The Panchen Lama () is a
tulku of the
Gelug
240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India).
The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous")Kay, David N. (2007). ''Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantati ...
school of
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
. Panchen Lama is one of the most important figures in the Gelug tradition, with its spiritual authority second only to
Dalai Lama. Along with the council of high lamas, he is in charge of seeking out the next Dalai Lama. ''Panchen'' is a portmanteau of ''
Pandita'' and ''Chenpo'', meaning "great scholar".
The recognition of Panchen Lamas began with
Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen, tutor of the
5th Dalai Lama
Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (; ; 1617–1682) was the 5th Dalai Lama and the first Dalai Lama to wield effective temporal and spiritual power over all Tibet. He is often referred to simply as the Great Fifth, being a key religious and temporal leader ...
, who received the title "Panchen Bogd" from
Altan Khan and the Dalai Lama in 1645.
''Bogd'' is Mongolian, meaning "holy".
Khedrup Gelek Pelzang
Khedrup Gelek Pelzang, 1st Panchen Lama (1385–1438 CE) – better known as Khedrup Je – was one of the main disciples of Je Tsongkhapa, whose reforms to Atiśa's Kadam tradition are considered the beginnings of the Gelug ...
,
Sönam Choklang and
Ensapa Lobsang Döndrup were subsequently recognized as the first to third Panchen Lamas posthumously.
In 1713, the
Kangxi Emperor of the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...
granted the title Panchen Erdeni to the
5th Panchen Lama. In 1792, the
Qianlong Emperor issued a decree known as the
29-Article Ordinance for the More Effective Governing of Tibet, and Article One of the decree was designed to be used in the selection of rinpoches, lamas and other high offices within Tibetan Buddhism, including the Dalai Lamas, Panchen Lamas and Mongolian lamas.
[Smith 1997, p. 135.]
Traditionally, the Panchen Lama is the head of
Tashilhunpo Monastery, and holds religious and secular power over the
Tsang region centered in
Shigatse, independent of the
Ganden Podrang authority led by the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama are closely connected, and each participate in the process of recognizing each other's reincarnations.
The current 11th Panchen Lama,
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, was recognized by the
14th Dalai Lama on 14 May 1995. Three days later, the six-year-old Panchen Lama was kidnapped by the Chinese government and his family was taken into custody. The Chinese government instead named
Gyaincain Norbu as the 11th Panchen Lama. Their nomination has been
widely rejected by Buddhists in Tibet and abroad, while governments have called for information about and the release of the Panchen Lama. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima has never been publicly seen since 1995.
History
Name
The successive Panchen Lamas form a ''
tulku'' reincarnation lineage which are said to be the incarnations of
Amitābha. The title, meaning "Great Scholar", is a Tibetan contraction of the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
''
paṇḍita'' (scholar) and the Tibetan ''chenpo'' (great). The Panchen Lama traditionally lived in
Tashilhunpo Monastery in
Shigatse. From the name of this monastery, the Europeans referred to the Panchen Lama as the ''Tashi-Lama'' (or spelled ''Tesho-Lama'' or ''Teshu-Lama'').
Other titles of Panchen Lama include "Panchen Bogd", the original title given by Altan Khan at the creation of the lineage. "Bogd" (
Mongolian: ᠪᠣᠭᠳᠠ ''богд'') is Mongolian, meaning "holy, saint".
In 1713, 5th Panchen Lama
Lobsang Yeshe
Lobsang Yeshe (; also written Lobsang Yeshi) (1663–1737) was the fifth Panchen Lama of Tibet.
He was born of a well-known and noble family in the province of Tsang. His father's name was De-chhen-gyalpo and his mother's Serab-Drolma. He w ...
received the title "Panchen Erdeni" from
Kangxi Emperor of
Qing Empire, which is inherited by successive Panchen Lamas since then. "Erdeni", or "Erdini", (
Manchu: ᡝᡵᡩᡝᠨᡳ ''erdeni'') is Manchu, meaning "treasure".
First Panchen Lama
Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen (1570–1662), was the first Panchen Lama to be accorded this title during his lifetime. He was the tutor and a close ally of the
5th Dalai Lama
Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (; ; 1617–1682) was the 5th Dalai Lama and the first Dalai Lama to wield effective temporal and spiritual power over all Tibet. He is often referred to simply as the Great Fifth, being a key religious and temporal leader ...
,
[Mullin 2001, p.174]
"The Great Fifth", as he is known, pronounced the Panchen to be an incarnation of the
celestial buddha Amitābha.
