Mongol Pacification Through Qing-Tibetan Relations

By: Jigme Duntak

As early as 1639 the Qing monarchs were documented to have engaged in relations with Tibet through patronage of the Yellow Hat sect (Gelugpa) temples and monasteries. Tibetan cult objects were also already introduced at the Aisin Gioro temple in the Qing capital of Mukden well before the Qing invasion of North China.[1] This relationship through patronage and the adoption of Tibetan Buddhist practices stemmed back to a blueprint laid out by Emperor Nurhaci (see right) where he had stated that “legitimate rule of the Mongols depended upon patronizing Tibetan lamas, whom Altan Khan had established as the spiritual guides of the Mongols.”[2] Relations between the Qing and Tibet therefore existed before the Qing became rulers of China and due to the religious implications, good relations with Tibet were essential for the Qing rulers in order to maintain good relations with Mongolia.

Therefore, Qing relations with Tibet were heavily interrelated with the Qing policy of Mongol pacification which was achieved through the Tibetan Buddhist sect relations, principally with the Yellow Hat sect hierarchs. Under the Qianlong emperor many Mongol rebellions had to be suppressed by Qing forces. In 1756, Qianlong emperor (see right) pointed out that “the western Mongols must have four khans recognized among them, “in order to keep their forces divided. Each has to be concerned about his own welfare, and submit to the empire for protection from the others.” This was the policy of the Qing to maintain division among the Mongols as a policy to pacify possible Mongol threat.

By 1644 the Qing had finally completed the overthrow of the Ming dynasty and had established themselves as the rulers of China. Similarly in 1642 the Fifth Dalai Lama and his Yellow Hat sect, had consolidated their own realm, in large part due to the support of Gushri Khan (a Khosut-Oirat prince).[3] “The Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682) (see right) was the first Dalai Lama to assume temporal control of Tibet, aided by the troops of the Khosut Mongol chief, Gushri Khan.”[4] By this time the Qing are the newly rising power of Asia and the numerous different factions within Tibet are quick to recognize this. The various factions quickly begin to send envoys to the Manchu court in an attempt to win favour and support, and to obtain a leverage or advantage over one another. The different factions consisted of the Gushri and the Fifth Dalai Lama, The deposed King of Tsang, and the Karma-pa hierarchs.[5] In 1652 the Fifth Dalai Lama travels to Beijing and has an imperial audience with the Qing emperor in an attempt for both parties to seal a favourable relationship. Upon meeting, the Emperor seizes the Dalai Lama’s hand and inquires about his health through an interpreter[6]. Throughout the meeting the Emperor and Dalai Lama show signs of mutual respect and when the tea arrived the Emperor in fact urges the Dalai Lama to drink before him. Vast amounts of presents are in addition offered to the Dalai Lama. From the conduct of the Shunzhi Emperor we can see that he surprisingly met the Dalai Lama as his equal. In fact there had also been discussion about the Shunzhi Emperor possibly traveling to a place beyond the Great Wall to meet the Dalai Lama.[7] After this formal meeting the “priest-patron” relation had been established between the Qing Emperor and Tibet. Both parties had successfully attained what they had been pursuing: The Dalai Lama had gained assurance of support from the Qing Emperor in order to maintain his power over his rivals, and the Qing had earned spiritual legitimation from the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchs through association, future political manipulation, and also titles of Bodhisattva bestowed upon the emperor and future emperors which gave them influence and significance within the Tibetan Buddhist community. The key of all these factors was that the Qing could now have political influence by establishing themselves as the patrons of Tibetan Buddhism. This was of particular importance in regards to pacifying Mongolia since the Dalai Lama had great influence amongst the Mongols, and was later asked by Qing rulers to use this influence to “prevent danger to China”.[8] According to David Snellgrove and Hugh Richardson,

“Just as the Indian masters of Buddhist doctrine and practice had once everything to give (or sell) to Tibetans who were so anxious to learn, so now the Mongols continued to learn from their Tibetan masters in religion all they could of Buddhist doctrine. Mongol students came to Tibetan monasteries… just as Tibetans had once visited the great monastic universities of northern India.”

