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III. Chinese Imperial Edict of 1808 A.D. on the Origin and Transmigrations of the Grand Lamas of Tibet

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2011

Extract

When at Lhasa in 1904 I found, in addition to the two earliest historical Tibetan documents yet known (as notified inthis Journal), a very long inscription of the Chinese emperor Chia-ch'ing, of 1808 a.d., which is of considerable historical interest and importance. It gives an official account of the origin of the Grand Lamaship and of the theory of succession to the same by divine reincarnations; it also prescribes the “Ordeal of the Urn” for the selection of the candidate, one of the steps taken by China to secure political control over the succession to the pontifical throne; and it records the building of the Potala palace at Lhasa as one of “the three Potalas”, and of a fourth “Potala”-academy erected by a Chinese emperor at Jehol, to the north-west of Peking.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1910

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References

page 69 note 1 JRAS., 1909, pp. 924, etc.

page 69 note 2 First edition.

page 70 note 1 Rockhill, W. W., JRAS., 1891, p. 264Google Scholar.

page 70 note 2 Csoma, , Dictionary of Tibetan, p. 190Google Scholar, gives 1643 a.d.

page 71 note 1 This Indian Potala was placed by Csoma, (Dictionary of Tibetan, p. 198)Google Scholar in the Indus delta near Karachi, and Koppen, (Relig. des Buddh., i, p. 75)Google Scholar and others have repeated this mistaken identification.

page 71 note 2 J. Grueber, quoted by Markham, , Tibet, p. 297Google Scholar.

page 72 note 1 Rockhill, , JRAS., 1891, p. 279Google Scholar.

page 72 note 2 See full details in my Buddhism of Tibet.

page 72 note 3 But see note 1, p. 81.

page 72 note 4 Grammar of Tibetan, p. 190.

page 73 note 1 Cf. Edkin's, Chinese Buddhism, p. 267Google Scholar.

page 73 note 2 Bushell, S. W., Chinese Art, i, 66Google Scholar.

page 73 note 3 Giles, H., in Glossary, p. 137Google Scholar, says that Jehol was built by Ch'ienlung in 1780, but he evidently means the model of the Tashi-lhunpo temple there, which was erected by Ch'ien-lung in that year for the reception of the third Tāshi Lama, Bogle's friend, whose “Life” (Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, 1882, p. 37) mentions that at Jehol were two Lamaist temples, one modelled after that of Potala, and one “newly” erected after that of Tashi-lhunpo.

page 75 note 1 Buddhist divinity of Wisdom, incarnate in the Emperor of China. Cf. my Buddhism of Tibet, pp. 355, etc.

page 76 note 1 , z'e-hor rdo-rje rir.

page 76 note 2 See footnote 2, p. 78.

page 76 note 3 The highest heaven of the Buddhists (my Buddhism of Tibet, pp. 85–6).

page 76 note 4 See foregoing note 1 on p. 71.

page 76 note 5 This is interesting as a native form of the name “Tibet” in the year 1808.

page 76 note 6 , z'iṅ. Cf. Jaeschke's, Dictionary, p. 475Google Scholar.

page 76 note 7 Probably intended for Chusan Archipelago, in which it is situated; see p. 73.

page 76 note 8 This is an attempt to identify the building of Potala with the building of King Sroṅ-btsan's palace on the same site; see p. 70.

page 77 note 1 . By the “Middle country” Buddha of course referred to the Indian Gangetic provinces around Magadha.

page 77 note 2 Evidently the three great patron Manchu emperors — Kang-hsi, Yang-cheng, and Ch'ien-lung.

page 77 note 3 This takes no account of the previous dynasties as patrons of another sect, the Saskya red-cap sect which was patronized by Kublai Khan and his successors of the Mongol or Yuan dynasty.

page 77 note 4 , Yab-rje grnam-gyi bhaī-bar gnas-pa.

page 78 note 1 Or “adamantine”, probably with reference to the adamantine hill of Jehol (v. par. 3).

page 78 note 2 Literally “during the kalpas”, that is, the Indian fabulous 100,000 year cycles of time in the cataclysms of worlds.

page 78 note 3 This seems like a begging solicitation, or it may be intended to mean the gift of the Tālaī lama to mankind.

page 78 note 4 gi-ri-kā raṅ-bzin. Girikā seems intended for the Sanskritic term for a hermit. It refers to the imperial disbelief in the integrity or ability of the lamas in selecting the successor.

page 78 note 5 , bum-bu. This is evidently a reference to the use of the hermit's waterpot as an urn in the lottery ordeal.

page 78 note 6 .

page 79 note 1 , grva-pa = literally a “learner or schoolboy”.

page 79 note 2 .

page 79 note 3 The Sera version has here ma-tha, which is evidently intended for the Sanskrit maṭha, “temple,” or it may be for “head”, though gurū is given by the dictionaries as the ordinary equivalent for bLa-ma.

page 79 note 4 Pronounced ṭ'ul-ku.

page 79 note 5 The Sera version has So-sos.

page 79 note 6 .

page 80 note 1 , or it may mean “the supreme god”.

page 80 note 2 Sera version has here “dsems”, or soul or mind, in the sense of a reembodied soul.

page 80 note 3 , Tā-laī. It is interesting to find throughout in both versions this form and not “Dalai”, etc.

page 80 note 4 Erteni is the Mongol transcription of the Sanskrit ratna, the precious gem. Cf. my Buddhism of Tibet, pp. 235, etc.

page 81 note 1 , sog-rigs, and lower down the word moṅ-gol is given in the Sera version as the equivalent of sog. This Mongol incarnation may be the Chaṅ-kya lama of the great Lama temple at Peking. The ‘Tāranātha” Lama at Urga is said to be usually selected from Lhasa direct.

page 81 note 2 The great Lama temple at Peking.

page 81 note 3 .

page 81 note 4 . Doubtless an official augur.

page 81 note 5 The Lhasa version has = “presence” or “deputy” instead of = “castle”.

page 81 note 6 Dsā-sags = a Chinese title of a prefect.

page 81 note 7 This may be a cryptic reference to the Tālaī or “Ocean” lamas. Its usual Tibetan equivalent is not used—.

page 82 note 1 = the exalted ones, skt. Arya.

page 82 note 2 Or the “Turkish” emperor of China, Yon-k'raō.

page 82 note 3 , literally “owner” or “master”.

page 82 note 4 .

page 82 note 5 This is the Manchu emperor T'ai Tsung Wên, 1627–44 a.d. (Mayer's, Chinese Readers Manual, p. 389)Google Scholar.

page 82 note 6 Probably intended for 'Hwang - kung, the imperial palace at Peking.

page 82 note 7 He lived in the reign of two successive emperors.

page 83 note 1 These were the notoriously dissolute Grand Lama, who was deposed and assassinated, and his successor.

page 83 note 2 , bChā-ch'in.

page 83 note 3 rje-druṅ.

page 83 note 4 For Mongol khutuktu = an incarnation.

page 83 note 5 Doubtless the Abbot of Gahldan.

page 83 note 6 .

page 83 note 7 .

page 84 note 1 = master of the tantrik Kalacakra.

page 84 note 2 .

page 84 note 3 = literally “possessed of the three fortunes or blessings, namely, grace, glory, and wealth”. It is a common personal name, and is prefixed five times to the titles of kings like its equivalent the Indian Śrī.

page 84 note 4 Avalokita incarnate is the Tālaī.

page 85 note 1 .

page 85 note 2 Not Tibetan (byi-ru = coral); doubtless a Chinese word.

page 85 note 3 About an ounce each in weight and in value about 3s.