Who Murdered the Sixth Dalai Lama? Part 5

Part 5 of 6

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Right: Our crime scene. Somewhere in the vicinity of the Blue Lake (Qinghai in Chinese, Tsho Ngon in Tibetan, Kokonor in Mongolian, all translate to the same term). Tsangyang Gyatso is said to have died by Kunganor, a location local Amdowas probably know, but the precise location of which I have been unable to determine. Note the desolate nature of the surroundings, though if one looks closely in the satellite photo, one can see evidence of agriculture. This would not have been particularly common. The climate in Amdo (modern Qinghai Province) is more than half polar, and the area around the lake itself has cold summers. Most of the territory they would have traversed would have been even more desolate and forbidding than even this, keep in mind that it was October and November, so even the most charitable terrain would have been rather lifeless. Satellite photo. November 1994.

V. Murder, maybe

Once Lhazang Khan exiled Sangye Gyatso’s sons, Tsangyang Gyatso, the Sixth Dalai Lama, was the only potential rival to the Khan’s authority in Tibet. From Aris,

As long as Tsangyang [Gyatso] continued to occupy the throne, even in the robes of a layman and in the face of strong criticism of his behaviour, [Lhazang Khan’s] secular authority could be undermined by the lama’s superior spiritual standing. For all his apparent faults, the young man continued to receive massive popular support.1

Recall that the Khan was one of the individuals who joined in the small crowd who pled for Tsangyang not to return his getshul vows to the Panchen Lama. So there was already a precedent of the Sixth Dalai Lama not being controllable to the Khan. Plus, there was the capable and deft hand of the former Regent who could not constrain Tsangyang’s behavior. How much more effort should Lhazang devote to trying to rein him in?

Aris continues,

Whether as an act of political expediency or because he had by now genuinely come to believe that the Dalai Lama was spurious (more likely he succeeded in convincing himself of the latter to justify his actions), he decided to contrive a sicuation that would lead to his deposition.2

Lhazang Khan had, at this point, the full backing of Kangxi, the Manchu Emperor. The plan they seemed to concoct isn’t so clear, but it at least involved taking the Dalai Lama out of Lhasa. Shakabpa writes that it was decided to “exile” him, though whether to China or Mongolia is disagreed upon.3 It is probable that he was to be taken first to Beijing for an audience with the Manchu Emperor, then brought back to northeast Amdo, near the Blue Lake where the Qoshot remained dominant, to then be watched over carefully by Mongol hosts, who could carefully monitor his behavior, keeping the worst of it far away from the halls of the Potala.

Though to ensure this went as smoothly as possible, Lhazang Khan needed to separate Tsangyang Gyatso from the concept of the Dalai Lama as much as possible. Being merely a Mongol Khan, he had little theological authority, so he summoned the abbots of Ganden, Sera, and Drepung, the three main Gelug Monasteries, to try to convince them to declare Tsangyang Gyatso’s recognition as the Dalai Lama to be mistaken. At first, they refused.4

Later, a compromise was reached. The abbots of the Three Seats were “persuaded,”

to announce that the byang chub… of Avalokiteshvara had left the Dalai Lama. It is clear from this that the Dalai Lama was not even then seen as literally being Avalokiteshvara. Rather, he is one on whom something of Avalokiteshvara had descended […]

Thus what the abbots were trying to say was that either the bodhisattva, Avalokiteshvara, had left the Sixth Dalai Lama – which is to say that Avalokiteshvara had withdrawn his blessing – or that the awakening mind had been lost. The awakening mind must in this context mean the great compassion that had led to Avalokiteshvara’s supreme blessing. The Sixth Dalai Lama had shown by his behaviour that he no longer had great compassion for others.5

Norman translates this as the abbots saying the bodhi mind “no longer dwelled” in Tsangyang Gyatso. Williams, part of which is quoted here, wrestles with the buddhalogical difficulty of this issue. Enlightenment, once achieved, cannot be lost. So how can one who has already been declared byang chub (“enlightened”) lose it, indeed?

