Rinchen Gyaltsen

Last updated

Rinchen Gyaltsen (Tibetan : རིན་ཆེན་རྒྱལ་མཚན, Wylie : rin chen rgyal mtshan, THL : rinchen gyaltsen; Chinese :仁欽堅贊) (1238 – 24 March 1279) was a Tibetan imperial preceptor at the court of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. His tenure lasted from 1274 to his death in either 1279 or 1282.

Contents

Family background

Rinchen Gyaltsen was born in 1238 as the son of Zangtsa Sonam Gyaltsen and his wife Jomo Dro. [1] His father belonged to the Khon family, members of which were hereditary abbot-rulers of the Sakya Monastery in Tsang in western Tibet. In the time of his uncle, the abbot Sakya Pandita (1182-1251), Sakya became brokers between the various Tibetan petty lords and the Mongol power. Rinchen Gyaltsen's elder half-brother Phagpa enjoyed a close relationship with Kublai Khan and was appointed to the title Imperial Preceptor (Dishi) in 1270. As such he was a standing institution in the Yuan government, enjoying extraordinary honours and resources. [2] The Dishi had a paramount influence on the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs (Zongzhi Yuan, later Xuanzheng Yuan). Meanwhile, another brother, Chakna Dorje, was the viceroy of Tibet from 1264 to 1267. [3]

Tenure as Imperial Preceptor

Rinchen Gyaltsen served for a time as chaplain (lacho) to Kublai Khan. However, when his brother Chakna Dorje died in 1267, this led to serious unrest as the important Drigung Monastery tried to push back the position of Sakya. When his other brother Phagpa left Sakya and temporarily settled in Amdo in the same year, Rinchen Gyaltsen took over as a "quasi-abbot" (dansa tawu) of the Sakya Monastery. [4] Phagpa arrived to the imperial court in Beijing in 1370 and was appointed Dishi (Imperial Preceptor); however, he renounced the title in 1274 in order to return to Sakya. Instead, Rinchen Gyaltsen was summoned the court to fill the post in the same year. As imperial preceptor he resided in the palace compound Metog Rawa (Flowery Enclosure), as his brother had done. There he gathered a community of clerics. [5] During his tenure the worldly affairs of Tibet were handled by a succession of administrators in Sakya, called dpon-chen (ponchen). They were:

Rinchen Gyaltsen died in Shingkun (Lintao) at an uncertain date, most probably 24 March 1279. According to another chronicle he died as late as 1282, which seems to be incorrect. [7] He was succeeded as tishri by his nephew Dharmapala Raksita, a son of the viceroy Chakna Dorje.

See also

Related Research Articles

Sakya One of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism

The Sakya school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat Orders along with the Nyingma and Kagyu.

Drogön Chögyal Phagpa

Drogön Chogyal Phagpa, was the fifth leader of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. He was also the first Imperial Preceptor of the Yuan dynasty, and was concurrently named the director of the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs, serving during the reign of Kublai Khan. Historical tradition remembers him as the first vice-ruler of Tibet under the Yuan emperor as well as one of the Five Sakya patriarchs. Although this is historically disputed, he played a very important political role.

Sakya Pandita Tibetan Lama (1182–1251)

Sakya PanditaKunga Gyeltsen was a Tibetan spiritual leader and Buddhist scholar and the fourth of the Five Sakya Forefathers. Künga Gyeltsen is generally known simply as Sakya Pandita, a title given to him in recognition of his scholarly achievements and knowledge of Sanskrit. He is held in the tradition to have been an emanation of Manjusri, the embodiment of the wisdom of all the Buddhas.

Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen was a key figure in Tibetan History. He was the founder of the Phagmodrupa Dynasty which replaced the old Mongol-backed Sakya regime, ending the Tibet under Yuan rule. He ruled most of Tibet as desi (regent) from 1354 to 1364, and as a law-giver, politician and religious patron, he created a heritage that lasted for centuries.

Tibet under Yuan rule Time period in Tibet from approximately 1270 to 1350

Tibet under Mongol rule refers to the Mongol Empire, and later the Yuan dynasty's rule over Tibet from 1244 to 1354. During the Yuan dynasty rule of Tibet, the region was structurally, militarily and administratively controlled by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. In the history of Tibet, Mongol rule was established after Sakya Pandita got power in Tibet from the Mongols in 1244, following the 1240 Mongol conquest of Tibet led by the Mongol general with the title doord darkhan. It is also called the Sakya dynasty after the favored Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Dharmapala Raksita was the head of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism, which was the most powerful school in Tibet under the Yuan dynasty from 1280 to 1282. He also held the title of Imperial Preceptor (Dishi), from 1282 to 1286.

