gushri Khan was deputed by the leaders of.the Oirat Mongols to defend the Gelug in Central Tibet against the threat of destruction by Chogthu. Gushri Khan realised that after the failure of Chogthu’s son Arsalang, Chogthu was highly likely to invade Central Tibet the following spring to do the job himself. Gushri Khan decided to pre-empt this by launching a surprise attack against him when least expected on the Fire-ox New Year’s Day. 26”' January 1637. His army often thousand was able to thoroughly defeat and destroy Chogthu’s forces, now reduced from forty thousand to thirty thousand, because Arsalang’s army of ten thousand had remained in Central Tibet. Full details of this campaign, and references, are included in the first Administrator’s biography. In Gelug literature Chogthu Hung Taiji is consistently portrayed as a rather evd and ruthless person, although there is very little on the record of his actually harming the Gelug or any other Tibetans in general, apart from sending his son Arsalang with a mission to wipe them out, a'plan which was not even attempted. On the other hand, in his entry in the Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire, it is made clear that from the Mongol point of view he is considered a great national hero as well as an intellectual and poet. Mongolia’s first successful feature film, made in 1945, was entitled Chogthu Taiji and this is how he was portrayed. In Dukula there are two more references to Legden Khan and Chogthu Hung Taiji. They are related to their respective careers as noted below.

In 1653 when the Fifth Dalai Lama was returning from China to Tibet after meeting the Chinese Emperor in Beijing, at Khar Ngonpo (Kokekhota) he saw that the temples built in the time of the omniscient Sonam Gyatso and king Altan Khan had suffered terribly “when the king of Chakhar toppled the government.” This must refer to the time when Legden’s forces defeated the combined rebel Mongol armies and the Manchu Auxiliary army at Zhaocheng in 1626-1627. The Fifth Dalai Lama, returning from Beijing, says he scattered flowers on the ruins, and that they were restored later on.’*

“ Ibid., 550; Richardson, 352; Karraay 2014,120-124,129 (Dukula. 159-161,168-169) ff.; Shakabpa, 337; Tucci, 60-61; Stein, 82; Dhondup, 17 ” Atwood, 550 w Khrmay 2014,312 (Dukula 418)

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

In 1659 the Dalai Lama makes his last comment about Legden Khan in Dukula, with reference to the gifts and offerings that often poured into Tibet from China, Mongolia and elsewhere. He calls the exchange of gifts a good tradition with an important significance. The flow had been interrupted, however, when the capital of China was moved and “no new diploma came and no people bearing gifts arrived.” The lacuna in the flow of these favours from the “cherished patrons of the Gelug” was reported to the Emperor, who “intended to send Sherab Lama to take a diploma and prepared horses for those who would take the gifts.” Sherab Lama wished to update the emperor on the current political situation ifi Tibet, since it seems he was still sending gifts to the Neudong aristocracy as if they still ruled Tibet, although they had been deposed for over a century. He told the emperor “The king of Yarlung was vanquished by the king of Tsang. At present, the Yarlung king is merely a taxpayer to the Ganden Phodrang, like the Chakhar king!” The emperor then sent officials to check whether this was true or not. Legden, the Chakhar king, was of course long dead, and so was Chogthu, but it was highly likely that their surviving followers and descendants who settled in Amdo and in Central Tibet were, indeed, now paying taxes to the Lhasa government.*®

*® Karmay 2014,404 (Dukula 548-549)

Glossary

In Tibetan, the terminal syllable "pa” nominalises a word, e.g. "bod” is Tibet and “bod pa" is a Tibetan. However, in English usage^the “pa" is not applied strictly. So, while "Gelug” is the tradition and “Gelugpa" a follower of the tradition, the two are interchangeable and “Gelugpa” is often usedfor the tradition. In this section, Sanskrit terms are given with diacritics, except for words that contain § and s, in which case the word is given twice, once with and once without s and s - both rendered as “sh". The Extended Wglie Transliteration System (EWTS) of Tibetan words is given in italics; phonetics are given in roman. Phonetic Tibetan is given without diacritics, so z; 6, u are rendered as plain a, 'o, u.

3andhe, ban de, ban+de: Sanskrit for mendicant, a synonym for a Bhikshu; see J ako: Gelong. 'Bodhisattva: someone seeking Buddhahood for the sake of liberating all other beings.

'Bon, bon: the religion predating Buddhism in Tibet and still practised by many Tibetans. Chakra, khor lo (Sanskrit: cakra): a wheel; in tantra, the psychic energy centres or nodes inside a central channel running vertically up and down the body.

'Cham dances, cham: sacred ritual dances performed in a meditative state by monks or yogis wearing costumes and masks.

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

Chandzeu, phyag mdzod: tide for the treasurer, manager and chief of staff of a monastery’s administration, or of an important Tulku, Rinpoche or lama.

Dratsang, dra tshang. college; large monasteries such as Drepung, Ganden and Sera are divided into a small number of colleges, which in turn are divided into residences called khamtsen (khams tshan) which are usually based on geographic groupings. Paka(s) (male) and dakim(s) (female), mkha'^gro, mkhagro ma: enlightened “sky goers”; spiritual consorts for advanced practitioners.

Dharani, gzungs: mantras, prayers and spells; often written on paper, rolled up and inserted along with incense and other sacred or blessed objects and materials in statues or Stupas prior to consecration. Cavities inside statues and stupas are filled with such materials to prevent evil spirits from entering and inhabiting them.

Drepung, sbras spung. once the largest monastery in Tibetan history, 5 KM west of Lhasa, which had 10,000 monks. “Drepung” means “The Rice-heap,” as the white-washed buildings resembled one from a distance. Now much reduced in Tibet with government permission for only a few hundred monks, it has been re-established by the Tibetan community in exile in Mundgod, Karnataka, south India and has about 5,000 monks. Dzo (female, dzomo), mdzo (mo): a cross between a yak and a bovine.

Dzong, rdzong. fort, fortress or castle.

Dzongpon, rdzong dpon: the lord of a fort, fortress or castle, appointed by the ruler.

Ganden Phodrang, dga’ Idan pho brang. the Ganden Palace, the residence of the early Dalai Lamas in Drepung; adopted as the name of the government of Tibet after the investiture of the Fifth Dalai Lama as spiritual and temporal leader in 1642. Ganden Tripa, dgaldan khri pa: the spiritual head of the Gelug, the successor of Tsongkhapa, a post and title alternating every seven years between the abbots of Gandens two colleges, Jangtse and Shartse and awarded on merit according to learning and scholastic achievement of the candidates.

Ganden, dga'ldan (Sanskrit: Tusita): another of the three great Gelug monasteries near Lhasa. Founded by Tsongkhapa in 1409, it is regarded as the original base of the Gelug. Tsongkhapa built Gandens main temple. He often stayed at Ganden, giving numerous teachings and eventually died there in 1419.

Glossary

437

Garu^, khyung: the huge bird ridden by the god Indra when he goes into battle; said to protect against snakes; it symbolises die overcoming of one’s own inner negativities.

Gau,ga*«: amulet or charm-box, worn on a cord or strap round the neck dr, if large, across the chest, containing sacred relics, consecrated images or other holy objects to protect the wearer from harm. Gelong (Sanskrit: Bhikkshu), dge slong. fully ordained monk.

Geshe, dge bshes: final degree in Buddhist studies awarded by Ganden, Drepung and Sera. Getsul, Getshul, dge tshul, (Skt: Shramanera): a novice monk.

Guruyoga, bla ma‘i rnal ‘byor. the practice of venerating and indentifying with a spiritual teacher (guru). Hom box, (brub khung, thab khung, or hum khung zur gsum): triangular box for ritual fires.

Jenang, rjes gnang. a tantric blessing ceremony, giving permission to visualize a specific deity. Jigje, jigs byed, "the Terrifier:” a wrathful form of Manjushri (Skt. Bhairava), also known as Shinje Shey, gshin rje gshed (Skt. T&m^taka), “the Slayer of the Lord of Death.” Jokhang, jo khang. Tibet’s most sacred Buddhist Temple in the historical centre of Lhasa.

