Gendun Drup

1st Dalai Lama

Reign N/A
Successor Gendun Gyatso
Tibetan ;--_,-
Wylie dge dun grub
Pronunciation tyn tp
THDL Gedn Drup
Born 1391
Shabtod, -Tsang, Tibet
Died 1474 (aged 8283)
Tibet
1st Dalai Lama
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gendun Drup (13911474), also known asGendun Drub and
Kundun Drup, is considered retrospectively to be the first of the
Dalai Lamas of Tibet, who are believed to be reincarnations of
Chenresig (Sanskrit: Avalokiteshvara), the Bodhisattva of
Compassion.
Biography
Gendun Drup was born in a cowshed in Gyurmey Rupa, near Sakya in
the Tsang region of central Tibet, the son of Gonpo Dorjee and Jomo
Namkha Kyi, nomadic tribespeople.
[1]
He was raised as a shepherd
until the age of seven. His birth name (according to the Tibetan
Buddhist Resource Center, his personal name) wasPema Dorje
(Tibetan: ;-,, Wylie: pad ma rdo rje, Vajra Lotus/Lotus Vajra).
Later, he was placed in Nartang (Nar-thang) Monastery. In 1405, he
took his novice vows from the abbot of Narthang, Khenchen Drupa
Sherab.
When he was 20 years old, in about 1411, he received the name
Gendun Drubpa upon taking the vows of a fully ordained monk, or
Gelong, from the abbot of Narthang Monastery.
[2]
Also at this age, he
became a student of the great scholar and reformer Tsongkhapa
(13571419),
[3]
who some say was his uncle.
[4]
Around this time he
also became the first abbot of Ganden Monastery, founded by
Tsongkhapa himself in 1409.
[5]
By the middle of his life, Gendun
Drup had become one of the most esteemed scholar-saints in the
country.
Tradition states that Palden Lhamo, the female guardian spirit of the
sacred lake, Lhamo La-tso, promised the First Dalai Lama in one of
his visions "...that she would protect the reincarnation lineage of the
Dalai Lamas." Since the time of the Second Dalai Lama Gendun Gyatso, who formalized the system, monks have gone
to 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 great
monastery 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 the
Mongolian 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 Western
reckoning).
[4]
Dorje Pakmo (14221455), the highest female incarnation in Tibet,
[10]
was a contemporary of Gendun Drub. Her
teacher Bodong Panchen Chogley Namgyal was also one of his teachers; he received many teachings and
empowerments from him.
[11]
Some of the most famous texts Gendun Drup wrote were:
Sunlight on the Path to Freedom, a commentary on Abhidharma-kosa
Crushing 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 toJe 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. 77 3.
^
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. ISBN
978-0-8021-1827-1
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. Retrieved
2009-03-07.
11.
References
Thubten Samphel and Tendar (2004). The Dalai Lamas of Tibet. Roli & J anssen, New Delhi. (2004). ISBN
81-7436-085-9
McKay, 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 Light
Publishers. 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 by
New creation
Dalai Lama
N/A
Posthumously recognized
Succeeded by
Gendun Gyatso
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1st_Dalai_Lama&oldid=500456264"
Categories: 1391 births 1474 deaths Dalai Lamas Tibetan writers Tibetan people 14th-century Tibetan people
15th-century Tibetan people
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