Palden Tenpai Nyima (1782–1853) was the 7th
Panchen Lama
The Panchen Lama () is a tulku of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Panchen Lama is one of the most important figures in the Gelug tradition, with its spiritual authority second only to Dalai Lama. Along with the council of high lamas, h ...
of
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...
.
Early life and reign
Lobsang Palden Yeshe, the previous Panchen Lama, died from smallpox in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
in 1780. His brother
Shamarpa
The Shamarpa (; literally, "Person (i.e. Holder) of the Red Crown"), also known as ''Shamar Rinpoche'', or more formally Künzig Shamar Rinpoche, is a lineage holder of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism and is regarded to be the mind ma ...
, who was acting as regent, wrote to the British Governor of India,
Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-General ...
, in 1782 to say that a new incarnation had been found.
Shamarpa had hoped to inherit some of the riches given to his brother in Beijing after his death. When this didn't happen, he conspired with the Nepalese, who sent a
Gurkha
The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India.
The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Go ...
army in 1788 and took control of
Shigatse
Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê (; Nepali: ''सिगात्से''), is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its area of jurisdiction, with an area of , corresponds to the histor ...
. Shamarpa, however, did not keep his side of the bargain and the Gurkha army returned three years later to claim their spoils, but a Chinese army drove them back to Nepal in 1792.
The 7th Panchen Lama and successive Dalai Lamas
The 7th Panchen Lama's life coincided with the "period of the short-lived Dalai Lamas". Tis made the Panchen Lama "the lama of the hour, filling the void left by the four Dalai Lamas who died in their youth."
The first of these short-lived Dalai Lamas was the
9th Dalai Lama, found in 1807 after the death of the
8th Dalai Lama
Jamphel Gyatso (1758–1804) was the 8th Dalai Lama of Tibet.
Born in 1758 at Lhari Gang (Tob-rgyal Lha-ri Gang) in the Upper Ü-Tsang region of southwestern Tibet his father, Sonam Dhargye and mother, Phuntsok Wangmo, were originally from Kham ...
in 1804. In 1810 (or 1811) the 7th Panchen Lama gave the pre-novice ordination to the 9th Dalai Lama at
Potala Palace
The Potala Palace is a ''dzong'' fortress in Lhasa, Tibet. It was the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas from 1649 to 1959, has been a museum since then, and a World Heritage Site since 1994.
The palace is named after Mount Potalaka, the mythic ...
, and gave him the name
Lungtok Gyatso.
After the 9th Dalai Lama died in 1815, eight years passed before a new Dalai Lama was chosen. The political events in this period are murky, but finally the 7th Panchen Lama intervened and used the
Golden Urn
The Golden Urn refers to a method for selecting Tibetan reincarnations by drawing lots or tally sticks from a Golden Urn introduced by the Qing dynasty of China in 1793. After the Sino-Nepalese War, the Qianlong Emperor promulgated the 29-Article ...
(from which names of candidates were picked) for the first time as part of the tests for the choice of the new Dalai Lama. In 1822 the 10th Dalai Lama was placed upon the Golden Throne and soon after his enthronement received his pre-novice ordination and the name
Tsultrim Gyatso
Ngawang Lobzang Jampel Tsultrim Gyatso (ngag dbang blo bzang 'jam dpal tshul khrims rgya mtsho) or Tsultrim Gyatso (29 March 1816 – 30 September 1837) was the 10th Dalai Lama of Tibet, and born in Chamdo. He was fully ordained in the Gelug s ...
from the 7th Panchen Lama. In 1831, Tsultrin Gyatso received full ordination from Palden Tenpai Nyima. The 10th Dalai Lama died in 1837.
In 1841, the 7th Panchen Lama recognised the 11th Dalai Lama, administered the pre-novice vows and named him
Khedrup Gyatso.
In 1844, the 7th Panchen Lama had a summer palace built about 1 km south of
Tashilhunpo
Tashi Lhunpo Monastery (), founded in 1447 by the 1st Dalai Lama, is the traditional
monastic seat of the Panchen Lama, and an historically and culturally important monastery in Shigatse, the second-largest city in Tibet.
The monastery was sa ...
Monastery containing 2
chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
s in walled gardens. The
10th Panchen Lama
Lobsang Trinley Lhündrub Chökyi Gyaltsen (born Gönbo Cêdän; 19 February 1938 – 28 January 1989) was the tenth Panchen Lama, officially the 10th Panchen Erdeni (), of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. According to Tibetan Buddhis ...
added sumptuous sitting rooms and audience room. It is now a popular picnic spot described in a tourist guide.
In 1844 the 11th Dalai Lama left to travel to Eastern Tibet. Monks from
Sera Monastery
Sera Monastery ( "Wild Roses Monastery"; ) is one of the "great three" Gelug university monasteries of Tibet, located north of Lhasa and about north of the Jokhang. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Drepung Monastery. The origin of its ...
kidnapped three secretaries from the Regent's government to guarantee his welfare, which resulted in a national emergency. The 7th Panchen Lama was invited to return to Lhasa from
Tsang Province and, in the 8th month of that year, was placed on the throne as the new regent. However, he only accepted that role for a short period, handing over the regency to Rva-dreng Nga-wang Ye-she Tsul-trim in 1845. In 1846 the 7th Panchen Lama administered the full novice ordination on the 11th Dalai Lama.
Death and legacy
The 7th Panchen Lama died in 1853. According to R. A. Stein, he "enjoyed great prestige at the Chinese court."
All the tombs from the 5th to the 9th Panchen Lamas were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and have been rebuilt by the 10th Panchen Lama with a huge tomb at
Tashilhunpo Monastery
Tashi Lhunpo Monastery (), founded in 1447 by the 1st Dalai Lama, is the traditional
monastic seat of the Panchen Lama, and an historically and culturally important monastery in Shigatse, the second-largest city in Tibet.
The monastery was sa ...
in
Shigatse
Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê (; Nepali: ''सिगात्से''), is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its area of jurisdiction, with an area of , corresponds to the histor ...
, known as the Tashi Langyar.
[Mayhew, Bradley and Kohn, Michael. (2005) ''Tibet''. 6th Edition. Lonely Planet Publications. p. 175.]
Footnotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nyima, Palden Tenpai, 7th Panchen Lama
Panchen Lama 07
1782 births
1853 deaths
18th-century Tibetan people
19th-century Tibetan people