[''Tibet is My Country: Autobiography of Thubten Jigme Norbu, Brother of the Dalai Lama as told to Heinrich Harrer'', p. 121. First published in German in 1960. English translation by Edward Fitzgerald, published 1960. Reprint, with updated new chapter, (1986): Wisdom Publications, London. .]
The 5th Dalai Lama requested the Panchen to accept
Tashilhunpo Monastery, built by the
1st Dalai Lama, as his multi-lifetime seat for future incarnations.
[Mullin 2001, p.205] Since then, every incarnation of the Panchen Lama has been the master of Tashilhunpo Monastery
and it is there that they have all received their education and their mummified bodies were enshrined.
When Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen died in 1662, the 5th Dalai Lama commenced the tradition of searching for his next incarnation. He also reserved the traditional title of ''Panchen'' which had previously been a courtesy title for all exceptionally learned lamas – exclusively for his successors.
Khedrub Je,
Sönam Choklang and
Ensapa Lobsang Döndrup were posthumously decided by the
5th Dalai Lama
Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (; ; 1617–1682) was the 5th Dalai Lama and the first Dalai Lama to wield effective temporal and spiritual power over all Tibet. He is often referred to simply as the Great Fifth, being a key religious and temporal leader ...
to have been a previous incarnation of
Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen, 4th Panchen Lama (1570–1662). Traditionally, there were considered to be four Indian and three Tibetan incarnations before Khedrup, starting with
Subhuti, one of the original disciples of
Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
.
Gö Lotsawa is considered to be the first Tibetan incarnation of Amitabha in this line.
The recognition of Panchen Lamas has always been a matter involving the Dalai Lama.
Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama, himself declared, as cited by an official Chinese review that "according to Tibetan tradition, the confirmation of either the Dalai or Panchen must be mutually recognized." The involvement of the government of China in this affair is seen by some as a political ploy to try to gain control over the recognition of the next Dalai Lama (see below), and to strengthen their hold over the future of Tibet and its governance. The government claims however, that their involvement does not break with tradition in that the final decision about the recognition of both the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama traditionally rested in the hands of the Chinese emperor. For instance, after 1792, the
Golden Urn
The Golden Urn refers to a method for selecting Tibetan reincarnations by drawing lots or tally sticks from a Golden Urn introduced by the Qing dynasty of China in 1793. After the Sino-Nepalese War, the Qianlong Emperor promulgated the 29-Article ...
was thought to have been used in selecting the 10th, 11th and 12th Dalai Lamas; but the
14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, has more recently said that this was only really used in selection of the 11th, and that in the other cases it was only used to humour the Chinese to confirm a selection that had already been made by traditional methods.
Modern times
In 1924, the
thirteenth Dalai Lama prohibited the
9th Panchen Lama's followers from holding any office in the Central Tibetan government and imprisoned them in
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China. The inner urban area of Lhas ...
, prompting the Panchen Lama to flee to
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...
, China. The Dalai Lama was attempting to collect revenue from the Panchen Lama's estate to cover Tibet's military expenses, and to reduce the power of the Panchen Lama.
[Powers 2004, pg. 99] In China, the ninth Panchen Lama worked on plans to develop Tibet. He also held a position in the
Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission, and was considered extremely "pro Chinese". There, he adopted the ideas of
Sun Yatsen through revolutionary
Pandatsang Rapga
Pandatsang Rapga (; 1902–1974) was a Khamba revolutionary during the first half of the 20th century in Tibet. He was pro-Kuomintang and pro-Republic of China, anti-feudal, anti-communist. He believed in overthrowing the Dalai Lama's feudal regim ...
of the
Tibet Improvement Party.
When the
Ninth Panchen Lama died in 1937, two simultaneous searches for the tenth Panchen Lama produced two competing candidates, with the Dalai Lama's officials selecting a boy from Xikang and the Panchen Lama's officials picking
Gonpo Tseten.
The
Republic of China government, then embroiled in the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
, declared its support for Tseten on June 3, 1949. Chinese Nationalist governor
Ma Bufang allowed
Kumbum Monastery to be totally self-governed by Tseten, now called Gyaltsen, while the
14th Dalai Lama's government refused to recognize him.
[Melvyn C. Goldstein, in McKay 2003, p. 222]
The 10th Panchen Lama sought revenge on the Dalai Lama by leading an army against him, and requested aid from Ma Bufang in September 1949. However, the Chinese Nationalist government, facing defeat from the communists, requested the Panchen Lama's help instead, formulating a plan where 3 Khampa divisions would be led by him as a broad anti-Communist base in
Southwest China
Southwest China () is a region in the south of the People's Republic of China.
