“The Great Biography of Je Tsongkhapa” by Chahar Geshe: The Development of Buddhism in Northwest China in the 14th Century

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the development of Buddhism in Northwest China in the 14th century. This process was described in the treatise of the Mongol scholar Chahar Geshe [Tib. cha har dge bshes blo bzang tshul khrims, 1740–1810] “The source of goodness and happiness: the biography of the Great Omniscient Rje Tsong kha pa, presented in an easy-to-understand manner.” [Tib. rje thams cad mkhyen pa’i tsong kha pa chen po’i rnam thar go sla bar brjod pa bde legs kun gyi ‘byung gnas]. This work is an example of Buddhist historical thought, which was developed in the traditional culture of the Tibetans and Mongols in the 18th-19th centuries. The authors of the article claim that the “The biography of the Great Omniscient Rje Tsong kha pa” has a specificity of presentation, determined by the author’s personality, historical and cultural circumstances. This specificity is related to the post-classical period of the history of Tibetan scholasticism, within which the work was written. Chahar Geshe tried to understand the results of the most important stages of the Buddhist history in the vast region based on the works of previous generations. The treatise can be described as a scholastic work and Chahar Geshe as an outstanding scholar and theorist of his time. The fragment of the relationship of the great reformer of Tibetan Buddhism with his teacher Dondub Rinchen from the work is fundamental historical evidence of the most important religious and cultural processes that took place in the vast territories of Northwestern China during the 14th century. Keywords: Buddhism, Tibet, Northwest China, 14th century, biography of Je Tsongkhapa, Dondub Rinchen