Zanabazar

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For the dinosaur, see Zanabazar junior. For the novel, see Zanabazar (novel). For the island, see Zanzibar.
Öndör Gegeen
Zanabazar
Jebtsundamba Khutuktu
Self-portrait, late 17th or early 18th century
Personal
Born
Eshidorji

1635
Yesönzüil, Övörkhangai, Tüsheet Khanate
Died1723
Beijing, Qing dynasty, China
Resting placeUnknown
ReligionBuddhism
NationalityMongolian
DenominationTibetan Buddhism
LineageGelugpa (Yellow Hat)
Senior posting
ReincarnationTaranatha

Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar[a] (born Eshidorji)[b] was the first Jebtsundamba Khutuktu[c] and the first Bogd Gegeen or supreme spiritual authority, of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia.[2]

The son of a Mongol Tüsheet Khan, Zanabazar was declared spiritual leader of

Khalka Mongol leaders and the devout Kangxi Emperor facilitated the Khalkha's submission to Qing
rule in 1691.

In addition to his spiritual and political roles, Zanabazar was a polymath – a prodigious sculptor, painter, architect, poet, costume designer, scholar and linguist, who is credited with launching Mongolia's seventeenth century cultural renaissance. He is best known for his intricate and elegant Buddhist sculptures created in the Nepali-derived style, two of the most famous being the White Tara and Varajradhara, sculpted in the 1680s. To aid translation of sacred Tibetan texts, he created the Soyombo script from which sprang the Soyombo that later became a national symbol of Mongolia. Zanabazar used his artistic output to promote Buddhism among all levels of Khalkha society and unify Khalkha Mongol tribes during a time of social and political turmoil.[5]

Life

Early life, 1635-1651

5th Dalai Lama

Zanabazar was born in 1635 in present-day Yesönzüil, Övörkhangai, Mongolia. Named Eshidorji at birth, he was the second son of the Tüsheet khan Gombodorj (1594-1655) and his wife, Khandojamtso.[6] Gombodorj, one of three Khalkha khans who could trace his lineage directly back to Genghis Khan, was the grandson of Abtai Sain Khan (1554-1588), who had first opened Khalkha Mongol lands to the spread of “Yellow Hat” or Gelugpa Tibetan Buddhism. In 1578 Abtai's uncle, Altan Khan, bestowed the Mongolian language title "Dalai Lama" on the Gelug leader Sonam Gyatso.[7]

Drepung Monastery

According to tradition, Zanabazar showed signs of advanced intelligence, linguistic abilities, and religious devotion from an early age. Miraculous incidents allegedly occurred during his youth and he was able to fully recite the Jambaltsanjod prayer (praise of

Sakyapa" school and "teacher of multitudes". This designation as supreme religious leader strengthened ties between the Khalkha aristocracy and the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy, gave Khalkha nobility, added religious legitimacy, and served as a rallying point for Khalkha tribal leaders, who that same year had forged an uneasy alliance with western-based Oirat (Dzungar) Mongol tribes.[10]

Zanabazar established his religious center in 1647, a traveling ger camp known as the “Monastery of the West” (Baruun Khüree), later renamed Shankh Monastery.[11] In 1649, Zanabazar was sent to Tibet to receive personal instruction from the 5th Dalai Lama and the 4th Panchen Lama at Drepung Monastery.[12] The Dalai Lama identified him as the reincarnation of the scholar Taranatha (1575–1634), who had led the rival Jonang school of Tibetan Buddhism until his death in Mongolia one year before Zanabazar's birth.[13] Taranatha was believed to be the 15th reincarnation (Khutuktu) of Jebtsundamba (one of the Buddha's original 500 disciples). Thus Zanabazar was recognized as the 16th reincarnation and he and his successors thereafter referred to as the Jebtsundamba Khutuktu. The Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy also granted him the additional title Bogd Gegeen, or "Highest Enlightened Saint", designating him the top-ranking Lama in Mongolia.[14]

Spiritual and temporal leadership, 1651-1686

Thangka depicting Zanabazar

Following his journeys to Tibet in 1651 and again in 1656, Zanabazar and his retinue of Tibetan lamas founded a series of Gelug-influenced monasteries, temples, and Buddhist shrines throughout Mongol territory, the most noteworthy being a

Khentii mountains (completed in 1680), and several movable temples which contained paintings, sculptures, wall hangings and ritual objects influenced by the Tibetan-Nepalese style and either imported from Tibet or produced by Zanabazar or his students.[15]

By the late 1650s, Zanabazar further solidified his spiritual and political authority over Khalkha tribal leaders. The gers he received as gifts from Khalkha nobles upon his election in 1639 became his Örgöö, his ambulatory palatial residence. Known as the Shira Busiin Ord (Yellow Screen Palace) - later called Urga by the Russians and Da Khuree or Ikh Khuree by Mongols - it would eventually become the Mongolian capital

Bogd Khan Uul in 1778.[16] Zanabazar established seven aimags (monastic departments) to oversee his religious institutions; the Department of the Treasury, Department of Administration, Department of Meals, Department of the Honored Doctor, Department of Amdo, Department of Orlog and the Department of Khuukhen Noyon. His authority was further substantiated in 1658 when he presided over a convocation of nobles at Erdene Zuu and a year later he conferred titles on nobles at Olziit Tsagaan Nuur. Nevertheless, despite being recognized as the undisputed spiritual leader of the Kalkha,[17] Zanabazar's moral influence failed to overcome the Mongols’ traditional tribalism, both among various Khalkha tribes as well as the rivalry between the Khalkha and Oirat-Dzungar
Mongols to the west.