Jamyang Rinchen Gyeltsen, was the ruler of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism, which had precedence in Tibet under the Yuan dynasty, in 1286–1303. He also held the title of Imperial Preceptor ( Dishi) from 1304 to his demise in 1305.

Zangpo Pal, in full Danyi Chenpo Zangpo Pal, was the ruler of Sakya, which held a precedence position in Tibet under the Yuan dynasty. He ruled nominally from 1298, in reality from 1306 to his death in 1323.

Khatsun Namkha Lekpa Gyaltsen, orthographic spelling mK'as btsun nam mk'a legs pa'i rgyal mts'an, was a ruler of Sakya, which had a precedence position in Tibet under the Yuan dynasty. He reigned from 1325 to 1341, but was more prominent in religious than in worldly affairs, and his time saw the beginning of the decline of the Sakya hegemony in Tibet.

Jamyang Donyo Gyaltsen, in orthographic spelling Jam dbyangs don yod rgyal mts'an, was a ruler of Sakya which had a precedence position in Tibet under the Yuan dynasty. He reigned from 1341 until his death in 1344.

Sönam Gyaltsen, the Sakya Lama Dampa was a ruler of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism, which had a precedence position in Tibet under the Yuan dynasty. He is considered the greatest Sakya scholar of the 14th century and served as ruler for a short term in 1344–1347.

Lotro Gyaltsen, in orthographic spelling bLo gros rgyal mts'an, was a ruler of Sakya, which had a precedence position in Tibet under the Yuan dynasty. He reigned from 1347 to 1365; however, Sakya lost its influence in Central Tibet in 1354. In that way he was the last Sakya lord before the ascension of the new Phagmodrupa Dynasty.

Yeshe Rinchen was a Tibetan Imperial Preceptor (Dishi) at the court of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. He hailed from Sakya, the foremost monastic regime in Tibet in this period, and held the title from 1286 to 1291.

Drakpa Odzer was a Tibetan Imperial Preceptor (Dishi) at the court of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. He hailed from Sakya which was the foremost monastic regime in Tibet in this period. He held the post from 1291 to his death in 1303.

Sanggye Pal was a Tibetan Imperial Preceptor (Dishi) at the court of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. He hailed from Sakya which was the foremost monastic regime in Tibet in this period. He held the dignity from 1305 to his death in 1314.

Kunga Lotro Gyaltsen was a Tibetan Imperial Preceptor (Dishi) at the court of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. He belonged to the abbot family Khon of Sakya which had a precedence position in Tibet in this era. He held the dignity from 1314 to his death in 1327.

Kunga Lekpa Jungne Gyaltsen was a Tibetan Imperial Preceptor (Dishi) at the court of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. He belonged to the abbot family Khon of Sakya which had a precedence position in Tibet in this era. He held the dignity from 1327 to 1330.

Kunga Gyaltsen was a Tibetan Imperial Preceptor (Dishi) at the court of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. He belonged to the abbot family Khon of Sakya which had a precedence position in Tibet in this era. He held the title from 1331 to 1358, being the last Dishi before the takeover of the Phagmodrupa dynasty in Central Tibet in the 1350s.

The Imperial Preceptor, or Dishi was a high title and powerful post created by Kublai Khan, founder of the Yuan dynasty. It was established as part of Mongol patronage of Tibetan Buddhism and Yuan administrative rule of Tibet.

References

  1. ↑ Shoju Inaba, 'The lineage of the Sa skya pa: A chapter of the Red Annals', Memoirs of the Research Department of the Toyo Bunko 22 1963, 109.
  2. ↑ Luciano Petech, Central Tibet and the Mongols: The Yüan-Sa-skya period of Tibetan history. Rome 1990, pp. 22-3, 33-4.
  3. ↑ Luciano Petech 1990, pp. 19-20.
  4. ↑ Luciano Petech 1990, pp. 20-1.
  5. ↑ Luciano Petech 1990, p. 23.
  6. ↑ Luciano Petech 1990, p. 144.
  7. ↑ Luciano Petech 1990, p. 23; Shoju Inaba 1963, p. 109.
Preceded by Tibetan imperial preceptor
1274–1279		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.