Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (ཞབས་དྲུང་ངག་དབང་རྣམ་རྒྱལ། zhabs drung ngag dbang rnam rgyal) (1594-1651) was the founder of Bhutan. Shabdrung (also Zhabdrung;) which literaly means "before the feet of" was a title used when refering to or addressing great lamas in Tibet particularly those who The Kingdom of Bhutan (buːˈtɑːn is a Landlocked nation in South Asia. In addition to unifying the country for the first time in the 1630s, he also sought to create a distinctly Bhutanese cultural identity, separate from the Tibetan culture from which it was derived. Cradled in the folds of the Himalayas, Bhutan has relied on its geographic isolation to protect itself from outside cultural influences Tibetan civilization boasts a rich culture Tibetan culture is greatly influenced by Tibetan Buddhism which is reflected through arts and ritual practices Tibetan Buddhist
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From Tibet to Bhutan
Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal was descended from the Drogon Tsangpa gyare the founder of Drukpa lineage.
Ngawang Namgyal was recognized as one of the two prophesized reincarnations of the fourth Gyalwang Drukpa Pema Karpo,and enthroned as the 18th abbott of Ralung monastery in Tibet, a powerful position as Ralung was the traditional seat of the Drukpa Lineage. Ralung Monastery, located in the Tsang region of western Tibet, is the traditional seat of the Drukpa Kagyu order of Tibetan Buddhism. In 1616 Following visions and prophecies he went to establish a new base in western Bhutan, founding Cheri Monastery at the head of Thimphu valley. Thimphu ( is the Capital of Bhutan, and also the name of the surrounding valley and Dzongkhag
In 1627 he built Simtokha Dzong at the entrance to Thimphu valley. From this dzong he could exert control over traffic between the powerful Paro valley to the west and Trongsa valley to the east. Paro ( Dzongkha: dz སྤ་རོ་རྫོང་ཁག is the name of a district ( Trongsa, previously Tongsa, is located in Trongsa District, Bhutan.
Unification of Bhutan
He soon eliminated the rivals belonging to the Lhapa, branch of the Drikung Kagyu sect, a rival Kagyupa order who had built the original dzongs in Bhutan. Drikung Kagyu or Drigung Kagyu ( Wylie: 'bri-kung bka'-brgyud is one of the eight "minor" lineages of the Kagyu school of The Kagyu or Kagyupa school also known as the " Oral Lineage " or Whispered Transmission school is one of four main schools of Himalayan Dzong architecture (from Tibetan རྫོང་ Wylie rDzong) is a distinctive type of fortress architecture found in the former and present The Drukpa and the Lhapa had been struggling for control of western Bhutan since the 12th century. Later he would conquer and unify all of Bhutan, but would allow the ancient Nyingma sect to continue in central and eastern Bhutan (today the Nyingma comprise approximately 30% of Bhutan's monks even though they are privately funded while the Drukpa are supported as the state religion of Bhutan). The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism (the other three being the Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug) Drukpa (disambiguation The Drukpa ( Tib. འབྲུག་པ / ’brug pa) Druk ~ "dragon" pa ~ "person" — or Drukpa Kagyu A state religion (also called an official religion, established church or state church) is a religious body or Creed officially
In 1627, the first European visitors to Bhutan (the Portuguese Jesuits Estevao Cacella and João Cabral) found the Shabdrung to be a compassionate and intelligent host, of high energy and fond of art and writing. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order Estêvão Cacella was a Portuguese Jesuit Missionary. Cacella was born in Aviz in 1585 joined the Jesuits at the age of nineteen and sailed In keeping with his position as a high lama he was also meditative and had just completed a three year silent retreat. Lama ( is a title for a Tibetan teacher He was proud to have the Jesuits as guests of his court and was reluctant to grant them permission to leave and offered to support their proselytizing efforts with manpower and church-building funds, but they pressed on to Tibet in search of the apostate church said to be isolated in the heart of central Asia (cf. Definitions of Tibet See also Definitions of Tibet Name In English The English word Tibet, like the word for Tibet in most European Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east and from southern Russia in the north to northern Pakistan in the south Nestorian Stele). The Nestorian Stele or Nestorian Stone, formally the Memorial of the Propagation in China of the Luminous Religion from Daqin (大秦景教流行中國碑 Pinyin
In 1634, in the Battle of Five Lamas Ngawang Namgyal prevailed over the Tibetan and Bhutanese forces allied against him and was the first to unite Bhutan into a single country. Battle of Five Lamas was a battle of 1634 in which Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal prevailed over the Tibetan and Bhutanese forces allied against him
Dual system of government
The Shabdrung also established the distinctive dual system of government by which control of the country was shared between a spiritual leader (the Je Khempo) and an administrative leader (the Druk Desi), a policy which exists in modified form to this day. The Je Khenpo ( formerly called the Dharma Raj by orientalists is the title given to the senior religious hierarch of Bhutan. Bhutan was founded and unified as a country by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in the mid-1600s
Death of the Shabdrung
The Shabdrung ruled the country from the dzong at Punakha until his death in 1651. Dzong architecture (from Tibetan རྫོང་ Wylie rDzong) is a distinctive type of fortress architecture found in the former and present Punakha (སྤུ་ན་ཁ་ is the administrative center of Punakha dzongkhag, one of the 20 districts of Bhutan. To avoid political chaos in the wake of his death, his closest advisors hid the news of his death for 54 years. During this time he was said to be ruling the country while in seclusion, a not unreasonable explanation given the extended silent retreats he was known to take during his life, although the length of the retreat must have seemed more and more incredible as the decades wore on.
The Shabdrung's body lies preserved in a sacred inner chamber in Punakha Dzong where it has been under perpetual watch since his death in the 17th century. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar The task of watching over him is one of the most sacred duties in the kingdom, carried out by two high lamas. Lama ( is a title for a Tibetan teacher Not even the king is allowed in the inner chamber.
Reincarnations of the Shabdrung
See the article under Shabdrung for more information on his subsequent reincarnations. Shabdrung (also Zhabdrung;) which literaly means "before the feet of" was a title used when refering to or addressing great lamas in Tibet particularly those who
References
- Author: Ardussi, John ; Title: Formation of the State of Bhutan ('Brug gzhung) in the 17th Century and its Tibetan Antecedents in Journal of Bhutan Studies, Vol 11 2004, Centre for Bhutan Studies, Thimphu. [1],[2], [3]
External links
- Article: Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal at the Dharma Dictionary.
- Images: Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal at HimalayanArt. org.
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