Obviously, Lhazang Khan was less concerned about this problem. On 27 June 1706,6 the Khan declared that Tsangyang Gyatso was not the true rebirth of the Great Fifth, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso. An Imperial envoy arrived with orders to bring Tsangyang Gyatso to the capital.

Either the next day or several days following this declaration, monks from Drepung Monastery raided the encampment where Tsangyang was being held prisoner and, armed with sticks and stones, took the Mongols by surprise, and whisked Tsangyang away to the Dalai Lama’s summer residence at Drepung.7 The next day the monks of Drepung consulted the Nechung Oracle, asking if Tsangyang was the true rebirth of the Great Fifth.

The Oracle’s response was simple: “If he is not the incarnation of the Omniscient Fifth, may I the bodiless demon have my head split!”8 He then added, “whoever would deny it, is beset with devilish delusions.”9 Mongolian monks among the Drepung sangha seemed to take issue with this wording – by definition, bodiless demons can’t have their heads split open – but as a whole, it was agreed that this was confirmation of the Dalai Lama’s authenticity.10

At this point furious, Lhazang Khan sent soldiers to Drepung, surrounding it with artillery. The Khan hammered the rear of the summer residence with cannons, while foot soldiers assaulted the front.11 Lhazang Khan made it known that the monks needed to surrender Tsangyang Gyatso into his custody, or be completely destroyed.12 They held out for three days when Tsangyang finally took matters into his own hands, and decided to surrender.13

Below: Drepung Monastery. Note the hill in the back. One would imagine in this case that this unfortunate geography only increased the desperation felt by the besieged, as it cut off any real possibility of retreat or escape, making Lhazang Khan's goals that much easier to achieve. Source: Wikimedia Commons, August 1999, LBM1948.

It’s said that the Drepung monks would only let Tsangyang leave if he promised them three things: (1) he would not leave Tibet, (2) he would not allow the Mongols to harm him, and (3) he would return to them unharmed.14

Tsangyang agreed, allegedly saying as an addendum, “It’s no matter whether I live or die. I’ll meet my lamas and monks again soon [in my next life.]”15 Aris continues here, saying that the companions who walked out of Drepung with Tsangyang were slaughtered “to the last man.” Dhondup writes that these friends were killed “fighting,” and that despite the Dalai Lama giving himself up, that Drepung, “however was sacked and looted for protecting the Dalai Lama.”16 While Mullin claims that “the crisis, which could have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people and the destruction of Drepung Monastery, was averted.”17

According to one account, as Tsangyang Gyatso was on his way back into custody of the Khan,

Suddenly a young child broke away from the crowd and ran toward his horse. The child had the same name as did he – Tsangyang Gyatso – and therefore the mother called out, “Tsangyang, come back.” The Sixth Dalai Lama, hearing his name called out, turned to the mother and sang the following song,18

White crane! Lend me your wings I shall not fly far From Lithang, I shall return.19

The Mongols and their Tibetan captive now moved northeast, on the way to Beijing. They stopped often through south-central Tibet and Amdo, taking them an alleged five months to go from Lhasa to Kunganor.20 Mullin writes that Tsangyang was asked for blessings and teachings by the devout, “often to many thousands at a time.” He also gives a pretty reasonable explanation for their leniency in this regard: “It seems that the Mongols were quite content to allow this to happen, presumably in order to keep in the good favor of the Tibetan masses and avoid unnecessary conflict, and also to show the people that they had no intention of harming him in any way.”21

Proof of life, essentially.

That Tsangyang Gyatso arrived at Kunganor seems to be the only thing sources agree on. After that, the only certainty is that Tsangyang Gyatso, the living embodiment of the Dalai Lama, was gone.