Jowo, jo bo: revered Buddha statue in the Jokhang, brought from China in the seventh century.

Kangyur, bka”gyun the published collection of Buddhist sutras in 108 volumes.

Karma, kar+ma, las: Sanskrit word, signified “action” or “deed done.”

Khal, khal: measure of weight for dry goods such as grain, about a bushel; 30 lbs or 13 Kg.

Khatagh, kha btags: a ceremonial offering scarf.

Lacho, bla chos: chaplain, monk responsible for taking care of a chapel or a temple. Lag gyog, lagg.yog. personal assistant.

f I

I

438

The Fifth Dalai Lama

Lam-rim, lam rim: the gradual path to enlightenment; a genre of Buddhist teachings developed by Atisha, with renowned texts by Tsongkhapa and the Third and Fifth Dalai Lamas.

Lama, bla ma: translation of the Sanskrit term guru. Literally, “none higher” Linga effigy, ling+ga: mantras and spells written in a spiral with the image of a harmful entity, be it human or non-human, at their centre. Losar, lo gsar. Tibetan Lunar New Year, which can fall in January, February or’ March.

Lung, lung, oral transmission of a text. Lung, rlung. psychic energy winds described in tantra as circulating within the body; said to gather in the central channel during deep meditation (see “Chakra”). Maitreya, byams pa: the next Buddha of this fortunate eon; the future Buddha.

Mala, malas, "phreng ba: Sanskrit term for a string of 108 beads used to keep count of mantra recitations. Non-Buddhists, e,g. Hindus also use malas for this purpose.

Mandal, Mandala, dkyil ’khor. Sanskrit term for sacred circular drawings or models of the dwelling place and environment of a deity, can be 2- or 3-dimensional: Monlam, smon lam chen mo: The Great Prayer Festival, founded by Tsongkhapa in 1409, and held as an important part of the New Year ceremonies and celebrations. Mudra, phyag rgya: literally “a seal;” a formal hand gesture or gestures; a tantric consort.

Naga, klu: powerful, serpent-like spirits often inhabiting water who can protect practitioners and guard sacred texts. Nyendzog, bsnyen rdzogs: full ordination ceremony for monks.

Pazaps, dpa'mdzangs: Bhutanese term for warriors, fighters, soldiers. Rakshasa (Skt: Raksasa); wrathful, monstrous creatures of Indian mythological origin. Rinpung, rin spung. “Jewel heap,” the dynasty that usurped the Phagmodru, see Prologue.

Glossary

439

Ruzhi, ru gzhi: literally, “the commanders of four columns” of right, left, front and back of a military formation in ancient times. Ihe word has come to mean ■the culture of the clan of serving and retired military officers; the military establishment. Samsara, 'khor ba: the sphere ofcyclic existence comprising the six realms inhabited by gods, demi-gods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts and hell-beings. Samta board, satn ta: double wooden board, one acting as a swivelling protective lid, used for temporary writing and messages, much like a slate but dusting the internally recessed, lightly-oil wood with ashes as the writing medium then writing on it with a stick.

Sang, srang: measure of weight for silver or gold, approximately an ounce or 25 grams.

Sera, se ra: literally, “wild roses”. One of the three great Gelug monasteries near Lhasa. When it was being built the hillside was covered with wild roses. Stupa, chorten, mchod rten: Buddhist reliquary construction of any size, often built road- side and around or inside temples, having a tapering shape with square, stepped, round or spherical levels and a spire on top. There is a classical set of eight such stupa in slightly varying shapes according a manual written by Tulku Trangkhawa. Each one represents the enlightened mind of a Buddha in a different aspect. Sutric: of or pertaining to sutra; scriptures in Pali or Sanskrit attributed to Shakyamuni Buddha (also called Gautama Buddha).

Tael: Chinese measure of weight, approximately one ounce or 27 grams.

Taiji, Thaiji: Mongolian title for a Prince of a Mongol tribe or sub-tribe. Tantrika, sngags pa: tantric practitioners who adopt a lifestyle of openly wearing and displaying tantric implements and ornaments.

Tengyur, bstan gyur. the “translated commentaries”, the standard collection of classical commentaries on the Buddha’s teachings in 225 volumes. See also: Kangyur. Thangkha, thang kha: Tibetan religious painting on canvas, framed in cloth and brocade. Torma, gtor ma: ritual offering cakes.

Tsa-tsa, tsha tsha: small votive statues made out of clay using a mould. Tsampa, tsham pa: roasted barley flour, the Tibetan staple, taken with salty butter tea.

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The Fifth Dalai Lama

'Ren, btsan: (archaic). A powerful spirit or demon; originally used to refer to'a king.

Ro, btso‘. augury; making predictions through examining an animal’s stomach contents. Tulku, sprul sku: emanation body of a Buddha, also refers to the recognised reincarnation of a lama.

Wang, dbang: full tantric initiation, empowerment. Zho, zho: Tibetan measure of weight for such things as silver or gold, roughly equivalent to a tenth of an ounce, about 2 or 3 grams.

Zoi; zor. magic ritual weapon, scythe or a malign torma; a ritual object used to avert an attack.

Index of Tibetan Names and Terms, Phonetic and Wylie

Using the Extended Wylie Transliteration System (EWTS) of Tibetan words A

Asepa of Rong, rang ’a sras pa 259 Asuk, a sug 251,318,336,344-346, 348-349, 353,357, 371 Atisha, a ti sha 18,26,293,355,415,438 Awu, fl 1

Agur, a gur 292 Amara Sinha, a ma ra sing+ha 196 Amdo Gonlung, a mdo dgon lung 75 Amdo, a mdo v, xxxviii, 7,9,16,20,27, 42,47, 55,68, 70,74, 75-76, 87-89,91, 93-94, 97, 124,145,151,153,158,184, 187,195,213,239, 264, 287, 298,326, 328, 337,346-349,351-352, 368,389, 398,412,421-422, 429-430,434 Ane Drungpa (Lady), (dpon sa) a ne drungpa 38 Ane Pekar Chonyi Zangmo, a ne drungpa pad dkar chos nyid bzang mo 30 Angkhe Thaichin, ang kha’i da‘i chin 80,84 Apa Jukar, a bar ‘jug dkar 71 Arkhya, flr 201 Arsalang, ar sa lang v, 53,76-77,79-82, 84, 87,142, 326, 430, 432-433 Ase, agsas 118

B Babrong, ’bab rong SO Bairo Tsana, tfl’f ro tsa na 343 Bairo, fcflV ro 278,343 Bamso Monastery, fram so dgon 63 BandheofGegye,sgerrg7flsba«+de 179 Bardo, bar do 407 Barkham, tar k/ianjs 28,381,388, 406,431 Barkhor, bar skor vii, 395-396 Barzung, bar bzung 264 Baso Tulku, ba so sprul sku 64 BegenMugpo, bad ka« smug po 339-340 Begtse Chen, beg tse chen po Icam sring 29Q

441

442

Index

Begtse, beg tse 211,290,292-293, 305,408 Beri, be ri 61-63,73-76,84,90.93-95, 103-108,127,151,153,158 Beser Drubchen, spe ser grub chen 276 Bon. Bon, bon 44,113,185.189,294,324, 364, 383,422-425, 435, 442, 475 Bong-gongwa (the chamberlain), mgron gnyer bong gong ba 7,20,125,138 Bonpo, bonpo 61-62,73,93,184, 189,423 Bumthang, bum thang 113,152,160, 161,251 Busang Tshering, sbus sang tshe ring 174 Buton Rinchen Drub, frw ston rin chen grub xxviii, 282 Butri Gyalmo, bu 'khrid r^al mo 344, 346,348,353 Byela 31

c Chabjug, see Khyabjug Chabpel Tsheten Phuntsog, chab spel tshe brtan phun tshogs 94,442 Chabtengkha, chafj steng 104 Chagdor, pftyag rt/or 34 Chagdrupa,p/:7flgdrMgpa 175,181 Chagpori, Icags po ri 15-16,70,143, 169,310 Chakhar King, cha khar rgyalpo 56,428, 430,434 Cham, ‘cham 435 Chamdo, chab mdo 60,295,377,380,392 Champa Chokhor, byams pa chos ‘khor 300 Chandzeu Norbu, phyag mdzod norbu 347 Chandzeu Sonam Chophel, phyag mdzod bsod nams chos 'phel 1 Chandzeu Sonam Rabten,ph/flg mdzod bsod nams rab brtan xx, 1,11 Chandzeu, phyag mdzod 1-2,11,26,39, 49,89,125,324-325,341, 347.436

