Who Murdered the Sixth Dalai Lama? Part 4

Part 4 of 6

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Above: Map of Tibet with modern borders. The borders of Tibet depicted are a combination of the Tibetan Autonomous Region's (TAR's) borders, a subdivision of the People's Republic of China, and the recognized "Line of Control" with India. Tsangyang Gyatso's birthplace would be on the southernmost part of what China regards as the TAR, but for the rest of the world, is in Indian territory, in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, directly northeast of Bhutan. A little further northeast, north of the Line of Control, is Tsona, where Tsangyang Gyatso and his family were held captive before his enthronement.

IV. Dalai Lama unleashed

To say this was bad is understating the problem. This was a crisis of legitimacy that has few modern parallels.

The Regent didn’t waste Tsangyang Gyatso and his family’s time under extended house arrest in Tsona. He was educated to become the Dalai Lama, in a similar manner that the Great Fifth had educated the young Sangye Gyatso himself.1 He was certainly raised to become the next Dalai Lama. But now, after he had been ordained into his getshul vows, and enthroned in the Potala in 1697, the title and office were his. Dalai Lama was not something that could simply be taken away from Tsangyang Gyatso. Some in the Tibetan government seemed to believe that Tsangyang’s behavior was due to the company he kept. The prime suspect being his friend, wing-man, and Palace official Thargyanas (dates unknown).

Tsangyang, Thargyanas, and his servant were out partying one night when they decided to switch clothes. They were returning from Shol via a back door in the Potala. Three men waited in the hallway beyond the door, hiding in the dark. They struck, but mistook the servant for Thargyanas on account of his clothes. Realizing their mistake, the assassins struck Thargyanas, but he survived the assault.

The Dalai Lama then consulted the Lhamo Oracle on who conducted the attack. The Oracle’s clues pointed to three officials tied to Regent Sangye Gyatso. All three were apprehended and executed. Though the Regent himself was not indicated by the Oracle, Tsangyang clearly expected as much, and relations between the Dalai Lama and his Regent chilled to a freezing point.2 Though Tsangyang Gyatso had vociferously abhorred the power his office held, it is clear from this episode that he very much retained that authority were he to reach out and take it.

Below: The Lhamo Oracle of Doku. It is unclear to me what the relationship between this oracle and the one that Tsangyang Gyatso consulted is. "Lhamo" is the Tibetan word for "goddess" and is usually a shortened form of a specific deity being propitiated. This video was captured in Ladakh 2002, and copyrighted by H+R Dockal, a German-language film company. The Oracle appears to be attempting to heal one of the propitiants, sucking the sickness out of her body and spitting it back out around 6 minutes into the video. Helena Norberg Hodge describes a similar scene in Ancient Futures.

Tibetans are certainly no stranger to assassinations, but there is a large emphasis on so-called “non-violent” methods to mitigate the bad karma that comes with murder. Poison is preferred. Not spilling blood, especially royal blood, is considered a big deal.3 When the last Tibetan Emperor Lang Darma assassinated his brother and predecessor, he had the assassins twist his head until his neck snapped.4 Another, very Tibetan, method of assassination is suffocation by stuffing a ceremonial white silk scarf, a khata (kha btags), down the target’s throat.5 To attempt stabbing the Dalai Lama in the streets emphasizes how serious things had become.

It’s worth comparing the situation in Tibet with that of Bhutan: the Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1593-1651) intended on passing down rule of Bhutan to his Jampal Dorji (1631-1680/1). Unfortunately, his son had a stroke very young, and while he outlived his father, the situation was far from ideal. There was even some talk that perhaps the Zhabdrung should give back his vow of celibacy (just the one) and take a new wife to try and secure the succession. But since Bhutan was a brand-new county, rebels and enemy tribes were everywhere, and the Tibetan-Mongol Alliance was looking for any excuse to try conquering Bhutan again, it was seen as too big of a risk. So instead, consorts were sent to his mute medically incapable son to procreate.6

And by some miracle, he did. The Zhabdrung's son's consort became pregnant and the Bhutanese government was ecstatic for a few months. A little gho (men's robe) was sewn for the child, and all of the ministers were sorely disappointed when a little girl was born. The disappointment was quickly mitigated. The Zhabdrung loved his little granddaughter... until she died at age two. Her death is considered to be one of the factors that accelerated his own decline in health as he slipped into a depression and died shortly afterward, around 1654. The Zhabdrung's death was kept secret until publicly revealed in 1712. Of course, by then most Bhutanese knew that their ruler wasn't a 120-year-old ascetic who lived off bananas and milk, so it was less of a surprise. Meanwhile, Jampal Dorji was used again to procreate, and did manage to have another daughter. She survived her early childhood, was given a masculine name, Tshokye Dorji (1681-1697), and was referred to by the male title Regent, only to fall victim to plague at age sixteen.7 He had a “cousin” who managed to also produce several daughters, only one of whom would rise to relative prominence as the administrator of Tamgo Monastery.8 It was then that the reincarnate plan was brought up and they tried finding reincarnates for both the Zhabdrung, his son, and his “cousin” Tenzin Rabgye (1638-1698), but the damage had basically been done and Bhutan plunged into an on-off civil war for the next century and a half.9

