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Depa Lobzang Thutop

Lobzang Thutop (blo bzang mthu stobs), a monk of Drepung Monastery, near Lhasa, was appointed to succeed Jaisang Depa as Depa or Ruler of Tibet by Lobzang Gyatso, the Fifth Dalai Lama in 1669. He reigned until his resignation in 1675. His birthdate, lifespan and origin were not recorded.

After Depa Sonam Rapten's death a string of five other Depas followed, though none was a strong as he had been, at least until the last one, Sangye Gyatso. Meanwhile Lobzang Gyatso participated strongly in the building of Tibet as a nation and the creation of institutions that would ensure its cultural, political and spiritual success and prosperity. To paraphrase

During his reign, he was always known as and referred to as 'Depa' Lobzang Thutop.

The death of the Mongol King Tenzin Dayan Khan, son of Gushri Khan who had died in 1655, in mid-spring of 1668, following on a few months after that of Lobzang Thutop's predecessor Trinle Gyatso, left a power vacuum in Tibet's goverment administration which was filled on a temporary basis by Lobzang Gyatso himself for a year and a half. In the autumn of 1669 however he moved to appoint a new Depa in the person of Lobzang Thutop, a senior monk official of his entourage who had served 15 years as mchod-pon, a title for the person who arranges the altars and the offerings on them. He first confirmed there would be no objection from the Mongol princes in Kokonor before installing him as Depa within a month of his nomination. As for the Mongols, Lobzang Gyatso did not feel it necessary for him to appoint Tenzin Dalai Khan as the new Mongol 'King' (of Tibet, or of Mongols living in Tibet) until 1671, which indicates that it was he, Lobzang Gyatso, who was fully in charge of running the government and the country.

Lobzang Gyatso's three year delay in appointing a new Mongol King to succeed Tenzin Dayan Khan, while replacing his regent in half that time also confirms the gradual weakening of the influence of the Mongols in central Tibet in general after the death of Gushri Khan in 1655. His successors spent most of their time at their pastures at Dam and in Amdo where they disputed with other princes about territorial rights. One of Depa Lobzang Thutop's policies, that of re-Tibetanising ceremonial dress and removing Mongolian style dress and ornaments to emphasise the Tibetan nature of the government, also reflects this diminishing of Mongolian influence in central Tibet. Mongol titles and Mongol writing styles for official correspondence were also done away with.

Lobzang Thutop is credited with issuing decrees to regulate the height of lama's seats at official ceremonies.

IP 437 - the acolyte inserting the dharani

328 the acolyte, offered ceiling canopy

266 Lobzang Lungrig renamed L. Thutop. 205 - had completed service as a caretaker and was a skilled man. He carried out all the practices as was ordered.

231 'Depa' Lobzang Thutop

Dhondup:

"Losang Thutop was appointed the third Desi [should be the fourth but the author, K. Dhondup, was unaware of the second Desi, Depa Norbu] by the Dalai Lama .... but Lobzang Thutob, though a monk had a mistress descending from the Nedong family Due to the sandalous nature of this relationship, the third desi resigned and left Lhasa for his estates in Zangri."

R'son [449], 452-3, 459

Shak 121

Forced from office in 1675 when it was revealed that he kept a mistress (Tibetan Transitions Geoff Childs Brill)

Sonam Chopel

Now redundant From Bultrini: The words [of Drakpa Gyeltsen] did not console Lady Agyal [his mother]; rather, they threw her into an even deeper despair. The tulku’s sister, her only other child to survive the Mongol Massarce, had no choice but to marry the ambitious Nomsu Norbu, a man proud of being a close relation of the Regent and Prime Minister of Tibet, Sonam Rapten. Nomsu had no personal property but was very practical and knew how to profit from circumstances. The marriage, besides making him a rich man, conferred on him the noble title he needed to enter politics. - DONE SO FAR

Nomsu became notorious for the brutal – some said violent and unscrupulous – ways in which he later dealt with certain practical issues on the regent’s behalf that were embarrassing for a high-ranking religious dignitary such as Choephel. It is impossible to say whether his evil deeds included the murder of Drakpa Gyaltsen, the tulku of the Upper Chamber, given the ambiguous and extraordinary events leading to the latter’s death.

Notes on sources

1. Shakabpa's seminal, 2-volume, 1100-page "Advanced Political History of Tibet" jumps from 1658 to 1660 in a single sentence, from the death of Sonam Rapten to his replacement by Jaisang Depa also called Trinlé Gyatso, without reference to the intervening political events summarised in the above section on 'Appointment as Regent'. In Karmay's translation of Lobzang Gyatso's autobiography, however, description of these occurrencies takes up 50 pages in English, the above section on "Appointment as Regent" being a brief summary of the 28-month episode omitted by Shakabpa.

