Thrisong Detsen

Thrisong Detsen ( Tib . : khri srong lde btsan , Tibetan : ཁྲི་ སྲོང་ ལྡེ་ བཙན ; * 742 ; † 796 ) was King of Tibet between 756 and 796. It was under him that Buddhism was officially and finally introduced in Tibet , while the kingdom was at the height of its power.

Life

Thrisong Detsen was the son of King Thride Tsugten (Tib .: khri lde gtsug brtan ; r. 704-754) and a Chinese princess named Jinshing (Tib .: gyim shing kong jo ; † 739). The marriage was arranged in the spring of 707, although the Tang emperor Zhongzong (r. 705-710) did not produce a legitimate daughter.

With the help of the well-traveled Buddhist masters Padmasambhava and Shantarakshita from Nalanda , Thrisong Detsen officially made Buddhism the state religion of Tibet around 779. This meant a restriction of the power of several large families (e.g. that of the Prime Minister) whose prerogatives were supported by followers of the Bon religion. Padmasambhava began training Buddhist monks and building Samye Monastery , the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet. Despite this, the resistance of the Bon followers, including the king's first wife, remained strong against Buddhism. Thrisong Detsen himself became a student of Padmasambhava, who initiated him, among other things, into the Vajrakilaya practice cycle, as did Yeshe Tshogyel . His daughter Princess Pemasel also received important initiations from Padmasambhava after she was brought back to life by him at the pleading of Thrisong Detsen, according to tradition. Pemasel received as a result of u. a. the Dzogchen lineage held by Padmasambhava, also called Khandro Nyingtig .

Foreign policy

In terms of foreign policy, Tibet benefited from the weakness of the Tang Dynasty in China, caused by the An Lushan uprising (755–763). A success of King Thrisong Detsen is often mentioned: When the Tang dynasty suspended the tribute payments agreed upon under Emperor Suzong (r. 756–762), the Tibetans briefly occupied China's capital Chang-An in 763 , but with the help of the Uyghurs were after a few weeks expelled again. Another success was an alliance with the kingdom of Nanzhao , which pressed the Chinese southern border and made Nanzhao a vassal state of Tibet until King Yimouxun (r. 778-808) put an end to this supremacy around 794.

Council of Lhasa

Thrisong Detsen is also known from a council of the years 792-794, the Council of Lhasa , which was supposed to clarify the discrepancies between the different doctrines of Indian and Chinese Buddhists on the ways to enlightenment , and took place in Samye Monastery , which is why it was held as a council is referred to by Samye . Specifically it went u. a. the question of whether one can become enlightened suddenly or only gradually, and what influence good and bad deeds have on it. The Indian doctrine, represented by the monk Kamalashila , prevailed and the Chinese left Tibet.

In iconography , Thrisong Detsen is often represented with the attributes of Manjusri .

See also

• Tibetan monarchy

literature

• Denis C. Twitchett , John K. Fairbank (eds.): The Cambridge History of China. Vol. 3 (Sui and Tang China, 589-906), Cambridge 1979.
• Roland Barraux: The History of the Dalai Lamas. Divine compassion and earthly politics. Komet, Frechen 2000, ISBN 3-933366-62-3 .
• Karénina Kollmar-Paulenz: Small history of Tibet. Beck, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-406-67094-7 .

Web links

• himalayanart.org: King - Trisong Detsen (Tibet) ( Thangkas )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ tbrc: khri srong lde btsan
2. ↑ Princess Pema Sal - RangjungYesheWiki
3. ↑ Trisong Detsen 742–798 ( Memento of the original from January 25, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

Thrisong Detsen (alternative names of the lemma)
Trisong Detsen, Trisong Detsan, Thrisong Detsän, chin .: 赤松德贊 , Chìsōng Dézàn