The Dalai Lama and the Emperor of China: A Political History of the Tibetan Institution of Reincarnation by Peter Schwieger

Author:Peter Schwieger [Schwieger, Peter]
Format: epub
Tags: REL007050, RELIGION / Buddhism / Tibetan, REL084000, RELIGION / Religion, Politics & State
Publisher: Perseus Books, LLC
Published: 2015-04-13T16:00:00+00:00

FIGURE 5.1 Document issued by amban Wenbi and assistant amban Yangchun (1810)

KDL 2035

The confiscation of a rich monastery once granted to a regent was not all that uncommon in Tibetan history.108 As emphasized by Goldstein: “Every change of ruler, whether Dalai Lama or Regent, entailed a new demand on land (estates). . . . However, while the demand was ever expanding, the supply was fixed. New estates were not created through the conversion of previously virgin land to agricultural purposes.”109 Consequently, this demand was satisfied on a regular basis by the confiscation of estates. Although the properties of the regents were also confiscated from time to time, their households as a rule were famous for accumulating enormous wealth during their periods of office. This is readily conceivable considering that the position of regent had been filled by only six reincarnation lines from the middle of the eighteenth to the end of the nineteenth century, although they were ruling 94 percent of the time.110 Not surprisingly, this greed for estates and property also led to conflicts of interests among high Tibetan trülkus. As a consequence, the amban Qishan (琦善, 1843–47) later endeavored to limit the powers of the regents. Thus on November 6, 1844, he presented the Daoguang Emperor with a draft of a new regulation containing twenty-eight articles for “Eliminating and Prohibiting Age-Old Abuses of the Tibetan Government.”111

The source of the Qianlong Emperor’s dissatisfaction with the Tibetan trülkusystem was not solely the conduct of the Zhamarpa during the Gurkha crisis. He was particularly critical of the Qalqa Mongols for selecting their reincarnations from among the brothers, uncles, and nephews of the same clan. And what further upset him was that all of these clans were families of qans and princes. Qianlong listed many prominent examples of these and added that there were so many that it was impossible to mention them all.112 This practice of which the emperor was so critical had actually begun with the Qalqas, with the establishment of the Jebtsundamba reincarnation line.113 However, the imperial anger seems to have been ultimately triggered by a concrete case that transpired among the Qalqa Mongols, mentioned in three documents from 1793.114 In a small Qalqa principality, the erdeni pandita qutuqtu had died. The treasurer of the monastery came to Lhasa in 1792 to have the qan’s son recognized as the reincarnation of the deceased lama. However, the Lamo Oracle had given him instructions to search for the reincarnation in the eastern part of his homeland in the homes of ordinary people. When the treasurer visited the oracle the next time, he presented him with fifty silver coins, a role of brocade, and a ceremonial scarf. He asked the oracle to decide between two candidates who each had the right year of birth; one was the son of the qan. The oracle understood the wish of the treasurer and identified the qan’s son as the true reincarnation. The treasurer was also able to obtain the approval of the Dalai Lama afterward.

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