Oldal 160 [160]
OCR
ALEXA PETER principle ended with the downfall of the Yuan dynasty (1280-1368), its ideal was preserved in both Mongolian and Tibetan literature.'° The third Buddhist wave in Mongolia began in 1577, when the Mongolian ruler, Altan Khan (1507-1582) sent an emissary to Tibet to pay respects to Sonam Gyatso (bSod nams rgya mtsho, 1543-1588), the great master ofthe Gelug stream (Tib. dge lugs pa). The following year a group of Mongolian patrons and this Tibetan master met on the bank of Lake Kukunor. Altan Khan translated the “rgya mtsho” part of his name in Mongolian, thus rgya mtsho became dalai (‘Ocean’) and bSod nams rgya mtsho became the Dalai Lama. Thus began the lineage of the Dalai Lamas. Consequently, with the support of a powerful Mongolian patron, the Gelug stream, centred in the Dalai Lama, achieved eminence above all others in Tibet. The landmark event in the conversion of Mongols to Tibetan Buddhism took place during this visit of Sönam Gyatso to the Mongolian court. After the second visit of Sönam Gyatso in 1586, Awtai Khan (1554-1588) of the Khalkha Mongols established the first Buddhist monastery in Mongolia called Erdene Dsuu in the vicinity of Kharkhorin. Sônam Gyatso’s religious activities had firmly established Tibetan Buddhism among the Mongols and penetrating almost every sphere of Mongolian life. By the end of the 17" century, with the two-fold support from the Mongol nobles and the Tibetan lamas, many Mongols were converted to Buddhism. Sénam Gyatso passed away in Inner Mongolia in 1588. Later the great-grandson of Altan Khan was chosen to be an incarnation of the Dalai Lama, thus further strengthening the ties between the Mongols and Tibetan Buddhism. When the Mongolian Yuan khans were converted to Buddhism, the religion was common only among the upper class, and its influence was much weaker than in the late 16" century, when the whole Mongolian nation received Buddhism as its faith.” The fourth Buddhist wave in Mongolia was connected with the first Jebtstindamba khutagt (Tib. rje btsun dam pa hu thug tu), Öndör Gegeen Dsanabadsar (1635-1723) who travelled to Tibet in the mid-17th century and became a disciple of the Fifth Dalai Lama. Later, he became the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia who ranked third in the ecclesiastical hierarchy after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. His vision of Mongolian Buddhism flourished for more than two and a quarter centuries, until the communist takeover of 1921. Tibetan Buddhism remained the main religion and the most important religiocultural links between the Tibetans and the Mongols." Péter, Alexa: A Compendium of Buddhism Written for Kubilai’s Son. In: Aspects of Mongolian Buddhism I. Ed. by Agnes Birtalan, Krisztina Teleki, Zsuzsa Majer, Csaba Fahidi, Attila Rakos. L’Harmattan, Budapest 2018, p. 168. " Mullin, G.: Buddhism in Mongolia... ? Dsanabadsar is the Mongolian rendition of the Sanskrit JAanavajra which is the translation of his Tibetan monastic name, Ye shes rdo rje (‘Vajra Wisdom’). He was identified as the reincarnation of the scholar Taranatha (1575-1634) of the Jonangpa (Jo nang pa) stream of Tibetan Buddhism and like the Fourth Dalai Lama, he also was a direct descendent of Chinggis Khan. '5 Mullin, G.: Buddhism in Mongolia... 158
