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Yonten Gyatso or Yon-tan-rgya-mtsho (1589–1617), was the 4th
Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...
, born in
Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...
on the 30th day of the 12th month of the Earth-Ox year of the Tibetan calendar.Thubten Samphel and Tendar (2004), p.87. Other sources, however, say he was born in the 1st month of the Earth Ox Year. As the son of the Khan of the Chokur tribe, Tsultrim Choeje, and great-grandson of
Altan Khan Altan Khan of the Tümed (1507–1582; mn, ᠠᠯᠲᠠᠨ ᠬᠠᠨ, Алтан хан; Chinese: 阿勒坦汗), whose given name was Anda ( Mongolian: ; Chinese: 俺答), was the leader of the Tümed Mongols and de facto ruler of the Right Win ...
of the
Tümed The Tümed (Tumad, ; "The many or ten thousands" derived from Tumen) are a Mongol subgroup. They live in Tumed Left Banner, district of Hohhot and Tumed Right Banner, district of Baotou in China. Most engage in sedentary agriculture, living in m ...
Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
s and his second wife PhaKhen Nula,Yonten Gyatso
, Dalai Lama website.
Yonten Gyatso was a Mongolian, making him the only non-Tibetan to be recognized as Dalai Lama other than the 6th Dalai Lama, who was a
Monpa The Monpa or Mönpa () is a major tribe of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. The Tawang Monpas have a migration history from Changrelung. The Monpa are believed to be the only nomadic tribe in Northeast India – they are totally dependen ...
—but Monpas can be seen either as a Tibetan subgroup or a closely related people.


Biography

The Nechung, state oracle of Tibet, and Lamo Tsangpa, another oracle, had both predicted the next reincarnation would be born in Mongolia. About this time, the chief attendant of the Third Dalai Lama, Tsultrim Gyatso, sent a letter informing the authorities in Tibet that the reincarnation had been born and details of some of the wonders accompanying his birth. :"He was recognized by a delegation from his Drêpung monastery and the princes of Ü, which had gone to Kweisui (Köke Qoto, Inner Mongolia) to meet him 1601." Yonten Gyatso left for Tibet in 1599 when he was already ten years old, with his father, Tibetan monks and officials, and a thousand Mongol cavalry. They arrived in 1603 after stopping at all the major monasteries on the route. When he reached Lhasa he was enthroned as the Fourth Dalai Lama and initiated by Sangen Rinchen, the principal holder of Tsonkapa's lineage and ex-abbot of Gaden monastery. He began studies at
Drepung Monastery Drepung Monastery (, "Rice Heap Monastery"), located at the foot of Mount Gephel, is one of the "great three" Gelug university gompas (monasteries) of Tibet. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Sera Monastery. Drepung is the largest of all ...
, where he was a student of the Fourth
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, ...
Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen, and in 1614 he received the full ordination of a monk from him.Mullin (2001), p. 181 Yonten Gyatso became the abbot of Drepung and, later, Sera monasteries. Many Tibetans did not recognize him and there were several attempts to retake power from him, supported by the Kagyupa order. In 1605 one of the princes supporting the Kagyu invaded Lhasa and drove the Mongol cavalrymen out. When he was twenty-one warriors attacked Drepung monastery and Yonten Gyatso had to flee. In 1616 he made a retreat in the caves above Sangyib Hot Springs, famous for the footprint
Padmasambhava Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...
left there on the cliff face when he empowered the site in the 8th century CE. He died under suspicious circumstances (some say he was poisoned – but evidence is lacking) in the 12th month of the Fire Dragon Year (January 1617)Laird, Thomas (2006). ''The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama'', pp. 148–149. Grove Press, N.Y. at the age of 27. His chief attendant was
Sonam Rapten Sönam Rapten (''bsod nams rab brtan''; 1595–1658), initially known as Gyalé Chödze and later on as Sönam Chöpel, was born in the Tholung valley in the Central Tibetan province of Ü. He started off as a monk-administrator (''las sne, lené ...
(Sonam Choephel), who later discovered "the Chong-Gya boy" to be the Fifth Dalai Lama and who was the regent of the fifth Dalai Lama, the
Desi DESI may refer to * Desorption electrospray ionization * Drug Efficacy Study Implementation Drug Efficacy Study Implementation (DESI) was a program begun by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the 1960s after the requirement (in the Kefauve ...
.


References


Bibliography

* Mullin, Glenn H. (2001). ''The Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of Reincarnation'', Clear Light Publishers. Santa Fe, New Mexico. . * * Stein, R. A. (1972). ''Tibetan Civilization'', Stanford University Press. (cloth); (paper). * Thubten Samphel and Tendar (2004). ''The Dalai Lamas of Tibet''. Roli & Janssen, New Delhi. .


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gyatso, Yonten 1589 births 1617 deaths *4 16th-century Tibetan people 17th-century Tibetan people 16th-century lamas 17th-century lamas