And here, in 1703, the Mongols come back into frame. The Manchu were busy trying to stamp out the last great piece of Mongol resistance: the Dzungars far to their west. And to do so, the Manchu Kangxi Emperor (1654-1722) allied with one Lhazang Khan (d. 1717)10 to defeat them. In the process of this war was how the Manchu became aware of rumors that the Fifth Dalai Lama had died, and that the Tibetans had failed to inform Beijing. Both the Khan and the Emperor were infuriated by this state of affairs and demanded answers.

The year of Lhazang Khan’s succession to the title King of Tibet after deposing his brother, Tenzin Dalai Khan (d. 1696 or 1701), 1703, was also the year that Sangye Gyatso chose to retire from the position of Regent, leaving the office to his (actually, this time) son, Ngawang Rinchen (dates unknown).11 The complex web of politics pulled in a lot of directions at once: the Ganden Phodrang had remained essentially independent of Qoshot Rule since Gushri Khan settled his Mongols by the Blue Lake far to the northeast. Now his great-grandson Lhazang Khan wanted to reestablish that supremacy.12 Meanwhile, Sangye Gyatso may have officially retired, but everyone regarded him as the true power behind the throne, not his son. The Manchu wanted to put an end to the Buddhist Dzungars once and for all, and they regarded Tibet as the key to this equation.13

Finally, there was the Dalai Lama himself, who was only twenty years old. And while his priorities were clear, his intentions were less so.

The Mongols were certainly upset at the Regent’s ruse, hiding the Great Fifth’s death for at least fifteen years, but Lhazang Khan regarded it as water under the bridge. He had been present for Tsangyang’s journey to Lhasa in 1696, his enthronement in the Potala the following year, and served as an attendant to him when he was still a novice monk. He was also there in Shigatse when the Panchen Lama summoned Tsangyang there to plead for him to take his gelong vows.14

But since disrobing, Lhazang Khan had become increasingly concerned as to what exactly Tsangyang Gyatso, and worse, Regent emeritus Sangye Gyatso, were up to.

One of the things that promotes the theory that the Sixth was trying to start a hereditary lineage of Tibetan Kings might be that Lhazang Khan took this situation very seriously. The example of Jochi and Chagatai probably stuck in Mongol consciousness for the past five centuries, and if it didn't, it's not like there was a dearth of examples of brothers, cousins, and rival claimants to political power to be found in more recent history.15 Lhazang Khan himself had to beat away rivals to defend his new Khanship, just as his father, and grandfather, and well, all the way back to Altan, Dayan, and Khubilai himself all had.

Right: Lhazang Khan. Mural painted on the wall of Sera Monastery's Great Assembly Hall. Date unknown.

So, imagine you're Lhazang Khan, who has watched how Mongol Khanship has declined in central Tibet, in favor of a man who is pulling the strings, who was possibly the illegitimate son of a man everyone refers to as “the Great” and is “leaving power” to his son. Meanwhile, you arrive in Lhasa and there is no shortage of rivals for power as the new Dalai Lama is not only forsaking his holy vows, but is very popular, and has a ton of descendants who will surely be rallying points for a true Tibetan King.

At this point, Sangye Gyatso decided to take matters into his own hands. A council was convened during the New Year 170516 between Lhazang Khan and Sangye Gyatso, mediated by none other than the Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso. Though no record survives over what transpired in the meeting, it’s known that Sangye Gyatso tried to poison Lhazang Khan at least once, and tried to gather support for another assassination attempt. It was also decided by other Tibetan ruling officials (including the Panchen Lama and the Lhamo Oracle among others) that Sangye Gyatso will hand over all power to his son as the reigning Regent, and that Lhazang Khan will return his army to the Blue Lake, where his predecessors had made their seat of power.17

The Khan and the (former) Regent obeyed the council’s decision. At first.

It’s unclear who reneged on the deal first. Perhaps Lhazang Khan never intended to follow through, or perhaps the Manchu prodded him to pull off a coup d’etat, hoping that a Qoshot-ruled Tibet could be used against their mortal enemies, the Dzungars.18 Either way, Lhazang Khan returned to Amdo only to gather an army and march south at the head of an army made of three columns. As they approached Lhasa, they met an army led by none other than Sangye Gyatso. The Tibetans were routed, with four hundred of them killed.19

From the position of a conqueror, Lhazang Khan was able to enforce the deposition of Sangye Gyatso. He was to be exiled to Gongkar. As he traveled to his exile, Sangye Gyatso was intercepted by the forces under command of one of Lhazang Khan’s wives, Tshering Tashi. Due to a degrading slight, or according to some rumors, a failed love affair, Tshering Tashi held a grudge against Sangye Gyatso20 she brought him to her tent and had him beheaded. Despite all that had transpired between them, Tsangyang Gyatso sent officials after him to prevent him from falling into the hands of Tshering Tashi. But they were too late. By the time they reached her encampment, the Regent was already dead, though his body was still warm.21

It was now 1706. Lhazang Khan was in complete control of Lhasa. And he would have to deal with the so-called Dalai Lama.

