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70-408: During Spring, a family of nomadic shepherds assists the births of their camel herd. The last camel to calve this season has a protracted labor that persists for two days. With the assistance and intervention of the family, a rare white calf is born. This is the mother camel's first calving. Despite the efforts of the shepherds, the mother rejects the newborn, refusing it her milk and failing to establish

140-443: A care-bond with it. To restore harmony between the mother and calf, the nomadic family call upon the services of a group of lamas who perform a ritual with bread or dough 'effigies' ( Standard Tibetan : torma ) of the mother, the calf and the individual members of the family. The rite opens with the sound of a sacred horn followed by bells in the hands of lamas, some of whom wield vajra . The rite takes place with members of

210-498: 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. At

280-814: A monastery'. It was called the Ganden Phodrang , a name later adopted by the Tibetan Government, and it served as home for Dalai Lamas until the Fifth moved to the Potala Palace in 1645. In 1525, already abbot of Chokhorgyel, Drepung and Tashilhunpo, he was made abbot of Sera monastery as well, and worked to increase the number of monks there. Based at Drepung in winter and Chokorgyel in summer, he spent his remaining years composing commentaries, making regional teaching tours, visiting Tashilhunpo, and acting as abbot of these four great monasteries. As abbot, he made Drepung

350-525: 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

420-586: A poem of advice to his followers advising restraint from responding to violence with more violence and urged compassion and patience instead. The poem, entitled Shar Gang Rima , "The Song of the Eastern Snow Mountains", became one of his most enduring popular literary works. Gendun Drup's spiritual accomplishments brought him substantial donations from devotees which he used to build and furnish new monasteries, as well as to print and distribute Buddhist texts and to maintain monks and meditators. In 1474, at

490-464: A second great monastery, Kumbum , at the birthplace of Tsongkhapa near Kokonor . Further on, he was asked to adjudicate on border disputes between Mongolia and China. It was the first time a Dalai Lama had exercised such political authority. Arriving in Mongolia in 1585, he stayed 2 years with Dhüring Khan, teaching Buddhism to his people and converting more Mongol princes and their tribes. Receiving

560-539: A second invitation from the Emperor in Beijing he accepted, but died en route in 1588. As he was dying, his Mongolian converts urged him not to leave them, as they needed his continuing religious leadership. He promised them he would be incarnated next in Mongolia, as a Mongolian. 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

630-630: A specific school. The Dalai Lama's traditional function as an ecumenical figure has been taken up by the fourteenth Dalai Lama , who has worked to overcome sectarian and other divisions in the exile community and become a symbol of Tibetan nationhood for Tibetans in Tibet and in exile. He is Tenzin Gyatso , who escaped from Lhasa in 1959 during the Tibetan diaspora and lives in exile in Dharamsala, India. From 1642 and

700-497: A title of Shunyi Wang (King) from the Ming dynasty of China and swore allegiance to Ming, Although he remained de facto quite independent, he had fulfilled his political destiny and a nephew advised him to seek spiritual salvation, saying that "in Tibet dwells Avalokiteshvara ", referring to Sonam Gyatso, then 28 years old. China was also happy to help Altan Khan by providing necessary translations of holy scripture, and also lamas. At

770-682: The 5th Dalai Lama until 1951 and the 14th Dalai Lama , the lineage was enjoined with the secular role of governing Tibet . During this period, the Dalai Lamas or their Kalons (or regents ) led the Tibetan government in Lhasa , known as the Ganden Phodrang . It governed all of the Tibetan Plateau while respecting varying degrees of autonomy. In 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama revoked Tibet's Seventeen Point Agreement with China, at which point he legally returned to

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840-592: 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

910-618: The Manchu -led Qing dynasty (1720–1912), which officially continued until the collapse of the Qing empire in 1912. 1578 AD, Dalai Lama. The title Dalai Lama is part of the full title "圣 识一切 瓦齐尔达喇 达赖 喇嘛" (Holy Knowing Everying Vajradhara Dalai Lama) given by Altan Khan . "Dalai Lama" is a combination of the Mongolic word dalai ( ' ocean ' ) and the Tibetan word བླ་མ་ ( bla-ma ) ( ' master, guru ' ). The word dalai corresponds to

