Losang Chö kyi Gyaltsen () (1570–1662) was the fourth

Panchen Lama The Panchen Lama () is a tulku of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Panchen Lama is one of the most important figures in the Gelug tradition, with its spiritual authority second only to the Dalai Lama. Along with the council of high la ...

of the

Gelug file:DalaiLama0054 tiny.jpg, 240px, 14th Dalai Lama, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya, Bodhgaya (India) The Gelug (, also Geluk; 'virtuous' ...

school of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

and the first to be accorded this title during his lifetime. Losang Chö kyi Gyaltsen was the teacher and close ally of the

5th Dalai Lama The 5th Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (; ; 1617–1682) was recognized as the 5th Dalai Lama, and he became the first Dalai Lama to hold both Tibet's political and spiritual leadership roles. He is often referred to simply as the Great Fif ...

, called "the Great". The "Great Fifth" gave him

Tashilhunpo Monastery Tashi Lhunpo Monastery () is an historically and culturally important monastery in Shigatse, the second-largest city in Tibet. Founded in 1447 by the 1st Dalai Lama, it is the traditional monastic seat of the Panchen Lama. The monastery was sa ...

as a living place and declared him to be an incarnation of

Amitābha Amitābha (, "Measureless" or "Limitless" Light), also known as Amituofo in Chinese language, Chinese, Amida in Japanese language, Japanese and Öpakmé in Tibetan script, Tibetan, is one of the main Buddhahood, Buddhas of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddh ...

, and since then, every Panchen Lama has been the master of Tashilhunpo. When Losang Chö kyi Gyaltsen died in 1662, aged 91 or 92, the Fifth Dalai Lama began the tradition of recognising his reincarnation. He composed a special prayer asking his master to return and ordered the monks of the great monasteries to recite it. He also reserved the title of ''Panchen'' (short for ''Pandita chen po'' or 'Great Scholar'), which had previously been a courtesy title for all learned lamas, exclusively for him, and this title has continued to be given to his successors and, posthumously, to his predecessors starting with

Khedrup Gelek Pelzang, 1st Panchen Lama Khedrup Gelek Pelzang, 1st Panchen Lama (1385–1438 CE) – better known as Khedrup Je – was one of the main disciples of Je Tsongkhapa, whose reforms to Atiśa's Kadam (Tibetan Buddhism), Kadam tradition are considered th ...

. The 4th Panchen Lama was a prolific writer and teacher, composing more than three hundred works. He wrote a root Mahamudra text on the "''Highway of the Conquerors: Root Verses for the Precious Geden elugKagyu ralTransmission of Mahāmudrā''" (''dGe-ldan bka'-brgyud rin-po-che'i phyag-chen rtsa-ba rgyal-ba'i gzhung-lam'') and its auto commentary (the ''Yang gsal sgron me, "Lamp re-illuminating Mahamudra"''), which is still widely taught and commented upon.Jackson, Roger, "The dGe ldan-bKa' brgyud Tradition of Mahamudra How Much dGe ldan? How Much bKa' brgyud?" in ''Newland, Guy, Changing Minds: Contributions to the Study of Buddhism and Tibet in Honor of Jeffrey Hopkins 2001 p. 155''. Before this work, Gelug writings on Mahamudra tended to follow orthodox Kagyu teachings. This text and its auto commentary have become a central work on Mahamudra in the Gelug school. The current

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (born 6 July 1935; full spiritual name: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, shortened as Tenzin Gyatso; ) is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served a ...

and

Lama Yeshe Thubten Yeshe (1935–1984) was a Tibetan lama who, while exiled in Nepal, co-founded Kopan Monastery (1969) and the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (1975). He followed the Gelug tradition, and was considered unconventi ...

are some of the modern Gelug figures which have written commentaries on this key Gelug Mahamudra text.Dalai Lama (Author), Alexander Berzin (Author), The Gelug/Kagyu Tradition of Mahamudra.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gyaltsen, Lobsang Chokyi, 4th Panchen Lama Panchen Lama 04 1662 deaths 1570 births 16th-century Tibetan people 17th-century Tibetan people