Dalai Lama

Names

"Dalai Lama" is part of the full title "圣 识一切 瓦齐尔达喇 达赖 喇嘛" ("Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama") given by Altan Khan. "Dalai Lama" combines the Mongolic word dalai ('ocean') and the Tibetan word བླ་མ་ (bla-ma) ('master, guru'). The word dalai corresponds to the Tibetan word gyatso or rgya-mtsho, and, according to Schwieger, was chosen by analogy with the Mongolian title Dalaiyin qan or Dalaiin khan. Others suggest it may have been chosen in reference to the breadth of the Dalai Lama's wisdom. The Dalai Lama is also known in Tibetan as the Rgyal-ba Rin-po-che ('Precious Conqueror') or simply the Rgyal-ba.

History

Origins in myth and legend

Since the 11th century, it has been widely believed in Central Asian Buddhist countries that Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, has a special relationship with the people of Tibet and intervenes in their fate by incarnating as benevolent rulers and teachers such as the Dalai Lamas. The Book of Kadam, the main text of the Kadampa school from which the 1st Dalai Lama hailed, is said to have laid the foundation for the Tibetans' later identification of the Dalai Lamas as incarnations of Avalokiteśvara. It traces the legend of the bodhisattva's incarnations as early Tibetan kings and emperors such as Songtsen Gampo and later as Dromtönpa (1004–1064). This lineage has been extrapolated by Tibetans up to and including the Dalai Lamas.

Thus, according to such sources, an informal line of succession of the present Dalai Lamas as incarnations of Avalokiteśvara stretches back much further than the 1st Dalai Lama, Gendun Drub; as many as sixty persons are enumerated as earlier incarnations of Avalokiteśvara and predecessors in the same lineage leading up to Gendun Drub. These earlier incarnations include a mythology of 36 Indian personalities, ten early Tibetan kings and emperors all said to be previous incarnations of Dromtönpa, and fourteen further Nepalese and Tibetan yogis and sages. In fact, according to the "Birth to Exile" article on the 14th Dalai Lama's website, he is "the seventy-fourth in a lineage that can be traced back to a Brahmin boy who lived in the time of Buddha Shakyamuni."

Avalokiteśvara's "Dalai Lama master plan"

According to the 14th Dalai Lama, long ago Avalokiteśvara had promised the Buddha to guide and defend the Tibetan people. In the late Middle Ages, his master plan to fulfill this promise was the stage-by-stage establishment of the Dalai Lama institution in Tibet.

First, Tsongkhapa established three great monasteries around Lhasa in the province of Ü before he died in 1419. The 1st Dalai Lama soon became Abbot of the greatest one, Drepung, and developed a large popular power base in Ü. He later extended this to cover Tsang, where he constructed a fourth great monastery, Tashi Lhunpo, at Shigatse. The 2nd studied there before returning to Lhasa, where he became Abbot of Drepung. Having reactivated the 1st's large popular followings in Tsang and Ü, the 2nd then moved on to southern Tibet and gathered more followers there who helped him construct a new monastery, Chokorgyel. He established the method by which later Dalai Lama incarnations would be discovered through visions at the "oracle lake", Lhamo Lhatso.

The 3rd built on his predecessors' fame by becoming Abbot of the two great monasteries of Drepung and Sera. The Mongol leader Altan Khan, first Ming Shunyi King, hearing of his reputation, invited the 3rd to Mongolia, where he converted the King and his followers to Buddhism, covering a vast tract of central Asia. This brought most of Mongolia into the Dalai Lama's sphere of influence, founding a spiritual empire which largely survives to the modern age. After being given the Mongolian name 'Dalai', he returned to Tibet to found the great monasteries of Lithang in Kham, eastern Tibet and Kumbum in Amdo, north-eastern Tibet.

The 4th was then born in Mongolia as the great-grandson of Altan Khan, cementing strong ties between Central Asia, the Dalai Lamas, the Gelugpa and Tibet. The 5th in the succession used the vast popular power base of devoted followers built up by his four predecessors. By 1642, with the strategy provided by his chagdzo (manager) Sonam Rapten and the military assistance of Khoshut chieftain Gushri Khan, the 'Great 5th' founded the Dalai Lamas' religious and political reign over Tibet that survived for over 300 years.

Establishment of the Dalai Lama lineage

Gendun Drup (1391–1474), a disciple of Je Tsongkapa, would eventually be known as the 'First Dalai Lama', but he would not receive this title until 104 years after he died.

There was resistance to naming him as such, since he was ordained a monk in the Kadampa tradition and for various reasons, the Kadampa school had eschewed the adoption of the tulku system to which the older schools adhered. Therefore, although Gendun Drup grew to be an important Gelugpa lama, there was no search to identify his incarnation after his death in 1474.