In addition by tightening and improving relations with the Tibetans, the Qing rulers were reducing the possibility of Tibetans uniting with the Mongols against them. This was a great fear of the Kangxi Emperor’s, during his reign he, “remained wary of strategic combinations between Tibet and the unconquered Mongols of Central Asia. His concerns had proved justified when the western Mongol leader Galdan enlisted ambitious factions in Tibet to support his cause.”[9] The willingness to completely disregard the Chinese imperial protocol by Emperor Shunzhi (see right) also demonstrated just how significant relations with the Tibetan Buddhist leaders were to the Qing in order to pacify the Mongols. “It must be remembered that Chinese political theory excluded entirely the possibility of equal diplomatic relations with any other country whatsoever.”[10] The willingness to forgo the imperial foreign policy towards the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchs did not center on this sole event between the Fifth Dalai Lama and the Shunzhi Emperor alone. On the 20^th of August, 1780 the Qianlong Emperor met the Third Panchen Lama in Chengde and in this visit he too disregarded the Chinese imperial protocols for foreigners, just as his predecessor the Shunzhi Emperor had done. The Qianlong Emperor extended a huge celebration and show upon the Panchen Lama’s arrival. “As the greetings started, the Panchen Lama began to kneel down but the emperor took his hand and made him rise, saying in Tibetan, “Lama, please do not kneel.””[11] Also similarly to what had occurred when the Dalai Lama and the Shunzhi Emperor met in 1652, the Qianlong Emperor urged the Panchen Lama to drink his tea before him on more than one occasion. However they always resolved to drink simultaneously. The visit itself was very costly with all the large performances and gifts being given on behalf of the emperor. It lasted over sixty six days and all expenses for the Panchen Lama and his escorts were paid for through the Imperial treasury. This showed exactly how important relations with Tibetan Buddhist hierarchs remained from Shunzhi’s reign to Qianlong’s since both were identically willing to disregard their imperial political policies towards foreigners in dealings with the Tibetan high lamas. In fact it possibly shows a growth in the importance of the priest-patron relationship. This was due to the fact that the Qianlong Emperor’s devotion and advocacy of Tibetan Buddhism was stronger than that of his predecessors.

Under the Qianlong Emperor, Tibet functioned as an ideological resource and was subject to strategic intervention of imperial forces.[12] However Emperor Qianlong was unsatisfied with the previous ritual relationships the Qing dynasty had with Tibetan Buddhists. He therefore “intended to make his imperial capital at Peking the spiritual capital of the Lamaist realm…Tibetan Buddhism was enshrined in various temples closely linked with the imperial family”.[13] In 1757 the Qing defeated the western Mongols and the strategic interest of the Qing were lessened, but carefully the Qianlong emperor “decreed that no more reincarnations of the living Buddha would be found among Mongols; only Tibetans would henceforth be living Buddhas.”[14] This demonstrated the use of Chinese political manipulation in the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy in order to prevent the threat of the Mongols. However this form of political manipulation was much more direct and imposing, since after 1720 the Qing had militarily occupied Tibet due to the Zhungar invasion of central Tibet and Kham therefore establishing Tibet as a protectorate state.[15] “Tibet was under Qing military domination, the Dalai Lamas themselves were virtual prisoners of the Qing court.”[16]

Tibet was “a geo-political sector of fundamental importance in the maintenance of Qing domination, and intimately associated with progressive Qing control over Mongolia.” The Qing emperors made sure to maintain good relations with the Tibet for this specific reason and in particular leaders of Tibetan Buddhism, such as the Dalai Lama. By associating themselves with Tibetan Buddhism and acting as patrons and protectors of the Tibetan Buddhist Yellow Hat sect, the emperors were bestowed titles such as bodhisattva which helped them legitimize their rule in the eyes of the Mongols. Engaging in good relations with the Tibetan Buddhists also diminished the possibilities of a Mongol-Tibetan union in rebellion against the Qing, a fear that was realized under the Kangxi Emperor. Association with the Tibetan Buddhist also allowed the Qing emperors to manipulate the Tibetan hierarchs in order to suit their political motives especially since the Dalai Lama acted with great influence amongst the Mongols. Therefore, Qing relations with Tibet were heavily interrelated with the Qing policy of Mongol pacification which was achieved through the Tibetan Buddhist sect relations.