How is uncertain. Written Chinese and Tibetan sources both say he “died” of illness (quotation marks included in Dhondup’s direct quote), while rumors (recorded by the Italian missionary Ippolito Desideri) persisted that he was actually murdered.22 Given the Tibetan (and Chinese)23 preference for poison, and the Mongols’ insistence that he be seen alive, it’s certainly possible that Tsangyang might have been poisoned in a way to make it appear as though he had come down with an illness.

Of course, it was also 1706. That Tsangyang might have contracted an illness while traveling and “died” of natural causes is not out of the question.24

Aris writes that this illness appears to have been more prolonged.

On arrival at the northern district of Dam he fell sick. Though the illness gradually got worse he was forced to go on. In this condition one day he said to his major-domo, Ngawang Palbar: “Don’t lose the scrolls containing my unfinished writings. You must return them to me later.” This was thought to be a sign that he would now die and be quickly reborn, but the interesting point is that this might just possibly be a reference to his secular songs. […]

One day when a chief called Yangching Batur came to receive him he was so sure of his approaching death he insisted that the skyfarers had come to fetch him to heaven. Finally on reaching the small lake of Kunganor, which lies south of the great [Blue Lake], his sickness was such that when his escort insisted he should continue he told them: “You won’t cross this place except by passing over my bones.”25

The procession stopped, Tsangyang’s condition having deteriorated. His last words on this account were, “There’s no need for a lot of talk when one’s about to die. Just bear in mind those things I’ve kept saying to you before and all will be well.” He is said to have been reciting mantras to Avalokiteshvara when he passed away at the age of twenty-three, on 14 November 1706.26

There is a third possibility that it was neither murder, nor natural illness, but a tantric suicide:

According to several accounts, it was here that the Sixth Dalai Lama manifested the strategy whereby he would fulfill the three promises he had made to the monks of Drepung.

It was early evening, and the group had set up their tents for the night. Suddenly he emerged from his tent, and to everyone’s surprise he was dressed in the very ornate black hat costume of a tantric shaman that had belonged to the Great Fifth Dalai Lama. In the Sixth’s belt was the mystic dagger that the Great Fifth had so often used in his tantric rituals. The Sixth looked at the crowd and stated, “Whatever possessions are here with me, and especially this mystic dagger and this tantric costume, should be given to my reincarnation.”

He then began to strike an intense rhythm with his hand drum, and to perform a tantric dance.

Suddenly a small whirlwind arose. This was a common enough occurrence in the high mountain passes. The whirlwind seemed to increase in intensity with the quickening beat of his drum and his bodily movements, until people could barely see him for the swirling dust. It seemed as though there were small explosions of sparks and fire within the whirlwind.

The Sixth Dalai Lama then leaped into the air as a grand finale to his dance, and landed on the earth with his legs crossed in the meditation posture, his body perfectly upright, and with a dramatic stillness.

Everyone sat in stunned silence. They could only gape at his seated form. The wind died down and the dust settled.

Eventually one of his attendants approached his seated form. The attendant then suddenly burst into tears, for the Sixth had ceased breathing. He had passed away, apparently by consciously projecting his spirit out of his body by means of tantric meditation.27

Below: A video of the "Black Hat Dance," a part of the Karma Kagyu tradition, performed by the Karmapa Lama (also known as the Black Hat Lama). Different tradition, and different meaning, but it is an example of the style of tantric ritual outfit and dance that would come to a reader's mind in the narrative above. Source: YouTube, uploaded on 21 February 2012, "Karmapa."

In this way, Tsangyang is said to have fulfilled his first two promises: he never left Tibet, and he did not allow the Mongols to harm him. According to his traditional biography, his body was taken to Ziling (modern Xining) to the east of the Blue Lake and was cremated after being honored by devout mourners. Two months later, a messenger arrived to inform Kangxi of Tsangyang’s death. The Manchu Emperor commanded that the corpse should be discarded.28 He would later present Tsangyang’s successor with a seal reading “Seal of the Sixth Dalai Lama” indicating what he thought of the Nechung Oracle’s earlier declaration.29

Poisoning, natural causes, or tantric suicide, there’s another, intensely tantalizing possibility: that Tsangyang Gyatso lived.