Despite this, 55 years after Tsongkhapa, the Tashilhunpo monks heard accounts that an incarnation of Gendun Drup had appeared nearby and repeatedly announced himself from the age of two. The monastic authorities saw compelling evidence that convinced them the child in question was indeed the incarnation of their founder and felt obliged to break with their own tradition, and in 1487, the boy was renamed Gendun Gyatso and installed at Tashilhunpo as Gendun Drup's tulku, albeit informally.

Gendun Gyatso died in 1542, but the lineage of Dalai Lama tulkus became firmly established with the third incarnation, Sonam Gyatso (1543–1588), who was formally recognised and enthroned at Drepung in 1546. Sonam Gyatso was given the title "Dalai Lama" by the Tümed Altan Khan in 1578, and his two predecessors were then accorded the title posthumously, making Sonam now the third in the lineage.

1st Dalai Lama

Pema Dorje (1391–1474), who would eventually be posthumously declared the 1st Dalai Lama, was born in a cattle pen in Shabtod, Tsang in 1391. His family were goatherders, but when his father died in 1398, his mother entrusted him to his uncle for education as a Buddhist monk. Pema Dorje was sent to Narthang, a major Kadampa monastery near Shigatse, which ran the largest printing press in Tibet. Its celebrated library attracted many scholars, so Pema Dorje received an education beyond the norm at the time as well as exposure to diverse spiritual schools and ideas.

He studied Buddhist philosophy extensively. In 1405, ordained by Narthang's abbot, he took the name of Gendun Drup. He was recognised as an exceptionally gifted pupil, so the abbot tutored him personally and took special interest in his progress. In twelve years he passed the twelve grades of monkhood and took the highest vows. After completing his intensive studies at Narthang he left to continue at specialist monasteries in Central Tibet.

In 1415, Gendun Drup met Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelugpa school, and became his student. After the death of Tsongkhapa's successor, the Panchen Lama Khedrup Je, Gendun Drup became the leader of the Gelugpa. He rose to become Abbot of Drepung, the greatest Gelugpa monastery outside Lhasa.

It was mainly due to Gendun Drup that Tsongkhapa's new school grew into an order capable of competing with others on an equal footing. Taking advantage of good relations with the nobility and a lack of determined opposition from rival orders, he founded Tashilhunpo Monastery at Shigatse, on the very edge of Karma Kagyu-dominated territory, and would serve as its Abbot until his death. This monastery became the fourth great Gelugpa monastery in Tibet, after Ganden, Drepung, and Sera, all founded in Tsongkhapa's time, and would later become the seat of the Panchen Lamas.

By establishing it at Shigatse in the middle of Tsang, Gendun Drup expanded the Gelugpa sphere of influence, and his own, from the Lhasa region of Ü to this province, which was the stronghold of the Karma Kagyu school and their patrons, the rising Tsangpa dynasty. Tashilhunpo eventually became 'Southern Tibet's greatest monastic university' with a complement of 3,000 monks.

Gendun Drup was said to be the greatest scholar-saint ever produced by Narthang Monastery and became 'the single most important lama in Tibet'. Through hard work he became a leading lama, known as 'Perfecter of the Monkhood', 'with a host of disciples'. Famed for his Buddhist scholarship, he was also referred to as Panchen Gendun Drup, 'Panchen' being an honorary title designating 'great scholar'. By the great Jonangpa master Bodong Chokley Namgyal he was accorded the honorary title Tamchey Khyenpa meaning "The Omniscient One", an appellation that was later assigned to all Dalai Lama incarnations.

2nd Dalai Lama

After Gendun Drup died, a boy called Sangyey Pel, born to Nyngma adepts at Yolkar in Tsang, declared himself at the age of three to be Gendun Drup and asked to be 'taken home' to Tashilhunpo. He spoke in mystical verses, quoted classical texts spontaneously, and claimed to be Dromtönpa, an earlier incarnation of the Dalai Lamas. When he saw monks from Tashilhunpo, he greeted the disciples of the late Gendun Drup by name. Convinced by the evidence, the Gelugpa elders broke with the traditions of their school and recognised him as Gendun Drup's tulku at the age of eight.

His father took him on teachings and retreats, training him in all the family Nyingma lineages. At twelve he was installed at Tashilhunpo as Gendun Drup's incarnation, ordained, enthroned, and renamed Gendun Gyatso Palzangpo (1475–1542).