Changchub Gyaltsen, byang chub rgyal mtshan 52,192,280 Changchub Ling Dharma Master/rituals master, gsangsngags byang chubgling 292 Changngo, byang ngos 249,339,343,354, 357, 359, 364, 392-393,402-403 Changpa Dagpo Tashi Thobg)^, byang pa bdagpo bkra shis thob rgyal 173 Changrawa, Icang ra ba 55 Changthang, byang thang 347,423 Changtse Choje, byang rtse chos rje 179 Chag Dig, Zccgs sd/g 105 Charpo Lochen, tyar po lo chen 99 Chatri Michigpa, bya khrid mig gcigpa 269 Chayul, bya yul 230 Che.che 133,237 Cheka, chad dkar 192 Chennga Sonam Dragpa, spyan snga bsod namsgragspa xvii Chenrezig, spyan ras gzigs 48,67,163, 261, 370, 407 Chenye Tendzin, spyan g.yas bstan dzin 294 Cheri Tagtse, bye ri rtag rtse 71 Chidag Bhepa Sato, ’chi bdag bhe basatwa 381 Chilon, phyi bion 7 Chi-me Palter, ’chi med dpal ster 354 Chimphu, mchfms phu 185,193 Chinggis, ch/nggi 15,51-52,84, 427-428,430 Chingpa Ngagrampa, hying pa snags rams pa 292 Chingwa Taktse Dzong, ’phying ba stag rtse rdzong 39,44 Chodze, chos mdzad 1-2,36,72,93,125, 227,283, 325, 330, 409 Choghtu Parang, chog thu pA rang 67 Choghtu Taiji, Prince of the Khalkha, khal kha chog thu tha’i ji 88,328,337 Chogyel Norbu, chos rgyal nor bu xxiii

,

Index

ChojeDragna, chos rje bragsna 332 Choje Lobzang Ngagwang of Dragna, sna chos rje bio bzang ngag dbang 295 Choje Namkha Rinchen, chos rje natn mkharin chert 243-247,250,261 Choje Tenzin Drukdra, chos rje bstan dzin 'bruggrags 163,244,247 Chokhor Gyal Monastery, d^o« pa chos ’khor rgyal too, xxxvi, 28,34,36,60, 63. 71. 84.117.206, 263, 385-386 Chokhor Ling College, chos ‘khorgling grwa tshang 58,148,195,197, 351, 373 Chokhur, cho khur 70 Choki Drakpa, Chos h/f grogs 189,324 Choling, the Zangdrong Rabjampa, chos gling bzang grong rab 'byams pa 64 Cholung Nakha, chos lung na kha 68 Cholung Tashigang, chos lung bkra shissgang 329 Cholungdor, chos lung mdar 377 Chomdo, cho ntdo 299 Chone Choje, co ne chos rje 19 Chonggye Chingwa Taktse, ‘phyongs rgyas ‘phying ba stag rise 44-45 Chonggye Rindien Gyelchog, ’phyongs rgyas rin chen rgyal mchog xxv Chonggy6, 'phyongs rgyas xviU, xxv, 5-6, 13.18.21-23, 30, 32. 39,42, 44-48, 76, 98,104,115-116,163-165,173, 192-193, 225,230, 274,288,402-403, 405 Chopal, chos dpal 69-70 Chophel Zangpo, chos ‘phel bzangpo 350 ChotrongTopa, ’phyosgrong stodpa 357 Choying Dorje, chos dbyings rdo rje 7, 135,140, 272, 324 Choyon, mchodyon 90 Chozang Trinle, chos bzang 'phrin las 2 Chozhi Nyingkhung, chos gzhis rnying khungs 229 Chubu, chu bu 40,46 Chuchigzhal, hew gcjgzhaZ 67

Chudingne, hcu Iding nos 74 ChukorMepa, chu shorswad pa 271 Chumbi, chu 'bi 205, 244, 301 Chupa, bcudpa 133 Chushul, chu shur 40,46,329,368 Chushur Lhashong, chu shur lhagshongs 40 Chushur Lhunpotse Castle, chu shur Ihun po rtse xrdv Chushur, chu shur xiv, 40,45,113,199, 201,230, 292 Chusum, chu gsum 29

D Dagana, dar dkar nang 167 Dagdar, sgrags mdar 195 Dagnyonma, bdagsmyon ma 42 Dagpo BCurab Namgyal, bdagpo sku rab rnam gyal 41 Dagpo Sengge Namgyal, bdagpo sengge rnam rgyal 246 Dagpo, dwagspo xxxviii, 7-8,14,41,43, 55,93,133,173, 224,246,370, 385-387,401 Dalai Batur, da la’i bA thur 251 Dalai Kunchi Gyalmo, da lai kun ci rgyal mo 121 Dam, ‘dam 67, 69-70, 72, 79, 89,107-110, 123,176,195,197, 258, 274, 299-300, 303, 344, 346, 348, 352-353, 367 Damcho Namgyal, dam chos rnam rgyal 283 Damchuka, dam chu kha 299 DanglaPass,gdong/a 346-347,352 Dangla, gdong la 187,239,346-347,349, 351-352.389 Danjung, dan byung 423 Dansa 'Ihil, gdan sa mthil xviii Dapon Worpa. mda’ dpon 'or pa 237,264. 271, 274-275, 287. 349 Dara, mda' ra 378 Darcha Rupa, darphyu ru ba 294 Dardrong. ‘dargrong 299

443

444

Index

Darnag Dewa Zangpo, the great tantrist, gsnags "changchenpo ‘darnagbde ba bzangpo 365 Dartsedo, dar rtse mdo 59,179,371,431 Datsho, wdtj’ tshod 98 Dayan Noyon, da yan no yon 338 Dechen Chokhor, bde chen chos ’khor xxxu. 93-94,100,104,119-121,127, 194,390 Dechen Dzong, bde chen rdzong 29,48 Dechentse, bde chen rtse 29,377-378 Dedrug Khenpo of Namoshag, sna mo shag sde drug mkhan po 269 Dekyi Ling, fcde skyid gUng 40,45-46 Demchog Chukor, bde mchog chu skor 221,224 Demowa, de mo ba 377 Denbag Park or Lingka, dan ‘haggling kha 111,116,123, 340, 345 Depa^el, sdepaadpal 27-28,30-31, 319 Depa Apel, the Kpsho Zhabdrung, skyid shod kyi zhabs drung a dpal 27,319 Depa Gandenpa Namkha Gyelpo, sde pa dga’ Idan pa nam mkha’ rgyal po xxvi Depa Kurab Namgyal, sde pa sku rab pa rnam rgyal xxxviii, 8,14,40-41 Depa Kyishopa, sde pa skyid shod pa xxix,98 Depa Nangtse Khuwon, sde pa snang rtse khu dbon xxvi Depa Norbu, sde pa nor bu vi, xiv, 49,116, 146, 149,163,168-169,171, 206-207, 212-213, 215-216, 221-222, 243, 245, 247, 249,255, 266, 269,275,283, 309, 312-313. 329, 359, 363-369, 371,375, 377, 398,413,427 Depa Sepo, sde pa sraspo 256,262,271, 275, 281,300, 306, 367 Depa Sonam Chophel, sde pa bsod nams chos ‘phel 1 Depa Trinle Gyatso, sde pa 'phrin las rgya mtsho vii, 213,312,317,371

