Dalai Lama, Panchen Lama
A lama is a teacher. They are often a senior member of a monastic community - a monk or a nun - but lay people and married people can also be lamas. They are very often reincarnations of previous lamas. As well as being learned in Buddhist texts and philosophy, lamas often have particular skills in ritual.
The Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, both of the Gelugpa lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, are at the top of the lama hierarchy in old Tibet. They used to be the Tibetans’ religious and administrative leaders. The Dalai Lama ruled Utsang (front Tibet) while the Panchen Lama ruled Tsang (rear Tibet).
Dalai is a Mongol word meaning ocean, and refers to the depth of the Dalai Lama's wisdom. The Dalai Lama is considered the incarnation of Chenrezi (Avalokiteshvarra), Bodhisattva of Compassion and the patron deity of Tibet by Tibetan people. There have been fourteen Dalai Lamas, each one considered a reincarnation of the former. The first Dalai Lama to bear the title was the 3rd Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso. (The two previous incarnations were named "Dalai Lama" after their deaths.) The current Dalai Lama (2002), Tenzin Gyatso, was born in Amdo, Tibet in 1935 and is the fourteenth Dalai Lama.
The title of Panchen, Great Scholar, was conferred on Lobsang Choekyi Gyaltsen by Qosot Mongol Gushri Khan in 1645. Lobsang Choekyi Gyaltsen was the fourth Panchen Lama and the three abbots before him were conferred the title posthumously. In 1713, Emperor Kangxi conferred the title of Panchen Erdeni (Erdeni, in Manchurian, means treasure) to the fifth Panchen Lama. The Panchen Lama is esteemed as the incarnation of Amitayus, Buddha of Infinite Light. Tashilungpo Monastery is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lamas. Till now there have been eleven Panchen Lamas. The eleventh Panchen, identified in 1995, now lives in China.
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