Tutored personally by the abbot, he made rapid progress, and in 1492 at the age of seventeen he was requested to teach all over Tsang, where thousands gathered to listen and give obeisance, including senior scholars and abbots. Two years later, he met some opposition from the Tashilhunpo establishment when tensions arose over conflicts between advocates of the two types of succession: the traditional abbatial election through merit and incarnation. He therefore moved to central Tibet, where he was invited to Drepung and where his reputation as a brilliant young teacher quickly grew. This move had the effect of shifting central Gelug authority back to Lhasa.

He was afforded all the loyalty and devotion that Gendun Drup had earned and the Gelug school remained as united as ever. Under his leadership, the sect continued growing in size and influence and its lamas were asked to mediate in disputes between other rivals. Gendun Gyatso's popularity in Ü-Tsang grew as he went on pilgrimage, teaching and studying from masters such as the adept Khedrup Norzang Gyatso in the Olklha mountains. He also stayed in Kongpo and Dagpo and became known all over Tibet. He spent his winters in Lhasa, writing commentaries, and spent the rest of the year travelling and teaching many thousands of monks and laypeople.

In 1509, he moved to southern Tibet to build Chokorgyel Monastery near the 'Oracle Lake', Lhamo Latso, completing it by 1511. That year he saw visions in the lake and 'empowered' it to impart clues to help identify incarnate lamas. All Dalai Lamas from the 3rd on were found with the help of such visions granted to regents. He was invited back to Tashilhunpo and given the residence built for Gendun Drup, to be occupied later by the Panchen Lamas. He was made abbot of Tashilhunpo and stayed there teaching in Tsang for nine months.

3rd Dalai Lama

The Third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso (1543–1588), was born in Tolung, near Lhasa,

as predicted by his predecessor. Claiming he was Gendun Gyatso and readily recalling events from his previous life, he was recognised as the incarnation, named 'Sonam Gyatso' and installed at Drepung, where 'he quickly excelled his teachers in knowledge and wisdom and developed extraordinary powers'. Unlike his predecessors, he came from a noble family, connected with the Sakya and the Phagmo Drupa (Karma Kagyu affiliated) dynasties, and it is to him that the effective conversion of Mongolia to Buddhism is due.

A brilliant scholar and teacher, he had the spiritual maturity to be made Abbot of Drepung, taking responsibility for the material and spiritual well-being of Tibet's largest monastery at the age of nine. At 10 he led the Monlam Prayer Festival, giving daily discourses to the assembly of all Gelugpa monks. His influence grew so quickly that soon the monks at Sera Monastery also made him their Abbot and his mediation was being sought to prevent fighting between political power factions. At 16, in 1559, he was invited to Nedong by King Ngawang Tashi Drakpa, a Karma Kagyu supporter, and became his personal teacher.

At 17, when fighting broke out in Lhasa between Gelug and Kagyu parties and efforts by local lamas to mediate failed, Sonam Gyatso negotiated a peaceful settlement. At 19, when the Kyichu River burst its banks and flooded Lhasa, he led his followers to rescue victims and repair the dykes. He then instituted a custom whereby on the last day of Monlam, all the monks would work on strengthening the flood defences. Gradually, he was shaping himself into a national leader. His popularity and renown became such that in 1564 when the Nedong King died, it was Sonam Gyatso at the age of 21 who was requested to lead his funeral rites, rather than his own Kagyu lamas.

Required to travel and teach without respite after taking full ordination in 1565, he still maintained extensive meditation practices in the hours before dawn and again at the end of the day. In 1569, at age 26, he went to Tashilhunpo to study the layout and administration of the monastery built by his predecessor Gendun Drup. Invited to become the Abbot he declined, already being Abbot of Drepung and Sera, but left his deputy there in his stead. From there he visited Narthang, the first monastery of Gendun Drup and gave numerous discourses and offerings to the monks in gratitude.

4th Dalai Lama

The Fourth Dalai Lama, Yonten Gyatso (1589–1617) was a Mongol, the great-grandson of Altan Khan who was a descendant of Kublai Khan and leader of the Tümed Mongols who had already been converted to Buddhism by the Third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso (1543–1588). This strong connection caused the Mongols to zealously support the Gelugpa sect in Tibet, strengthening their status and position but also arousing intensified opposition from the Gelugpa's rivals, particularly the Tsang Karma Kagyu in Shigatse and their Mongol patrons and the Bönpo in Kham and their allies. Being the newest school, unlike the older schools the Gelugpa lacked an established network of Tibetan clan patronage and were thus more reliant on foreign patrons.