2. The entire 1659-1660 rebellion and its outcome is referred to in few histories in English, and even then, apart from Tucci's account, only very briefly: Karmay, 2009 (3 sentences), Richardson, 1998 (4 sentences) and Stein (half a sentence); while none of these make any reference at all to Norbu's appointment as Regent; he is omitted from almost all lists of the series of Tibet's ruling Regents. Tucci, while providing the most detailed account of Norbu's rebellion, still mistakes him as 'probably' the brother of the Tsangpa king, Karma Tenkyong Wangpo. Karmay correctly notes in the introduction to his translation (2014) that in Tibetan sources other than Dukula "there is scarce information" about Norbu.

His political career in summary

In Samten G. Karmay's introduction to his translation of the Fifth Dalai Lama's political autobiography, Depa Norbu is described as follows:

"...he was the bête-noire of Lobzang Gyatsho [Fifth Dalai Lama], an intriguer among the Gaden Photrang government officials and a character with a strong personality. He was a younger brother of Depa Sonam Rapten and thus had a certain influence like no other in the government. He served under Depa Sonam Rapten in various capacities, including as a commander in the campaigns against Bhutan, in which he was suspected of secret dealings with the Bhutanese. Despite this duplicity, Lobzang Gyatso tried to come to terms with him, hoping that he might yet turn out to be a good leader. With considerable hesitation, Lobzang Gyatsho appointed him as the Depa in 1659. However, the relationship between the two men soon turned sour."

In Khrinley Losang Dungkar's 'Tibetological Great Dictionary' which serves as an encyclopedia about Tibet, his entry is as follows:

“Nangso Norbu, brother of Desi Sönam Chöphel, was born in Tölung Gyalé. He was a very cunning and ambitious man. He worked for the Ganden Phodrang and did many things that the Fifth Dalai Lama did not agree with. He married into the Gekhasa household of Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen. Using this position, when Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen was taken ill with a fever, he managed to stuff a silk scarf down his throat and killed him. Finally, he turned his back on the Fifth Dalai Lama and fled to Bhutan. His nefarious activities are described in the Fifth Dalai Lama’s autobiography” (i.e., Dukula).

Sources

• Aris, Michael (1979). Bhutan: The Early History of a Himalayan Kingdom. Warminster, UK: Aris & Philips Ltd. ISBN 0856680826.
• Bultrini

[Sonam Rapten's] Early Career

Neither Norbu's exact lifespan nor his place of birth have been established

According to Dungkar and his sources, Drakpa Gyeltsen was murdered by Nangso Norbu (nang so nor bu), the brother-in-law (sku mched) of the regent of Tibet, Sonam Chopel (sde srid / zhal ngo bsod nams chos 'phel, 1595-1658).

Comments on his character by historians, translators and Tibetologists

Contemporaries, historians, translators have commented on Sonam Rabten's character as follows:

Fifth Dalai Lama: he had been greatly impressed and moved by Sonam Rapten's lifework and declared that he had "built up a solid relationship with the Mongols in the same way that 'a master weaver interweaves the threads of a carpet'".

Shakabpa:

K. Dhondup: "...[his] zeal to preserve and promote the Gelugpa sect on the solid foundation of the mystic lure and spiritual sway of both the person and the institution of the Dalai Lama was sometimes carried to grotesque extremes. Courageous and cunning, [he]..."

Richardson: The eminence grise of the Fifth Dalai Lama, [Sonam Rabten] is a figure of considerable stature in Tibetan records and traditions. Ambitious and domineering, he concerted with Gusri the invasion of Tibet...

Karmay: As treasurer of the Ganden Palace he was the prime architect of the rise to political power of the Gelugpa school under the 5th Dalai Lama.

4th Dalai Lama

The Fourth Dalai Lama, Yonten Gyatso (1589-1617) was born a Mongolian. He was a descendant of Kublai Khan, his great-grandfather being Altan Khan, former King of the Tümed Mongols who had already been converted to Buddhism by the Third Dalai Lama.

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 Mongolian 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. He left for Lhasa at the age of ten with a large Mongol escort in an epic journey that took over three years. On arrival, the Panchen Lama was appointed as his tutor, the start of the long, close relationship between the two lineages. Yonten Gyatso 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. Yonten Gyatso died at the age of 27 under suspicious circumstances and his chief attendant Sonam Chophel Rapten went on to discover the 5th Dalai Lama and then to be his influential 'viceroy' or regent, the Desi.

5th Dalai Lama

Resolving sectarian divides

[summary draft to edit after completion of details below] Due largely to the courage, determination and cunning of his first regent Sonam Chöphel, in 1642 the 25-year-old 5th Dalai Lama Lobsang Gyatso inherited military and political control of a nation torn by decades of civil war and power struggles which had often been characterized at least in part by sectarian allegiances. Although the general form of government he instituted would remain largely in place until Tibet's military occupation by the Peoples Republic of China in the 1950s, Lobsang Gyatso's rule over Tibet would not pass into history lacking events which descendants of allies of some factions which lost power during the unification process, and during the quelling of rebellions, still even now consider to have been abuses of government power, 350 years later.

