5th Shamarpa Könchok Yenlag

1487 – 1499 The 4th Shamarpa took the role of a king until the deceased king Gong-ma Kunga Legpa’s son could take over. Shamar Rinpoche relegated all worldly matters and remained a spiritual advisor. Many termas (terlungs) were found in which it was predicted that the Yellow Sect (= Gelug) would invite Mongolian warlords to destroy the dharma. Although many tertöns were Nyingmas they often asked Karmapa to confirm the authenticity of the termas.

The 8th Karmapa’s spiritual activity and knowledge was unparalleled. He helped to heal the rift between the Gelugpas and Kagyüpas. At the same time his influence brought forward a relativ ely peaceful time. The Kagyü lineage became the most powerful sect in Tibet.

1546 Sönam Gyatso became the 3rd Dalai Lama. 

 

1578 Sönam Gyatso proselytized the Mongol ruler Altan Khan who became Buddhist. The khan conferred Sönam Gyatso the honoray title Dalai Lama – originally in Mongolian “Tale Lama”. Thus, the Mongols became the patrons of the Gelugpas (there were tribes, hich had aleady become Buddhists before that time).

1601 Enthronement of the 4th Dalai Lama Yöntan Gyatso (1589 – 1617). He was Mongolian (a grandson of Altan Khan. He had left Mongolia in 1601 and arrived in Lhasa in 1602.

1605 Sönam Chopal, the head of the Gelug administration, the duke of Lhasa and some Monogolian troops a ttacked the Tsang government – and lost. Afterwards the Tsang Desi wanted to peacefully unify Tibet where politics and religion should smoothly co-exist (the Tsang Desi’s family had the 8th, 9th 10th Karmapa and the 5th and 6th Shamarpa as their personal gurus).

1605 The 6th Shamarpa wrote a poem on a scarf as a gift for the 4th Dalai Lama. Shamarpa only received a very rude reply from the Gelug administration because of a probably deliberate misinterpretation.

1606 The 4th Dalai Lama’s administration thwarted a meeting between Dalai Lama and Shamarpa although they were in the same region.

1618 Troops from Tsang conquer the Gelug monasteries of Drepung and Sera. As a consequence, an army of Koshot Mongols invaded Tibet in 1620/21.

1622 Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, the 5th Dalai Lama (1617 – 1682) enthroned.

De facto there was civil war. Karma Tenkyong Wangpo who ruled in parts of Tsang was Kagyü. Although the 10th Karmapa strongly advised him not to prepare for war, he attacked Gelugpas in Central Tibet. He even wanted to ask the Mongolian Chogtu-tribe for support but they eventually joined the troops of Gushri Khan, military leader of the Koshot Mongols. When Gushri's troops started to attack Bönpos, Nyingmas and Kagyüs, there actualy happened attemps of mediation. The young Dalai didn't want that something happened to the 10th Karmapa. Sönam Chöpel, Dalai Lama's main advisor, urged the Mongols that they finally attacked Tsurphu and created a bloodshed. Karmapa escaped and only returned to Tsurphu as an old man. Gushri Khan abolished the old Tibetan political system and passed on the worldly power over Tibet to the 5th Dalai Lama. Many Kagyü and Nyingma monasteries were converted into Gelug monasteries. Later the Gelug administration requested the Mongols that the 10th Karmapa should be killed; together with his secretary Küntu Zangpo they escaped to Yünnan/China where he stayed in exile for ~ 28 years (he was also in Northern Burma).

During the lifetime of the 10th Karmapa the political situation in Tibet became completely unstable. First local rulers formed various alliances and followed different ideas and people (such as warlords, Buddhist leaders etc.), then manipulation, treason, assassinations and local wars kept on destabilizing Tibet even more. Dalai Lama’s administration called in the Mongolian emperor Gushri Khan and his army for support – first the Dalai Lama was not amused by this solo action of his leading administrator but he didn’t stop him – who conquered Tibet between 1639 and 1642, and as a result established the 5th Dalai Lama as the supreme authority in Tibet. All former stable political structures were demolished, including the separation of worldly and religious life, and the Dalai Lama himself and his administration even wanted to rule and influence the Sakyapas, Nyingmapas and Kagyüpas. A lot of Kagyü monastaries were transformed into Gelug places. Many times, Mongolian warlords were called in by Gelug-representatives to enforce the claim to rule both over worldly and spiritual matters.

Several wrong accusations referring the 6th Shamar Rinpoche Chökyi Wangchug and the 10th Karmapa led to the fact, that in 1644 Karmapa had to escape in a miraculous manner only with his secretary Küntu Zangpo. They went into exile to Yünnan/China, mainly Lijiang, where he lived and worked until almost 1672. This south-western Chinese region had a lot of Kagyü supporters since the time of the 8th Karmapa. In the same year Karmapa, upon Gyaltsab Rinpoche’s persuasiveness and his familial connections, was able to return to Tibet where he was invited by the Dalai Lama in Lhasa to pacify the tensions between the Buddhist schools in Tibet.