At the age of 10 with a large Mongol escort he travelled to Lhasa where he was enthroned. He studied at Drepung and became its abbot but being a non-Tibetan he met with opposition from some Tibetans, especially the Karma Kagyu who felt their position was threatened by these emerging events; there were several attempts to remove him from power. Seal of authority was granted in 1616 by Wanli Emperor of Ming. Yonten Gyatso died at the age of 27 under suspicious circumstances and his chief attendant Sonam Rapten went on to discover the 5th Dalai Lama, became his chagdzo or manager and after 1642 he went on to be his regent, the Desi.

5th Dalai Lama

The death of the Fourth Dalai Lama in 1617 led to open conflict breaking out between various parties. First, the Tsangpa dynasty, rulers of Central Tibet from Shigatse, supporters of the Karmapa school and rivals to the Gelugpa, forbade the search for his incarnation. But in 1618, Sonam Rapten, the former attendant of the 4th Dalai Lama who had become the Ganden Phodrang treasurer, secretly identified the child, who had been born to the noble Zahor family at Tagtse castle, south of Lhasa. Then, the Panchen Lama, in Shigatse, negotiated the lifting of the ban, enabling the boy to be recognised as Lobsang Gyatso, the 5th Dalai Lama.

Also in 1618, the Tsangpa King, Karma Puntsok Namgyal, whose Mongol patron was Choghtu Khong Tayiji of the Khalkha Mongols, attacked the Gelugpa in Lhasa to avenge an earlier snub and established two military bases there to control the monasteries and the city. This caused Sonam Rabten who became the 5th Dalai Lama's changdzo or manager, to seek more active Mongol patronage and military assistance for the Gelugpa while the Fifth was still a boy. So, in 1620, Mongol troops allied to the Gelugpa who had camped outside Lhasa suddenly attacked and destroyed the two Tsangpa camps and drove them out of Lhasa, enabling the Dalai Lama to be brought out of hiding and publicly enthroned there in 1622.

In fact, throughout the 5th's minority, it was the influential and forceful Sonam Rabten who inspired the Dzungar Mongols to defend the Gelugpa by attacking their enemies. These enemies included other Mongol tribes who supported the Tsangpas, the Tsangpa themselves and their Bönpo allies in Kham who had also opposed and persecuted Gelugpas. Ultimately, this strategy led to the destruction of the Tsangpa dynasty, the defeat of the Karmapas and their other allies and the Bönpos, by armed forces from the Lhasa valley aided by their Mongol allies, paving the way for Gelugpa political and religious hegemony in Central Tibet.

Apparently by general consensus, by virtue of his position as the Dalai Lama's changdzo (chief attendant, minister), after the Dalai Lama became absolute ruler of Tibet in 1642 Sonam Rabten became the "Desi" or "Viceroy", in fact, the de facto regent or day-to-day ruler of Tibet's governmental affairs. During these years and for the rest of his life (he died in 1658), "there was little doubt that politically Sonam Chophel [Rabten] was more powerful than the Dalai Lama". As a young man, being 22 years his junior, the Dalai Lama addressed him reverentially as "Zhalngo", meaning "the Presence".

6th Dalai Lama

The Sixth Dalai Lama (1683–1706) was born near Tawang, now in India. After death of the 5th Dalai Lama, the regent Desi Sangye Gyatso kept death of the 5th Dalai Lama a secret, this allowed him to continue to use the authority of the Fifth Dalai Lama to manage the affairs of the Gelug. Tsangyang Gyatso was picked out in 1685, but his parents were not informed. In 1696, while suppressing the Dzungar rebellion, Kangxi Emperor accidentally learned from the captives that the 5th Dalai Lama had died many years ago. Kangxi severely rebuked the regent for his mistake, the regent admitted his mistake and sent people to Monpa to welcome the reincarnated soul boy in 1697. After 16 years of study as a novice monk, in 1702 in his 20th year he rejected full ordination and gave up his monk's robes and monastic life, preferring the lifestyle of a layman.

