Gendun Drup, 1st Dalai Lama

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Gendun Drup, 1st Dalai Lama
1391 -1474
Name
Gendun Drup,
the 1st Dalai Lama
Birth Tibet
School/tradition Gelug
Gendun Drup, 1st Dalai Lama
Tibetan name
Tibetan: དགེ་འདུན་གྲུབ་
Wylie transliteration: dge ’dun grub
pronunciation in IPA: [kẽ̀tyn ʈʂʰùp]
official transcription (PRC): Gêdün Chub
THDL: Gedün Drup
other transcriptions: Gendun Dup,
Gendün Drub
Chinese name
traditional: 根敦朱巴
simplified: 根敦朱巴
Pinyin: Gēndūn Zhūbā

Gendun Drup (1391 – 1474) is retrospectively considered to be the first Dalai Lamas of Tibet, who are believed to be reincarnations of Chenresig (Sanskrit: Avalokiteshvara), the Bodhisattva of Compassion.

Gendun Drup was born in a cowshed as the son of nomadic tribespeople, and raised as a shepherd until the age of seven. His birth name was Pema Dorje (Tibetan: པད་མ་རྡོ་རྗེ་; Wylie: pad ma rdo rje). Later, he was placed in Nartang (Nar-thang) monastery, and by the middle of his life he had become one of the most esteemed scholar-saints in the country. Gendun Drup was a student of his uncle, the great scholar and reformer Tsongkhapa.[1]

It is said 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 Gendun Gyatso, the Second Dalai Lama, who formalised the system, monks have gone to the lake to seek guidance on choosing the next reincarnation through visions while meditating there.[2]

In 1447, Gendun Drup founded the great monastery of Tashilhunpo at Shigatse, which was later to become the seat of the Panchen Lamas.[3]

Gendun Drup had no political power. The political power was in the hands of viceroys like the Sakyas, the prince of Tsang and the Mongolian Khan. The political role of the Dalai Lama only began with the reign of the 5th Dalai Lama.

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 to Je Tsongkhapa (Btsong-ka-pa)
  • Praise of the Venerable Lady Khadiravani Tara, an homage to the Goddess Tara

Glenn H. Mullin's collection of translations of Gendun Drup's commentaries (Selected Works of the Dalai Lama I) is a good start to learning more about the writings and teachings of this prolific and important Tibetan Buddhist teacher.

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Farrer-Halls, Gill. World of the Dalai Lama. Quest Books: 1998. pg. 60
  2. ^ Laird, Thomas (2006). The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama, pp. 139, 264-265. Grove Press, N.Y. ISBN 978-0-8021-827-1.
  3. ^ Chö Yang: The Voice of Tibetan Religion and Culture. (1991) Year of Tibet Edition, p.79. Gangchen Kyishong, Dharmasala, H.P., India.
Buddhist titles
Preceded by
Beginning of the line		 Dalai Lama Succeeded by
Gendun Gyatso
v • d • e
Dalai Lamas
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