Depa Trongmepa, sde pa grong smad pa 317, 376 DepaYug, sde pa yug 380 Depa, sde pa v-vii, xii, xiv, xxvi, xxix-xxx, xxxiii, xxxviii, 1,8,14,16,27-28, 30-31,40-41,49,65,92.98,103,116, 125,146,149,163,168-169,171-172, 190, 206-207,212-216,221-222,233, 235,243,245,247,249, 253, 255-256, 258,260,262,266,269-271, 274-275, 279, 281,283,292, 300,306, 309, 312, 313, 317, 319, 325,328-329, 337, 359, 363-371, 375-377, 380, 382, 398,413, 427 Desi Sonam Chophel, sde srid bsod nams chos ‘phel 1 Desi, sde srid 1.16,62,73,90-91,93,95. 97-98,101,104,106,108,110,112, 116-117,119-121,125,127,135-138, 140-142,144,153,155,158-160, 162-165,169,174,185,189, 203, 221-222, 233, 244, 247,251, 313, 317, 325, 328, 369, 376, 397,421 Dewa Zangpo the Nyingri Choje, chos rje snying ri ba bde ba bzangpo 294,365 Dewachen, bde ba can 51,395 Deyang College, bde yangs grwa tshang 300 Deyang Shar, bde yangs shar 370 Dezhi, bde bzhi 370 Dharani, gzungs 58,100,145,174, 408-409 Dharma Khiya Thaiji, dharma khi ya tha’iji 11,19,22 Dharmapala, chos skyong 265,290 Ding, Iding 45 Dingpon Namkhadrug, Iding dpon nam mkha“brug 31,69 Do, mdos 303 Dokham Wangchugma, 'dod khams dbang phyugma 106,302,370 Dokham, mdo khams 106,302,370,381

Index

Dokhang Ngonmo, rdo khangsngon mo xxix, 2,386 Dokhang, rdo khang xxix, 2,63,386 Doi Nesarwa, iioZ fnoi ^ar bti 240 Dolgyedra, dol brgyad gra 149 Dompoche (Lord -), rje dompo che 41 Dondrol.^don 'grol 403 Dondrub Gyalpo, don grub rgyalpo xxx. Dongag Lingpa, mdosngagsglingpa 333 Dongkarfort,^do«^d/Mrrdzo«^ 335 Dongkar.^OH^d/car 115,229-230, 335,336 Dongkha, 271 Do-ngon Dzong, rdo rngon or rdo snyug rdzong 154 Donyo Dorje, don yod rdo rje xix, xxiixxviii, xxxi, 61-62,73-74,93,95 Dorje Dragpotsal, rdo rje dragpo rtsal 202 Dorje Drolo, rdo rje gro lod 250,360-361 Dorje Dzinpa Chechok Dupa, rdo rje dzin pa che tnchog dus pa 250 Dorje Gyaltshen, rdo rje r^al mtshan 230 Dorje Phagmo, rdo rye p/iagwio 292 Dorje Phurba, rdo 65 Dorjedrag Tulku, rdo rje brag sprul pa*i sku 233,343 Dorjedrak, Dorjedrag, rdo rje bragdgon pa 180,195,288, 292,343, 380,423 Dorying, rdo (rje) dbyings 232 Drz, dgra 46,115 Drabla the merchant, Csho«^ dpon dgralha 61 Dr^chi, dgra phyi 46 Dradul Tshering of Langbu, glang bu ba dgra dul tshe ring 391 Dragda, mda' 378 Dragkargang, brag dkar sgang 117,230 Dragkhar, bragkha (ba) 172 Dragmar, tra^ dmar 195 DragnaChoje, hra^snflcAosr/e 118,292, 294,299,340,343 Dragpa Gyaltshen Tulku, sprul sku grags pa rgyal mtshan 53

Drakarwa, brag dkar ba 53 DralqjaJungne, gragspfl ‘byunggnas 2 Dralqja Jxmgn6, grags pa ‘byunggnas xxi Dranang, dgra snang 46 Dratsang, grwa tshang 121,280,283, 294,436 DratshangChoje.grM'afs/jangc/iosrye 56 Dremojong, ‘bros mo Ijongs 289 Drepa, sgrepa 194 Drepung Monastery, ‘bras spungs dgon xxix-xxx, xxxvi, 14,24,26,53,57,89, 98.147,158, 206, 221, 223-224,257, 319, 332, 351, 356, 378, 386-387 Drigung Kagyu, ’bri gung bka’ brgyud xxix-xxx, 171,184,188-189,324 Drigung Paldzin, 'bri gungdpal dzin 171 Drigung, ‘bri gung xxvii-xxviii, xxix-xxx, 31,71,80,89 93,100,120,128, 171-173,184,188-189, 300, 324, 365, 368 Driuna, ’bri‘u 31 Drizai Gyalpo Zurphu Ngapa, dri za'i tgyalpozurphudlngapa 176,346 Drolmane, sgro/ma ttos 149 Drolmaphug,sgro/mapb«g 173 Dromda, sgrom mda' 41 Dromdrig, sgrom sgrig 330 Dromo.dromo 301 Drongtsa, ’bro«grfse 195,197 Drongtse, 'brongrtse 132,174,196 Drongtsene, ‘brongrtse nos 159,162 Drongzhol, 'brongzhol 31 Dronnyer Drungpa, mgron gnyer drung pa 237, 240,251,274, 368 Dronnyer Tshogsogpa, mgron gnyer tshogs gsogpa 337 Dronyer Bongong, mgron gnyer bonggong 7 Drowa Kundrol, ‘gro ha kun sgrol 71 Drouin, gro bzhin 375 Drubtsi Za-nga Nga’i Tsalong, grub rtsis gza‘ lnga‘i rtsa slong 330

445

446

Index

Drug Choeding Monastery, *brug chos Iding(dgon) 161 Drug Tenzin,’fcrug'fcstaH’dzfn 162,167 Drugchen, ’brugchen \52,154,159,173 Drugpa Kagyu, 'brugpa bka’ brgyud xxxiv, 17-18.41,99,152-154,156, 158,163.165 Drugpa Padma Karpo. 'brugpa pad+ma dkarpo 212 Drugpa, ‘brugpa xxviii-xxxiv, 12,17-18, 41, 82,93, 99.120,152-154,156,158. 163,173,183,413 Drugyal, Drubgyal; grub rgyal 67, 7Q-71.169 Drumda, gru mda' xxx Drung, drung 237,273 Drungchen Paljor Zangpo, drung chen dpal'byorbzangpo xvii-xviii Drungchene of Nyethang, snye thang drungchen 237 Drungtsho Wonpo, drung tsho dbon po 30 Duchungne, 159 DudeWangpo, 205 Dudul Rabten, bdud dul rab brtan 13-14, 39-45, 47-49 Dugkar, dugs dkar 263,408 Dukula, du kU la ix-xiii, xv, xvii-xviii, xix, xxiii, xxxii, xxxvi, xxxix, 1, 5-9, 11-101,103-129,131-134,137-149, 151-162,167-181,183-197,199-208, 212-216, 218, 221- 227,229-231, 233-234, 236-247, 249-284, 286-290, 292-295, 297-306, 309-310, 312-313, 316-321, 323-330, 332-337, 339-361, 363-371, 373-383, 387-393, 395-399, 401-402,404-405,408, 411-414, 418-419, 422, 424-425, 428,430-434, 448, 483 Duldzin Dragpa Gyaltsen, dul ’dzingrags pa rgyal mtshan 148 Dulwai Labja, ’dul bai bslab bya 282 Dumpowa, sdum po ba 46

Dungkar Lobzang Trinle, dung dkar bio bzang 'phrin las 223 dung dkar ba 52 Duriyal Khoshochi, du ri yal kho shor chi 99,100,390 Duriyal, du riyal 99,100,379,390 Durushka, du ru Sft+Juz 118 Duzhabpa, dusz/uzbs pa 98,99 Dzamla of Do, mdo nos dzam la 303 Dzingchi, rdzingphyi xxx, 65,131-133, 191, 327,339, 387-388 Dzogchen, rdzogs chen 278,289 Dzongpon, rdzong dpon vi, xxix, 63,243, 244,300,436 Dzongtsen, rdzong btsan 44,170 Dzungar (jun gar),;u«gar xix, 75,288, 311,422-424