980-535: The Nyingma , Kagyu and Sakya schools) advanced tantric practitioner to designate a level of spiritual attainment and authority to teach, or may be part of a title such as Dalai Lama or Panchen Lama applied to a lineage of reincarnate lamas ( Tulkus ). Perhaps due to misunderstandings by early western scholars attempting to understand Tibetan Buddhism, the term lama has historically been erroneously applied to Tibetan monks in general. Similarly, Tibetan Buddhism

1050-595: 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

1120-801: 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

1190-471: 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." 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

1260-471: The 'Great 5th' founded the Dalai Lamas' religious and political reign over Tibet that survived for over 300 years. 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,

1330-563: The 'hoos'. At this point, the mother camel starts to weep, tears visibly streaming from her eyes. Immediately after the rite the mother and calf are reconciled and the calf draws milk from her teat. The Story of the Weeping Camel received generally positive reviews; on Rotten Tomatoes , the film holds a 94% 'fresh' rating, based on 103 reviews, and an average rating of 7.57/10, with the consensus "Delightful and strangely moving"; on Metacritic , which uses an average of all 30 critics' reviews,

1400-576: 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

1470-657: The 3rd to Mongolia where the 3rd 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

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1540-542: 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. Meanwhile, Altan Khan , chief of all the Mongol tribes near China's borders, had heard of Sonam Gyatso's spiritual prowess and repeatedly invited him to Mongolia. By 1571, when Altan Khan received

1610-642: The Chinese Emperor summoned him to his court. By then he had established a religious empire of such proportions that it was unsurprising the Emperor wanted to summon him and grant him a diploma. Through Altan Khan, the 3rd Dalai Lama requested to pay tribute to the Emperor of China in order to raise his State Tutor ranking, and the Ming imperial court of China agreed with the request. In 1582, he heard Altan Khan had died and invited by his son Dhüring Khan he decided to return to Mongolia. Passing through Amdo , he founded

1680-495: 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

1750-607: 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

1820-574: 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

1890-567: The Fourth Dalai Lama in 1617 led to open conflict breaking out between various parties. Firstly, 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. However, in 1618 Sonam Rabten , the former attendant of the 4th Dalai Lama who had become the Ganden Phodrang treasurer, secretly identified

1960-473: 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

2030-560: The Khan as heir to the Chingizid lineage whilst securing his patronage. Altan Khan and his followers quickly adopted Buddhism as their state religion, replacing the prohibited traditional Shamanism . Mongol law was reformed to accord with Tibetan Buddhist law. From this time Buddhism spread rapidly across Mongolia and soon the Gelugpa had won the spiritual allegiance of most of the Mongolian tribes. As proposed by Sonam Gyatso, Altan Khan sponsored

2100-547: 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

2170-399: 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

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2240-553: 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 as the Rgyal-ba . 1587 AD, Duǒ Er Zhǐ Chàng (朵儿只唱). As requested by

2310-524: The age of 50, he entered meditation retreat at Narthang . As he grew older, Karma Kagyu adherents, finding their sect was losing too many recruits to the monkhood to burgeoning Gelugpa monasteries, tried to contain Gelug expansion by launching military expeditions against them. This led to decades of military and political power struggles between Tsangpa dynasty forces and others across central Tibet. In an attempt to ameliorate these clashes, Gendun Drup issued

2380-413: The age of 67 and his reliquary stupa was constructed at Khyomorlung. It was said that, by the time he died, through his disciples and their students, his personal influence covered the whole of Buddhist Central Asia where 'there was nobody of any consequence who did not know of him.' The Dalai Lama title was posthumously granted to Gedun Gyatso after 1578. The Third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso (1543–1588),

