Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama, leader of the dominant Dge-lugs-pa (Gelukpa, also called Yellow Hat) order of Tibetan Buddhists and, until 1959, both spiritual and temporal ruler of Tibet. The current Dalai Lama is the world-renowned 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) who lives in exile in India. The title combines the Tibetan word lama (teacher or leader) with the Mongolian word ta-le (ocean; Anglicized as dalai) and became the title for the leader of the Gelukpa order in the 16th century.

(Read the 14th Dalai Lama’s Britannica essay on compassion.)

Tibetan Buddhism and the role of lamas

The idea of lamas as important teachers of esoteric knowledge in religious lineages and the concept of reincarnating lamas developed within Tibetan Buddhism as Vajrayana Buddhism was brought from India and took root in Tibet. Buddhism moved into Tibet in two main disseminations. According to textual histories, Buddhism was first brought from China and Nepal into Tibet under the rule of king Srong-brtsan-sgam-po (Songtsen Gampo; 605–660 ce), and became the state religion under his descendent Khri-srong-lde-btsan (Tri Songdetsen; 755–797). But the Tibetan empire and Buddhist monasteries crumbled during the 9th century. Buddhism blossomed again, in what is called the second dissemination, beginning in the middle of the 10th century. The form of Buddhism that took root most firmly in Tibet during this exchange is Vajrayana, which is based on Tantric texts and also encompasses many ideas developed in other branches. A key aspect of Vajrayana Buddhism is the requirement of initiation (abhisheka) by a qualified master, called a lama.

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As Buddhism developed in Tibet, different schools formed around particular Tantric texts and lineages of masters. These schools held both religious and political power. The four main schools that developed are Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, and Gelukpa. In the Kagyu school, which developed initially in the 11th century, there began in the 13th century a tradition of succession within the religious order based on the head lama being reborn in another incarnation, or sprul-sku (also transliterated as tulku), which became a common idea among the various Tibetan Buddhist schools. The Gelukpa school, which arose in the 14th century, adopted this form of succession for its leaders, the Dalai Lamas. The Geluks were highly regarded in Tibet for their academic and religious prowess and they attained political power as well, in part backed by Mongolian leaders, and they have a long history of trying to balance power with empires in Mongolia and China.

History of Dalai Lamas

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The first of the line was Dge-’dun-grub-pa (Gendun Drupa; 1391–1474), founder and abbot of Tashilhunpo monastery (central Tibet). In accordance with the belief in reincarnate lamas, his successors were conceived as his rebirths and came to be regarded as physical manifestations of the compassionate bodhisattva (“buddha-to-be”), Avalokiteshvara.

The second head of the Dge-lugs-pa (Gelukpa) order, Dge-’dun-rgya-mtsho (Gendun Gyatso; 1475–1542), became the head abbot of the ’Bras-spungs (Drepung) monastery on the outskirts of Lhasa, which thenceforward was the principal seat of the Dalai Lama.

The third Dalai Lama was the first to be referred to by that specific title. Bsod-nams-rgya-mtsho (Sonam Gyatso; 1543–88), while on a visit to the Mongol chief Altan Khan, received from that ruler the honorific title ta-le (Anglicized as “dalai”), the Mongolian equivalent of the Tibetan rgya-mtsho (gyatso), meaning “ocean” and presumably suggesting breadth and depth of wisdom. In their mutual agreement, Altan Khan acknowledged Sonam Gyatso as his religious teacher and the newly dubbed Dalai Lama acknowledged Altan Khan’s political leadership. The title was subsequently applied posthumously to the abbot’s two predecessors. The Tibetans themselves call the Dalai Lama “Rgyal-ba Rin-po-che” (Gyalwa Rinpoche, “Precious Conqueror”).

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The fourth Dalai Lama, Yon-tan-rgya-mtsho (Yonten Gyatso; 1589–1617), was a great-grandson of Altan Khan and thus far the only non-Tibetan Dalai Lama.

The next Dalai Lama, Ngag-dbang-blo-bzang-rgya-mtsho (Ngawang Lobzang Gyatso; 1617–82), is commonly called the Great Fifth. He established, with the military assistance of the Khoshut Mongols, the supremacy of the Gelukpa sect over rival orders for the temporal rule of Tibet. During his reign the majestic winter palace of the Dalai Lamas, the Potala Palace, was built in Lhasa.

The sixth Dalai Lama, Tshangs-dbyangs-rgya-mtsho (Tsangyang Gyatso; 1683–1706), was a libertine and a writer of romantic verse, not entirely suited for a seat of such authority. He was deposed by the Mongols and died while being taken to China under military escort.

The seventh Dalai Lama, Bskal-bzang-rgya-mtsho (Kelzang Gyatso; 1708–57), experienced civil war and the establishment of Chinese Manchu suzerainty over Tibet. The eighth Dalai Lama, ’Jam-dpal-rgya-mtsho (Jampel Gyatso; 1758–1804), saw his country invaded by Gurkha troops from Nepal but defeated them with the aid of Chinese forces. The next four Dalai Lamas all died young, and the country was ruled by regents of the Qing dynasty. They were Lung-rtogs-rgya-mtsho (Lungtok Gyatso; 1805/06–15), Tshul-khrims-rgya-mtsho (Tsultrim Gyatso; 1816–37), Mkhas-grub-rgya-mtsho (Khedrup Gyatso; 1838–56), and ’Phrin-las-rgya-mtsho (Trinle Gyatso; 1856–75).

The 13th Dalai Lama, Thub-bstan-rgya-mtsho (Tupten Gytaso; 1876–1933), ruled with great personal authority. The successful revolt within China against its ruling Qing dynasty in 1911–12 gave the Tibetans the opportunity to dispel the disunited Chinese troops, and the Dalai Lama reigned as head of a sovereign state.

The 14th Dalai Lama

The 14th Dalai Lama, Bstan-’dzin-rgya-mtsho (Tenzin Gyatso), was born Lhamo Thondup (also spelled Dhondup) in 1935 in what is currently Qinghai province, specifically in the Amdo region, in China, of Tibetan parentage. He was recognized as the incarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama in 1937, enthroned in 1940, and vested with full powers as head of state in 1950. He fled to exile in India in 1959, the year of the unsuccessful revolt by Tibetans against communist Chinese forces that had occupied the country since 1950. The Dalai Lama set up a government-in-exile in Dharamshala, India, in the Himalayan mountains.

The 14th Dalai Lama has become a world-renowned figure and a religious leader on a global stage. In 1989 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in recognition of his nonviolent campaign to end Chinese domination of Tibet. He has traveled the world offering talks on peace, nonviolence, interreligious understanding, and compassion. In the first decade of the 21st century, the Dalai Lama suggested that his successor could be appointed by him rather than selected as his reincarnation; this idea was rejected by the Chinese government, which declared that the tradition of appointing a new Dalai Lama had to be upheld and would necessarily involve Chinese governmental oversight and approval. In 2011 the 14th Dalai Lama stepped down as head of the Tibetan government-in-exile. He has written a number of books on Tibetan Buddhism and an autobiography. (See Sidebar: A Call to Compassion.)

Table of Dalai Lamas