Geography
Southwest China is a rugged and mountainous region, transitioning between the Tibetan Plateau to the west and the Chinese coastal hills (东南丘陵) and ...
,
but the Panchen Lama decided to defect to the Communists instead. The Panchen Lama, unlike the Dalai Lama, sought to exert control in decision making.
The Panchen Lama initially supported Communist policies for Tibet.
Radio Beijing
China Radio International (CRI) is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of China. It is currently headquartered in the Babaoshan area of Beijing's Shijingshan District. It was founded on December 3, 1941, as Radio Peking. It later ...
broadcast the religious leader's call for Tibet to be "liberated" into the PRC, which created pressure on the Lhasa government to negotiate with the People's Republic.
He also called on Tibetans to support the Chinese government." However in 1962, he wrote the
70,000 Character Petition
The 70,000 Character Petition ( bo, text=ཡིག་འབྲུ་ཁྲི་བདུན་གྱི་སྙན་ཞུ, translit=Yig 'bru khri bdun gyi snyan zhu ( Wylie)), size=150%, label=Tibetan () is a report, dated 18 May 1962, written ...
detailing abuses of power in Tibet and discussed it with Premier
Zhou Enlai.
However, in 1964, he was imprisoned and forced to undergo
Struggle session
Denunciation rallies, also called struggle sessions, were violent public spectacles in Maoist China where people accused of being "Five Black Categories, class enemies" were public humiliation, publicly humiliated, accused, beaten and tortured by ...
s. In October 1977, he was released but held under house arrest in 1982. In 1979, he married a
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...
woman and in 1983 they had a daughter. In 1989, the 10th Panchen Lama died suddenly in Shigatse at the age of 51 shortly after giving a speech criticizing the excesses of the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...
in Tibet but however praising the
reform and opening up
The Chinese economic reform or reform and opening-up (), known in the West as the opening of China, is the program of economic reforms termed "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and " socialist market economy" in the People's Republic of C ...
of the 1980s.
[Hilton 2000, pp. 192–194] His daughter, now a young woman, is
Yabshi Pan Rinzinwangmo, better known as "Renji".
The
Dalai Lama named
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the 11th incarnation of the Panchen Lama on 14 May 1995,. The Chinese government insisted that the 11th Panchen Lama has to be chosen via the golden urn. In selecting a name, lottery numbers were drawn from the
Golden Urn
The Golden Urn refers to a method for selecting Tibetan reincarnations by drawing lots or tally sticks from a Golden Urn introduced by the Qing dynasty of China in 1793. After the Sino-Nepalese War, the Qianlong Emperor promulgated the 29-Article ...
. Chinese authorities named
Gyancain Norbu as the search committee's choice on 11 November 1995.
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima has not been observed by an independent party ever since 17 May 1995. The Chinese government claims he is living a "normal private life". Tibetans and human rights groups continue to campaign for his release.
Relation to the Dalai Lama lineage
The Panchen Lama bears part of the responsibility of the monk-regent for finding the incarnation of the Dalai Lama, and vice versa. This has been the tradition since the
5th Dalai Lama
Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (; ; 1617–1682) was the 5th Dalai Lama and the first Dalai Lama to wield effective temporal and spiritual power over all Tibet. He is often referred to simply as the Great Fifth, being a key religious and temporal leader ...
recognized his teacher ''Lobsang Choekyi Gyaltsen'' as the Panchen Lama of Tashilhunpo. With this appointment, Lobsang Choekyi Gyaltsen's three previous incarnations were posthumously recognised as Panchen Lamas. The "Great Fifth" also recognized
Lobsang Yeshe, 5th Panchen Lama. The
7th Dalai Lama
Kelzang Gyatso (; 1708–1757), also spelled Kalzang Gyatso, Kelsang Gyatso and Kezang Gyatso, was the 7th Dalai Lama of Tibet, recognized as the true incarnation of the 6th Dalai Lama, and enthroned after a pretender was deposed.
The Seventh ...
recognized
Lobsang Palden Yeshe, 6th Panchen Lama
Lobsang Palden Yeshe (1738–1780) () was the sixth Panchen Lama of Tashilhunpo Monastery in Tibet. He was the elder stepbrother of the 10th Shamarpa, Mipam Chödrup Gyamtso (1742–1793).