Next: Part 5 of 6. Murder, maybe

Discuss this Article on the r/JackAdrian subreddit.

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Foonotes

1. Williams 2004. p. 33.

2. This account of the attack and its aftermath is included in both Shakabpa 1984 p. 130, and in Aris 1988. p. 161. Aris writes that this type of “role reversal” was comparable to the Farmer’s New Year festival in Tibet, in which masters and servants used to swap clothes. He writes that Tsangyang put on the clothes of the servant, Thargyanas that of Tsangyang, and the servant those of Thargyanas.

3. And probably predates Buddhist tradition in Tibet. Contemporary Mongol culture also had a taboo on touching another’s or spilling their blood onto the ground, particularly the blood of high ranking people. When the Mongols invaded Baghdad, for example, they captured the Caliph and sewed him into a sack before trampling him to death, preventing his blood from spilling onto the ground.

4. Shakabpa 1984. p. 51.

5. Ibid. regarding the assassination of Ralpachen’s minister Bande Dangka. See also the assassination of the Sixth Mind Incarnation of the Zhabdrung, Jigme Dorji, in Phuntsho 2013. p. 555.

6. Phuntsho 2013. p. 275.

7. Phuntsho 2013. p. 275

8. The “cousin” here is Tenzin Rabgye, the Fourth Desi (Regent) and one of Bhutan’s greatest statesmen. Jampal Dorji was born to the Zhabdrung’s second consort, Tricham Gökar Drolma (dates unknown). The Zhabdrung’s first consort, Damchö Tenzin (1606-1660) amid a strained relationship between herself, the Zhabdrung, and Drolma, left Bhutan for some time before her brother brought her back in 1634. By then, Jampal Dorji was born and it was believed the succession of Bhutan was secure, so the Zhabdrung took his vow of celibacy. She was then “passed on” as a wife to Mipham Tshewang Tenzin (1574-1643). The union of Damchö and Tshewang produced Tenzin Rabgye. (Phuntsho 2013. p. 228.)

9. It’s hard to believe that the Tibetans didn’t have some clue about these problems. There were no doubt spies in Bhutan just as there were certainly Bhutanese spies in Tibet. Though pressing too hard on Bhutan’s legitimacy problem was going to be burning the bridge that the Tibetan government itself was trying to cross.

10. Not the direct successor to Gushri Khan. There were a few Khans between them to rule the Qoshot. It’s worth noting that the Bhutanese claimed credit for Gushri Khan’s death via black magic. (Phuntsho 2013. p. 261.)

11. His name, Ngawang (as in Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso) Rinchen (as in “great precious one,” an epithet of all Dalai Lamas) was Sangye Gyatso directly naming his eldest son after his mentor and indicates that he fully intended him to rule Tibet as Regent following him.

12. Aris 1988. p. 162.

13. See China Marches West by Peter C. Perdue.

14. Mullin 2001. p. 257.

15. Hoelun, the first wife and love to Temujin, the future Genghis Khan, was captured by the rival Merkit tribe. When Temujin’s Mongols counter attacked and took Hoelun back home, she was allegedly already pregnant. The Mongols, looking at the timeline of the pregnancy, suspected that it wasn’t possible for Jochi to be Temujin’s son. However, for their entire lives, Temujin treated Jochi no differently than his more assured sons. Like Chagatai. Being the second son, Chagatai was down the line to inherit Temujin’s position as Great Khan, and when Temujin was prepared to invest Jochi as heir apparent, Chagatai protested, saying that while Jochi was their brother, he was also very clearly a Merkit bastard. This resulted in a fight that developed into a feud, which ensured that while Mongol dominance would last for centuries in various parts of Eurasia, the full Khanate that Temujin brought about would barely last past his own death. Neither Chagatai nor Jochi would inherit the Great Khanate, and the position would fall to Ogedai, and then to the youngest of Hoelun’s sons, Tolui. Tolui’s son Khubilai would go on to rule the largest portion of the Khanate, including China, Mongolia, and Tibet. It is in the lineage of Khubilai that would prove to be the most consequential for Tibetan history.

16. 24 February 1705.

17. Aris 1988. p. 162.

18. Mullin 2001. p. 258.

19. Aris 1988. p. 163;

20. Some even say that it was her force in particular that defeated Sangye Gyatso’s in battle.

21. Mullin 2001. p. 259; Aris 1988. p. 163.