Abstract
This paper explores the life of Shar Kalden Gyatso with a focus on his contributions to the seventeenth-century development of Geluk influence in the northeastern Tibetan region of Amdo. Not only did he adopt the role of a monastic leader in founding and bolstering scholastic traditions in his home region in Amdo, but he was also an accomplished practitioner. In addition to his role as the founder of scholastic and retreat institutions in Rebgong, his close relationship with local rulers in Amdo and his non-sectarian stance toward other religious traditions fueled his charisma and increased his base of followers. Therefore, the main goal of this paper is to explore all these themes as they illustrate the career of Shar Kalden Gyatso as a central figure in the religious history of Amdo in general and the development of Geluk influence in Rebgong in particular. Meanwhile, I provide an appropriate assessment of the sectarian conversion of Rongwo Monastery, also considering the importance of Shar Kalden Gyatso’s role in institutional foundations, his network of patronage, and his religious ecumenical thought to particularly characterize his outstanding career.
Highlights
Since the Geluk–Mongol alliance was cemented in the late sixteenth century, Amdo was home to the burgeoning Geluk movement fostered by strong influence from the Central Tibetan Geluk patriarchs and Mongol patronage
In the Brief History of How Buddhism Grew in Amdo (Shar skal ldan rgya mtsho 1999a, A mdor bstan pa dar tshul gyi lo rgyus, in Shar skal ldan rgya mtsho’i gsung ‘bum, vol 1, pp. 341–55; Brief Religious History of Amdo), Shar skal ldan rgya mtsho lists a number of major figures including Amdo native monks intstrumental in fueling the growth of the Dge lugs
A more coherent picture of the local tradition is provided by placing the narrative in a local multi-religious and politically charged context as well as in the larger historical setting specific to seventeenth-century Amdo. As it is focused on the seventeenth century when Qing influence was non-existent in Rebgong—at least, according to the available sources—this paper presents a case study of the Geluk School’s development in a local setting heavily dominated by Tibetan and Mongolian political forces at the margin of the late Ming and early Qing empires
Summary
Since the Geluk–Mongol alliance was cemented in the late sixteenth century, Amdo was home to the burgeoning Geluk movement fostered by strong influence from the Central Tibetan Geluk patriarchs and Mongol patronage. Throughout this study, I will explore other various forces at work mainly in terms of patronage networks and religious non-partisanship contributing to a favorable condition where Shar Kalden Gyatso was able to flourish as a central figure of the Geluk School in the religious history of Rebgong. Victoria Sujata, for example, examined the life of Shar Kalden Gyatso; her account provided very limited context for her close study of the corpus of Shar Kalden Gyatso’s songs, with her attention mainly devoted to discussions of poetic styles of verse in the songs This is partly due to Sujata’s treatment of songs as the main source of biographical information on Shar Kalden. Before I delve deeper into examining each of the four themes mentioned above, I offer a brief note on the main sources used in this study
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