8th Dalai Lama
| Jamphel | |
|---|---|
| 8th Dalai Lama | |
 |
|
| Reign | 1762–1804 |
| Predecessor | Kelzang Gyatso |
| Successor | Lungtok Gyatso |
| Tibetan | བྱམས་སྤེལ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ |
| Wylie | 'jam dpal rgya mtsho |
| Transcription (PRC) |
Qambê Gyaco |
| Chinese | 強白嘉措 |
| Born | 1758 Thobgyal, Ü-Tsang, Tibet |
| Died | 1804 (aged 45–46) Tibet |
Jamphel Gyatso (1758–1804) was the 8th Dalai Lama of Tibet.
Born in 1758 at Lhari Gang (Tob-rgyal Lha-ri Gang) in the Upper Ü-Tsang region of southwestern Tibet his father, Sonam Dhargye, and mother, Phuntsok Wangmo, were originally from Kham. They were distant descendants of Dhrala Tsegyal, who was one of the major heroes of the Gesar epic.
When Jamphel Gyatso was conceived, the village was given a major harvest with each stalk of barley bearing three, four and five years, which has never been seen before throughout Tibet. When Jamphel's mother, Phuntosk Wangmo and a relative were having their supper in the garden, a giant rainbow appeared, one end of which touched the mother's shoulder. This is a key sign associated with the birth of a holy being.
Soon after birth, in the 6th month of the Fire Bull Year (1758), the holy baby often attempted to sit in a meditative posture looking up to the heavens. When Lobsang Palden Yeshi, the Sixth Panchen Lama, heard about this boy, he pronounced that he was indeed the authentic reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
At the age two and a half years old, Jamphel was taken under a large contingent of lamas and officials to Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse, and was given a ceremony as the reborn Dalai Lama.
He was escorted to Lhasa and enthroned as the leader of the Tibetan people in the Potala Palace in 7th month of the Water Horse Year (1762) when he was five years old (four by Western reckoning). The enthronement ceremony was presided over by Demo Tulku Jamphel Yeshi, the first of a series of Regents to represent the Dalai Lamas when they were minors. The ceremony was held in the 'Beyond Mind Temple of the Second Potala'.
Shortly after, he was given the novice vows of monk-hood the name, Jamphel Gyatso, by Lobsang Palden Yeshe, and was fully ordained in 1777.
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