Controversies

Several controversies arose, during and after the 5th Dalai Lamas reign, some of which still persist even to the present day.

Typically, in certain non-specialist, non-academic publications and websites the 5th Dalai Lama stands accused of sectarianism against non-Gelugpa Tibetan religious traditions, and of instigating extreme high levels of violence against his alleged political and religious rivals and enemies (who are usually, the same parties as those against whom he is considered to have practiced sectarianism). However, in general, when subjected to scrutiny and compared to the body of work published by recognised specialists, Tibetologists, academics and Tibetan historians (who base their accounts on authentic and original Tibetan textual evidence, which accurately describe and document all the relevant incidents and events in their full context) these accusations do not stand up well. We normally find that the truth is actually nearer to the opposite to what has been alleged, for reasons which become clear under examination.

Details of the major controversies are as follows.

Alleged sectarianism against Karma Kagyu and Jonangpa sects

The Karma Kagyu had been the dominant religious force in Tibet for at least 100 years and were justifiably concerned at the rapid rise in popularity of the Gelugpa in the 16th/early 17th centuries. Before Lobsang Gyatso became ruler of Tibet in 1642 the Tsangpa dynasty, who were strong devotees of the Karma Kagyu sect, had been persecuting the rising Gelugpa for (over?) a century, mainly at the instigation of the Karma Kagyu order who saw the Gelugpa as a threat to their religious hegemony. After the Tsangpa king was defeated militarily by the Gelugpa devotee and ally Gushri Khan, and Lobsang Gyatso was made ruler of Tibet, an armed rebellion by the remnants of Tsangpa loyalists was joined by 13 monasteries of the Karma Kagyu and Jonangpa sects. After thousands of people were killed, this revolt was quelled and the 13 rebel monasteries, including the main Jonangpa monastery, were penalised for their part in the rebellion. The 5th Dalai Lama ordered them all to be closed down as a punishment for armed insurrection.

Based on this action, some schools and institutions associated with the affected monasteries have accused the 5th Dalai Lama of sectarianism and they still persist in promoting these bitter claims even today. Detailed accounts of punishments inflicted on those monasteries, accusing the 5th Dalai Lama of sectarianism and cruelty have been written and published, but these claims do not make any reference to the monasteries' treasonous rebellion and political armed warfare against the state that brought the punishment upon them.

The current Dalai Lama maintains that the retribution carried out was not due to sectarianism, saying "These monasteries were closed for political reasons, not religious ones, nothing to do with sectarianism. They had supported the Tsangpa king in the uprising, thus committing treason. The Great 5th believed that they should be closed in order to insure the future stability of the nation, and to dissuade other monasteries from engaging in warfare. The fact is that the 5th passed laws outlawing sectarian skirmishes, and passed laws ensuring the freedom of religion, including non-Buddhist schools..."

5th Dalai Lama

When the 5th Dalai Lama issued the edict to appoint Sangye Gyatso as his Desi in 1679, in the same edict he also recognised the Yungdrung Bon as Tibet’s native religion and describes it as being the “holder of secret mantras ”.

The edict is studied by Hugh Richardson, High Peaks, Pure Earth, Collected Writings on Tibetan History and Culture, Serindia 1998, pp.40-461.

13th Dalai Lama

Throne awaiting Dalai Lama's return. Summer residence of 14th Dalai Lama, Nechung, Tibet.

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. (Sheel 1989, pp. 24, 29)

The Thirteenth issued a Declaration of Independence for his kingdom in Ü-Tsang from China during the summer of 1912 and standardised a Tibetan flag, though no other sovereign state recognized Tibetan independence. (Sheel 1989, p. 20) He expelled the ambans and all Chinese civilians in the country and instituted many measures to modernise 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. (Norbu & Turnbull 1968, pp. 317–318) He died in 1933.

Sources

• Karmay, Samten G. (Translator) (2014). Trulwai Roltsai; The Illusive Play ["Dukula"]: The Autobiography of the Fifth Dalai Lama. Serindia Publications. Chicago. ISBN 978-1-932476675. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
• Richardson, Hugh E. (1998) High Peaks, Pure Earth; Collected Writings on Tibetan History and Culture. Serindia Publications, London. ISBN 0906026466
• Shakabpa, Tsepon W.D. (1967), Tibet: A Political History. New York: Yale University Press, and (1984), Singapore: Potala Publications. ISBN 0961147415.
• Shakabpa, Tsepon W.D. (2010). One Hundred Thousand Moons. An Advanced Political History of Tibet (2 volumes). Leiden (Netherlands), Boston (USA): Brill's Tibetan Studies Library. ISBN 9789004177321.
• Tucci, Giuseppe. 1949. Tibetan Painted Scrolls. Rome: La Libreria dello Stato , vol. 1

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