The Panchen Lama is a political and religious leader of the Tibetan nationality with both **. To some extent, both identities are "priesthoods", belonging to the two major "reincarnated living Buddha" systems of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.
The two systems began with the two founders of the Gelug tradition: the second Kedrubje (the first Panchen Lama) and the last one Gendun Juba (I).
Of course, in history, the two titles of Panchen and ** did not exist at the beginning, but after a long process of development, they were given by the King of Mongolia and finally canonized by the Qing Dynasty.
The Panchen and ** systems began in the same period, and there are many overlapping trajectories in subsequent developments. In order to understand the relationship between the two, we must first start with the formation and development of these two systems.
1. The formation of the first system
After the death of the first Gentun Juba, his followers and their relatives decided to adopt the "reincarnation of the living Buddha" system, identifying Gendun Gyatso as his "reincarnated spirit child", and the reincarnation system began.
During the reign of the third ** Sonam Gyatso, Sonam Gyatso spread the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism and "conquered" the then Mongol Han king Altan Khan.
In 1578, the two met at Yanghua Monastery, and Altan Khan gave Sonam Gyatso the honorific title of "Sacred Knowledge of All Wazir ** Lama", and the title of "* Lama" has spread since then.
Of course, at that time, this title was only used in Mongolia.
Later, Emperor Shunzhi Feng V ** Luosang Gyatso was "**Lama", and after the deliberate and vigorous propaganda of the Qing Dynasty, the title of "* Lama" was widely known.
2. The development of the Panchen system
The formation of the Panchen reincarnation system is similar to the ** system, and it is also believed that the next Panchen is the "reincarnated spirit child" of the previous Panchen. However, the establishment of its "Panchen" name was slightly later than that of "**."
*"After the name was established, the power of the Gelug sect in the Mongolian region rose greatly, and other sects in the region began to attack and oppress it, so it began to ask Mongolia for help, and was protected by the head of the Heshute tribe at that time, Gushi Khan.
Later, Gushi Khan unified all parts of Qinghai and Tibet, and the era of the exclusive reverence of the Gelugpa sect officially began.
In order to ensure his dominance, Gushi Khan gave the 4th Panchen Lobsang Qujie the honorific title of "Panchen Bokeduo", in order to weaken the exclusive position of ** in the Gelug sect.
It can be seen that before the name of "Panchen" was established, the status of ** was much higher than that of the Panchen. In 1713 AD, Emperor Kangxi named the fifth Panchen as "Panchen Erdeni", marking that the Panchen and ** were on the same equal footing.
1. The formation and hidden feelings of the master-apprentice relationship
As two different systems of the same faction, many Panchen Lamas in the past dynasties have formed a master-disciple relationship.
- It's just that this mutual mentorship relationship didn't exist from the beginning.
Both the first and first Panchen Lamas, Tsongkhapa, have a simple brother-in-law relationship. There was no correspondence between the Second Panchen and the Second Panchen**, and the same was true between the Third Panchen and the Third Panchen**.
In 1603, the 4th Panchen Lama was invited to receive novice ordination for the 4th ** and took the Dharma name. This was the first time that a master-apprentice relationship was established between the Panchen and **, and since then this master-apprentice relationship has continued, and it is stipulated that the elders are teachers and the younger ones are apprentices.
In fact, behind the formation of the master-apprentice relationship between the Panchen Lama and **, the hidden truth lies in the religious struggle.
As a new sect established in the early 15th century, the Gelug sect had a certain influence, but its position was not stable and its power was not strong.
At the time of its creation, it was the rising period of feudal serfdom in ** society, and the Gelug sect, as a representative of the religious reform, would inevitably clash with the conservative forces at that time and be suppressed.
Although the Gelug faction was supported by the Disi regime (the former executor who was in charge of government affairs and specific work) in the early days of its formation, the Disi regime began to decline as the power of the serf-owners in the ** region grew.
Eventually, the serf-owning forces colluded with the Karma Kagyu faction and seized power. And by the time of the 10th Division, it was even more open to the Gelugpa sect. By the time of the Fourth Panchen Lama, this kind of ** reached its peak.
