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BAATR U. KITINOV
basis of the state, and supported the state’s political life, could be attributed to the
mid-15" century, i.e. to the times of Oirat Choros Esen taisha.
Lamas have played the significant role among Oirats and Kalmyks, whose po¬
litical establishment was interested in the uniting potential of the religion. Other
specifics and features of the religion (for instance, the tantric practices) have also
been the reasons for attention of the ruling class to Buddhism’s potential.
In the present article, the author studies the deeds and activities of some lamas
and the spiritual leaders,* who actively participated (or had had an influence) in the
political events and processes among the western Mongols, and emphasizes the spe¬
cial feature — their position as the subject or object of the political activity of these
nomads. Therefore, those clerics should be understood as the politics’ subjects, who
could be considered as a part of the political and administrative mechanism of Oirats
and Kalmyks, i.e., they did work closely with the ruling clans. And as the politics’
object the author accepts clerics, who acted outside the territory of khanates, but
anyhow had an influence on Oirats and Kalmyks, i.e. they, as a rule, were not of
their origin; the obedience of such lamas to the will of leaders of western Mongols
had been considered by these nomads as the important goals of their political and
other outer activity.
The role ofthe Buddhist clergy in the political activity ofthe Central Asian Oirats
could be seen since the middle of the 15" century, when lamas had been the mem¬
bers of the embassies of the Oirat Choros Esen taisha to Beijing.” Later lamas did
continue to play the various roles, being included in the political and administrative
mechanism of the Oirat ruling class.
The period of mid-17"—mid-18" centuries is the most interesting in terms of the
importance and the special role of lamas and the spiritual leaders in the politics of
the western Mongols; that time was also characterized by the development of three
Oirat states in the pointed above regions, where Gelugpa monks have had the strong
influence on their politics.
Perhaps, already from the 1620s the Oirats had been closely allied with Gelugpa
lamas. Sumpa Khenpo noted: “That was time, when from many tribes in Mongolia
the Olet [i.e. Oirat. — B. K.] khans adhered to only one religion of Tsongkhapa.”*
After the appeal of Gelugpa hierarchs to Oirats for support in struggle with the
Karmapa school, the meeting of the Oirat nobility did make decision to send the
combined Oirat forces to Tibet under the command of the Khoshut leader Törö¬
baiqu (1582-1654).° This person had played an outstanding role in the history of
Tibet, and was known as Tendzin Chökyi Gyalpo Gushi Khan (bsTan ‘dzin chos kyi
? The author doesn’t discuss in the present article the activity of the well-known Oirat lamas such as
Neiji Toyin (1557-1653) and Dsaya Pandita (1599-1662).
> Kitinov, Baatr U.: The Spread of Buddhism among Western Mongolian tribes between the 13th and
18th Centuries: Tibetan Buddhism in the Politics and Ideology of the Oirat People. Edwin Mellen
Press, Lewiston 2010, pp. 142-144.
Pagsam-dzonsan: Istorija i hronologija Tibjeta. Per. S tib. jaz., prjedisl, komment. R. Je. Pubajeva.
Izdatjel'stvo Nauka, Moskva 1991, p. 46.
> Ho-Chin Yang: The Annals of Kokonor. Indiana University Press, Bloomington 1969, p. 34.
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