Lect. #6– Political Foundations: Kingdoms, Rulers & Neighbors

I. Introduction
 

II. Tibet & Mongolia
    A. Mongol Ascendancy [timeline]
        1. Genghis Khan/Chinggis Khan (1162-1227)
              a. 1207: Tibetan submission to Mongols
                 - No invastion
                 - No interference in administration
         2. Ogedai 
              a. 1239: Invasion of Tibet under Godan
              b. 1244: Sakya Pandita summoned to Godan's court (Gansu)
         3. Sakya Pandita (1182-1251)
              a. Arrives 1247
              b. Agrees to give religious instruction
              c. Vice-regent of Tibet
         4. Priest-Patron Relationship
              a. Tibetan Lama:
                 - provides religious instruction
                 - performs rites divination, and astrology
                 - offers religious titles (e.g. "protector of religion")
              b. Mongolian Khan:
                 - protects and advances Tibetan interests
         5. Kublai Khan
              a. Continuities & Discontinuities
                 - Continuation of Godan policies
                      ◦ Sakya Phagpa (1235-80)  - nephew of Pandita
                      ◦Priest-Patron:  Whose the patron?
         6. Sakya Rule in Tibet
              a.  1368 - End of Yuan Dynasty
              b.  Tibetan Relations with Ming China
              c.  Dalai Lama

III. Monasteries, Monks and Nuns
         1. Role of priests in Buddhist society
              a. Sri Lanka, SE Asia (Theravadan) top Buddhist officials = fully ordained monks
              b. Tibetan priests (lamas)
                 - ordained monks (Tibetan: gelong)
         2. Celibacy and Monasticism
              a. Western confusion over issue
                   - 'married monks'
                   - ch’öpa - religious practioner
              b.  Lama
                   - trapas
                   - Sanskrit = guru
              c. Significance of celibacy in Tibetan Buddhism
                   - Tantric (Vajrayana) practices
         3. Monasteries (gompas)
              a. Monasteries in Tibetan Society
                   - 10 to 12% of male population
                   - dependent upon region
               b. Types of monasteries
                   -  Centralized Agricultural area (Lhasa, Kham, Ladakh):  several hundred monks
                      ◦ Sera and Drepung = 10,000 each (pre-1959)
                   - Remoter areas
                      ◦ several dozen monks
                      ◦ Tibetan Diary
                      ◦ Recent growth (post-1959)
                   - Pastoral regions
                      ◦ edges of nomadic areas
                   - Inter-monastery relations
                      ◦ Post-1959
                      ◦ NOT static pattern

                c. Nuns (ani)
                   - Few fully ordained nuns in Tibet
                   - Largely Tantric

IV. Drepung Monastery
                a. Founded 1416 by Jamyang Chöje (1379-1419)
                   - Originally from Samye
                   - Disciple of Tsongkapa (1357-1419)
                b. 'Mythic' Founding
                   - Conch shell
                   - Miraculous treasures (Shariputra)
                c. Officially 7,700 monks in 1950s, but likely 10,000+
                   - One of the most important monasteries in Tibet (17th-20th)
                d. Drepung = 'heap of rice' (Dhanyakataka)
                   - surrounded by Buddhist symbols (on mountains)
                   - Built at foot of Mt. Gyelphelri (connected to Mt. Kailash and Mchen Pomra)
                e. Theological 'Colleges'
                   - Organization
                   - Tshogchen:  "Great Assembly"
                      ◦ Khenpo: abbot
                      ◦ Zhelngo: discipline
                      ◦ Umdze: choir master
                      ◦ Geko: in charge of monastic discipline
                   - Regional houses (Khamsten)
                      ◦ Gomang  College (16)
                      ◦ Loseling (23)
                f. daily life