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[1] Pamela Kyle Crossley, The Manchus (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1997) 113
[2] Ibid.
[3] Matthew T. Kapstein, The Tibetans (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2006) 140
[4] Donald S. Lopez, “Tibetan Buddhism”, edited by Ruth W. Dunnell, New Qing Imperial History: The Making of the Inner Asian Empire at Qing Chengde. (London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2004) 26
[5] David Snellgrove and Hugh Richardson, A Cultural History of Tibet (Boulder: Prajana Press, 1980) 198
[6] Kapstein, 140
[7] Ibid.
[8] Snellgrove, 198
[9] Crossley, 118
[10] Snellgrove, 198.
[11] Nima Dorjee Rangubs, “The Third Panchen Lama’s visit to Chengde, Edited by Ruth W. Dunnell, New Qing Imperial History: The Making of the Inner Asian Empire at Qing Chengde. (London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2004) 190
[12] Crossley 113
[13] Crossley 118.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Kapstein 148.
[16] Crossley 121.

Sources:

Barrett, Tim. “The Florescence of Buddhism”. Cradles of Civilization: China, edited by Robert E. Murwick, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.

Cohen, Warren I. East Asia at the Center. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.

Choephel, Gendun. The White Annals. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, 1978.

Crossley, Pamela K. The Manchus, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1997.

Hsu, Immanuel C.Y. The Rise of Modern China. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Kapstein, Matthew T. The Tibetans, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2006.

Lopez, Donald S. “Tibetan Buddhism”, edited by Ruth W. Dunnell, New Qing Imperial History:the Making of the Inner Asian Empire at Qing Chengde. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2004.

Rangubs, Nima D. “The Third Panchen Lama’s visit to Chengde, Edited by Ruth W. Dunnell, New Qing Imperial History: The Making of the Inner Asian Empire at Qing Chengde. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2004.

Shakya, Tsering. The Dragon in the Land of Snows, New York: Penguin Compass, 1999.

Oldstone-Moore, Jennifer. “The Way of the Buddha”. China: Empire and Civilization, edited by Edward L. Shaughnessy, New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Snellgrove, David and Hugh Richardson, A Cultural History of Tibet (Boulder: PrajanaPress, 1980

Stein, R. A. Tibetan Civilization. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1972.

The Tibetan Book of the Dead: Bardo Thodol

By: Jigme Duntak

The manuscript of the Bardo Thodol (“Great Liberation upon Hearing in the Bardo”) was first discovered to western sources in early 1919 by British political officer Major W. L. Campbell.[1] Campbell discovered the manuscript upon his travels to Gyantse, a south western Tibetan town. Campbell then gave these books to American anthropologist Walter Yeeling Evans-Wentz who had them translated by Kazi Dawa Samdup. In 1927 the literary work of the Great Liberation upon Hearing in the Bardo was first published under the popular title of The Tibetan Book of the Dead. The book has been described by some as “a powerful symbol of highly organized spiritual attainments, an affirmation of a pure spiritual science.”[2] Evans-Wentz described the book from a scientific perspective in his introduction of his translated work:

“The Bardo Thodol seems to be based upon verifiable data of human physiological and psychological experiences; and it views the problem of the after-death state as being purely a psycho-physical problem; and is, therefore in the main, scientific.”[3]

The Bardo Thodol’s contents describe the realities and experience from the transitions between life and death. It is also, according to Robert Thurman (American Buddhist writer and academic),

“…a guidebook for spiritual practice on two levels: it helps the yogi and yogini develop the abilities they need to traverse the death crisis with skill and confidence; and it gives those who feel unable to prepare fully for death, and are not confident of their abilities, a religious sense of how to seek help from the enlightened and divine and angelic beings”.[4]

Famous Swiss psychologist Carl Jung’s “Psychological Commentary” was published in Evan Wentz’s third edition of the Tibetan Book of the Dead (1957), in which he commented that, “The Bardo Thodol is in the highest degree psychological in its outlook”.[5] The book’s origins can be traced back to the late eighth century, where Tibetan tradition attributes the book’s authorship to the exorcist Padmasambhava, the Lotus Guru (see right), who came from the western region of Orgyen. It is said that the Emperor Trhi Songdetsen (742 -797 CE) invited Padmasambhava to Tibet in order to subdue indigenous spirits that had been obstructing the spread of Buddhism into Tibet.[6] During Padmasambhava’s stay in Tibet, he is said to have concealed various “treasures” throughout Tibet in remote and unsuspecting locations in order for them to be discovered at appropriate times in the future. In the fourteenth century Karmalingpa, a mystic from south-eastern Dakpo, discovered one of Padmasambhava’s treasures. Within this discovered treasure was the Bardo Thodol. The Bardo Thodol, as mentioned was composed in the 8^th century by Padmasambhava according to Tibetan tradition, and was written down by his student, Yeshe Tsogyal.[7]