2450-565: The age of 84, he went on a final teaching tour by foot to visit Narthang Monastery . Returning to Tashilhunpo he died 'in a blaze of glory, recognised as having attained Buddhahood'. His remains were interred in a bejewelled silver stupa at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery , which survived the Cultural Revolution and can still be seen. After Gendun Drup died, a boy called Sangyey Pel, born to Nyngma adepts at Yolkar in Tsang , declared himself at

2520-540: 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

2590-452: 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

2660-423: 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

2730-499: 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

2800-588: The best students from hundreds of lesser monasteries in Asia were sent to Drepung for education. Throughout Gendun Gyatso's life, the Gelugpa were opposed and suppressed by older rivals, particularly the Karma Kagyu and their Ringpung clan patrons from Tsang, who felt threatened by their loss of influence. In 1498, the Ringpung army captured Lhasa and banned the Gelugpa annual New Year Monlam Prayer Festival . Gendun Gyatso

2870-437: The building of Thegchen Chonkhor Monastery at the site of Sonam Gyatso's open-air teachings given to the whole Mongol population. He also called Sonam Gyatso "Dalai", Mongolian for 'Gyatso' (Ocean). In October 1587, as requested by the family of Altan Khan, Gyalwa Sonam Gyatso was promoted to Duǒ Er Zhǐ Chàng (Chinese:朵儿只唱) by the emperor of China, seal of authority and golden sheets were granted. The name "Dalai Lama", by which

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2940-643: 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

3010-458: The extended nomadic community and a number of lama at a sacred place that consists of one end of a log, or wooden pole, set in the earth, with the other end raised to the sky: a stylized 'victory banner' ( Sanskrit : Dhvaja ) with a piece of blue fabric entwined around it, functioning as a prayer flag (darchor-style). The log is supported by a cairn of rocks at its base as foundation. The ritual, however, does not re-establish harmony between

3080-606: The film has an 81/100, indicating "universal acclaim". The documentary was nominated for an Oscar in the category Best Documentary at the 77th Academy Awards . Lama Samding Dorje Phagmo Lama ( Tibetan : བླ་མ་ , Wylie : bla-ma , lit.   ' boss ' ) is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism . The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru , meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities

3150-524: The guru to the aspiring Buddhist yogi or yogini . As such, the lama will then appear as one of the Three Roots (a variant of the Three Jewels ), alongside the yidam and protector (who may be a dakini , dharmapala or other Buddhist deity figure). The mind of the lama is considered Buddha – one's highest potential, the lama's speech is dharma, and the lama's body is one's guide and companion on

3220-640: 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. Gendun Gyatso continued to travel widely and teach while based at Tibet's largest monastery, Drepung and became known as 'Drepung Lama', his fame and influence spreading all over Central Asia as

3290-563: The largest monastery in the whole of Tibet. He attracted many students and disciples 'from Kashmir to China' as well as major patrons and disciples such as Gongma Nangso Donyopa of Droda who built a monastery at Zhekar Dzong in his honour and invited him to name it and be its spiritual guide. Gongma Gyaltsen Palzangpo of Khyomorlungand and his Queen, Sangyey Paldzomma, became his favorite patrons and disciples and he visited their area to carry out rituals as 'he chose it for his next place of rebirth'. He died in meditation at Drepung in 1542 at

3360-463: The leader of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism , Sonam Gyatso, who received it in 1578 at Yanghua Monastery. At that time, Sonam Gyatso had just given teachings to the Khan, and so the title of Dalai Lama was also given to the entire tulku lineage. Sonam Gyatso became the 3rd Dalai Lama , while the first two tulkus in the lineage, the 1st Dalai Lama and the 2nd Dalai Lama , were posthumously awarded

3430-455: The lineage later became known throughout the non-Tibetan world, was thus established and it was applied to the first two incarnations retrospectively. In 1579, the Ming allowed the third Dalai Lama to pay regular tribute. Returning eventually to Tibet by a roundabout route and invited to stay and teach all along the way, in 1580 Sonam Gyatso was in Hohhot [or Ningxia ], not far from Beijing, when

3500-528: 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 become '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