In 1703 Güshi Khan's ruling grandson Tenzin Wangchuk Khan was murdered by his brother Lhazang Khan who usurped the Khoshut Khanate's Tibetan throne, but unlike his four predecessors he started interfering directly in Tibetan affairs in Lhasa; he opposed the Fifth Dalai Lama's regent, Desi Sangye Gyatso for his deceptions and in the same year, with the support of the Kangxi Emperor, he forced him out of office. When Lhazang was requested by the Tibetans to leave Lhasa politics to them and to retire to Kokonor like his predecessors, he quit the city. Desi Sangye Gyatso decided to kill Lhazang, he secretly sent someone to poison the food of Lhazang, but was discovered. Lhazang was furious and immediately mobilized a large army to defeat the Tibetan army and killed Desi Sangye Gyatso. In 1705, he wrote a letter to the Qing government, reporting Desi Sangye Gyatso's rebellion and that the sixth Dalai Lama, appointed by Desi Sangye Gyatso, was addicted to wine and sex and ignored religious affairs. He reported the Dalai Lama was not a real Dalai Lama and requested emperor to demote and revoke him. He used the Sixth's escapades as an excuse to seize full control of Tibet. Most Tibetans, though, still supported their Dalai Lama despite his behaviour and deeply resented Lhazang Khan's interference. But Emperor Kangxi then issued an edict: "Because Lhazang Khan reported to depose the sixth Dalai Lama appointed by Desi Sangye Gyatso, the sixth Dalai Lama is ordered to be sent to capital Beijing." In 1706 with the compliance of the Kangxi Emperor, the Sixth Dalai Lama was deposed and arrested by Lhazang who considered him to be an impostor set up by the regent. Lhazang Khan, now acting as the only outright foreign ruler that Tibet had ever had, then sent him to Beijing under escort to appear before the emperor but he died mysteriously on the way near Lake Qinghai, ostensibly from illness, he was 24 years' old.

7th Dalai Lama

In 1708, in accordance with an indication given by the 6th Dalai Lama when quitting Lhasa, a child called Kelzang Gyatso had been born at Lithang in eastern Tibet who was soon claimed by local Tibetans to be his incarnation. After going into hiding out of fear of Lhazang Khan, he was installed in Lithang monastery. Along with some of the Kokonor Mongol princes, rivals of Lhazang, in defiance of the situation in Lhasa the Tibetans of Kham duly recognised him as the Seventh Dalai Lama in 1712, retaining his birth-name of Kelzang Gyatso. For security reasons he was moved to Derge monastery and eventually, in 1716, now also backed and sponsored by the Kangxi Emperor of China.

The Tibetans asked Dzungars to bring a true Dalai Lama to Lhasa, but the Manchu Chinese did not want to release Kelsan Gyatso to the Mongol Dzungars. The Regent Taktse Shabdrung and Tibetan officials then wrote a letter to the Manchu Chinese Emperor that they recognized Kelsang Gyatso as the Dalai Lama. The Emperor then granted Kelsang Gyatso a golden seal of authority. The Sixth Dalai Lama was taken to Amdo at the age of 8 to be installed in Kumbum Monastery with great pomp and ceremony.

According to Smith, the Kangxi Emperor now arranged to protect the child and keep him at Kumbum monastery in Amdo in reserve just in case his ally Lhasang Khan and his 'real' Sixth Dalai Lama, were overthrown. But according to Mullin, the emperor's support came from genuine spiritual recognition and respect rather than being politically motivated.

In any case, the Kangxi Emperor took full advantage of having Kelzang Gyatso under Qing control at Kumbum after other Mongols from the Dzungar tribes led by Tsewang Rabtan who was related to his supposed ally Lhazang Khan, deceived and betrayed the latter by invading Tibet and capturing Lhasa in 1717.

These Dzungars, who were Buddhist, had supported the Fifth Dalai Lama and his regent. They were secretly petitioned by the Lhasa Gelugpa lamas to invade with their help in order to rid them of their foreign ruler Lhazang Khan and to replace the unpopular Sixth Dalai Lama pretender with the young Kelzang Gyatso. This plot suited the devious Dzungar leaders' ambitions and they were only too happy to oblige. Early in 1717, after conspiring to undermine Lhazang Khan through treachery they entered Tibet from the northwest with a large army, sending a smaller force to Kumbum to collect Kelzang Gyatso and escort him to Lhasa.

8th Dalai Lama

The Eighth Dalai Lama, Jamphel Gyatso, was born in Tsang in 1758 and died aged 46 having taken little part in Tibetan politics, mostly leaving temporal matters to his regents and the ambans. The Emperor of China exempted him from the lot-drawing ceremony of the Golden Urn. Qianlong Emperor officially accepted Gyiangbai as the 8th Dalai Lama when the 6th Panchen Erdeni came to congratulate the emperor on his 70th birthday in 1780. The emperor granted the 8th Dalai Lama a jade seal of authority and jade sheets of confirmation of authority. The confirmation of authority says:

You, the Dalai Lama, are the legal incarnation of Zhongkapa. You are granted the jade certificate of confirmation of authority and jade seal of authority, which you enshrine in the Potala monastery to guard the gate of Buddhism forever. All documents sent for the country's important ceremonies must be stamped with this seal, and all the other reports can be stamped with the original seal. Since you enjoy such honor, you have to make efforts to promote self-cultivation, study and propagate Buddhism, and help me promote Buddhism and goodness of the previous generation of the Dalai Lama for the people, and for the long life of our country.

