Kunga Lekpa

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Kunga Lekpa (Tibetan : ཀུན་དགའ་ལེགས་པ,  Wylie : Kun dga legs pa, 1433–1483) was a King of central Tibet who ruled from 1448 to 1481. He belonged to the Phagmodrupa Dynasty, which was the leading political regime in central Tibet from 1354 to 1435, and retained a certain political status until the early 17th century. His time saw the further fragmentation of Tibetan politics.

Wylie transliteration

The Wylie transliteration system is a method for transliterating Tibetan script using only the letters available on a typical English language typewriter. It bears the name of Turrell V. Wylie, who described the scheme in an article, A Standard System of Tibetan Transcription, published in 1959. It has subsequently become a standard transliteration scheme in Tibetan studies, especially in the United States.

Ü-Tsang Union of Ü and Tsang kingdoms in central Tibet, do not include Amdo (Qinghai) and Kham (Xikang) nor Ngari (western region, former Guge kingdom)

Ü-Tsang or Tsang-Ü, is one of the four traditional provinces of Tibet, the other being Amdo in the North-East, the Kham in the East and the Ngari in the North-West. Geographically Ü-Tsang covered the south-central of the Tibetan cultural area, including the Brahmaputra River watershed. The western districts surrounding and extending past Mount Kailash are included in Ngari, and much of the vast Changtang plateau to the north. The Himalayas defined Ü-Tsang's southern border. The present Tibet Autonomous Region corresponds approximately to what was ancient Ü-Tsang and western Kham.

Contents

Early years

Kunga Lekpa was a son of Sangye Gyaltsen, a brother of the last effective ruler of the dynasty, Gongma Drakpa Gyaltsen. His mother was Dzompama, a lady of the important Rinpungpa family. During the reign of his brother Drakpa Jungne (1432–1445), the central power of the Phagmodrupa broke down, and the Rinpungpa lord Norzang (d. 1466) acquired a leading position in the Tsang region (West Central Tibet). When Drakpa Jungne died in 1445, there was a three-year interregnum. The young Kunga Lekpa was elevated to abbot of the Tsethang monastery in 1446, and was eventually enthroned as king (gongma, "the high one") in 1448 by a council of ministers. He resided in the Nêdong palace in Ü (East Central Tibet) with Konchok Rinchen as his chief deputy. [1]

Gongma Drakpa Gyaltsen King of central Tibet during Phagmodrupa period

Gongma Drakpa Gyaltsen was a King of Tibet who ruled in 1385–1432. He belonged to the Phagmodrupa Dynasty, which was the leading regime in Tibet between 1354 and 1435. His reign was comparatively tranquil, but he was also the last ruler of the dynasty to wield full powers over the central parts of Tibet.

Rinpungpa Tibetan regime that dominated much of Western Tibet and part of Ü-Tsang between 1435 and 1565

Rinpungpa was a Tibetan regime that dominated much of Western Tibet and part of Ü-Tsang between 1435 and 1565. During one period around 1500 the Rinpungpa lords came close to assemble the Tibetan lands around the Yarlung Tsangpo River under one authority, but their powers receded after 1512.

Drakpa Jungne was a king of central Tibet who ruled in 1432–1445. He belonged to the Phagmodrupa Dynasty which was the leading regime in Tibet from 1354 to 1435, and exerted some influence until the early 17th century. His reign saw the collapse of the political power of the dynasty, and the beginning of two centuries of internal strife.

Conflicting Tibetan and Chinese accounts

His father Sangye Gyaltsen was still alive, and resided in the Tsethang monastery. He only died in 1457. But in the Mingshi or Chinese dynastic annals the succession is given differently than in the Tibetan chronicles. They assert that the father Sangerjie Jianzan Ba Cangbu (Sangye Gyaltsen Pal Zangpo) succeeded Drakpa Jungne, and ruled in his own name until 1469. After the latter's death the Chenghua Emperor would have "ordered" his son Gongge Liesiba Zhongnai Lingzhan Jianzan Baer Cangbu (Kunga Lekpa Jungne Rinchen Gyaltsen Pal Zangpo) to accede to the throne. [2] The historiographical discrepancy is not easily explained, and seems to point to the limited Chinese insights in Tibetan affairs. At any rate the princely title (wang) conferred by the Chenghua Emperor was valued enough by the Tibetan elite to merit a mention in the local chronicles. [3]

Chenghua Emperor emperor of the Ming Dynasty

The Chenghua Emperor, born Zhu Jianshen, was the ninth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, between 1464 and 1487. His era name "Chenghua" means "accomplished change".

Trouble with the Rinpungpa

Kunga Lekpa made a tour in Tsang, where his Rinpungpa kinsman Norzang received him in state. However, the king felt dissatisfied with the treatment accorded him. He was married to the Rinpungpa lady Chopel Zangmo, his cousin, but the marriage was unhappy, and caused serious political repercussions. To this was added religiously tainted disputes. Norzang's grandson Donyo Dorje (1463–1512) was a supporter of the Karmapa sect and insisted on building a monastery outside Lhasa, thus within the orbit of Phagmodru authority. However, hostile Gelugpa monks razed the new establishment and almost killed the Karmapa lama Chödrak Gyatso. Finally, in 1480, Donyo Dorje invaded the Ü region and captured some districts which had hitherto been under Phagmodrupa's control. He also forced the deputy Konchok Rinchen from power. A renewed attack in the next year was unsuccessful, but by now Kunga Lekpa had lost much of his allegiance among the Tibetan elite. The ministers of the kingdom met in the same year 1481 in Nêdong to discuss the conflict between the gongma's faction and the Rinpungpa. In the end Kunga Lekpa was deposed and received an estate as compensation. [4] The throne went to his nephew Ngagi Wangpo. [5] Two years after this, the old ruler died. He had a son called Rinchen Dorje (1458?-1476?) who became abbot of Tsethang in 1467, but died at a young age. He is sometimes listed as ruler after Kunga Lekpa, which appears to be incorrect. [6]

Donyo Dorje was the third and most powerful prince of the Rinpungpa Dynasty that held power in much of Central Tibet from 1479 to 1512.