Mullin lists the possibility that sometime between June and November, Tsangyang might have earned the sympathies of a few of his captors. It’s certainly not inconceivable that a dust storm might have provided cover for Tsangyang’s escape.30 This is how The Biography of the Omniscient Ngawang Chodrak Pelzangpo begins. This text is better known by its alternate title, written in the margins of the block print edition: The Secret Biography of Tsangyang Gyatso.31

Its author claims to be a Mongol monk by the name Ngawang Lhundrup Dargye,32 who claims to have met the Sixth Dalai Lama for the first time in 1716, at least nine years after the apparent death of Tsangyang Gyatso.

The text goes over a dizzying array of stories, recounting how he established monasteries in Mongolia, blessed springs at the holy Mt. Wutai in China, attended his own successor’s enthronement in Lhasa, and even traveled to India, and returned home to his birthplace in Monyul.33 Aris’ analysis of the Secret History is that it likely recounts the life and legend of an actual person, a man he believes went by the name Ngawang Chodrak Gyatso, or more simply as Pelzangpo… of course, when he wasn’t going by Tsangyang Gyatso. Likely known among his followers by the title Kundrol Rinpoche.34

Whether Kundrol Rinpoche was one person, or an amalgamated figure, someone was clearly going around Asia. Though many of the stories ring of myth and folklore more than history:

I came to a household where there was a man with no head. I asked his wife and others for an explanation and was told that his head had been cut off… and that even after three years he had not died. With limitless pity I went to look. He was beating his chest with his hands and someone told me he did this because he was hungry. Where his neck had been were two holes. From a pot they poured into one of these holes a small quantity of warm and soft barley-flour [mixed with tea]. Bubbles rose up through this and in a little time the food went down to his stomach.35

In another episode, he is recognized and has to flee agents of Lhazang Khan. In another, he is attacked by a mi ‘dre.36 And after this episode, he is set upon by ro langs: walking corpses armed with flaming fists:

That night, just as darkness had fallen, the door to the temple was pushed from inside and suddenly flung open. Two [ro langs], a male and a female, passed through and came forth running and jumping as they danced. My companions all fled and ran off in different directions. The zombies followed of their own accord, chasing them everywhere like hawks plunging into a flock of little birds. They slapped everyone except me with swipes like fires burning. Then they chased me too, running with great cries and the eight uncoordinated gestures. When they got near I grasped both by the hair and [threw] them to the ground, pressing one on top of the other. I took out the iron treasure-dagger from my waist and struck them. […] Alone I crushed the zombies with stones and pounded them to ash powder.37

The more colorful tales are attention-grabbing but his footprints – temples, monasteries, texts – are all across central Asia, from the Gobi Desert to India. And when Kundrol Rinpoche died in 1746,38 his mummified remains were interred in a tomb in Alashan, the mountains on the southern border of Mongolia.

However he died, or didn’t die, Tsangyang was now out of the picture as far as political power in Tibet was concerned.

But Lhazang Khan was about to find out how poorly he had miscalculated.

Next: Part 6 of 6. Sanguine Aftermath and Conclusion

Discuss this Article on the r/JackAdrian subreddit.