The Dalai Lama, his later generations and the local government cherished both the seal of authority and the sheets of authority. They were preserved as the root of their power.

The 8th Dalai Lama lived almost as long as the Seventh, but was overshadowed by many contemporary lamas in terms of both religious and political accomplishment. According to Mullin, the 14th Dalai Lama has pointed to certain indications that Jamphel Gyatso might have been the incarnation not of the 7th Dalai Lama but of Jamyang Chojey, a disciple of Tsongkhapa and founder of Drepung monastery who was also reputed to be an incarnation of Avalokiteshvara. In any case, he lived a quiet and unassuming life as a devoted and studious monk, uninvolved in the kind of dramas that had surrounded his predecessors.

Nevertheless, Jamphel Gyatso was said to possess all the signs of being the true incarnation of the Seventh. This was claimed to have been confirmed by many portents clear to the Tibetans and so, in 1762, at age five, he was enthroned as the Eighth Dalai Lama at the Potala Palace. At age 23 he was persuaded to assume the throne as ruler of Tibet with a regent to assist him and after three years of this, when the regent went to Beijing as ambassador in 1784, he ruled alone for four more years. But feeling unsuited to worldly affairs and unhappy in this role, he then retired from public office to concentrate on religious activities until his death in 1804. He is also credited with the construction of the Norbulingka "Summer Palace" started by his predecessor and with ordaining 10,000 monks in his efforts to foster monasticism.

9th to 12th Dalai Lamas

Hugh Richardson's summary of the period covering the four short-lived, 19th-century Dalai Lamas:

After him [the 8th Dalai Lama, Jamphel Gyatso], the 9th and 10th Dalai Lamas died before attaining their majority: one of them is credibly stated to have been murdered and strong suspicion attaches to the other. The 11th and 12th were each enthroned but died soon after being invested with power. For 113 years, therefore, supreme authority in Tibet was in the hands of a Lama Regent, except for about two years when a lay noble held office and for short periods of nominal rule by the 11th and 12th Dalai Lamas.It has sometimes been suggested that this state of affairs was brought about by the Ambans—the Imperial Residents in Tibet—because it would be easier to control the Tibet through a Regent than when a Dalai Lama, with his absolute power, was at the head of the government. That is not true. The regular ebb and flow of events followed its set course. The Imperial Residents in Tibet, after the first flush of zeal in 1750, grew less and less interested and efficient. Tibet was, to them, exile from the urbanity and culture of Peking; and so far from dominating the Regents, the Ambans allowed themselves to be dominated. It was the ambition and greed for power of Tibetans that led to five successive Dalai Lamas being subjected to continuous tutelage.

Thubten Jigme Norbu, the elder brother of the 14th Dalai Lama, described these unfortunate events as follows, although there are few, if any, indications that any of the four were said to be 'Chinese-appointed imposters':

It is perhaps more than a coincidence that between the seventh and the thirteenth holders of that office, only one reached his majority. The eighth, Gyampal Gyatso, died when he was in his thirties, Lungtog Gyatso when he was eleven, Tsultrim Gyatso at eighteen, Khadrup Gyatso when he was eighteen also, and Krinla Gyatso at about the same age. The circumstances are such that it is very likely that some, if not all, were poisoned, either by loyal Tibetans for being Chinese-appointed impostors, or by the Chinese for not being properly manageable. Many Tibetans think that this was done at the time when the young [Dalai Lama] made his ritual visit to the Lake Lhamtso. ... Each of the four [Dalai Lamas] to die young expired shortly after his visit to the lake. Many said it was because they were not the true reincarnations, but imposters imposed by the Chinese. Others tell stories of how the cooks of the retinue, which in those days included many Chinese, were bribed to put poison in the [Dalai Lama's] food. The 13th [Dalai Lama] did not visit Lhamtso until he was 25 years old. He was adequately prepared by spiritual exercise and he also had faithful cooks. The Chinese were disappointed when he did not die like his predecessors, and he was to live long enough to give them much more cause for regret.

13th Dalai Lama

In 1877, request to exempt Lobu Zangtab Kaijia Mucuo (Chinese: 罗布藏塔布开甲木措) from using lot-drawing process Golden Urn to become the 13th Dalai Lama was approved by the Central Government. The 13th Dalai Lama assumed ruling power from the monasteries, which previously had great influence on the Regent, in 1895. Due to his two periods of exile in 1904–1909 to escape the British invasion of 1904, and from 1910–1912 to escape a Chinese invasion, he became well aware of the complexities of international politics and was the first Dalai Lama to become aware of the importance of foreign relations. After his return from exile in India and Sikkim during January 1913, he assumed control of foreign relations and dealt directly with the Maharaja, with the British Political officer in Sikkim and with the king of Nepal – rather than letting the Kashag or parliament do it.