2. The role and influence of the Fourth Panchen Lama
But at this time, the fourth **, who is also a Gelug sect, is still young, and the fourth Panchen Lama has the ability to assume the responsibility of opposing **.
In such a context, the formation of the master-apprentice relationship between the 4th Panchen Lama and the 4th ** has united the two major systems within the Gelug sect, strengthened the force, and played a huge role in promoting the anti-**.
Of course, in the early days of this union, the 4th Panchen Lama played the most important role.
- In 1616 AD, the fourth ** died suddenly, but he was not allowed to "reincarnate", and with the efforts of the fourth Panchen, the fourth ** was able to "reincarnate".
Later, the 5th and 4th Panchen Lamas, who jointly overthrew the rule of Tsangba Khan, and the 5th Panchen established the status of the Gelug sect in religion and political power with the help of the 4th Panchen.
It can be said that without the efforts of the Fourth Panchen Lama, the Gelug sect might have disappeared into the long river of history. Since then, the Panchen Lama has established a master-apprentice relationship with ** many times, so that the position of the Gelug sect will not be shaken.
1. The master-apprentice relationship is broken
Later, the ninth to the eleventh ** were all short-lived, and at this time, often a Panchen Lama would become a master and apprentice with more than one **, and the master-apprentice relationship began to become chaotic.
The 8th Panchen Lama is the same age as the 12th **, so he did not become a master and apprentice; Since the 8th Panchen Lama did not ordinate the 13th Panchen Lama, he was not considered a master or apprentice in the strict sense.
All of these laid the fuse for the later breakdown of the master-apprentice relationship between the Panchen Lama and the Panchen Lama - and the official end of the master-apprentice relationship between the Panchen Lama and the Ninth Panchen Lama.
According to the records, the initial disagreement between the Panchen and ** was because the 9th Panchen went to meet the 13th ** when he beat the drum, and the 13th ** thought that the 9th Panchen Lama was arrogant, and the two fell out of harmony since then.
2. Internal causes of relationship breakdown
In fact, the 9th Panchen Lama's drumming was just an excuse, and there was another reason for the real reversal of the two.
First, British imperialism deliberately created contradictions in order to drive a wedge between the Panchen and the Panchen.
During the 13th and 9th Panchen periods, the British Empire at this time saw that the Qing Dynasty was corrupt and incompetent, and it was unable to govern it, so it took advantage of the situation and began to implement the invasion plan.
After the outbreak of the first war of aggression, the Panchen Lama and the first joint resistance to the British, and the contradictions between the two eased somewhat. In the second war of aggression, the thirteenth ** fled, and at this time the two attitudes towards the Qing ** had begun to differ.
The 9th Panchen Lama was forced to go to India, but he still supported the Qing Dynasty and did not become the British person in the United Kingdom as the British envisioned. Disappointed in Qing**, he tried to seek help, but to no avail.
In the end, ** still fell into the control of the British and became a tool of British aggression**.
Second, the way Qing ** handles ** affairs is biased.
The Qing Dynasty tried many times to elevate the status of the Panchen Lama and suppress the ** forces, thus intensifying the contradictions between the two systems. And the Qing ** decided to remove the title of ** during the 13th ** escape, which completely magnified the contradiction between the two.
The third is the internal contradiction between ** and the Panchen.
Although the two systems are based on the Gelug sect, there is still a conflict of interest between the two.
After the 13th **grasped the political and religious power, he began to infringe on the status of the Panchen Lama, and refused to meet with the 9th Panchen Lama, and united with the Kashag to suppress him, causing the 9th Panchen Lama to flee the mainland.
In short, it is under the influence of the mixture of these factors that the relationship between the two systems has completely broken down, and this is the connection between the two, and the two are the historical relationship formed in the context of a special era.
As for which status is higher or lower, the two are actually officially equal; In terms of details, it depends on the relationship between master and apprentice, who is the master, and the status must be higher in terms of qualifications.