Jamphel Gyatso, 8th Dalai Lama

Infobox Monarch
name =Jamphel Gyatso
title =8th Dalai Lama of Tibet


caption =
reign =1760/1762-1804
coronation =
othertitles =
full name =
predecessor =Kelzang Gyatso, 7th Dalai Lama
successor =Lungtok Gyatso, 9th Dalai Lama
suc-type =
royal house =Dalai Lama
dynasty =
royal anthem =
father =
mother =
date of birth =1758
place of birth =
date of death =1804
place of death =
date of burial =
place of burial =|

Jamphel Gyatso (1758 – 1804) was the 8th Dalai Lama of Tibet.

Born in 1758 at Lhari Gang (Tob-rgyal Lha-ri Gang) in the Upper Tsang region of southwestern Tibet his father, Sonam Dhargye, and mother, Phuntsok Wangmo, were originally from Kham. [Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche. (1982). "Life and times of the Eighth to Twelfth Dalai Lamas." "The Tibet Journal". Vol. VII Nos. 1 & 2. Spring/Summer 1982, p. 47.] They were distant descendants of Dhrala Tsegyal, who was one of the major heroes of the Gesar epic. ["The Eighth Dalai Lama JAMPHEL GYATSO" [http://namgyalmonastery.org/hhdl/hhdl8] ]

Traditional History

When Jamphel Gyatso was conceived, the village was given a major harvest with each stalk of barley bearing three, four and five ears, which has never been seen before throughout Tibet. When Jamphel's mother, Phuntosk Wangmo and a relative were having their supper in the garden, a giant rainbow appeared, one end of which touched the mother's shoulder. This is a key sign associated with the birth of a holy being.

Soon after birth, in the 6th month of the Fire Bull Year (1758), the holy baby often attempted to sit in a meditative posture looking up to the heavens. When Lobsang Palden Yeshi, the Sixth Panchen Lama, heard about this boy, he pronounced that he was indeed the authentic reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.

At the age two and a half years old, Jamphel was taken under a large contingent of lamas and officials to Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse, and was given a ceremony as the reborn Dalai Lama. ["The Eighth Dalai Lama JAMPHEL GYATSO" [http://namgyalmonastery.org/hhdl/hhdl8] ]

He was escorted to Lhasa and enthroned as the leader of the Tibetan people in the Potala Palace in 7th month of the Water Horse Year (1762) when he was five years old (four by Western reckoning). The enthronement ceremony was presided over by Demo Tulku Jamphel Yeshi, the first of a series of Regents to represent the Dalai Lamas when they were minors. ["The Eighth Dalai Lama JAMPHEL GYATSO." [http://namgyalmonastery.org/hhdl/hhdl8] ] The ceremony was held in the 'Beyond Mind Temple of the Second Potala'. [Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche. (1982). "Life and times of the Eighth to Twelfth Dalai Lamas." "The Tibet Journal". Vol. VII Nos. 1 & 2. Spring/Summer 1982, p. 47.]

Shortly after, he was given the novice vows of monk-hood the name, Jamphel Gyatso, by Lobsang Palden Yeshe, and was fully ordained in 1777. ["The Eighth Dalai Lama JAMPHEL GYATSO" [http://namgyalmonastery.org/hhdl/hhdl8] ]

The country continued to be ruled by regents until the Wood Dragon Year (1784) when the Regent was sent as an ambassador to China and the Dalai Lama ruled alone until 1790, when the Regent returned to help Jamphel Gyatso.

In 1788 there was a conflict with Nepali wool traders leading to a skirmish with the Gurkhas. In 1790 the Gurkhas invaded southern Tibet and conquered several provinces including Nya-nang and Kyi-drong. The city of Shigatse and the Tashilhunpo Monastery were captured and looted but the Gurkhas were driven back to Nepal in 1791. A peace treaty between the two was agreed on in 1796.

It was the Eighth Dalai Lama who built the Norbulingka Park and Summer Palace on the outskirts of Lhasa. He also commissioned an exquisite copper statue of the Buddha for the people of Southern Tibet which was brought into India in the 1960s and is now housed at the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, "Dharamsala", India. [Sheel, R. N. Rahul. "The Institution of the Dalai Lama", p. 30. "The Tibet Journal". Vol. XIV, No. 3. Autumn, 1989.]

He died in 1804 at the age of 47 (46 by Western reckoning). [Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche. (1982). "Life and times of the Eighth to Twelfth Dalai Lamas." "The Tibet Journal". Vol. VII Nos. 1 & 2. Spring/Summer 1982, pp. 47-48.]

:"He was a mild and contemplative person with no great interest in temporal affairs and although he lived to be 45 [46 by Western reckoning] , for most of his life he was content to let a Regent conduct the administration." [Richardson, Hugh E. (1984). "Tibet and its History. Second Edition, Revised and Updated", p. 59. Shambhala. Boston & London. ISBN 0-87773-376-7 (pbk)]

Footnontes

References

* Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche. (1982). "Life and times of the Eighth to Twelfth Dalai Lamas." "The Tibet Journal". Vol. VII Nos. 1 & 2. Spring/Summer 1982, pp. 47-48.
* [http://www.dalailama.com/page.51.htm http://www.dalailama.com/page.51.htm]

Further reading

* Mullin, Glenn H. (2001). "The Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of Reincarnation", pp. 322-341. Clear Light Publishers. Santa Fe, New Mexico. ISBN 1-57416-092-3.