The Three Dharma Kings of Tibet

Songsten Gampo

(6l7-698 A.D.)

After Songtsen Gampo ascended the throne, he took princess Bhrikuti Devi, the daughter of the Nepalese King Anshuvarrnan, as his consort. He also took the Chinese princess Wengchen Kongjo, the daughter of the Chinese emperor. Bhrikuti Devi came to be known as Belsa, the Nepalese consort and Wengchen Kongjo as Gyasa, the Chinese consort. Later Songtsen Gampo had three Tibetan queens. The youngest, Mongso Tricham of Tolung, had a son by him.

Songtsen Gampo sent seventeen Tibetan students to India to master its languages and through them Buddhism. Thonmi Sambhota, the most famous of these students, having mastered Sanskrit and been introduced to Buddhism returned to Tibet and on the basis of the Brahmi and Gupta scripts devised the Tibetan alphabet and grammar. For the first time in the history of Tibet, several important Sanskrit Buddhist texts were translated into Tibetan by Thonmi Sambhota.

By this time the Tibetan state had become firmly established as a major power in Asia. Under Songtsen Gampo, Tibet began to expand in four direc-tions. Songtsen Gampo was also Tibet's first law-giver. He drew up ten moral principles and sixteen rules of public conduct.

Both the Belsa and Gyasa princesses were Buddhist and brought with them two images of Shakyamuni Buddha. The Belsa princess brought an image which depicted the Buddha as an eight-year-old boy. The Gyasa princess brought an image which depicted the Buddha as a twelve-year-old boy. In order to house their images, the Nepalese and Chinese princesses built the Jokhang and Ramoche temples, respectively. Jokhang faced westward to Nepal and Ramoche aced eastward to China. During the next generation the two images were hidden, when it was rumoured that a Chinese army was about to enter Lhasa. The image of the Buddha in the Ramoche temple was sealed in the walls of the Jokhang temple, and the image of the Buddha from the Jokhang temple was buried on the outskirts of Lhasa. Two generations later the queen (who was also a Chinese princess) of the 36th Tibetan king, Me-agtsom, enquired about the whereabouts of the Buddha image which had been brought to Tibet by Gyasa. After a thorough search she found the image buried in the walls of the Jokhang and caused it to be placed in the centre of Jokhang temple, and naturally the Belsa's image of the Buddha was placed in the Ramoche temple. This was how the two images were interchanged.

During the cultural revolution (1966-1976) which raged in China and then subsequently in Tibet, irreparable damage was done to the Tibetan monasteries, temples and objects of worship and art. Old Tibet had more than 6000 monas-teries and temples, only 13 remain, the rest were destroyed.

The images, artifacts and precious relics studded with jewels and made of gold, silver or copper were either carted to China or destroyed. It was at this time that the Buddha image in the Ramoche temple was dismantled.

After the madness of the cultural revolution and with the start of the policy of 'liberalization', a relatively more sensitive attitude was adopted towards the preservation of ancient monuments and works of art. In 1983 a policy was initiated to restore the plundered images to their respective monasteries in Tibet and to repair the images which had not been completely destroyed. It was at this time that the upper half of the image brought by Belsa was found in a factory near Peking. The lower half of the image was discovered in Lhasa amongst other equally damaged images. The two halves were later joined together and today the Buddha image can be seen in the Ramoche temple. The story of the Belsa's Buddha image is told here as an example, there are countless other similar instances. The image of the Buddha brought by Belsa to Tibet is now a little less than three thousand years old. It was made during the time of the Buddha and was blessed by Him. Throughout the world images of such antiquity, such works of art and worship, are valued and treasured. If the Chinese were able to destroy this image, considered by all Tibetans as one of the holiest of their sacred treasures, then how many lesser images have been destroyed by the Chinese needs no explanation.

During the cultural revolution priceless images from Tibet were carried off to Shanghai, Tianjin, Theyon, Peking, Sichuan and Liuyen in China. As mentioned above, some of the Tibetan statues discovered in one of the factories near Peking were returned td Tibet. Altogether 13,537 images, weighing 32 tons, were returned, but not before 570 tons of statues had been melted down in this parti-cular factory.

