Gendun Drup1st Dalai Lama

Reign N/A

Successor Gendun Gyatso

Tibetan ???????????

Wylie dge dun grub

Pronunciation ???tyn t??p

THDL Gedn Drup

Born 1391Shabtod, -Tsang, Tibet

Died 1474 (aged 8283)Tibet

1st Dalai LamaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gendun Drup (13911474), also known as Gendun Drub andKundun Drup, is considered retrospectively to be the first of theDalai Lamas of Tibet, who are believed to be reincarnations ofChenresig (Sanskrit: Avalokiteshvara), the Bodhisattva ofCompassion.

Biography

Gendun Drup was born in a cowshed in Gyurmey Rupa, near Sakya inthe Tsang region of central Tibet, the son of Gonpo Dorjee and JomoNamkha Kyi, nomadic tribespeople.[1] He was raised as a shepherduntil the age of seven. His birth name (according to the TibetanBuddhist Resource Center, his personal name) was Pema Dorje(Tibetan: ???????????, Wylie: pad ma rdo rje, Vajra Lotus/Lotus Vajra).Later, he was placed in Nartang (Nar-thang) Monastery. In 1405, hetook his novice vows from the abbot of Narthang, Khenchen DrupaSherab.

When he was 20 years old, in about 1411, he received the nameGendun Drubpa upon taking the vows of a fully ordained monk, orGelong, from the abbot of Narthang Monastery.[2] Also at this age, hebecame a student of the great scholar and reformer Tsongkhapa(13571419),[3] who some say was his uncle.[4] Around this time healso became the first abbot of Ganden Monastery, founded byTsongkhapa himself in 1409.[5] By the middle of his life, GendunDrup had become one of the most esteemed scholar-saints in thecountry.

Tradition states that Palden Lhamo, the female guardian spirit of thesacred lake, Lhamo La-tso, promised the First Dalai Lama in one ofhis visions "...that she would protect the reincarnation lineage of theDalai Lamas." Since the time of the Second Dalai Lama Gendun Gyatso, who formalized the system, monks have goneto the lake to meditate when seeking visions with guidance on finding the next reincarnation.[6]

Gendun Drubpa founded two major monasteries: Drepung and Tashillhunpo.[2] In 1447, Gendun Drup founded the greatmonastery of Tashilhunpo at Shigatse, which later became the seat of the Panchen Lamas.[7]

Gendun Drup had no political power. It was in the hands of viceroys such as the Sakyas, the prince of Tsang, and theMongolian Khan. The political role of the Dalai Lamas only began with the reign of the 5th Dalai Lama.

According to Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center, his Seat was the monastery bkra shis lhun po dgon pa (Tashilhunpo),[8][9] which he had founded in 1447.

He remained the abbot of Tashilhunpo Monastery until he died while meditating in 1474 at the age of 84 (83 by Westernreckoning).[4]

Dorje Pakmo (14221455), the highest female incarnation in Tibet,[10] was a contemporary of Gendun Drub. Herteacher Bodong Panchen Chogley Namgyal was also one of his teachers; he received many teachings andempowerments from him.[11]

Some of the most famous texts Gendun Drup wrote were:

Sunlight on the Path to Freedom, a commentary on Abhidharma-kosaCrushing the Forces of Evil to Dust, an epic poem on the life and liberating deeds of Buddha Shakyamuni

Song of the Eastern Snow Mountain, a poem dedicated to Je Tsongkhapa (Btsong-ka-pa)Praise of the Venerable Lady Khadiravani Tara, an homage to the Goddess Tara

Notes^ Gedun Drupa (http://www.dalailama.com/page.51.htm#Gedun_Drupa) at Dalai Lama website.1.^ a b Thubten Samphel and Tendar (2004), p. 75.2.^ Farrer-Halls, Gill. World of the Dalai Lama. Quest Books: 1998. p. 773.^ a b Thubten Samphel and Tendar (2004), p.35.4.^ Simhanada, The Lion's Roar of Mahayana Buddhism (http://www.simhas.org/) .5.^ Laird, Thomas (2006). The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama, pp. 139, 264-265. Grove Press, N.Y. ISBN978-0-8021-1827-1

6.

^ Ch Yang: The Voice of Tibetan Religion and Culture. (1991) Year of Tibet Edition, p. 79. Gangchen Kyishong,Dharmasala, H.P., India.

7.

^ dge 'dun grub pa (http://www.tbrc.org/kb/tbrc-detail.xq;jsessionid=B70C99BFB44A5DE2C38505022731A555?RID=P80) ,Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center.

8.

^ bkra shis lhun po dgon pa (http://www.tbrc.org/kb/tbrc-detail.xq;jsessionid=B70C99BFB44A5DE2C38505022731A555?RID=G104&wylie=n) , Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center.

9.

^ The Power-places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide, (1988) p. 268. Keith Dowman. ISBN 0-7102-1370-0.10.^ "Bodong.info" (http://www.bodong.info/en/bodong/chogleynamgyal.html) . Archived (http://www.webcitation.org/5gkMXMO1h) from the original on 2009-05-13. http://www.bodong.info/en/bodong/chogleynamgyal.html. Retrieved2009-03-07.

11.

References

Thubten Samphel and Tendar (2004). The Dalai Lamas of Tibet. Roli & Janssen, New Delhi. (2004). ISBN81-7436-085-9McKay, A. (editor) (2003): History of Tibet (http://books.google.com/books?id=l6eTjiivK-UC&pg=PA19&dq=gelugpa+mongol+power&hl=en#v=onepage&q=gelugpa%20mongol%20power&f=false) . Publisher:RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 0-7007-1508-8

Further reading

Mullin, Glenn H. (2001). The Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of Reincarnation, pp. 5085. Clear LightPublishers. Santa Fe, New Mexico. ISBN 1-57416-092-3.Selected Works of the Dalai Lama I by Anne Kandt, Christine Cox, Dalai Lama Dge-Dun-Grub I, Glenn H.Mullin, Sidney Piburn (1985)

External links

Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center (http://www.tbrc.org/kb/tbrc-detail.xq;jsessionid=B70C99BFB44A5DE2C38505022731A555?RID=P80)

Buddhist titles

Preceded byNew creation

Dalai LamaN/A

Posthumously recognized

Succeeded byGendun Gyatso

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