Although the Bardo Thodol has been popularly known to the west as the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Lama Anagarika Govinda has said that we must not forget that it was originally composed to serve as a guide not only for the dying but for the living as well.[8] Thus the Bardo Thodol has strong influence and connection to the Tibetan people who use it as a guidebook for the transitions between life and death and not just as a tool during the rites of the dead where it is recited to the newly departed. According to the Bardo Thodol, upon dying the dead are “presented with a series of opportunities for recognizing the actual “truth” (de-bzhin-nyid) of that moment”. Following one’s death the mind is separated from the body for 49 days and the dead are confronted with bardo visions of many wrathful deities (see right). If the person is able to distinguish these visions as simply “mental projections reflective of the previous life’s thoughts and deeds then it is said that Buddhahood will be attained”. If the person cannot make this distinction then he is led to an eventual rebirth and consequently further suffering in cyclic existence (“samsara”).

Within the Bardo Thodol are guidelines in order to prepare oneself to correctly distinguish these bardo visions upon death and thus attain Buddhahood. These guidelines strongly influence the Tibetans who follow a monastic lifestyle and also the laypeople who practice to a lesser extent. The guidelines discuss various preparatory philosophical studies and meditational practices which are to be practiced over many years. Solitary retreat is also advocated while practicing a “full generation stage” entitled The Natural Liberation of Feelings which is advised to be done four times a day while in the extended solitary retreat.[9] Following the retreat the “full generation stage” is supposed to be practiced at least once a month. Another practice for, “enhancing and sustaining an unbroken purity of perception,”[10] is entitled The Natural Liberation of Habitual Tendencies. This practice is advised to be performed three times a day “in the morning, at midday and in the evening, throughout the practitioners’ life. If this is not practical then the concise practice should be done twice a day, in the morning and evening, or at least once a day in the morning…”[11] With these multiple instructions derived from the Bardo Thodol we can see exactly how the literary work has direct influence on the Tibetan people since it guides them through exact instructions on how to prepare oneself for the transitional phases of life and death. The ultimate goal of these practices is to “provide a means by which the practitioner can cultivate an unwavering recognition of the nature of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities within his or her own mind and body. Thereby recognition of the natural purity of the practitioner’s impure habitual tendencies is continuously developed.”[12] Therefore, once the location and nature of the deities are remembered by the practitioner, as well as the recognition that all phenomena, sounds and thoughts are, in their essence, the body, speech and mind of the deities, then a practitioner has successfully trained him or herself.

The Bardo Thodol is particularly important to the Tibetan people of the Nyingma School. The Bardo Thodol itself is an example of Nyingma literature since the school traces it’s “lineage back to the first wave of transmission of Buddhist teachings to Tibet, to the royal dynastic period of Tibetan history in the eighth century”[13], during the time of the Bardo Thodol’s composer, Padmasambhava. This makes the Nyingma school the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism and also makes the Bardo Thodol particularly important to its followers since they both share the same roots. The Bardo Thodol also describes the Tibetan Buddhist views of the “six intermediate states” or the six forms of unenlightened existence through poem. The abode of the gods is a temporary paradise achieved by the action of good deeds. The god’s have many pleasures but their vanity and arrogance deceives them into believing themselves as immortal. However, after thousands of human years, they are too are subject to old age and death. Thus their suffering is the illusion of eternity in their state of paradise. Their suffering lies in the eventual realization of this error. The world of men driven by egoism and ignorance, they suffer from the permanent repeated cycle of birth, sickness and death. The realm of the insatiable is full of greedy ghosts who suffer from hunger and thirst which they cannot appease or quench due to their tightened throats and bloated bellies. The world of hells is both cold and hot. It is a place of torture for those who have committed evil deeds out of hatred and anger. This life is not eternal however, after being punished for their sins, rebirth into a better life is possible. Yama, the Lord of Death weighs the deeds of the deceased who enter into his kingdom, but he does not decide their fate since their fate has already been decided by themselves. The world of animals is a world where suffering comes from oppression by other beings, the devouring of one another, and being used as beasts of burden. The last of the six worlds is the world of the Titans. The Titans are permanently warring against the gods and fighting for the fulfillment of their desires. They suffer due to the endless war and the result of envy and insatiable ambition. From the description of these six worlds, Tibetan Buddhists derive their beliefs of the transitional phase between life and death where one is reincarnated into another form depending on the actions of the previous life. The Tibetan Buddhist practitioner therefore strives to escape these six forms of unenlightened existence and does so with the guidelines placed within the Bardo Thodol to attain Buddhahood. (*See the “Tibetan Wheel of Life” post for more info)