E EYul,gyu/ 29 E,e V, 29, 38,48, 51, 56.65,118,126,134, 192,218,222,263-264,266,315,319, 327, 336, 369,418,419 Eight Classical Stupa, mchod rten cha brgyad 226 Emagang, e ma sgang 275 Epa Thlku, e pa sprul sku 409 Ering mantra, -ai+y+’ring 211 Erteni Hung lhaiji, er te ni hung tha’iji 132, 337 Erteni BChenpo, er te ni mkhan po 284,293

F Fourth Dalai Lama Yonten Gyatso, da la’i bla ma yon tan rgya mtsho xiii, xxxii, xxxviii, 2.14, 27, 56,324,332 Fourth Drukchen Padma Karpo, *brug chen pad+ma dkar po 152,173 Fourth Gyalwang Drulq>a, rgyal dbang ’brugpa 272

Index

Gaden Sangngag Monastery; dga ’Idan gsangsngagsgiing 343 Gadong, dga'gdong 202 Gal, xxxi Gamo, dga’ mo 188,197 Gampa la, gam pa la 27,41,31-32,332 Ganden Phodrang Chodze, dga’ Idan pho brang chos mdzad 2 Ganden Phodrang, dga’ Idan pho brang vi, xxix, 1-2,8-9,15-20,26,31,34,51, 53-54, 56-57,62. 74, 88, 90,112. 117-118,121.125-127,129,131-135, 143-144,146,148-149,151-154, 156-160,162-163,165-168,170, 172-173,175,179,184,188, 202. 213, 221-225, 230-231, 234, 241, 244-245, 247, 252-253,256-258, 261, 264, 271, 273-274,277,279,282,286-287,289, 293, 300-302, 304-305, 307, 309, 311, 319, 330-331, 340, 344, 355-357, 359, 363-364, 373, 375, 382, 386, 388, 391, 396, 397,412,414-416, 422,424-425, 427,434,436 Ganden Phuntshog Ling, dga’ Idan phun tshogsgling 374 Ganden Shartse Dratsang, dga’ Idan shar rtsegrwa tshang 283 Ganden Tripa, dga’ Idan khri pa ix, 16, 283-284, 293, 404, 406,436 Ganden Yangtse, dga’ Idan dbyangsrtse 369 Ganden, dga’ Idan vi, ix, xxiv, xxvii, xxixXXX, 1,2,7-3,15-20,26,29,31,33-34, 49, 51,53, 54, 56, 57, 62, 63, 74, 88, 89, 90,92,98.104,112,115,117,118,121, 125-127,129,131-135,143-144, 146-149,151-154.156-160,162-163, 165-168,170,172-173,175,179,184, 188,191,197, 202, 211, 213, 221-226, 230-231, 234,241, 244-245, 247, 252-253, 256-258, 261, 264, 271-274, 277,279,282-284,286-287,289,293,

295,300-302,304-305,307,309, 311, 319. 330-331. 340, 344. 355-357, 359, 363-364,369, 373-375,377, 382, 386, 388, 391, 396-397,403-404,406, 408. 412. 414-416,422, 424-425,427,434, 436-437,450,461, 473 Gandenpa, dgd Idan pa xxv, xxvi, 7 Gangchen, sgang chen 29,48,215 Gangchenne, sgang chen nos 29,47-48 Ganpa,gfl«^p(7 201 Ganzug, Gangzug, foreign minister, phyi bion sgang zug 7,45-46 Gar Tongtsen, mgar stong btsan 24-25 Garpa Drongpa the physician, drung ’tsho sgar pa grong pa 76 Gaipa,sgarpa 61-62,76,386 Gartsa, ‘garrtsa 31 Xjaru Lotsawa Nach^, [from Shakabpa 210] 75 Gasa, mgarsa 167 Gau. 137,437 Gedun Dargye the Darkhan Nangso, dar khan nangso dge ’dun dar rgyas 91 Gedun Palzang Gyatso, the Zhabdrung Champa Tulku, zhabs drung byams pa sphil pa’i sku dge ’dun dpal bzang rgya mtsho 36-38 Gego,gadsgo vi,221,263,265-268, 271-275, 277, 279-284, 286-287, 289-295,297-306.310,375 Gekhasa, gad kha sa 33,221,224-225, 227, 251,260-261,265 Gekya-ngo, gad skya sngon 197 Gelong Ngagwang Chogyal, dge slong ngag dbang chos rgyal 26,224,325 Gelong, slong 26,53,224-225, 435,437 Gelphel Hermitage, dge 'phel ri khrod 79, 83, 332 Gelug, dge lugs v-vi, ix, xii-xiii, xv, xvii, xix-xxiv, xxvi-xxx, xxxii-xxxix, 2-3, 5-9,11-18, 20-22, 24, 28, 33,36-37, 40-43,47-49.52-53,55-56,61-63,

447

448

Index

66-67,70, 72-76,79-82,84-85, 87-88,90-91,93-95,97-101,104109,111-112,115-120,124-126,129, 131-138,140-145,148, 152-158,165, 169,172-176,179,183-190.193, 203, 208,214, 225-226, 229-230, 233-235, 241. 243, 247, 250, 253, 257-259, 264, 267,269,272-273,277-278,280, 282-284,289-290,293,294,295,311, 324-326, 328, 331-338, 342, 357, 373-374, 377, 382, 388, 396-397,407, 421-424,428-439 Gelugpa, dge lugs pa xx, 325,435 Gendun Drub, dge dun grub xviii, 68,333 Gendun Gyatso, dge dun rgya mtsho xxix-xxx, 2,29.53.57,64,126,282. 320,385 Gendun Gyatso, dge dun rgya mtsho xxix-xxx, 2,29,53,57,64,126,282, 320,385 Genyen, dge bsnyen 104 Gephel, dge ’phel 79-80,83,332 Gerga Danling, sger dga Idan gling 397 Gerpa (ford ofKyichu), sherpa 66 Geshe Gedarwa, dge bshes dge dar ba 107,118 Getshul, dge tshul 437 Girti Tulku, ^’r+ft sprul sku 64 Goenkhang, mgon khang 36Q Goglungne, nos 83 Gokar pass, rgod dkar la 84 Gola, 197 Gomang Gungru, sgo man^ gung ru 52 Gomang, sgo mangs 52, 59,387,396 Gompa Kunga Rinchen, mgon pa kun dga* rin chen xxix Gona Shagpa, sgo sna shag pa 298 Gonashag, sgo sna shag 33-34,66, 262-266 Gongkar, gong dkar xxxiii, xxxvi, 6,40, 46,115,132.169,229-230, 288, 304, 339,343,378,390,401,404,408

Gongma Chenmo Ngagwang Tashi Drakpa, gong ma chen po ngag dbang bkra shis grags pa xxx Gongma Drakpa Jungne, gong ma grags pa 'byunggnas xxi, 2 Gongma Ngagi Wangpo, gong ma ngaggi dbangpo jdcv Gongma Ngagwang Tashi Dragpa, gong ma ngag dbang bkra shis grags pa 57 Gongma, gong ma xxi, xxiii-xxv, xxviiiXXX, 2,57,386 Gonkhang, mgon khang 320 Gonpo Rabten, mgon po rab brtan 245-246 Gonpo Zhal, mgon po zhal 53,2^7,390 Gonpo, mgon po 53,189,207,245, 246, 324, 356, 390 Gonshar Chodzay, dgon shar chos mdzad 344 Gopa Tashi of Trongme, grong smad dgo pa bkra shis 230 Gopa Tashi, dgospa bkra shis 230, 318-319,336,345 Guna,gMNa 226 Gungnang Choje Dzepal, gung snang chos rje mdzes pa dpal 333 Gungru Chojung, gung ru chos ’byung 348 Gungthang,gMngf/jang 178,180,265 Gushri Khan, gw shri bstan dzin chos rgyal v-vi, 36,62-63,75-76,79-81,87-94, 97,103-110,115-117,119-120, 123-128,132-140,143-146,151-158, 165,169-171,176,178-179,186,188, 191,197,199.201-204.208-209, 213-214, 229-230, 239-240, 243-244, 251,256-259,274, 278-279, 282. 284-285, 310, 324, 328, 331, 335, 337-339, 342, 354, 367, 369-371, 380, 382, 398,412-413,421-422, 432-433 Gyab Puchong Chu, rgyabpu congchu 133 Gyabyo Thang, rgyabyol thang 378 Gyagar Sharling, r^a gar shar gling 192

