(Redirected from 8th Dalai Lama)
'Jamphel Gyatso' (
1758 –
1804) was the 8th
Dalai Lama of
Tibet.
Born in
1758 at
Lhari Gang in the
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.
History
When Jamphel Gyatso was conceived, the village was given a major harvest with each stalk of
barley bearing three, four and five ears, 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, the holy baby often attempted to sit in a meditative posture looking up to the heavens. When
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. The
Panchen Lama gave the boy the name Jamphel Gyatso.
In
1762, the boy was escorted to
Lhasa and enthroned in the
Potala Palace and was fully ordained in
1777.
It was the Eighth Dalai Lama who built the faded Norub Lingka Park and
Summer Palace on the outskirts of Lhasa.
He died in
1804 at the age of 47.
References
★ http://www.dalailama.com/page.51.htm