Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen, 4th Panchen Lama

Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen
Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen
Born	1570
Died	1662 (aged 91–92)

Losang Chö kyi Gyaltsen (Tibetan: བློ་བཟང་ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་མཚན་, Wylie: blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan ) (1570–1662) was the fourth Panchen Lama of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism 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, called "the Great". The "Great Fifth" gave him Tashilhunpo Monastery as a living place and declared him to be an incarnation of Amitābha, and since then, every Panchen Lama has been the master of Tashilhunpo.[1]

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.[2] 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,[3] and this title has continued to be given to his successors and, posthumously, to his predecessors starting with Khedrup Gelek Pelzang, 1st Panchen Lama.

The 4th Panchen Lama was a prolific writer and teacher, composing more than three hundred works.

Footnotes

Tibet is My Country: Autobiography of Thubten Jigme Norbu, Brother of the Dalai Lama as told to Heinrich Harrer, p. 121. First published in German in 1960. English translation by Edward Fitzgerald, published 1960. Reprint, with updated new chapter, (1986): Wisdom Publications, London. ISBN 0-86171-045-2.
Karmay, Samten C. (2005). "The Great Fifth", p. 2. Downloaded as a pdf file on 16 December 2007 from: Archived 15 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine
"The Institution of the Dalai Lama", by R. N. Rahul Sheel in The Tibet Journal, Vol. XIV No. 3. Autumn 1989, p. 32, n. 1

Preceded by Ensapa Lobsang Döndrup	Panchen Lama	Succeeded by Lobsang Yeshe

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] Tibet is My Country: Autobiography of Thubten Jigme Norbu, Brother of the Dalai Lama as told to Heinrich Harrer, p. 121. First published in German in 1960. English translation by Edward Fitzgerald, published 1960. Reprint, with updated new chapter, (1986): Wisdom Publications, London. ISBN 0-86171-045-2.

[2] Karmay, Samten C. (2005). "The Great Fifth", p. 2. Downloaded as a pdf file on 16 December 2007 from: Archived 15 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine

[3] "The Institution of the Dalai Lama", by R. N. Rahul Sheel in The Tibet Journal, Vol. XIV No. 3. Autumn 1989, p. 32, n. 1

Panchen Lamas
Khedrup Gelek Pelzang Sönam Choklang Ensapa Lobsang Döndrup Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen Lobsang Yeshe Lobsang Palden Yeshe Palden Tenpai Nyima Tenpai Wangchuk Thubten Chökyi Nyima Lobsang Trinley Lhündrub Chökyi Gyaltsen Disputed: Gedhun Choekyi Nyima (CTA) / Gyaincain Norbu (PRC)		Khedrup Je, 1st Panchen Lama
List of Panchen Lamas Tashilhunpo Monastery 11th Panchen Lama controversy