Apart from this, there is no estimate of the images destroyed or melted down in the other above-mentioned places in China.

As for the Jokhang, the temple built by Belsa, it was left relatively intact, though all the other images in it were destroyed except for the Buddha image itself and the image of Gyasa.

Trisonog Detsen

(742-798 A.D.)

The death of Songtsen Gampo did not interrupt the rapid expansion. The' great cultural and commercial centres strung along the prosperous caravan routes serving Tibet - Khotan, Kucha, Karashar and Kashgar - gradually came under Tibetan influence. All this was at the instigation of the Tibetan kings, who were assisted by the Gar family, which supplied the most commanding and effective ministers. Tibetan armies penetrated the Chinese frontiers several times, but these were not lasting conquests. Over a long period there was a long succession of advances and retreats. In 694 the Tibetan lost the four cities in Turkestan, Nepal rebelled in 703 and the Arabs were at the border.

It was in this situation that Trisong Detsen assumed power in 755. Like Songtsen Gampo, Trisong Detsen was a patron of Buddhism. He invited Indian pandits like Shantarakshita to Tibet, who together with Padmasambhava con-structed Tibet's first monastery at Samye. Seven Tibetans were initiated into monkhood on an experimental basis. They were Tibet's first Buddhist monks, and a large number of Buddhist texts from India were translated into the Tibetan language.

Over a two-year period (792-794) a debate was held between Kamalashila, the Indian pandit, and Hoshang, a renowned Chinese Buddhist monk. The debate was held at Samye and was presided over by Trisong Detsen. The Chinese Hoshang school maintained that enlightenment was an instantaneous realization that could be attained only through complete mental and physical inactivity. The Indian school maintained that enlightenment was a slow process, requiring an individual's gradual mental and moral development. At the end of the debate the Tibetan king declared Kamalashila the winner and issued a proclamation establishing Buddhism as the state religion of Tibet.

Besides Padmasambhava and Kamalashila, there were other great Indian pandits who came to Tibet. They were Dharmakirti, Vimalamitra, Shantigarbha and Vibuddha Siddha.

Meanwhile repeated battles with the Chinese increased tension between the two countries to the point where in 763 Trisong Detsen ordered 200,000 men to proceed from A-sha against China. After defeating the Chinese army stationed at the border, the victorious Tibetans proceeded to the Chinese capital, Ch'ang-an (present-day Xian in Shaanxi province). The Chinese emperor Tai-Tsung (763-804) fled the capital.

In 783 peace negotiations between Tibet and China took place resulting in the treaty of Ch'ing-shui, which established the boundary between the two coun-tries. In general, all lands in the Kokonor region west of T'ao-chou and the Tatu river were ceded to Tibet.

During Trisong Detsen's reign a number of military alliances were also made. In 750, Kolofeng, son of Pilawko, became the king of Siam and during his reign an alliance was made with Tibet. In 778 Imobsun, who succeeded Kolofeng as the king of Siam, sought assistance from Tibet, and Tibetan and Siamese troops fought side by side against the Chinese in Sichuan. The Tibetan troops remained with the Siamese for eight years and then returned to Tibet when amicable rela-tions were restored between Siam and China.

In the west, Tibetan military forces were making considerable headway. In 790 the Tibetans were able to recapture the four garrison towns in Turkestan from which they bad been driven by the Chinese imperial forces in 694. The Tibetan army advanced westward to the Pamirs and even reached the Oxus River and a lake to the north of the Oxus River, Al-Tubbat, which means the 'little Tibetan lake'. A few years later, the Arabian Caliph, Harun al-Rashid, aware that the Tibetans were becoming too powerful, allied himself with the Chinese in order to keep the Tibetans in check. Attacked by the allied forces of the Chinese and Arabs, the Tibetans succeeded in holding their own without substantial loss of territory, in spite of considerable defeats. The expansionistic dreams of the Tibetans were checked, but as Petech has written, "the very fact that nothing less than the coalition of the two most powerful empires of the early Middle Ages was necessary for checking the expansion of the Tibetan state, is a magnificent witness of the political capacities and military valour of these sturdy mountaineers".

