Lobsang Yeshe (; also written Lobsang Yeshi) (1663–1737) was the fifth
Panchen Lama of
Tibet.
He was born of a well-known and noble family in the province of
Tsang. His father's name was De-chhen-gyalpo and his mother's Serab-Drolma. He was soon recognised as the true incarnation of
Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen, (1570–1662), the Fourth Panchen Lama of Tibet, and was installed with great ceremony at
Tashilhunpo Monastery.
He received novice vows when he was 8 (9 by Western reckoning) in
Lhasa from
Lozang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama (1617 – 1682), when he was given the name of Lobsang Yeshe. At the age of twenty
1he was ordained by Kon-chhog Gyal-tsan.
When he was thirty-two (in 1696 or 1697), he sent a congratulatory deputation to
Beijing. The
Kangxi Emperor (1662-1723) invited him to Beijing, but he asked to be excused for fear of
smallpox.
The Regent,
Sangye Gyatso
Desi Sangye Gyatso (1653–1705) was the sixth regent (''desi'') of the 5th Dalai Lama (1617–1682) in the Ganden Phodrang government. He founded the School of Medicine and Astrology called Men-Tsee-Khang on Chagpori (Iron Mountain) in 1694 and ...
(Sangs-rgyas rgya-mtsho), invited the Fifth Panchen Lama, Lobsang Yeshi to administer the vows of a novice monk on the 6th Dalai Lama, at the town of
Nangartse on Lake
Yamdrok Yamtso, and named him Tsang Gyatso. In October 1697,
Tsangyang Gyatso was enthroned as the Sixth Dalai Lama.
In 1701,
Lhasang Khan, a Mongol king and ally of the Chinese, had the Regent, Sangye Gyatso, killed. This greatly upset the young Dalai Lama who left his studies who even visited Lobsang Yeshe, the 5th Panchen Lama in Shigatse and renounced his novice monk vows.
In 1713, he received a letter written in three different languages, Tibetan, Mongol and Manchu in gold from the
Kangxi Emperor, who sent him a large
tangka
The tangka (Tibetan: ''Tam'' or = ''silver tangka'') was a currency of Tibet until 1941. It was subdivided into 15 or and, from 1909, it circulated alongside the '' srang'', worth 10 sho.
Coins
Coins struck to the tangka standard were first ...
with his title on it.
The 7th Dalai Lama was enthroned in the Potala Palace in 1720. He took the novice vows of monk-hood from the 5th Panchen Lama Lobsang Yeshi, who gave him the name
Kelzang Gyatso
Kelzang Gyatso (; 1708–1757), also spelled Kalzang Gyatso, Kelsang Gyatso and Kezang Gyatso, was the 7th Dalai Lama of Tibet, recognized as the true incarnation of the 6th Dalai Lama, and enthroned after a pretender was deposed.
The Seventh D ...
. He took the Gelong vows (full ordination) from Lobsang Yeshi in 1726.
In 1728, the
Yongzheng Emperor (1723-1736) sent Aliha Ampan to settle the border between the provinces of U and Tsang. There was a civil war at this time, and the Chinese asked the Panchen Lama if he would rule all the territories between
Khambala and
Mount Kailash. The Panchen Lama refused a few times on the grounds of old age but was finally convinced to take control of the whole of Tibet lying to the west of
Panam Panam may refer to:
* ''Panam'' (film), a 1952 Tamil film
*Panam (money), a type of currency issued in South India
*Pan Am, a former American airline
* ''Pan Am'' (TV series), a 2011 television series
* University of Texas–Pan American, an Ameri ...
, and relinquished possession of
Phari
Phari or Pagri (; ) is a town in Yadong County in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China near the border with Bhutan. The border can be accessed through a secret road/trail connecting Tsento Gewog in Bhutan () known as Tremo La. the town had a popula ...
,
Gyantse
Gyantse, officially Gyangzê Town (also spelled Gyangtse; ; ), is a town located in Gyantse County, Shigatse Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It was historically considered the third largest and most prominent town in the Tibet region ( ...
, and
Yardosho and other places to the government in
Lhasa.
He wrote eighteen volumes of hymns and precepts and died at the age of 75 (74 by Western reckoning), in 1737.
A gilt copper domed tomb, like that of his predecessor, only larger was built for him. Unfortunately, all the tombs from the Fifth to the Ninth Panchen Lamas were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and have been replaced by the 10th Panchen Lama with a huge tomb at
Tashilhunpo Monastery in
Shigatse, known as the Tashi Langyar.
[Mayhew, Bradley and Kohn, Michael. (2005) ''Tibet''. 6th Edition. Lonely Planet Publications. p. 175.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yeshe, Lobsang
1663 births
1737 deaths
Panchen Lama 05
17th-century Tibetan people
18th-century Tibetan people
17th-century lamas
18th-century lamas