The Panchen Lama was distinguished by his writings and ...
, who in turn recognized the
8th Dalai Lama
Jamphel Gyatso (1758–1804) was the 8th Dalai Lama of Tibet.
Born in 1758 at Lhari Gang (Tob-rgyal Lha-ri Gang) in the Upper Ü-Tsang region of southwestern Tibet his father, Sonam Dhargye and mother, Phuntsok Wangmo, were originally from Kham ...
. Similarly, the Eighth Dalai Lama recognised
Palden Tenpai Nyima, 7th Panchen Lama. The current
14th Dalai Lama was first found by the 9th Panchen Lama when he was living in the
Kumbum Monastery. In February 1937, the Panchen Lama informed his investigation to the Tibetan government's representatives, who would later confirm the new Dalai Lama's identity. On 26 January 1940,
the Regent Reting Rinpoche requested the Central Government to exempt Tenzin Gyatso from lot-drawing process using
Golden Urn
The Golden Urn refers to a method for selecting Tibetan reincarnations by drawing lots or tally sticks from a Golden Urn introduced by the Qing dynasty of China in 1793. After the Sino-Nepalese War, the Qianlong Emperor promulgated the 29-Article ...
to become the 14th Dalai Lama.
The request was approved by the Central Government.
Political significance
Monastic figures had historically held important roles in the social makeup of
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...
, and though these roles have diminished since 1959, many Tibetans continue to regard the Panchen Lama as a significant political, as well as spiritual figure due to the role he traditionally plays in selecting the next Dalai Lama. The political significance of the role is also utilized by the Chinese state. Tibetan support groups such as London-based
Free Tibet have argued that the Chinese government seeks to install its own choice of Dalai Lama when Tenzin Gyatso, the current Dalai Lama, dies and that for this reason the Dalai Lama's choice of Panchen Lama,
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima went missing at the age of six, to be replaced by the Chinese state's choice,
Gyaincain Norbu. It is suggested that the Chinese government may give the title of Dalai Lama to the son of a loyal ethnic Tibetan Communist party member and it will pressure Western governments to recognize its boy, and not the boy chosen by Lamas in India, as the head of Tibetan Buddhism.
See also
*
List of Panchen Lamas
This is a list of Panchen Lamas of Tibet. There are currently 10 recognised incarnations of the Panchen Lama; the 11th Panchen Lama is 11th Panchen Lama controversy, disputed however.
List
11th Panchen Lama schism
After the death of the 10th P ...
*
Tashilhunpo Monastery
*
History of Tibet
While the Tibetan plateau has been inhabited since pre-historic times, most of Tibet's history went unrecorded until the introduction of Tibetan Buddhism around the 6th century. Tibetan texts refer to the kingdom of Zhangzhung (c. 500 BCE – 62 ...
*
Choekyi Gyaltsen
Lobsang Trinley Lhündrub Chökyi Gyaltsen (born Gönbo Cêdän; 19 February 1938 – 28 January 1989) was the tenth Panchen Lama, officially the 10th Panchen Erdeni (), of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. According to Tibetan Buddhis ...
*
Tibet since 1950
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...
*
11th Panchen Lama controversy
References
Citations
Sources
* Goldstein, Melvyn C. ''A History of Modern Tibet, 1913–1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State'' (1989) University of California Press. .
* Goldstein, Melvyn C. ''The Snow Lion and the Dragon: China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama'' (1997) University of California Press. .
* Kapstein, Matthew T. (2006). ''The Tibetans''. Blackwell Publishing. Oxford, U.K. .
* Stein, Rolf Alfred. ''Tibetan Civilization'' (1972) Stanford University Press. .
* Van Grasdorff, Gilles. ''Hostage of Beijing: The Abduction of the Panchen Lama'' (1999) Element Books, Inc. .
Kuzmin S. 2014. The Activity of the 9th Panchen Lama in Inner Mongolia and Manchuria. – Far Eastern Affairs, 2014, no. 1, pp. 123–137.
External links
Free the Panchen Lama a campaigns website for the Panchen Lama's release
fro
Tibet Society – UK OrganisationChina Tibetology No. 03 a series of articles from tibet.cn explaining the Chinese government's position on the search of reincarnations of the Panchen Lama.
Tibet's missing spiritual guide a May 2005 article from
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
11th Panchen Lama of Tibet a website about Gedhun Choekyi Nyima
{{authority control
Buddhas
Tibetan Buddhist titles
Gelug tulkus
Amitābha Buddha