3570-489: The morin khuur on the first hump of the camel to establish a sympathetic magical linkage between the mother and the state of harmony represented by the instrument. Once this is done he removes the instrument and commences playing. As the musician sounds the Morin Khuur, the female family member who lulled her child to sleep with a lullaby earlier in the documentary, repeatedly intones the calming sounds and beautiful melody of

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3640-422: The mother and calf. The family then resolves to secure the services of an indigenous 'violinist' to play the music for a Mongolian 'Hoos' ritual. They send their two young boys on a journey through the desert to the district center to locate a musician. The 'violinist' — who actually plays a morin khuur — is summoned to the camp and a ritual of folk music and chanting is enacted. The musician first drapes

3710-466: 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

3780-495: 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

3850-640: 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

3920-415: The second invitation, in 1577–78 Sonam Gyatso travelled 1,500 miles to Mongolia to see him. They met in an atmosphere of intense reverence and devotion and their meeting resulted in the re-establishment of strong Tibet-Mongolia relations after a gap of 200 years. To Altan Khan, Sonam Gyatso identified himself as the incarnation of Drogön Chögyal Phagpa , and Altan Khan as that of Kubilai Khan , thus placing

3990-518: The secular leadership position of governing Tibet. As both spiritual and secular leaders, the Dalai Lama tulku lineage also undertook priest and patron relationships with neighbors, including Mongolian leaders, kings of the Khoshut , and leaders of the Dzungar Khanates (1642–1720). These relationships occurred simultaneously with the priest and patron relationship between Tibet and the emperors of

4060-410: The student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "highest principle", and less literally "highest mother" or "highest father" to show close relationship between teacher and student. Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries . Today the title can be used as an honorific title conferred on a monk , nun or a lay person (especially in

4130-495: The third Shunyi King of Ming China, Chelike, Sonam Gyatso was given title Duǒ Er Zhǐ Chàng (朵儿只唱) by Wanli Emperor . Samding Dorje Phagmo 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

4200-461: The third incarnation, Sonam Gyatso (1543–1588), who was formally recognised and enthroned at Drepung in 1546. Gendun 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 Gendun now the third in the lineage. Pema Dorje (1391–1474), who would eventually be posthumously declared the 1st Dalai Lama,

4270-578: The title. All tulkus in the lineage of the Dalai Lamas are considered manifestations of the Buddha Avalokiteshvara , the bodhisattva of compassion. Since the time of the 5th Dalai Lama in the 17th century, the Dalai Lama has been a symbol of unification of the state of Tibet . The Dalai Lama was an important figure of the Gelug tradition, which was dominant in Central Tibet, but his religious authority went beyond sectarian boundaries, representing Buddhist values and traditions not tied to

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4340-467: The way to enlightenment, meaning the lama is the perfect embodiment of the sangha. Another expression of lama can be expressed through the 3 Kayas. Dalai Lama Dalai Lama ( UK : / ˈ d æ l aɪ ˈ l ɑː m ə / , US : / ˈ d ɑː l aɪ / ; Tibetan : ཏཱ་ལའི་བླ་མ་ , Wylie : Tā la'i bla ma [táːlɛː láma] ) is a title given by Altan Khan , the first Shunyi King of Ming China . He offered it in appreciation to

4410-462: 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

4480-411: 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

4550-454: 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

4620-457: 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

4690-475: Was promoted to abbot of Drepung in 1517 and that year Ringpung forces were forced to withdraw from Lhasa. Gendun Gyatso then went to the Gongma (King) Drakpa Jungne to obtain permission for the festival to be held again. The next New Year, the Gongma was so impressed by Gendun Gyatso's performance leading the festival that he sponsored construction of a large new residence for him at Drepung, 'a monastery within

4760-452: Was referred to as "Lamaism" by early western scholars and travelers who perhaps did not understand that what they were witnessing was a form of Buddhism; they may also have been unaware of the distinction between Tibetan Buddhism and Bön . The term Lamaism is now considered by some to be derogatory. In the Vajrayana path of Tibetan Buddhism, the lama is often the tantric spiritual guide,

4830-467: 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 ,

4900-457: 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. The death of

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