Index

Gyal Metogthang, rgyal me tog thang 23, 83,294 Gyal, vii, xxx, xxxvi, 8-9,28-29, 33-36,45,60,63,71,83-84,117,131, 191-192, 206,263,294,320, 327, 328-329,339,343,385-388 Gyalasa, rgyal la sa 344 Gyalchen Setrabpa, rgyal chen bsre khrabpa 289 Gyalchen Todrel, rgyal chen bstod 'grel 222,225,240 Gyalchetshal Monastery, rgyal byedtshal 174 Gyalde Monastery, rgyal sde dgon 28 Gyal^ Chodze, rgya le chos mdzad 1-2.125 Gyal^, rgya le 1-2.125,143,222 Gyalene, rgya le nos 363 Gyalkhartse, rgyal mkhar rtse xxi, 126-127 Gyalmo Magzorma, rgyal mo dmag zorma 320 Gyalo Chodze Sonam Chophel, mdzod bsod nams chos 'phel 1 Gyalpo spirits, r^aZ po 373 G}^po Tshangpa Dungthochen, rgyal po tshangs pa dung thod can 289 Gyalse Rinpoche, rgyaZ sras po die 189 Gyaltsab Rinpoche, r^aZ tshab rin po che 188,324 Gyaitse Trongme, rgyal riser grongsmad 343 Gyaltshab Dningpa, rgyal tshab drungpa 17,116 Gyaltshen Legpa, z;gyaZ mfsZian Zegspa 183 Gyaltshen Thonpo, r^aZ mtshan mthonpo 201 Gyalwa Thogdugpa, rgyal ba thog rdugs pa 269 Gyalwang DruJqja, rgyal dbang ’brugpa 272 Gyamar, r^a mar 100 Gyamda, rgya mda‘ 9,131,133,191,387

Gyamo, rgya mo 230 Gyangtron, ^anggroMg 274 Gyantse Dzong, rgyal rtse rdzong 132.266 Gyantse Dzong, r^aZ rtse rdzong 132.266 Gyantse, rgyal rtse idx, xxi, xxv, 125,132, 174,231. 252, 265-266,285, 291, 361 Gyari, rgya ri 192.225 Gyatsa, rgya tsha 28.33-34,320,387 Gyekhar, rgyal mkhar 227 Gyeltsapa, rgyal tsha pa xxv GyelungLa.^eZungZa 84,327 Gyok^yog 115,336 Gyun, rgyun 192 Gyuto, rgyud stod 64,179

H Hayagriva (Tibetan: Tamdrin), rto mgrin 59,265,294 Hepori, has po ri 343 Hor Dudul Dorje, hor bdud dul rdo rje 39 HorMepa, Zjorswadpa 68 Hor Naniru,/ior gnaw ra 113 Hor Topa, hor stod pa 68 Hor, hor xvii-xviii, 13-14,39-45,47-49, 68-69,72. 75,113,195,342 Hung Thaiji, hung tha’iji 3,11,15,19, 27-28, 30, 36, 57, 87,132-133,178, 306,312,337,369,413 Hungral Dzong, hungral rdzong 167 Hungral(kha),Ziw«graZfk/ia) 167-168 Hungralpa,Humralpa, ZiungraZpa 167

J Jagnay, 'jags-gnas 415 JaisangDepa,;a’fsangsdepa 92,103,274, 312,317, 328, 369 Jama Choying, official cook of the Karmapa, sgarpa’i mi snaja ma chos dbyings 137.139 Jamchen Zhol, byams chen zhol xxxi Jamdagpa Namkha Dorje, byams bdagpa nam mkha* rdo rje 'xxiii Jamkar, jam dkar 356

449

450

Index

Jamlingpa Lobzang Konchog, byamsgling pa bio bzang dkon mchog 409 Jampa Rinchen the lama of Ritro Gaden, ri khrod dga' Idan byamspa rinchen 252 Jampa, 111,252 Jampal Chaggya Zilnon, ’jam dpalphyag rgyazilgnon 331 Jampal Dudra, yaw dpal dus dgra 80,301 Jampal Mei Putri, ja dpal me’i spu gri 295 Jampal Shinje, jam dpalgshin rje 265 Jampal Tshedag, Jam dpal (she bdag 117 Jampal Zilnon, jam dpal zil gnon vii, 77, 103,331-334 Jampel Leyshin Marmo, Jam dpal las gshin dmar mo 275 Jamyang Konchog Chophel, the Lingme Zhabdnmg, gling smad zhabs drung jam dbyangs dkon mchog chos ‘phel 5 Jam)^g Wangyal Dorje Mondrowa, smon ’gro pa jam dbyangs dbang rgyal rdo rje 6.189 Jang Satham [explained as Lijiang in Yunnan], Ijangsa tham 170 Jang, Ijang xxxi, 18,170, 279,415 Jangngo Chodze, byang ngos chosmdzad 325 Jangtse Dratsang, byang rtse grwa tshang 283 Jataka, rabs 85 Jedrol, byad ‘grol 4Q3 Jedrung Rinpoche, rje drung rin po che 6Q Jetsi, byed rtsis 330 Jetsun Drolkar, rje btsun sgrol dkar 202 Jetsun Milarepa, rye btsun mi la ras pa 135 Jigche, jigs byed 106 Jinong (king of-),y7 rgyal po 51,52, 306,312, 367, 369,431 Jinpa Dargye the Cone Choje, co ne chos rje sbyin pa dar rgyas 11 Jinpal, sbyin dpal 226 Jo Rigthu Wonpo, yd r/ftJiK d&a«gpo 208 Jogra, sgyogs ra, skyogs ra 245

Jokhang,yd khang xiv, xxviii, xxxUxxxviii, 33-34,49,52,89,94,100, 106-107,121,174-175,178-179,203, 214, 217, 315, 341-342, 365, 395-396, 401, 403-404, 406,417,437 Jonang Monastery, jo nang dgon 185 Jonang, jo nang xxviii, 6,18,21,95,104, 120-121,138,185-186,189, 338, 373, 421 Joshag,ydsMk 121 Jotrug Kunga Rabten, jo phrug kun dga’ rab brtan 54 Jowo Jampel Dorje, yo bo jam dpal rdo rje 18 Jowo Rinpoche, yo bo rinpo che xxxii, 100,163,174,395

K Kachu Genyen Dondrup, dka’ bcu dge bsnyen don grub 104 Kachu, dka’bcu 18-19,97,104-105,109, 133,343 Kachuwa, dka’ bcu ba 18-20,22-23,25, 27-29, 47,48, 53-54, 59-60, 66,68-70, 224 Kadam, bka'gdams xviii, 63,65,93,120, 196, 282, 293, 324, 333, 342 Kadampa, bka’gdams pa xviii, xxx, 68,397 Kagye, bka’brgyad 71 Kagyu, bka’ brgyud xii, xviii, xix-xx, xxii-xxiii, xxvii, xxviii-xxx, xxxii, xxxiv-xxxv, xxxvii-xxxix, 7,11,16-18, 21, 40-41, 43, 53, 55, 61,64, 70, 73, 76. 79, 82.93-95. 99.106,117,120,125, 129,134-140,152-154,156-159,161, 163-165,171.184-189,193, 225. 230, 235, 258,264. 272-273, 281,288, 317, 324, 331, 337-338, 392, 397,413,421, 424,429,430,431-432 Kagyupa, bka’brgyud pa xx Kangyur, bka’ ’gyur 191,203,212,265, 407,408,409,430,437,439