The Great Thirteenth Thubten Gyatso then published the Tibetan Declaration of Independence for the entirety of Tibet in 1913. Tibet's independence was never recognized by the Chinese (who claimed all land ever administered by the Manchus) but was recognized by the Kingdom of Nepal, who would use Tibet as one of its first references regarding its independent status when submitting an application to join the UN in 1949. According to a Tibetan website, Nepal listed Tibet as a country just as independent and sovereign, with no mention of Chinese 'suzerainty'. Its relations with Tibet were apparently second in significance only to its relations with Britain, and even more significant than its relations with the USA or even India. Nepal established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in 1955 and recognized Tibet as a part of China.

Furthermore, Tibet and Mongolia both signed the Treaty of friendship and alliance between the Government of Mongolia and Tibet. Neither countries' independence statuses were ever recognized by the KMT government in China, who would continue to completely claim both as Chinese territory. He expelled the ambans and all Chinese civilians in the country and instituted many measures to modernize Tibet. These included provisions to curb excessive demands on peasants for provisions by the monasteries and tax evasion by the nobles, setting up an independent police force, the abolition of the death penalty, extension of secular education, and the provision of electricity throughout the city of Lhasa in the 1920s. He died in 1933.

14th Dalai Lama

The 14th Dalai Lama was born on 6 July 1935 on a straw mat in a cowshed to a farmer's family in a remote part of Tibet. According to most Western journalistic sources he was born into a humble family of farmers as one of 16 children, and one of the three reincarnated rinpoches in the same family. On 5 February 1940, the Central Government approved the request to exempt Lhamo Thondup (Chinese: 拉木登珠) from the lot-drawing process to become the 14th Dalai Lama.

The 14th Dalai Lama was not formally enthroned until 17 November 1950, during the Battle of Chamdo with the People's Republic of China. On 18 April 1959, he issued a statement that in 1951, the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government were pressured into accepting the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet by which it became formally incorporated into the People's Republic of China. The United States informed the Dalai Lama in 1951 that in order to receive its assistance and support he must leave Tibet and publicly disavow "agreements concluded under duress" between Tibetan and Chinese representatives. Fearing for his life in the wake of a revolt in Tibet in 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India, where he led a government in exile.

With the aim of launching guerrilla operations against the Chinese, the Central Intelligence Agency funded the Dalai Lama's administration with US$1.7 million a year in the 1960s. In 2001, the 14th Dalai Lama ceded his partial power over the government to an elected parliament of Tibetan exiles. His original goal was full independence for Tibet, but by the late 1980s he sought high-level autonomy instead. He continued to seek greater autonomy from China, but Dolma Gyari, deputy speaker of the parliament-in-exile, said: "If the middle path fails in the short term, we will be forced to opt for complete independence or self-determination as per the UN charter".

The 14th Dalai Lama became one of the two most popular world leaders by 2013 (tied with Barack Obama), according to a poll by Harris Interactive of New York, which sampled public opinion in the U.S. and six major European countries.

In 2014 and 2016, he said that Tibet wants to be part of China but China should let Tibet preserve its culture and script.

In 2018, he said that "Europe belongs to the Europeans" and that Europe has a moral obligation to aid refugees whose lives are in peril. He added that Europe should receive, help, and educate refugees but that they should ultimately return to develop their home countries. He made similar comments in an interview the next year. He also said that a female Dalai Lama "should be more attractive" because if she looked a certain way people would "prefer not see … that face".

Residences

The first Dalai Lama was based at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, which he founded. The Second to the Fifth Dalai Lamas were mainly based at Drepung Monastery outside Lhasa. In 1645, after the unification of Tibet, the Fifth moved to the ruins of a royal fortress or residence on top of Marpori ('Red Mountain') in Lhasa and decided to build a palace on the same site. This ruined palace, called Tritse Marpo, was originally built around A.D. 636 by the founder of the Tibetan Empire, Songtsen Gampo, for his Nepalese wife. Amongst the ruins there was just a small temple left where Tsongkhapa had given a teaching when he arrived in Lhasa in the 1380s.

The Fifth Dalai Lama began construction of the Potala Palace on this site in 1645, carefully incorporating what was left of his predecessor's palace into its structure. From then on and until today, unless on tour or in exile the Dalai Lamas have always spent their winters at the Potala Palace and their summers at the Norbulingka palace and park. Both palaces are in Lhasa and approximately 3 km apart.