Khalkha submission to Qing rule, 1686-1691

Genghisid khans, merging the Khalkha forces into the Qing army.[18] Motivated by the appeals of Zanabazar, whom he greatly admired,[19] as well as the threat posed by a strong, unified Mongol state under Dzungar rule, the Kangxi Emperor
dispatched Qing armies north to subdue the Galdan's forces.

Final years and death, 1691-1723

From 1691 to 1701 Qing armies battled the Dzungars for control of Mongolia. Zanabazar remained in China, wintering in

Wutaishan in 1698.[20] Under Zanabazar's tutelage, the intensity of the Kangxi Emperor's Buddhist devotion notably increased after 1701.[19]

Amarbayasgalant

In 1697, Qing forces decisively defeated Galdan at the Battle of Jao Modo.[21] At age 66, Zanabazar finally resettled in Khalkha Mongolia in 1701 to supervise restoration of the Erdene Zuu Monastery. Over the next several years he oversaw the building of more Buddhist monasteries in Mongolia while travelling to Beijing annually to meet with the Qing Emperor.[22] Upon receiving news of the Kangxi Emperor's death on December 20, 1722, Zanabazar immediately journeyed to Beijing to conduct Buddhist rites at Beijing's Yellow Monastery (Huang si 黃寺). Zanabazar died himself (poisoned, some believe, by the new emperor[23]) in Beijing only six weeks later, on February 18, 1723. He was 88 years old. His body was embalmed, returned to Mongolia and mummified. The Kangxi Emperor's son, the Yongzheng Emperor, ordered a Chinese-style monastery dedicated to Zanabazar's main tutelary deity, Maitreya, to be built at the place where the lama's traveling encampment had stood at the moment of his death. He pledged 100,000 liang of silver to the monastery's construction, which was not completed until a year after his own death in 1736. Amarbayasgalant Monastery or “Monastery of Blessed Peace,” resembles Yongzheng's own Yonghe Palace

in Beijing. Zanabazar's body was finally laid to rest there in 1779.

In 1937, Amarbayasgalant Monastery was ransacked by Mongolian communists. Zanabazar's remains were allegedly removed and burned in the hills nearby.[24]

Artistic works

Tövkhön Monastery

At his height, Zanabazar was recognized as a sculptor par excellence among the Buddhist countries of Asia and the greatest sculptor of Mongolia[25] He is sometimes referred to as the Michelangelo of Asia as he epitomized the Mongolian Renaissance. During his time in Tibet, Zanabazar came to admire the Nepali style of representational arts favored by the Gelug school [26] and it profoundly influenced his own artistic development and style. Upon his return from Tibet in 1651 and 1656, he revived the art of metal image making in Mongolia,[4] through carved images of various Buddhist gods from bronze or copper. By the 1670s and 1680s, he and his workshop of apprentices at Tövkhön Monastery were producing hundreds of artistic pieces used to populate the many monasteries and temples he founded [27] and by extension were seen as vehicles to spread Buddhism beyond the confines of court circles to the lay masses.[28] As his political influence grew, his artwork became a form of diplomacy,[27] used in negotiations with the Dzungar leader Galdan Boshugtu Khan and to gain the favor of the Kangxi Emperor, paving the way for incorporation of outer Mongolia into Qing protectorate.[29]

Soyombo Script

The vast majority of Zanabazar's artistic output came between his return from his first trip to Tibet in 1651 and the defeat of Khalkha armies by Dzungar Mongols in 1688.

Five Dhyani Buddhas, walking Maitreya and many others, were created in the mid-1680s at Tövkhön Monastery, his retreat outside of Erdene Zuu, originally called Bayasgalant Aglag Oron (Happy Secluded Place),[31] Zanabazar's works testify to his exceptional skill of depicting feminine beauty as well as his unique aesthetic vision of human physical perfection.[4] His sculptures, portraying peaceful and contemplative female figures, are beautifully proportioned with facial features characterized by high foreheads, thin, arching eyebrows, high- bridged noses, and small, fleshy lips.[32] Especially beautiful are the faces of Zanabazar's Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
in deep meditation. Guided by desire to liberate the people from wrath, ignorance, lust, contempt and ill will – the five vices giving rise to all sins.