Between the years 785 and 805 the Tibetans were continually launching attacks to the west. Consequently their military attention was diverted from China, whose frontier province suffered less than previously.

Tri Ralpachen

(806-841 A.D.)

The third great religious king of Tibet was Tri Ralpachen, (806-841). His father, Saenaleg, had five sons : Tsangma, Darma. Tri Ralpachen Lhaje and Lhundup. The eldest son became a monk and the last two died in childhood. "When Saenaleg died in 815, the king's ministers bypassed Darma as heir to the throne because he was irreligious and harsh. They gave the royal power to Tri Ralpachen who was pro-Buddhist. Bande Dangka Palgyi Yonden, a Buddhist monk, served as the chief minister of state. Tri Ralpachen took as his queen a Tibetan girl named Palgyi Ngangtsul.

Tri Ralpachen invited Indian Pandits, Silendrabodhi, Danashila, Jinamitra, Vidyakaraprabha, Bodhimitra, Munivarma, Sarvajnadeva and Buddhajnana to central Tibet and provided them with two prominent translators, Kawa Peltsek and Chogro Lui Gyaltsen. The names of these two Tibetan translators appear at the end of all Tibetan scriptures of the time, as they were responsible for the revision of the Buddhist texts which had been translated earlier. They standar-dised the terms used for translating Buddhist concepts from Sanskrit. The first dictionary was compiled at that time. Called the Mahavyltpatti, it was a Sanskrit-Tibetan lexicon and was indispensable for those translating Buddhist texts.

After coming to the throne, Ralpachen sent troops towards the Chinese border. Buddhists in Tibet and China sought mediation and finally both countries sent representatives to the border. A peace treaty was concluded in 821. The text of the treaty was inscribed on three pillars. One was erected outside the Chinese emperor's palace-gate in Ch'ang-an, (present-day Xian in Shaanxi province) in 821, another in front of the main gate of the Jokhang in Lhasa in 822, and the third on the boundary between the two countries at Gugu Meru in 823. At the time of swearing to uphold the terms of the treaty, religious ceremonies were performed, including the Buddhist ritual of invoking the Three Jewels and the sun, moon and stars as witnesses.

The treaty reaffirmed the boundaries established by the 783 treaty of Ch'ing-shui and restored the formal relationship of mutual respect and friendship. The stone pillar in Lhasa was erected in 822. The west face of the pillar bears an inscription of the treaty in both Tibetan and Chinese. The east side bears an edict summarising the state of Sino-Tibetan relations. The north side gives the names of the seventeen Tibetan officials who participated in making the treaty and the south side gives those of the eighteen Chinese officials.

The stone pillars erected in front of the gate of palace of the Chinese emperor at Ch'ang-an (Xian) and the one at the boundary no longer exist. However, the stone pillar in Lhasa still stands. The text of the Lhasa stone pillar, repro-duced below, makes it amply clear that Tibet and China were two separate and independent nations. The Lhasa stone pillar is recognised by China as a genuine historical document, even communist China recognises its validity. In spite of all this, China continues to claim Tibet as being historically a part of China. Some countries support the Chinese claim, which is unfortunate.

The Lhasa stone pillar still exists and is 1165 years old this year (1986). Both Tibet and China recognise its historical and legal validity. Now if this important and basic document is ignored and brushed aside, to whom does a peace-loving people turn in order to justify and make known their earlier inde-pendent existence?

During the reign of Tri Ralpachen, Buddhism made unprecedented headway. Tibet's military power also reached its peak. But the increasing internal problems which Tibet faced at the time eventually culminated in the assassina-tion of Tri Ralpachen in 841. After his death, Tri Ralpachen's elder brother, Lang Darma ascended the throne. During his six-year reign Buddhism was extinguished in Tibet. In 846 Lang Darma was assassinated.