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Footnotes

1. Aris 1988. p. 163-164.

2. Ibid.

3. Shakabpa 1984. p. 133.

4. Norman 2008. p. 278.

5. Williams 2004. p. 20.  

6. Dhondup 1981. p. 29; Shakabpa 1984. p. 133. The timeline gets less and less clear from here. Mullin writes a very specific ‘On the seventeenth day of the Fire Dog Year, or 1706, Lhazang Khan entered the Potala with a small force of men and arrested the Sixth Dalai Lama. The next day the monks of Drepung… invoked the Nechung Oracle and asked whether the Sixth was indeed the authentic incarnation of the Great Fifth.” (p. 260.) Of course, this could only happen after the Dalai Lama was deposed, corroborated in every source. And the seventeenth day [of the first month, presumably] of the Fire Dog Year would be 1 March 1706. Aris and Norman both clarify that this is the first day of the fifth month, which would make it June 11. (Aris 1988. p. 165; Norman 2010. p. 278.) I’m certain there’s a mistranslation of dates somewhere, I’m just not clear where. Given that both Dhondup and Shakabpa agree on a date, and they’re the Tibetans here, I am going to give preference to them until I look into the dates further.

7. Obviously, this was not Drepung’s primary function. The Norbulingka, the place that would be more well-known as the Dalai Lama’s summer home, especially after the events of the 1950s, would not be constructed until 1755.

8. Aris 1988. p. 165.

9. Dhondup 1981. p. 30.

10. Aris 1988. p. 165.

11. Ibid.

12. Mullin 2001. p. 260.

13. Aris 1988. p. 165.

14. Mullin 2001. p. 261.

15. Aris 1988. p. 165.

16. Dhondup 1981. p. 30.

17. Mullin 2001. p. 261.

18. Ibid.

19. Dhondup 1981. p. 171. As one of his (if not the) most famous poems, this one has the most translations. I tend towards Dhondup’s translations. Other accounts of this poem are that he wrote them to a lover. (According to Mullin, the one who was supposed to carry their prophesied child, p. 262.) Shakabpa agrees with this course of events. (p. 133.)

20. I have tried pinpointing the exact location of Kunganor to see how far it is from Lhasa, but I have not found its precise coordinates. It would appear that the name of this crime scene is oft-repeated, but the location does not currently go by that name. Mullin describes “Lake” Kunganor as being on the “Tibet-Mongolia border.” So we can infer that it’s somewhere near Amdo and Gansu, in the vicinity of the Blue Lake. The journey would have been at least 1100 km (705 mi).

21. Mullin 2001. p. 262. Aris says “tens of thousands.” (p. 166.)

22. Dhondup 1981. p. 31.

23. Not to mention the Mongol preference for not spilling the blood of high-ranking people, mentioned above. The Chinese, for their part, have a cultural preference for keeping the body intact, with decapitation being only for the worst and most dishonorable offenses.

24. Shakabpa mentions that the Tibetan and Chinese sources say it was an illness, but says that the cause of death “remains unknown.” (p. 133.)

25. Aris 1988. p. 166.

26. Ibid. p. 167.

27. Mullin 2001. p. 262-263.

28. Aris 1988. p. 167. Tsangyang Gyatso’s body would have been ashes by that point. So either the Kangxi Emperor was saying that his ashes (likely contained in a reliquary at that point) should be removed and scattered somewhere, or he was under the impression that Tsangyang’s body was being mummified, as was not uncommon with high ranking lamas. Both the Great Fifth’s and the Zhabdrung’s bodies were both mummified.

29. Shakabpa 1984. p. 138.

30. Mullin 2001. p. 263.

31. Aris 1988. p. 167.

32. Aris 1988. p. 170. Mullin lists his name as “Dargyey Nomanhan” (p. 263.) but this is a mix of his title and name. Aris gives his title as Arilugsan Erdeni Nomunqan [Nomanhan].

33. Mullin 2001. p. 264.

34. Aris 1988. p. 176.

35. Norman 2010. p. 283.

36. Ibid. p. 284. Also known as a yeti, the cryptozoological “wild man” of the Himalaya.

37. Aris 1988. p. 193.

38. Aris lists his death as being on the eighth day of the fifth month of the Fire Tiger year: 26 June 1746, as cited in the Secret Biography. (p. 226.) Norman recounts it as being on “the eighth day of the fourth month in 1748”: 4 June 1748. (p. 285.) 1748 was an Earth Dragon year.