Karmapa title

The Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the Kagyu, itself one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

Lhasa District in Tibet, China

Lhasa or Chengguan is a district and administrative capital of Lhasa City in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The inner urban area of Lhasa City is equivalent to the administrative borders of Chengguan District, which is part of the wider prefectural Lhasa City.

See also

History of Tibet aspect of history

Tibetan history, as it has been recorded, is particularly focused on the history of Buddhism in Tibet. This is partly due to the pivotal role this religion has played in the development of Tibetan and Mongol cultures and partly because almost all native historians of the country were Buddhist monks.

Sino-Tibetan relations during the Ming dynasty analysis of relations between China and Tibet during the Ming Dynasty

The exact nature of relations between Tibet and the Ming dynasty of China (1368–1644) is unclear. Analysis of the relationship is further complicated by modern political conflicts and the application of Westphalian sovereignty to a time when the concept did not exist. Some Mainland Chinese scholars such as Wang Jiawei and Tibetan scholars such as Nyima Gyaincain, assert that the Ming dynasty had unquestioned sovereignty over Tibet, pointing to the Ming court's issuing of various titles to Tibetan leaders, Tibetans' full acceptance of these titles, and a renewal process for successors of these titles that involved traveling to the Ming capital. Scholars within China also argue that Tibet has been an integral part of China since the 13th century and that it was thus a part of the Ming Empire. But most scholars outside China, such as Turrell V. Wylie, Melvin C. Goldstein, and Helmut Hoffman, say that the relationship was one of suzerainty, that Ming titles were only nominal, that Tibet remained an independent region outside Ming control, and that it simply paid tribute until the Jiajing Emperor (1521–1566), who ceased relations with Tibet.

Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism

The Kagyu, Kagyü, or Kagyud school, which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school, is one of the main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism. The Kagyu lineages trace themselves back to the 11th century Indian Mahasiddhas Naropa, Maitripa and the yogini Niguma, via their student Marpa Lotsawa (1012–1097), who brought their teachings to Tibet. Marpa's student Milarepa was also an influential poet and teacher.

Related Research Articles

Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo Tibetan Buddhist lama

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Phagmodrupa dynasty dynastic regime that held sway over Tibet or parts thereof from 1354 to the early 17th century.

The Phagmodrupa Dynasty or Pagmodru was a dynastic regime that held sway over Tibet or parts thereof from 1354 to the early 17th century. It was established by Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen of the Lang family at the end of the Yuan dynasty. The dynasty had a lasting importance on the history of Tibet; it created an autonomous kingdom after Mongol rule, revitalized the national culture, and brought about a new legislation that survived until the 1950s. Nevertheless, the Phagmodrupa had a turbulent history due to internal family feuding and the strong localism among noble lineages and fiefs. Its power receded after 1435 and was reduced to Ü in the 16th century due to the rise of the ministerial family of the Rinpungpa. It was defeated by the rival Tsangpa dynasty in 1613 and 1620, and was formally superseded by the Ganden Phodrang regime founded by the 5th Dalai Lama in 1642. In that year, Güshi Khan of the Khoshut formally transferred the old possessions of Sakya, Rinpung and Phagmodrupa to the "Great Fifth".

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Kunga Gyaltsen was a Tibetan Imperial Preceptor (Dishi) at the court of the Mongol 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 administrive rule of Tibet.

The Phagmo Drupa Kagyu or Phagdru Kagyu (ཕག་གྲུ་བཀའ་བརྒྱུད) is a subschool of the Tibetan Kagyu school.

References

  1. ↑ Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa, Tibet. A Political History. Yale 1967, p. 87.
  2. ↑ Giuseppe Tucci, Tibetan Painted Scrolls. Rome 1949, Vol. II, p. 693.
  3. ↑ Giuseppe Tucci, Deb T'er Dmar Po Gsar Ma. Rome 1971, p. 222.
  4. ↑ Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa, 1967, p. 87-8.
  5. ↑ The date of Ngagi Wangpo's accession is sometimes given as 1454; see Dang-dkar blo-bzang 'phrim-las, The Merging of Religious and Secular Rule in Tibet. Beijing 1991, p. 59. This, however, was rather his appointment as abbot; see George N. Roerich, The Blue Annals. Delhi 1976, p. 595.
  6. ↑ List of rulers in Sarat Chandra Das, 'Contributions on the religion, history &c, of Tibet', Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 1881, p. 242. The list is taken over by some later works, such as A.M.H.J. Stokvis, Manuel d'histoire, de généalogie et de chronologie de tous l'états du globe, Vol. I. The Hague 1888.
Preceded by
Drakpa Jungne 		Ruler of Tibet
1448–1481		Succeeded by
Ngagi Wangpo
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