Index

Karma Cho-de, kar+ma chos sde xxviii Karma Deas^, kar+ma gdan sa 62 Karma Gonsar Thubten Chokhor, kar+ma gsar thub bstan chos *khor xxvii Karma Kagyu, fcar+wa bka* brgyud xii, xix-xx, xxii-xxiii, xxviii, xxx, xxxii, XXXV, xxxvii, 7,17,21,41,53,61,63, 73, 76, 79.94-95,106,117,120,125, 129,134-137,139-140,156.184-186, 188,258.272-273.281,324,337,338. 397. 421; 424,429-432 Karma Ngedon Tengye, kar+ma nges don bstan rgyas 129,140,157 Karma Tenkyong Wangpo, kar+ma bstan skyong dbang po 12,16,20,47,49,52. 55, 73, 97,120,125,138,141-142,233, 235, 253, 328 Karma Tensung Wangyal, kar+ma bstan ' srung dbang rgyal xxxii, xxxvii Karma Tseten Dorjee, kar+ma tshe brtan rdo rje 49,281,285 Karma Tseten, kar+ma tshe brtan xxxi, 49,142, 281,285 Karmapa Chodrak Gyatso, /car+wa pa chos grags rgya mtsho xxviii Karmapa Choying Dorje, kar+ma pa chos dbyings rdo rje 7,135,140,324 Karmapa, kar+ma pa vi, xii, xiv, xix, xxii-xxiii; xxvi-xxviii, xxxii, xxxix, 7, 14,17,20-21.41.43,61-62,66, 79, 82-83, 93,100,104, 111, 116-121,129, 131-142,144.151,156-160,183. 185-186,188-189,229. 272,279, 324, 337,373,382, 387-388 Karpo.dkarpo 152,159.163-164,173, 234.246, 272,278, 352, 369, 382 Kashag, bka’ shag 424 Kawang Dzong, bka‘ dbang rdzong 161,168 Kazhi, ka bzhi xxii, xxiii, xxiv, 193 Kazhipa, ka bzhi pa xxiii Kha’u, kka’u 390 Khache Panchen, kha chepaNchen 98

Khalkha, khal kha xxxviii, 53,67,68, 71-73. 75, 79-82, 88-89, 91.124,132, 142.149,178,184,258, 326, 337-338, 421.427,428,429-431 Kham, khams v, xxxii, 28,41,43,46,59, 60-62, 73-74, 84,87, 93-95,103-104. 106-109.118,135,151,153.157-158, 176,184, 249,295, 334-335.368. 377, 379, 380-381, 392, 421, 431 Khampa Ngagchang, khams pa snags chang 167,175 Khampa, khams pa 61,95,118,167,175, 289.380 Khamsum Zilnon, khams gsum zilgnon vi, 3, 111, 123. 285, 335 Khangdrag, khangdrag 83 Khar Khal, mkhar khal 415 Khar Ngonpo, mkhar sngon po 36,52, 56.433 Khamag, mkhar nag 112 BCharnga, mkhar mga 301 Kharobpa the Dedrug Khenpo, sde drug mkhan po kha rab pa 180 Khartse, mkhar rtse 16,126,197, 297.303, Kharu, mkha' ru 201,361 Kharuteng, mkha' ru steng 110 Khasarpani, kha sar pA Ni 163 Khatagh, kha btags 437 Khenchen Lotsawa of Ngamring, ngam ring mkhan chen lo tsA ba 269 Khenchen Lotsawa, mkhan chen lo tsA ba 269 Khetsun Rinchen, mkhas btsun rinchen 194 Kholma Estate, kkoZ ma gzhisga 292 Khucha, khu bya 71 Khunkhyen Monlam Pel, kun mkhyen smon lam 'phel xxiv Khyabjug. khyab 'jug 85,294,334.343, 381 BChyenrab Pelzang, mkhyen rab dpalbzang 44

451

452

Khyung, khyung 353 Khyungmug, khyung smug 345 Kilaya, g/ZA/fl 391 King Ralpachen, mnga' bdag khri ral (ral paean) 214 King Tri Udumtsen, khri ur dum btsan 203 Kochim, khyim 69 Kokonor, wfc/io sngon po xxxix, 7,9,14, 28,40,53, 59,67-70,72-73.75-76, 79-81,87-89,93,104,108-109,132, 142,213,298, 328, 345, 351, 368, 396, 398,412-413, 429-430, 431-432 Konchog Chophel, dkon mchog chos 'phd xii, xxxvi, 5 Konchog Chophel, the Lingme Zhabdrung, gling smad zhabs drung dkon mchog chos *phel xii, xxxvi, 5 Konchog Phuntsog, Drigung Zhabdrung, gung zhabs drung rin po che kun mchogphun tshogs 171 Konchog Rinchen, dkon mchog rin chen xxiv, xxviii, 40 Kong, xxx Kongpo Gyamda, kongpo rgya mda' 9, 131,387 Kongpo Phende, 131, 191,370, 381-382, 388 Kongpo, kongpo v> xxix, xxxviii, 7-9,41, 44,90,117-118,131-137,140,143, 146,151,158,166,184,191,224,231, 249, 295, 337, 370, 380-382, 385-388, 391,404 Kongtsetun, kong rtse bstun 295,311, 319-3Z0,3Z1 Ksemendra, k+She men+dra 85 Kudun Lhundrubpa, sku mdun Ihun grub pa 22 Kuncho (the official), kun chos 41 Kunga Lekpa, kun dga’legs pa xxiii-xxv KxLagAUia.dze,kundga’lhamdzes 13

Index

Kunga Migyur, kun dga'mi gyur 5-6,13, 17-19,21,26,41-42,46-47, 50,225, 373 Kunga Rawa, kun dga' ra ha 391-392 Kunga Sonam Lhundrup, kun dga' bsod nams Ihun grub 104,120 Kunkhyen Perna Karpo, kun mkhyen pad+madkarpo 159 Kunlha, kun lha 216 Kunzang Tsepa, jt«« bzangrtsepa xxxi Kunzangtse, kun bzang rtse 65 "KitiabpsL, sku rab pa 8,41-43 Kurtoe, 152 Kyangthang Gang, rkyang thangsgang 15 Kyarpo, iAyarpo 245 Kye (in Sera), skyed 294 Kyepa (a college of Sera), skied pa 289 Kyetshal, sl^ed tshal 200,405 Kyichu, sl^d chu xxvii, xxix, xxxi, 26,29, 40.66,89,132,147,195.197, 229, 329, 340, 370, 377-378 Kyime, skyid smad 26 Kyirong, sl^id grong 206,240,404 Kyirune, skyi ru nos 40 Kyisho Choje, skyid shod chos rje xxxix Kyisho Jeri Tagtsewa, shod bye ri stdg rtse ba 14 Kyisho, skyid shod xiii, xix, xxii, xxiv-xxv, xxvii, xxix, xxxi, xxxiii, xxxvi-xxxix, 7, 16.27,70,74,81.91. Ill, 126, 145-147,156,162,171-172,227, 252, 258,283,292,300,319,328,386,406 Kyogche La, khyog che la 197,352 Kyomorlung Monastery, skor mo lung dgon xxvii, xxx. 111, 229

L Lacho, bla mchod 259,431 Lagyog, 326 Lama Dungkar, bla ma dungdkar 31 Lama Kunsang, bla ma kun bzang 135 Lama Lhatsewa, bla ma lha rtse ba 17 Lama Minyag, bla ma mi nyag 294

Index

Lama Ngonpa, bla ma sngon pa 244 Lamdre, /am ‘bras 2S2 Lamo Tshangpa, la mo tshangs pa 74 Lathog, //ja 84,327 Lato, /a stod xxiii, 201,404 Le, las 22Q. 294 Lechen Ngodrup, /as chen dngos grub 147,148 Legden Khan of the Chahar (Chakhar), cfta khar legs Idan 56,59,63,67,70. 75-76, 79, 84, 421, 428, 432-434 Legpai Sherab, legs pa’i shes rab 525 Legshe Chokhor Ling, legs bshad chos ’khorgling 31,72,351 Legshe Ling, legs bshad gling 56,119,188, 324, 385-387 Legung, legung 82 Leshin, las gshin 213 Lhabzang Khan, //la bzang klu dpal, lha bzang khAng 90,422-424 Lhadong, lha gdong 34,66 Lhagya Riwa, /ha rgya ri ba 115,230 Lhagyal from Shuntrong Sarwa, shun S^onggsar ba lha rgyal 259 Lhagyari, lha r^a ri 29-30,38,126,230 Lhai'Wangchug,/ha’/dha«gph/Mg 40-42 Lhakhang, lha khang 45,283 Lhaksam (the physician), drung ‘tsho lhagbsam 564 Lhalung, lha lung 188 Lhamo Latso, lha mo bla mtsho 29,33-34, 85,117,192, 263, 320, 339, 385 Lhangargang, lha ngarsgang 195,197 Lhapa Kagyu, /ha pa bka‘ br^ud 152154,159,161 Lhari Gyangto, lha ri rgyangstod 44 Lhartse, lha rise 21 Lhasa, lha sa vi, ix, xiii, xv, xviii, xix-xx, xxii-xxxix, 1-3, 5-9,11,13-16,18-19, 22, 25, 26-31, 33-34, 36, 39, 41-42, 49-50, 53-59,61-64, 66-67, 69-70, 74-75, 79, 80-82, 89,91, 93-94, 98-101,104,106-111,115,117-119,

