The 'Shabdrung' (also 'Zhabdrung'; ) is the most important
tulku lineage in
Bhutan, equivalent in many ways to the
Dalai Lama lineage of
Tibet.
Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal
The lineage traces through the founder of the country, Shabdrung
Ngawang Namgyal (b.
1594-d.
1651), a high
Drukpa Kagyu lama from Tibet who was the first to unify the warring valley kingdoms under a single rule. He is revered as the third most important figure behind
Guru Rimpoche and the
Buddha. Shabdrung
Ngawang Namgyal established the
system of dual government. Under this system, political power was vested in an administrative leader, the
Druk Desi, assisted by a collection of local governors or ministers called
penlops. A religious leader, the
Je Khempo, held power over monastic affairs. Successive incarnations of the Shabdrung were to have ultimate authority over both spheres.
However, after the death of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in
1651, power effectively passed to the penlops instead of to a successor Shabdrung. In order to forestall a dynastic struggle and a return to warlordism, they conspired to keep the death of the Shabdrung secret for 54 years. During this time they issued orders in his name, explaining that he was on an extended silent retreat.
Decline of the Shabdrung institution
Eventually, the ruling authorities were faced with the problem of succession. To neutralize the power of future Shabdrung incarnations, the Druk Desi, Je Khenpo and penlops conspired to recognize not a single person but rather as three separate persons -- a 'body incarnation', a 'mind incarnation', and a 'speech incarnation'. In spite of their efforts to consolidate the power established by the original Shabdrung, the country sank into warring factionalism for the next 200 years. The body incarnation lineage died out in the mid-
18th century, while the mind and speech incarnations of the Shabdrung continued into the
20th century.
Shabdrung deposed and exiled
In
1907, in an effort to reform the dysfunctional system, the penlops orchestrated the establishment of a Bhutanese monarchy with
Ugyen Wangchuck, the ''
penlop'' of
Trongsa installed as hereditary king, with the support of
Britain and against the wishes of Tibet. The royal family suffered from questions of legitimacy in its early years, with the reincarnations of the various Shabdrungs posing a threat. In
1931 when the 6th Shabdrung,
Jigme Dorji, made an appeal to
Mahatma Gandhi to oust the monarchy, the Shabdrung was assassinated by royalist forces.
In
1962,
Jigme Nawang Namgyal (known as 'Shabdrung Rimpoche' to his followers), the last of the Shabdrung incarnations , fled Bhutan for
India where he spent the remainder of his life. Up until
2002, Bhutanese pilgrims were able to journey to
Kalimpong, just south of Bhutan, to visit with the Master. In
April 5,
2003, the Shabdrung died. Some of his followers claim he was poisoned, while Indian newspapers took pains to explain he died after an extended bout with cancer.
In early
2007, reports alleged that the current Shabdrung, Pema Namgyel, who is a small child, has been held under house arrest in
Bhutan along with his parents since
2005.
[1]
List of successive Shabdrungs
Note
Traditions states that Ngawang Namgyal was the first Shabdrung, that the lineage traces back farther in Tibetan history through
Pema Karpo,
External links
★
Bhutan News Online
★
The Bhutan Today - Source for birth of Jigme Nawang Namgyal (1955)
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