The Bardo Thodol is popularly known in the west as The Tibetan Book of the Dead. This title pertains to the rituals discussed and advocated for the dead and dying within the Bardo Thodol. “Traditionally, to help the deceased travelers (re)gain insight into their ambiguous situation, a monk or skilled layperson will recite guiding instruction and inspirational prayers from special funeral texts, the so-called Tibetan Books of the Dead.”[14] Along with these recitations Tibetans also dispose the corpse of the dead so that their spirits will not linger and remain attached to his or her previous life. Thus cremation and sky burials are performed on the corpses of the dead in order to ease them into the next life. The sky burials are performed by cutting up the corpse and then feeding it to the vultures (See sky burial site pictured in right). The Bardo Thodol also influences perceptions of the signs of death since it describes “visual indication and signs of death”.[15] Various descriptions symptoms and physical indication are also described within the text:

“There are two [primary] conditions responsible for the death of human beings: [First] untimely death and [second] death due to the [natural] exhaustion of the lifespan…The body is composed of the four elements, thus the following portents of its demise will arise prior [to the time of death]: Loss of appetite, dullness of the sense faculties, A feeling of anger which consumes the body, speech and mind, distracted or depressed thoughts, disturbed dreams, character changes, and fading complexion. These are the portents [indicating] that life [-threatening] hindrances may arise.

More particularly, there are the following specifically physical signs of death: If the fingernails and toenails become bloodless or lustreless, [This indicates] death after nine months, less half a day. If the cornea of the eyes begin to cloud over, [This indicates] death after five months. If the hair on the nape of the neck grows upwards, [This indicates] death after three months.”

From these types of descriptions of how life threatening symptoms appear we see that the Bardo Thodol has influence on the Tibetan perceptions of the dying and also possible influence on the medical school of thought within Tibet since we see the illustration of the life threatening symptoms which could pertain to possible usage in the medical field.

The Bardo Thodol, published in the 8^th century and discovered in the 14^th by Karmalingpa, has had a huge influence on the people of Tibet and the other Tibetan Buddhists of the Himalayan region. This text, composed by Padmasambhava, has impacted Tibetan views and beliefs of the afterlife and of the life through the depiction of a cyclic existence in which one must follow certain guidelines in order to prepare oneself to attain Buddhahood through the realization of the mind’s illusions. The funerary rituals of cremation and sky burial have also been in relation to the beliefs of the afterlife depicted with the Bardo Thodol in which the destruction of the body is seen as a method in which to help the dead not linger in his previous life. Perceptions of the dying have also been strongly influenced by the text through the description of various symptoms of the dying.

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[1] Bryan J. Cuevas, The Hidden History of the Tibetan Book of the Dead (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003) p. 3.
[2] Ibid, p.6.
[3] Evans-Wentz and Dawa Samdup [1927] 2000, p. 34. ed. Bryan J. Cuevas, The Hidden History of the Tibetan Book of the Dead (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003) p. 7
[4] Cuevas, p. 8.
[5] Cuevas, p. 9.
[6] Ibid, p. 14.
[7] Graham Colman and Thupten Jinpa, The Tibetan Book of the Dead (London: Penguin Books, 2005) p. xxxvii
[8] Jung Young Lee, Death in the Eastern Perspective: A study based on the Bardo Thodol and the I Ching (New York: Interface, 1974) p. 4
[9] Colman, p. 61
[10] Colman, p. 61
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid, p. xxxvi-xxxvii.
[14] Cuevas, p. 27.
[15] Colman, p. 151

Sources:

Colman, Graham and Thupten Jinpa. The Tibetan Book of the Dead, London: Penguin Books, 2005.

Cuevas, Bryan J. The Hidden History of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Kapstein, Matthew T. The Tibetans, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2006.

Lee, Jung Y. T. Death in the Eastern Perspective: a study based on the Bardo and the I Ching. New York, Interface, 1974.

Snellgrove, David and Hugh Richardson, A Cultural History of Tibet Boulder: Prajana Press, 1980

Stein, R. A. Tibetan Civilization. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1972.

Tsomo, Karma L. Into the Jaws of Yama, Lord of Death. New York: New York, University of New York Press, 2006.