Zanabazar established unique features for Mongolian Buddhism including Tibetan influenced yet redesigned lama robes, reworked melodies for chanting, and modifications of traditional ceremonies either in the melodies or by the introduction of new prayer texts which he composed.

In 1686 he designed the Soyombo script to facilitate cross translations between Mongolian, Tibetan, and Sanskrit. Today, the script is found mostly in historical texts and in religious and temple inscriptions. However, one special character of the script, the Soyombo symbol, later became a national symbol of Mongolia, and has appeared on the national flag since 1921, and on the Emblem of Mongolia since 1960, as well as money, stamps, etc.[33]

Artistic Works of Zanabazar
  • Statue of White Tara in the Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts
    White Tara
  • Statue of Akshobhya in the Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts
    Statue of Akshobhya
  • Statuette of Manjusri in the Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts
    Statuette of
    Manjusri
Example 1

Legacy

Zanabazar Museum

Today, Zanabazar is viewed as one of Mongolia's most prominent historical figures, celebrated for propagating Tibetan Buddhism throughout Mongolia while reshaping it to fit Mongolian sensibilities, thereby establishing for the Mongols a unique cultural identity.[34] His artistic works are generally regarded as the apogee of Mongolian aesthetic development and spawned a cultural renaissance among Mongols in the late 17th century. Even during the country's socialist era (1921-1991) he was acknowledged to be as a prominent scholar (his religious roles quietly discarded) and recognized for his artistic and cultural achievements.[35] As a political personality, however, socialist authorities portrayed Zanabazar as a traitor and deceiver of the masses,[36] responsible for the loss of Mongolian sovereignty to the Manchu.[35] In the post socialist era, however, there has been a reevaluation of his image to where his actions in negotiating the Khalkha's submission to the Qing are considered to have been in the long term interests of Mongolia,[35] and he is generally exonerated for his role in 1691.

In 1965, the

Zanabazar, the remains of which were discovered in Mongolia, was named after him.[37]

See also

Note

  1. ^ Mongolian: Өндөр Гэгээн Занабазар, ᠵᠠᠨᠠᠪᠠᠽᠠᠷ, Mongolian pronunciation: [ɵntr keγeɴ tsanβatsr], "High Saint Zanabazar"; 1635–1723[1]
  2. ^ Mongolian: Ишдорж, Ishdorj; Tibetan: ཡེ་ཤེས་རྡོ་རྗེ, Wylie: ye shes rdo rje
  3. ^ Mongolian: Жавзандамба хутагт/Jawzandamba xutagt, Tibetan: རྗེ་བཙུན་དམ་པ་ཧུ་ཐུག་ཐུ་, Wylie: rje btsun dam pa hu thug tu, "reincarnation of Jebtsundamba"

References

  • Zolzaya, M. (2009). The teaching about violence of Undur Gegeen Zanabazar. The History of Mongolian Ethics.
    ISBN 978-99929-9914-1
    , Ulaanbaatar, Arvin Sudar,
  1. ^ "Zanabazar, Aristocrat, Patriarch and Artist (1635-1723)", pp. 70–80 in The Dancing Demons of Mongolia, Jan Fontein; John Vrieze, ed.; V+K Publishing: Immerc. [1999]
  2. ISBN 978-0761476313
    . Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  3. ISBN 7508503805
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 1932476016
    .
  5. ISBN 978-0199958665
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  6. ISBN 0816046719
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  7. ISBN 978-0810868052
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  8. ISBN 978-3897942684
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  9. ISBN 978-0810874527
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  10. ISBN 9024726859
    .
  11. ^ "Zanabazar". GRANDPOOHBAH'S BLOG.
  12. ^ Croner, Don. "The Life of Zanabazar — The First Bogd Gegen of Mongolia". Tibetan Mongolian Museum Society. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  13. ISBN 978-0810874527
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  14. ISBN 978-3897942684
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  15. ISBN 0824825632
    .
  16. ISBN 1134396732
    .
  17. ^
    ISBN 978-0199958665
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  18. ^ J. Millward, Eurasian Crossroads:A history of Xinjiang, pg. 91
  19. ^
    ISBN 0824825632
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  20. ISBN 978-9004297784
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  21. ISBN 0816046719
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  22. ISBN 978-2880864057
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  23. ISBN 0816046719
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  24. ^ various. "Zanabazar Jebtsundampa Khutukhtu". .wikischolars.columbia.edu. Columbia. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  25. ISBN 0-500-23705-0
    .
  26. ISBN 0824825632
    .
  27. ^
    ISBN 0824825632
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  28. ISBN 978-0199958665
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  29. ISBN 0824825632
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  30. ISBN 978-2880864057
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  31. ISBN 0824825632
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  32. ^ Bartholomew, Terese Tse (1995). Introduction to the art of Mongolia.
  33. ^ Atwood, Christopher P. "Soyombo script". Facts On File. Facts On File, Inc. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  34. ISBN 1134396732
    .
  35. ^
    ISBN 1134396732
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  36. ISBN 1134396732
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  37. hdl:2246/5973
    .
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