Thus, just over a thousand years had elapsed from the reign of the first king of Tibet till the death of the forty-first, and during those first thousand years the country had steadily grown in material and spiritual strength. But after the death of Lang Darma, the kingdom disintegrated. The king had two queens, and two sons, one of whom was of doubtful legitimacy. The queens quarrelled, the ministers took sides, and finally Tibet was divided between the two princes. This division led to further sub-division, and Tibet became a land of many petty principalities. So it remained for 407 years. Because of the lack of central govern-ment during this period, Tibet was encroached upon from all sides. However, the movement of Tibetan and Indian scholars between Tibet and India continued as before. Records show that from the seventh to the seventeenth centuries 128 Indian pandits came to Tibet, and that from the seventh to the thirteenth centuries seventy-six Tibetan scholars visited India. This great cultural and intellectual exchange resulted in the flowering of Buddhism in Tibet and the present world-wide interest in Tibetan Buddhism is a result of that remarkable encounter.

In the thirteenth century, Chogyal Phag-pa, the high lama of the great Sakya monastery, became the religious instructor of the Mongol emperor, Kublai Khan, also known by his Tibetan name of Se-chen. Chogyal Phag-pa became the ruler of all the three provinces or cholkas of Tibet - the first of the priest-kings of Tibet.

Chogyal Phag-pa was able to assume political power over the whole of Tibet because he received the support of Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor. It is on this tenuous basis that the Chinese now claim that Tibet had historically been a part of China. We ask the people of the world who have no reason to take sides : Is the Chinese claim justifiable? Can the Chinese justifiably Jay claim to the legacy of the Mongol empire? If this is so, then it would be right for the Chinese to stake their claim to the many countries in Asia and Europe which also at times fell within the sphere of the vast Mongol empire.

Above all, the whole of China came under Mongol domination between 1280-1368. As such, on the basis of the same argument as the Chinese claim to Tibet, the Mongols also have every right to claim China as a part of their territory.

Similarly, these days the Chinese cite the priest-patron relations between the Dalai Lamas of Tibet and the Manchu emperors of China as an indication of Tibetan subordination to China. This is also without any basis. The priest-patron relationship was strictly between Tibet and the Manchus and not between Tibet and China. Like the Mongols before them the Manchus dominated and ruled China from 1644 to 1911.

For the ninety-six years following the accession to power of Chogyal Phag-ca in 1253 Tibet was ruled by a succession of twenty ministers of Sakya, and after that, for 149 years from 1349 to 1497 by a succession of nine lamas of the Phagmo Drupa lineage. Then there was a return to secular rule. For four gene-rations, lasting altogether for sixty-eight years, the Rinpung kings ruled Tibet from 1498 to 1565, and from 1566 to 1641 Tibet was ruled by three Tsangpa kings.

It was then, in 1642, that the Great Fifth Dalai Lama assumed temporal power over the whole of Tibet, and the present form of Tibetan government known as Gaden Phodrang was established. Since then a succession of ten Dalai Lamas, and during their absence or minority lay or monk regents, have ruled Tibet.

In the year following the fall of the Manchu Dynasty in 1911, His Holiness the Thirteenth Dalai Lama proclaimed the independence of Tibet. All the Chinese troops surrendered and were deported leaving no doubt as to whether China had nominal suzerainty over Tibet. In the following year Tibet entered into a treaty with Mongolia at Urga. By this treaty executed under the Official Seal of Dalai Lama, both governments recognized 'each other as independent states, free of Manchu rule and separate from China.

In 1959 His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama sought political asylum in India. Since then communist China has occupied Tibet and continues to do so without any legitimate right. The fundamental reason for the Chinese occupation of Tibet is that militarily Tibet offers an ideal strategic base. If the Chinese communists continue to be in control of Tibet, what will the effect be on its neighbouring countries? What will its effect be on Asia as a whole? Should we not be alert to these issues now?

Treaty between Tibet and china A.D. 821-822

(translation from the Tibetan text)

The Great King of Tibet, the Miraculous Divine Lord, and the Great King of China, the Chinese Ruler Hwang-ti, being in the relationship of nephew and uncle, have conferred together for the alliance of their kingdoms. They have made and ratified a great agreement. Gods and men all know it and bear witness so that it may never be changed; and an account of the agreement has been engraved on this stone pillar to inform future ages and generations.

The Miraculous Divine Lord Tri-tsug De-tseji and the Chinese King Wen Wu Hsiao-te Wang-ti, nephew and uncle, seeking in their far-reaching wisdom to prevent all causes of harm to the welfare of their countries now or in the future, have extended their benevolence impartially over all. With the single desire of acting for the peace and benefit of all their subjects they have agreed on high purpose of ensuring lasting good; and they have made this great treaty in order to fulfil their decision to restore the former ancient friendship and mutual regard and the old relationship of friendly neighbourliness.

Between the two countries no smoke nor dust shall be seen. There shall be no sudden alarms and the very word 'enemy' shall not be spoken. Even the frontier guards shall have no anxiety nor fear and shall enjoy land and bed at their ease. All shall live in peace and share the blessing of happiness for ten thousand years. The fame of this shall extend to all places reached by the sun and the moon.

This solemn agreement has established a great epoch when Tibetans shall be happy in the land of Tibet, and Chinese in the land of China. So that it may never be changed, the Three Precious Jewels of Religion, the Assembly of Saints, the Sun and Moon, Planets and Stars have been invoked as witnesses. An oath bas been taken with solemn words and with the sacrifice of animals; and the agreement has been ratified.

If the parties do not act in accordance with this agreement or if they violate it, whichever it be, Tibet or China, nothing that the other party may do by way of retaliation shall be considered a breach of the treaty on their part.

The Kings and Ministers of Tibet and China have taken the prescribed oath to this effect and the agreement has been written in detail. The two Kings have affixed their seals. The Ministers specially empowered to execute the agreement have inscribed their signatures and copies have been deposited in the royal re-cords of each party.

Tibet and China shall abide by the frontiers of which they are now in occupation. All to the east is the country of Great China; and all to the west is, without question, the country of Great Tibet. Henceforth on neither side shall there be waging of war nor seizing of territory. If any person incurs suspicion he shall be arrested; his business shall be inquired into and he shall be escorted back.

Now that the two kingdoms have been allied by this great treaty it is neces-sary that messengers should once again be sent by the old route to maintain communications and carry the exchange of friendly messages regarding the harmonious relations between the Nephew and Uncle. According to the old custom, horses shall be changed at the foot of the Chiang Chun pass, the fron-tier between Tibet and China. At the Suiyung barrier the Chinese shall meet Tibetan envoys and provide them with all facilities from there onwards. At Ch'ing-shui the Tibetans shall meet Chinese envoys and provide all facilities. On both sides they shall be treated with customary honour and respect in conformity with the friendly relations between Nephew and Uncle.

North Inscription

The rank, names and lineage of the ministers of Great Tibet, greater and lesser, taking part in the solemnization of the treaty.

The rank, names and lineage of the Great Ministers of the kingdom of Great Tibet taking part in the Council of State.

The Great Monk-minister Dpal-chen-po yon-tan, taking part in the highest Council of State, carrying out the administration with power over both outer and inner affairs.

Commander-in-chief of the army, Zhang Khri-sum rje. The Great Minister, Blon (Lo-bzher).

The Minister, Deputy Commander-in-chief Bzang.

The Great Minister of the kingdom, Blon Rgyal.

The Great Minister of the kingdom, Blon Khri-btsan. .. bzher.

The Great Minister of the kingdom, Zhang Khri-btsan khod ne-tang.

The Great Minister of the kingdom, Zhang Khri-bzher lha-mthong.

The Great Minister of the kingdom, Blon Rgyal-bzang dus-kong.

The rank, names and lineage of the ordinary ministers of Great Tibet. The Minister of the Interior. Mchims Zhang Rgyal-bzher khod ne-brtsan.

