Dsanabadsar

Statue of Öndör Gegeen Dsanabadsar

Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar ( Mongolian өндөр гэгээн Занабазар ; * 1635 ; † 1723 in Beijing ) was the first jebtsundamba khutuktu ( Mongolian Жавзандамба хутагт ), the religious leader of Lamaism in the Outer Mongolia . This makes him one of the great figures in Mongolian Buddhism . As a close relative of the Tüsheet Khan, he also played an important role in the processes surrounding the subjugation of the Chalcha Mongols to the Manchu .

Childhood and youth

Dsanabadsar was born in 1635 as the son of Tüsheet Khan Gombodorji (1594–1655), one of three territorial khans of the Chalcha Mongols. Even before his birth, the Setsen Khan Sholoi (one of the other two Chalcha-Khans) had prophesied that he would one day rule over all Mongols. It is not entirely by chance that Dsanabadzar's early childhood was allegedly accompanied by miraculous events, and so at the age of five he was given the name “Öndör Gegeen”, which means “Great Enlightened One”. After being examined by a fortune teller, his body was found to have all the characteristics of a Buddha. Dsanabadsar was then enthroned as the Living Buddha and religious head of the Gelug tradition during a great meeting of the Seven Banners of the Chalcha . After he was educated in Mongolia until 1649 , he was sent to Lhasa to enable him to receive a Tibetan education under both the Dalai and the Penchen Lama ; this also included higher ordinations by the Dalai Lama , who awarded him the title of “Jebtsundamba” at the age of 15.

Scholar and sculptor

Dsanabadsar became known as an outstanding scholar and sculptor on his return from Tibet and was said to have magical powers in addition to his fine intellect. Numerous monasteries and schools were founded after his return from Tibet. Lamaism found its way into Mongolia with Dsanabadzar's religious works, teachings and prayer songs . Many of his works are still in use today.

He is best known for his outstanding sculpture, including the portraits of the five Dhyana Buddhas and the sculptures of the 21 Taras . He is considered the greatest Buddhist sculptor of his time. In the West he is also called the "Michelangelo of the East" because of the extraordinary beauty of his works.

As the first and greatest divine incarnation in Outer Mongolia, Dsanabadsar himself became the subject of numerous portraits in the media of his time, from humble woodcuts to luxuriously gilded bronzes, the best known of which can be admired in the Bogd Khan Museum in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator .

The Soyombo script and symbol

Two variations of the Sojombo symbol , the initial character of the Soyombo alphabet

In 1686 Dsanabadsar developed the Sojombo script , one of a series of writing systems for the Mongolian language . It is based on the Lantsa Devanagari and can represent both Mongolian, Tibetan and Sanskrit . Since the Sojombo alphabet is rather cumbersome to write and, precisely because of its exactness, is not ideally suited for the reproduction of the various Mongolian dialects, it did not establish itself as an everyday script. However, its initial symbol still adorns the national flag of Mongolia today . The Soyombo symbol represents the history, tradition and independence of the Mongols. Dsanabadsar also used it to express his simple teaching. This states that events that happen to one person or many are always a direct effect of one's own actions. What is meant by this is not determinism , but the law of karma or the law of cause and effect, with which the responsible action of each individual with regard to the whole and vice versa is brought into focus.

Political events of the time

In Dsanabadzar's time, the conflict between the Chalcha and the Djungars under Galdan Boshigt Khan , which finally led to the subjugation of the Chalcha princes to the Manchu and their emperor Kangxi in 1688 . Therefore he is sometimes made responsible for the loss of Mongolian independence. In 1688, however, the Chalcha princes had already lost the areas north of the Gobi and objectively had no other choice than either to seek help from the Manchu against the Oirats and thus to accept Manchurian suzerainty, or to deal with the loss of their power and grazing areas to resign. On the other hand, the Tüsheet Khan Caqundorji (his brother) - and at least indirectly also Dsanabadsar - were not innocent in the escalation of the conflict with Galdan. Dsanabadsar is said to be z. For example, at a meeting of princes in 1686, sitting on a par with the representative of the Dalai Lama, about which Galdan complained to the emperor.

Dsanabadzar's wife

According to legend, Dsanabadsar had a wife who is known as the "maiden prince" and who is said to have been just as skillful a sculptor as he was. She died at the age of 18 and her ashes were used to print holy books. Dsanabadsar is said to have made his taras based on their model. The white Tara shows her as a young virgin, the green Tara as a physically mature and sensual woman in the last year of her life. A famous legend tells of how she made the khalkh nobles speechless by an impressive demonstration of her own miraculous powers after they scolded Dsanabadsar that he lived with a woman as a religious leader: According to tradition, she then stepped in front of them and formed them before their eyes a lump of hot molten bronze into a Buddha figure with their bare hands without getting burned. Legend has it that when she died, her right hand survived the cremation unharmed.

death

Dsanabadsar traveled to Beijing in 1723 at the invitation of Yongzheng , the then ruler of the Qing Dynasty , and died there in the "Yellow Monastery". According to some rumors, he was murdered at Yongzheng's instigation. His remains were first brought to Ich-Churee , after which he was buried in a mausoleum in the Amarbajasgalant monastery . This is located at the foot of the Burenchan mountain in the Selenge province and was donated by Kangxi in honor of Dsanabadsar during his lifetime .

Web links

Commons : Zanabazar  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Amarbajasgalant Monastery - Dsanabadsar's final resting place
• Soyombo - Mongolian alphabet
• tbrc.org: blo bzang bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan