UC Santa Barbara UC Santa Barbara Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title A Union of Religion and Politics: Ngawang Tsültrim as Tibetan Regent and Imperial Preceptor Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2dj3k52s Author Dewey, William Kent Publication Date 2017 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara A Union of Religion and Politics: The Tibetan Regency of Ngawang Tsültrim A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies by William Kent Dewey Committee in charge: Professor José Cabezón, Chair Professor Vesna Wallace Professor David White March 2017 The dissertation of William Kent Dewey is approved. ________________________________________ Vesna Wallace ________________________________________ David White ________________________________________ José Cabezón, Committee Chair March 2017 A Union of Religion and Politics: Ngawang Tsültrim as Tibetan Regent and Imperial Preceptor Copyright © 2017 by William Kent Dewey iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, this dissertation could not have been written without the guidance of my committee. Professor José Cabezón, my doctoral advisor and committee chair, suggested the topic of the regents of Tibet, and guided me in creating a focus for my project, finding sources, and developing a research approach. He helped arrange for the Central University of Tibetan Studies Sarnath to host me. He read every word of my drafts, made sure my prose read clearly, suggested new sources and new interpretations, and otherwise assisted me over the course of this project. To him I am most indebted. The other members of my committee, Professors David White and Vesna Wallace, both provided much advice on my dissertation proposal and reviewed this work in its final stages. All of these professors have been supportive throughout my doctoral career and eager to develop my skills as a scholar, for which I am very grateful. The graduate advisors of the Religious Studies department deserve special thanks for their tireless efforts for all their students. Sally Lombrozo, Jeanette Reyes, and Andrea Johnson arranged funding for my research abroad (my initial 2013-2014 trip to India was funded by the department) and the writing, and generally helped ensure my smooth progress through the program. From 2014-2015 I was supported by the Fulbright-Nehru grant, a joint venture between the Indian government and the American Fulbright program. Many thanks to the people at Fulbright, the Institute for International Education, and the United States-India Education Foundation, especially Neeraj Goswami and S.K. Barathi of USIEF, for supporting me during my grant period and ensuring that things went smoothly during my time in India When I did research in India 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 I spent most of my time at the Central University of Tibetan Studies at Sarnath, which most graciously allowed me to study there. Vice Chancellor Geshé Ngawang Samten, as well as Tenzin Kunsel and Tenzin Sidon of the Vice Chancellor’s office, arranged for the university to support me, located students and researchers to assist me, and generally helped me find my way around Sarnath. Most important to this project were my colleagues at CUTS who read the biographies with me and assisted me with translation and contextualizing the material. My advisor at CUTS was Professor Jampa Samten (who specializes in Tibetan history) who provided me with crucial historical background and suggested sources, and also assisted me with certain key passages and difficult vocabulary of the biographies. On the biography from the Ganden Tripas’ anthology, I worked with Passang Dorjé, a translator in the research department, and the venerable Ngawang Thöndup Nargyi. Dorjé Kyap, an advanced CUTS student, worked with me on the longer biography of Ngawang Tsültrim, the translation of which constituted the majority of my research. This project would have been impossible without their assistance, so I owe them a deep debt of gratitude. I did much of my work in the CUTS library and a number of people assisted me there. Thanks to Penpa Dorjé the head of the library who arranged my library privileges, Sonam Tsewang, head of the Tibetan section who provided much iv guidance on sources, his assistant Tenzin Gahgay, Dickey Dolma of circulation, and Pema Gyalpo and Pema Payang of the computer and photocopier section (I used a fair amount of their time and paper), and any others I forgot to thank. A special thanks to the Jain family and all the staff of the Tibetan Monastery for making my stay in Sarnath a pleasant one, as well as to David Ellerton, Daniel McNamara, and other students and researchers for comparing notes and giving me advice on researching and living in India. I worked for two months at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, and have several people to thank. Geshe Lakdor arranged for the library to host me and Sonam Gyatso, a researcher in the library, helped me to check my translations and clarify some final muddy points. Thanks also to the people who worked at the front desk and circulation there. Finally, none of my studies could have happened without my loving mom and dad, and the rest of my family and friends, who have supported me at every stage of my journey up to this point. v VITA OF WILLIAM KENT DEWEY March 2017 EDUCATION Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Religion, Emory University, May 2008 (with highest honors) Master of Theological Studies in Buddhist Studies, Harvard Divinity School, May 2010 Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, March 2017 PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT 2006-2008, summers: Student Assistant, University of Tennessee Libraries (Special Collections) 2010-2013: Research Assistant, University of California, Santa Barbara 2011-2012, 2016: Teaching Assistant, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2016, summer: Teaching Associate, University of California, Santa Barbara PUBLICATIONS “Protestant Christianity.” Encyclopedia of Global Religions. Mark Juergensmeyer and Wade Clark Roof, eds. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2012 FIELDS OF STUDY Studies in Tibetan Buddhism with Professor José Cabezón Studies in Indian Buddhism with Professor Vesna Wallace Studies in South Asian Religions with Professor David White vi ABSTRACT A Union of Religion and Politics: Ngawang Tsültrim as Tibetan Regent and Imperial Preceptor by William Kent Dewey My dissertation is a study of the life of Ngawang Tsültrim (1721-1791), with a primary focus on his career as sikyong or regent of Tibet (reigning 1777-1786, 1790- 1791), and a secondary focus on his religious positions and his service to the Qing emperor. By studying his life, I have sought to understand how and why regents came to serve as substitute rulers for the Dalai Lamas and dominated Tibet's Ganden Palace government for many years. As they were generally prominent Geluk monks with deep ties to the monastic system, I am especially concerned with how their rule was related to the doctrine and institutions of Geluk Tibetan Buddhism, and epitomized the “union of religion and politics” (chösi sungdrel) of Tibet. I have studied his life through two Tibetan-language biographies, a long biography focusing exclusively on his life and a short biography from an anthology of lives of the Ganden Tripa, and I have consulted secondary sources covering Tibetan (and sometimes Qing) history, religion, economics, political science and sociology to put his life and work in context. vii As a political figure, I have found that he could be seen as a bodhisattva ruler, not only because of his supreme position in an ideal ritual cosmos (Tibet conceived of as a buddha-field), but also because of his practical actions, such as laws against corruption and abusive taxation, by which he promoted himself as a benefactor of the common people. I found that his religious background made him especially suited to leading the chösi sungdrel, as he had been enculturated in the scholastic system of the great Geluk monasteries and rose eventually to the position of Ganden Tripa at the top of the monastic hierarchy. His actions in office strengthened the ascendancy of the Geluk monks over Tibet. He also gained influence with the Qing by forming a patron and priest (chöyön) relationship with the Qianlong emperor, serving in his court as religious preceptor, both before his reign as regent (1762-1777) and afterwards (1786-1790). This relationship enabled him to negotiate to preserve Tibetan autonomy and Tibetan traditions as the Qing moved to consolidate power. In regards to the Dalai Lama, Ngawang Tsültrim's position as tutor symbolically affirmed that the Dalai Lama was being kept off the throne, but other actions of Ngawang Tsültrim affirmed that the Dalai Lama was the real, ultimate source of the Ganden Palace's chösi sungdrel. Although Ngawang Tsültrim's regency marked the beginning of an era when the high monks and lamas of the regency displaced the Dalai Lama as actual rulers of Tibet, he ensured that the Dalai Lama lineage would continue and maintain their spiritual supremacy. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Dissertation Introduction ........................................................................................................................ xi Primary Sources ..............................................................................................................................