Lobsang Chökyi Gyalsten
Encyclopedia
Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen (1570–1662) was the fourth Panchen Lama
of Tibet
, and the first to be accorded this title during his lifetime.
Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen was the teacher and close ally of the Fifth Dalai Lama
, Lozang Gyatso
, called "the Great". The Fifth Dalai Lama gave Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen the monastery of Tashilhunpo
as a living place and declared him to be an incarnation of Amitabha
Buddha (Tibetan: Ö-pa-me), and since then every incarnation of Amitabha has been the master of Tashilhunpo.
When Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen died in 1662, aged 93, the Fifth Dalai Lama immediately began the tradition of recognising the reincarnation of Panchen Rinpoche. He composed a special prayer asking his master 'to return' and ordered the monks of the great monasteries to recite it. He also reserved the title of Panchen (short for Pandita chen po or 'Great Scholar'), which had previously been a courtesy title for all learned lamas, exclusively for him, and this title has continued to be given to his successors and, posthumously, to his predecessors starting with Khedrup Je.
He was a prolific writer and teacher, composing more than three hundred works.
Panchen Lama
The Panchen Lama , or Bainqên Erdê'ni , is the highest ranking Lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism...
of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
, and the first to be accorded this title during his lifetime.
Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen was the teacher and close ally of the Fifth Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
, Lozang Gyatso
Lozang Gyatso, 5th Dalai Lama
Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama , was a political and religious leader in seventeenth-century Tibet. Ngawang Lozang Gyatso was the ordination name he had received from Panchen Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen who was responsible for his ordination...
, called "the Great". The Fifth Dalai Lama gave Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen the monastery of Tashilhunpo
Tashilhunpo
Tashilhunpo Monastery , founded in 1447 by Gendun Drup, the First Dalai Lama, is a historic and culturally important monastery next to Shigatse, the second-largest city in Tibet....
as a living place and declared him to be an incarnation of Amitabha
Amitabha
Amitābha is a celestial buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism...
Buddha (Tibetan: Ö-pa-me), and since then every incarnation of Amitabha has been the master of Tashilhunpo.
When Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen died in 1662, aged 93, the Fifth Dalai Lama immediately began the tradition of recognising the reincarnation of Panchen Rinpoche. He composed a special prayer asking his master 'to return' and ordered the monks of the great monasteries to recite it. He also reserved the title of Panchen (short for Pandita chen po or 'Great Scholar'), which had previously been a courtesy title for all learned lamas, exclusively for him, and this title has continued to be given to his successors and, posthumously, to his predecessors starting with Khedrup Je.
He was a prolific writer and teacher, composing more than three hundred works.