The 8th Dalai Lama and the Golden
Urn
Historical
Background on China's "Lama" Policy. By
Barbara
O'Brien, About.com
Guide
This is a part of a series of biographies
of the
Dalai
Lamas of
Tibetan
Buddhism. But it is less of a biography than it is
a story about events during the life of the 8th Dalai Lama, Jamphel
Gyatso (1758-1804).
To recap the last article, about
the
7th Dalai
Lama.: During the tenure of the 7th Dalai Lama,
Tibet became a protectorate of the Qing Dynasty of China. For
several years, a Tibetan aristocrat and general named Pholhane
ruled Tibet, with Qing support. The 7th Dalai Lama was given only
ceremonial duties, when he was allowed to reside in Lhasa at
all.
After Philhane died he was succeeded by a
son, but the son was assassinated by the Qing representatives in
Lhasa, called ambans. Violence
ensued; the Qianlong Emperor sent troops to Lhasa to restore
order.
However, instead of seizing control of
Tibet, the Qianlong Emperor allowed the 7th Dalai Lama, then 43
years old, to assume the position of head of Tibet's government.
New ambans were left in Lhasa to act as the Emperor's eyes and
ears.
The 7th Dalai Lama never assumed autocratic
control of Tibet. He co-ruled with a council of four Tibetan
ministers called the Kashag. Plus,
other ministers, the heads of other schools of Buddhism, and
the
Panchen
Lama all had a say in how Tibet was
governed.
The 7th Dalai Lama died in
1757.
Early Life of the 8th Dalai
Lama
The boy who would become His Holiness
Jamphel Gyatso, the 8th Dalai Lama, was born in southwest Tibet in
1758. While still an infant, he was recognized as the Dalai
Lama's
tulku
by the 6th Panchen Lama. At age 2 1/2 he
was taken to Tashilhunpo Monastery, about 160 miles southwest of
Lhasa, to begin training. At the age of 4 he was escorted to Lhasa
and enthroned in Potala Palace as the 8th Dalai
Lama.
Jamphel Gyatso was represented in
government by a series of regents until 1784, when he was 26. This
was much later than other Dalai Lamas had assumed responsibility.
But by all accounts, Jamphel Gyatso was disinterested in government
and preferred to let others run Tibet. In 1790 he returned
governing duties to his regent, who had been acting as an
ambassador to the Emperor's court in Beijing.
The 8th Dalai Lama's mark on history was
small enough that some histories of Tibet do not mention him at
all. Even so, some significant events happened during his tenure
that pertain to Tibet's situation today.
A Family Spat
The 6th Panchen Lama had two brothers who
also were reincarnated high lamas, the Shamar tulku and the Trungpa
tulku of the
Kagyu
school. Another sibling, a sister, also was
recognized as a tulku.
In 1780 the 6th Panchen Lama died from
smallpox while on a state visit to Beijing. The distraught Qianlong
Emperor heaped the Panchen Lama's entourage with costly presents to
take back to Tibet. The Trungpa tulku, who had been traveling with
his brother, received the presents and stored them in Tashilhunpo,
where he was the treasurer.
The Shamar tulku objected, saying that the
gifts had been given to the family, not to a monastery. He demanded
a share of the presents. When Trungpa refused, the Shamar tulku
organized Kagyu monks and stormed Tashilhunpo, taking a portion of
the Emperor's gifts.
The Shamar tulku's act did not sit well
with authorities. The presents were taken back to Tashilhunpo, and
the Shamar tulku was ordered confined to his monastery. He fled to
Nepal, which recently had been conquered by
Gurkhas.
Gurkhas Invade
Tibet
The Gurkhas had already been stirring up
issues about coinage and trade with Tibet, probably building an
excuse to invade. The Gurkhas informed the Kashag in Lhasa they
were holding the Shamar tulku hostage until certain demands were
met. But the Kashag expressed disinterest in getting the Shamar
tulku back.
In 1789 Gurkha troops entered Tibet and
marched toward Tashilhunpo, possibly at the request of the Shamar
tulku, who was not really a hostage. The ambans of Lhasa sent word
to the Qianlong Emperor. The Emperor sent troops to the border of
Tibet but was loathe to take on the Gurkhas. He encouraged the
Tibetans and Gurkhas to make a deal.
The deal that was made quickly fell apart.
In 1790 the Gurkhas invaded Tibet again. This time they seized
several provinces and looted Tashilhunpo. Panic gripped Lhasa; as
others prepared to flee, the 8th Dalai Lama addressed the people
from a balcony of Potala Palace and promised he would remain in
Lhasa.
The Tibetan army moved against the Gurkhas
and cut off their supply lines. But then a massive force of 17,000
Chinese troops arrived, led by one of the Qianlong Emperor's best
generals. The Gurkhas were pursued deep into Nepal and forced to
surrender. The loot from Tashilhunpo was recovered and sent back to
Beijing. By then the Shamar tulku had died -- it is not certain how
-- and his lineage would not be restored until the 20th
century.
The Golden Urn
The Qianlong Emperor blamed the conflict
between the Gurkhas and Tibetans on the altercation between the
Shamar and Trunpa tulkus. The fact that so many high lamas had been
found within the same influential family smacked of favoritism, he
thought. The Emperor decided such concentrations of influence
needed to be broken up.
So, the Emperor's Manchu general, still
accompanied by 17,000 troops, negotiated new regulations with the
government of Tibet. The first of these involved the golden urn.
From that time on, the regulation said, high lamas would be chosen
by a kind of lottery by drawing slips from the
urn.
How much was the golden urn lottery really
used? It's hard to say. It's generally agreed the urn was used to
choose the 10th Dalai Lama, but its use had been discontinued by
the time the 13th Dalai Lama was chosen. The Tibetans never liked
it and preferred their own mystical process.
Now, we have to do a quick fast forward to
the present day. The current government of the People's Republic of
China has reinstated the golden urn lottery, insisting that is the
only legitimate way Dalai and Panchen lamas may be
chosen.
In 1995, the newly identified 11th Panchen
Lama, a six-year-old boy named Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, disappeared
along with his family. Beijing makes vague statements about the
family living on a farm somewhere, but since no one has seen them
since 1995 it is assumed they are either imprisoned or dead.
Beijing held a golden urn lottery to choose another boy, the son of
a Tibetan Communist Party official, to become the new Panchen Lama.
Beijing has made it clear that when the 14th Dalai Lama dies, this
faux Panchen Lama will officiate at the golden urn ceremony that
will choose a faux 15th Dalai Lama.
It's unclear what Beijing hopes to
accomplish, since it's unlikely anyone outside of China will take
the Chinese Communist Party's choice of Dalai Lama seriously. But
that's the plan.
The 8th Dalai Lama's Later Life and
Successors
The 8th Dalai Lama is remembered for
completing the construction of
Norbulingka
Park and Summer Palace, begun by the 7th
Dalai Lama. He died in 1804. The next four Dalai Lamas -- the 9th,
10th, 11th, and 12th -- all died young. Not until the
Great Thirteenth, Thubten
Gyatso (1876-1933) , would a Dalai Lama become a significant
figure in history.