1679 The Central Tibetan Ganden Phodrang government wanted to incorporate Ladakh into Tibet after it had thrown out the Gelugpas and claimed a kind of independence. With the assistance of the Kashmiri Mughals (Muslims), the Tibetan-Mongolian army was defeated in 1684. However, Ladakh, came under the influence of Kashmir. In 2019, finally, Ladakh was administratively disconnected from Jammu and Kashmir and became an Indian Union Territory.

1697 Tsangyang Gyatso, the 6th Dalai Lama (1683 – 1706) was enthroned. He had an unorthodox lifestyle (alcohol and women) an d became famous because of his love-songs and poetry. Actually, the 5th Dalai Lama's death has been kept secret for many years until the Potala-palace was completed in 1694. That's why the 6th Dalai Lama became 'official' only in 1697 when he was already a juvenile. At that point, as a boy in puberty, it was already too late for a strict education in a monastery.

1706 The Mongol Lhasang Khan dismissed the Dalai Lama as being illegitimate. He was deported to China; on the way there he died under mysterious circumstances after having been taken prisoner.

1717 The Dzungars (a Mongolian tribe) invaded tibet. They wanted to take possession of the new-born Kelsang Gyatso, the 7th Dalai Lama (1708 – 1757), who was brought to the Kumbum-monastery near the former border to China. They conquered Lhasa, killed Lhasang Khan and established a reign of terror.
1719/20 Chinese troops chased the Dzungars out of Tibet and transformed Tibet to their protectorate.  

 

The influence of the Ming / Manchu dynasty started in Tibet in the end of the 17th century, when the Manchus aligned themselves with the Koshot-Mongols. They considered the Koshot-Mongols as custodians for their interests in terms of Tibet. We should not forget: The 6th Dalai Lama should be deported to China. In 1720 the Chinese instituted the 7th Dalai Lama as a ruler again after he was brought to Lhasa. 

Since the time of Karma Pakshi/Sakya Pandita there existed a so-called "priest-patron-relationship" between big Tibetan lamas and the Mongolian court (Yüan-dynasty). This continued - with interruptions - also during the Ming dynasty (King Yung Lo relocated the capitol from Najing to Beijing).

Later different emperors of the Ming-dynasties took on the custom. Buddhism was the main religion at the court in Beijing. Aside from it, the Confuzian teachings and Daoism equal ideologies existed. At that time, people in China  liked to speak of the "unity of three religions". Highly ranked lamas (Sakyas, Kagyüs and later Gelugpas) felt compelled again and again to pay the emperor a courtesy visit; among them several Karmapas up to the 12th Karmapa who in 1732 - together with the 8th Sharmapa - died in Beijing. The respective Manchu-emperors considered Tibet as a protectorate, interfered varyingly strong into their inner affairs, and until the beginning of the 20th century financed many monasteries there, including the livelihood of thousands, probably ten-thousands of monks.

The very important 8th Situpa Chökyi Nyungne (1700 - 1774), founder and abbott of the famous Palpung monastery in Eastern Tibet, was the last high-ranked Karma Kagyü Lama who visited Beijing around 1761. A couple of years later, Situ Rinpoche was invited again - already at old age - to travel to China. In 1774 he died on the way there. Afterwards the Chinese court turned more to the Gelugpas.

Without the Chinese backing, from a political perspective, the Karma Kagyü Lineage faced difficulties in Central Tibet throughout the late 18th and 19th century. Admittedly, the missing intervention brought many advantages for the spiritual quality of the Kagyü Lineage. (Thanks to the activity of the Rimey-movement under the influence of the great Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye (1813 - 1899) and others the "old lineages" received a broad appreciation during the 19th century (which ran into danger to split up into many "valleys").

1723 and later The new Manchu emperor withdrew the Chinese garrisons from Lhasa, which led to a civil war. His troops returned shortly afterwards; either the rivals assassinated each other or many rebels, former Desis and their families etc. were executed or died through cruel tortures.
1728 The 7th Dalai Lama was a great scholar, a prolific writer and a poet. His collected works run seven volumes and contain numerous commentaries, liturgical works as well as many religious poems. He was exiled for seven years. The Chinese took over the power.
1728 – 1911 The Manchus reestablished a garrison in Lhasa; two resident Manchu officials, known as Ambans, were in charge of the garrison, as direct representatives of the Manchu emperor. This lasted until the fall of the Manchu dynasty in 1911.
1728 – 1747 Miwang Polhanas was the actual ruler of Tibet, supported by the Manchu emperor. 
1747 – 1750 Polhanas’ youngest son Gyumey Namgyal followed his father. He tried to get rid of the Chinese Ambans, that’s why he was killed. His striving for Tibetan independence ended in many more cruelties and a permanent residence of ambans.
1751 In January a Manchu officer came to Lhasa, together with troops, and restored the Chinese influence. The 7th Dalai Lama assumed temporal power. He appointed a Tibetan government and installed a council of ministers (Kashag).
1757 – 1777 After 7th Dalai Lama’s death, Demo Tulku Jampal Delek led the government affairs as the regent.
1777 – 1781 The 2nd regent took over office because the 20-year-old Dalai Lama said he was not yet fully trained.