The Minister of the Exterior taking part in the Council of State, Crg-ro Blon Btsan-bzher lho-gong.,

The Snam-phyi-pa, Mchims Zhang Brtan-bzher stag-tsab.

The Mngan-pon, head of the district officials, Bal Blon Klu-bzang myes-rma.

The Secretary General, Bran-ka Blon Stag-bzher bab-ken.

The Accountant-General, Rogegs Blon Stag-zigs rgan-kol.

The Exterior Minister, Bro-zhang Klu-hzang lha-bo-brtsan.

The Chief Judge, head of the justiciary, Myang Blon Rgyal-nyen Eegs-tsan.

South Inscription

The rank, names, and lineage of the ministers of Great China, greater and lesser, taking part in the solemnization of the treaty.

The rank, names, and lineage of the Great Ministers of the kingdom of Great China, taking part in the Council of State.

With the rank of Chen I Ta Fo and provisionally Vice-President of Imperial Chancellery, taking part in the Great Council of State.

With the rank of . . Ta Fo and Provisionally Vice-President of the Imperial Secretariat, taking part in the Great Council of State, Ts'ui Chih.

With the rank of T'ai Chung Ta Fu and provisionally Vice-President of the Imperial Secretariat, taking part in the Gre at Council of State, 'Wang Pha (i.e. Wang Po)

With the rank of Chung Ta Fu and provisionally Vice-President of the Board of Finance in the Department of Government Affairs, taking part in the Great Council of State, D'o 'Gwan Yweng (i.e. Tu Yuan-ying)

With the rank of Cheng I Ta Fo and tLe office of President of the Board of War, taking part in the Great Council of State, Se'u 'B'en (i.e. Hsiaa Mien).

The rank, names and lineage of the ordinary minister of Great China.

With the rank of Chin Tzu Kuang Lu Ta Fu and the office of Left Vice-President of the Department of Government Affairs, Han Ka'u (i.e. Han Kao)

With the rank of Ch'ao I Lang and the office of Vice-President of Tribunal of Censor, 'Gi'u Sing Zhu (i.e. Niu Seng-ju).

With the rank of T'ai Chung Ta Fa and the office of Acting Right Vice-President of the Department of Government Affairs and President of the Board -of Civil Office, Li Kang (i.e. Li Chiang).

With the rank of Yin Ch'iang Kuang Lo Ta Fu and the office of President of the Board of Finance, Yang U Ling (i.e. Yang Yu-ling).

With the rank of T'ung I Ta Fo and provisionally President of the Board of Rites, 'Wu'i Zhi'u (i.e. Wei Shou).

With the rank of Yin Ch'ing Kuang Lu Ta Fu and the office of Acting Right Vice-President of the Department of Government Affairs and concurrently Pre-sident of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Ca'u Tsong Zhu (i.e. Chao Tsung-ju).

With the rank of T'ai Chung Ta Fu and the office of President of the Board of Rites and concurrently President of the Court of Agricultural Administra-tion, Be'i Bu (i.e. Pe'i Wu).

With the rank of the Chent I Ta Fu and provisionally Prefect of The Capital and concurrently President of the Tribunal of Censors, Lu'u Kong Cag (i.e. Liu Kung-ch'o)

With the rank of Yin Ch'ino Kuang Lu Ta Fu and the office of Acting Presi-dent of the Board of Public Works and Concurrently Grand general of the Right Guard of Chin Wu, Kwag Tshung (i.e. Kuo Ts'ung).

With the rank of ... Ta Fu and the office of President of the Court Supreme Justice and Jkncurrently President of the Tribunal of Censors, Li u 'Gwan Teng (i.e. Liu Yuan-ting)

With the rank of Ch'ao I Lang provisionally Director of the Left Bureau in the Department of Government Affairs and concurrently Vice-President of the Tribunal of censors, Li'u Shi La'u (i.e. Liu Shll-lao) .

With the rank of Ch'ao San Lang and tbe Office of Ching Chao.

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Last updated: 2-Feb-96