121,125-127,131-132,133-135,141, 143-147,151,154-155,158,160,162, 163,165,167,169-170,172-173, 176-179,183-184,187-189,193, 195-197,199, 201-202,207-208, 211, 215, 218,222-224, 226, 229-231, 233-234, 235, 239, 244,252, 255-261, 263-265, 268-277, 281, 285-286, 288-290,292-295, 298-301, 303, 305, 310, 317-320, 327-330, 332-337, 339-341, 344-354, 357, 361,363, 367-371, 375-381. 390-392, 395-396, 404-405,408-409.411,413,415, 417-419,422-425, 429,431,434-437, 439 Lhashong, lha gshongs 40,45-47 Lhatse, lha rise 145,269,373,391 Lhatsewa Ngagwang Zangpo, lha rtse ban ngag dbang bzang po 163-164 Lhatsun Kunzang Namgyal of Dzogchen, rdzogs chen pa lha btsun kun bzang rnam rgyal 289 Lhatsun, lha btsun 5,11,15,19,27-28, 36,289 Lhesekhang, /has sras khang 71 Lhodrag Nyid6, /ho brag nyi Ide 156,188 Lhodrag Shar Chu, Iho brag shar chu 43,48 Lhodrag, Iho brag 43,48,131,134, 139-140,151,156,158,160,162,168, 188, 306, 337, 353, 382, 393 Lhokha, Iho kha xxx, 29.134,139,151, 156, 261, 382 Lhokhazhi, Iho kha bzhi 151-152, 154,159 Lhokupa, Iho khud pa 23 Lhomonkhazhi, Iho mon kha bzhi 151153,160,234 Lhopa, Iho pa 174 Lhugpa from Lhatse, lha rtse Ihugpa 391 Lhundrup Gatshal, Ihun grub dga‘ tshal 55, 84-85, 89, 320, 327, 332, 334,339 Lhundrup Lingpa, Ihun grub glingpa 283

453

454

Index

Lhundrup of Tanag, rta nag Ihun grub 259 ■ Loyul Chu,'Wo^wZcZi« 387 Ling, gling xxiv, 21,30-31,36,40,45-46, Luding Dzong, klu sdings.rdzong 153-154 52. 58, 72. 93,119,147, 148,170.173, Lading, fcZu sdings 54.57-58,153-154 185-186,188.194-197, 270,278, 280, Lugsang La, lugs bzang la 230 282, 289,292, 294, 324, 339, 343-344, Lugu, lu gu 407 351, 360, 364, 373-374, 385-387, 397 Lukhang, klu khang 39,192 Lingme Zhabdrung, gling smad zhabs Lung Karmo, rlung dkar mo 344 drung xxxvi, 5-6,16,18,22,33,35, Lungmar, rlung dmar 116,292-293 53-55,59,63-65,68-69,71-72,77.92, Lunpo Chodze, klun po chos mdzad 72 143,147,169,172 Lunpubachen(?),gZa«gbM Zza can 69 Lingzhi, gling bzh i 167 Luphug, klu phug 293 Lithang, li thang 93 Lobzang Chodrag of Changdrong, Icang M grong bio bzang chos grags 64 Machen of Khangdragpa, khang drag pa Lobzang Chokyi Gyaltsen the Panchen machen 97 Rinpoche, rin po che bio Machik Thaiji, wa gcig tha’iji 251,257 bzang chos kyi rgyal tntshan MagsogKhampa, 289 3, 226, 326 Magzorma, dmagzor ma 30,34,72, 85, Lobzang Geleg, bio bzang dge legs 275 100,105,109,119,186, 294,,320; 334, Lobzang Gyatso, bZo bzang rgya mtsho 26, 408 92,170, 217. 221, 225, 241. 318,325, Mahakala, mgon po xxiv, 53,72,84,105, 361 118,156,162,175-176, 207, 237-238, Lobzang Jinpa, bio bzang sbyin pa 327, 390, 408, 430 341,416 Maldro Gongkar, mal ^o gunggkar 339 Lobzang Ngagwang, bio bzang ngag dbang Mangra, mang ra 305 294. 295. 299 Manishing, ma Ni shing 196 Lobzang Norbu Palden of Pusang ‘the Marpori, dmarpo ri 6,143,169 physician’, sbus sang drung ‘tsho ba bio Mashi, Mashin, ma shl/ma bzhi 356 bzangnorbu 289 Mawo Chogpa, smra bo Icogspa ■188 Lobzang Tutob, b/o bzang mthu stobs 126, Mechag Jampal, mas chags 'jam dpal, 293., 175,341,416 Medroma Chu, mal gro ma chu 329,339 Lobzang Yonten the chant-master, dbu Meldro Gongkar, maZgro gang dkar 132 mdzad bio bzang yon tan 360 Mendong Tsampa, sma« sdong Lodro Chodar, bio gros chos dar 293,305 mtshamspa 188,324 Lokeshvara, ’phags pa lo ke shwa ra 2Q7 Menlung, sman lung 369 Lopa Chodze. Zo pa chos mdzad Menlungpa, sman lung pa 300 93, 227, 330 Menthang, sman thang 22 Lord Dompoche, dom po che 41 Mentrong Tshewang Dargye, sman grong Lord Gendun Gyatso, rje dge 'dun rgya tshe dbang dar rgyas 347,350 mtsho 64 Metogthang, me tog thang 28,71,83-84, Losal Ling (College), bio gsalgling 192,294 147, 289. 294, 360 Milarepa (je), rje mi la raspa 55,135,292 Losar, Zogsar 301,438 Mindrolling, smin grol gling 325,423

Index

Mipham Wangpo, mi pham dbangpo 272 Mitrugpa, mi ’khrugs pa 107 Miwang Dragpa Gyeltsen, mi dbang grags pa rgyal mtshan xxi Mon, smon, mon iddu, 167,250 Mondro Lotsawa, smon ’gro lo tsA ba 6 Mondrowa, smon ‘gro pa 6,25,99,189 Monlam, smon lam xix, xxiv, xxvii, xxixxxxi, 35, 53-54. 64, 67.101,106-107, 284. 348, 401 Mount Hepo. has po ri 387 Mupa, 144

N Nagchu, cftw 195-197,346,352 Naguwa, nagdgu ba 171 Nakartse Castle, sna dkar rise rdzong 13,22,24.26,46,47 Nakhawa (the yogin), grub chen na kha ba 55 Nalung Karmo, dAarnjo 197 Namchag Dragbeb, gnam Icags drag 'bebs 289 Namchag Dragpo Dzago, gnam Icags drag po rdzas rgod 353 Namchag Urmo, gnam Icags ur mo 115,292 Namgang Drug-gyal, gnam gang ‘brug rgyal 408 Namgyal Ling, rnam rgyal gling 30,344 Namgyal Monastery, rnam rgyal dgon pa vii, 31, 63, 332, 334, 385 Namgyalma, rnam rgyaZ ma 387 Namjom, rnam ‘joms 27bzang Dondrub, sngags ram Ngopa Shenyen Palzang, rngo pa bshes gnyen dpal bzang 293 pa bio bzang don grub 275 Ngor, ngor 120,252 Ngagwang Chophel the Dulwa Lama,