Following the failed 1959 Tibetan uprising, the 14th Dalai Lama sought refuge in India. Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru allowed in the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government officials. The Dalai Lama has since lived in exile in McLeod Ganj, in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh in northern India, where the Central Tibetan Administration is established. His residence on the Temple Road in McLeod Ganj is called the Dalai Lama Temple and is visited by people from across the globe. Tibetan refugees have constructed and opened many schools and Buddhist temples in Dharamshala.

Searching for the reincarnation

By the Himalayan tradition, phowa is the discipline that is believed to transfer the mindstream to the intended body. Upon the death of the Dalai Lama and consultation with the Nechung Oracle, a search for the Lama's yangsi, or reincarnation, is conducted. The government of the People's Republic of China has stated its intention to be the ultimate authority on the selection of the next Dalai Lama.

High Lamas may also claim to have a vision by a dream or if the Dalai Lama was cremated, they will often monitor the direction of the smoke as an 'indication' of the direction of the expected rebirth.

If there is only one boy found, the High Lamas will invite Living Buddhas of the three great monasteries, together with secular clergy and monk officials, to 'confirm their findings' and then report to the Central Government through the Minister of Tibet. Later, a group consisting of the three major servants of Dalai Lama, eminent officials, and troops will collect the boy and his family and travel to Lhasa, where the boy would be taken, usually to Drepung Monastery, to study the Buddhist sutra in preparation for assuming the role of spiritual leader of Tibet.

If there are several possible claimed reincarnations, regents, eminent officials, monks at the Jokhang in Lhasa, and the Minister to Tibet have historically made the choice by putting the boys' names inside an urn and drawing one in public.

In his autobiography, Freedom in Exile, the 14th Dalai Lama wrote that after he dies, it is possible that his people will no longer want a Dalai Lama, in which case there would be no search for the Lama's reincarnation. "So, I might take rebirth as an insect, or an animal—whatever would be of most value to the largest number of sentient beings". But shortly before his 90th birthday, he released a statement saying, "I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue." He added that members of the Gaden Phodrang Trust would have exclusive responsibility for recognizing the next Dalai Lama and that "no one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter."

The Dalai Lama is thought to be a type of "living [Buddhist] god".

List of Dalai Lamas

There have been 14 recognised incarnations of the Dalai Lama:

There was also a non-recognised Dalai Lama, Ngawang Yeshe Gyatso, declared 28 June 1707, when he was 25 years old, by Lha-bzang Khan as the "true" 6th Dalai Lama. He was never accepted as such by the majority of the population.

Future of the position

In the mid-1970s, Tenzin Gyatso told a Polish newspaper that he thought he would be the last Dalai Lama. In a later interview published in the English language press he stated, "The Dalai Lama office was an institution created to benefit others. It is possible that it will soon have outlived its usefulness." These statements caused a furore amongst Tibetans in India. Many could not believe that such an option could even be considered. It was further felt that it was not the Dalai Lama's decision to reincarnate. Rather, they felt that since the Dalai Lama is a national institution it was up to the people of Tibet to decide whether the Dalai Lama should reincarnate.

The government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) has claimed the power to approve the naming of "high" reincarnations in Tibet, based on a precedent set by the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty. The Qianlong Emperor instituted a system of selecting the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama by a lottery that used a Golden Urn with names wrapped in clumps of barley. This method was used a few times for both positions during the 19th century, but eventually fell into disuse.

In 1995, the Dalai Lama chose to proceed with the selection of the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama without the use of the Golden Urn, while the Chinese government insisted that it must be used. This has led to two rival Panchen Lamas: Gyaincain Norbu as chosen by the Chinese government's process, and Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as chosen by the Dalai Lama. However, Nyima was abducted by the Chinese government shortly after being chosen as the Panchen Lama and has not been seen in public since 1995.

In September 2007, the Chinese government said all high monks must be approved by the government, which would include the selection of the 15th Dalai Lama after the death of Tenzin Gyatso. Since by tradition, the Panchen Lama must approve the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, that is another possible method of control. Consequently, the Dalai Lama has alluded to the possibility of a referendum to determine the 15th Dalai Lama.

In response to this scenario, Tashi Wangdi, the representative of the 14th Dalai Lama, replied that the Chinese government's selection would be meaningless. "You can't impose an Imam, an Archbishop, saints, any religion...you can't politically impose these things on people", said Wangdi. "It has to be a decision of the followers of that tradition. The Chinese can use their political power: force. Again, it's meaningless. Like their Panchen Lama. And they can't keep their Panchen Lama in Tibet. They tried to bring him to his monastery many times but people would not see him. How can you have a religious leader like that?"