"Where are the palaces from? Meditated!": the life and self-denial of the Dalai Lamas

Today it is considered a rule of good manners to grumble in an old-fashioned way at the highest Orthodox clergy, reproaching their representatives with a luxurious life, and also estimate the approximate number of "bregets", yachts and "maybahs" for each diocese. As an example, churchmen often cite the modest life of the Dalai Lamas, who live on spiritual food, not material.

And here are some stories about the luxurious life of Mahayana adherents, so that you don't idealize them too much.

For many, Buddhism is a rejection of many benefits, asceticism and complete selflessness and self-sacrifice. The Dalai Lama, as the leader of Buddhists and their highest authority, should serve as an example for everyone and, of course, simply must be indifferent to comfort and luxury. However, history does not recall among the highest Buddhist priests the penniless and impoverished philosophers living in a damp cave.

For Tibet, the Dalai Lama has been not only a spiritual, but also a political leader, as well as the supreme commander-in-chief for many centuries. Of course, like any other rulers, lamas built palaces, hired servants and surrounded themselves with luxury.

The first Dalai Lama was in 1578 Lama Gelugpa Sonam Gyatso, who converted to Buddhism the militant Mongol tribe of Tumets, led by their Khan Amdu. In honor of the acquisition of a new faith by the Mongols, a kurultai of notable people was assembled, to which Lama Sonam Gyatso was also invited.

During the feasts, which followed one after another, the monk and the khan did not tire of paying compliments to each other, and it all ended with the fact that the lama gave the khan the title of Brahma, the ruler of religion, and the khan, from the whole wide Mongolian soul, presented Sonam Gyatso with a golden seal with the inscription "Seal of Vajradhara-Dalai Lama. May there be victory!".

From that moment on, Sonam Gyatso began to call himself the Dalai Lama III. Why the third one at once? The monk simply honored the memory of his two predecessors by retroactively elevating them to the highest rank of the clergy. In addition, each supreme lama was a reincarnation of the previous one and it would be ugly if the Dalai Lama was reincarnated from some Gendun Gyatso, an ordinary supreme lama.

The first official head of the Buddhists never returned to his homeland in Tibet, enjoying the hospitality of the lords of Inner Mongolia until his death in 1588.

It was the Dalai Lama V who built the famous Potala Palace, the residence of the supreme rulers of Tibet, located in Lhasa. The palace, which looks more like a solid fortress, was the home of the Dalai Lamas from 1649 to 1959, until the Dalai Lama XIV left it due to the Chinese occupation of Tibet.

The Potala Palace is the highest-altitude residence of rulers in the world, as the complex is located at an altitude of 3,767 meters above sea level. Construction began in 1645, and in 1649 both the chief priest himself and the entire government and clergy of Tibet moved into a huge building on Marpo Ri Hill.

The first construction of the Potala complex was the white stone palace of Potrang Karpo, which was completed and changed for another 20 years after the death of its founder. After the completion of the construction work, the construction of the Potrang Marpo — the Red Palace, which served as a repository of sacred texts and relics, as well as a place for receiving guests who do not have spiritual dignity, began.

The total height of the Potala is 117 meters, while the tallest building has 13 floors. The prayer halls, of which there were several in the two palaces, were striking in their richness of decoration. Grandiose gifts of Chinese emperors were shamelessly "invested" in the walls, floors and ceilings of the palace. Gold, ivory, precious and semi-precious stones, silk - here you could find everything that the Celestial Empire is rich in.

Some curtains of the largest pavilion of the palace - a gift from the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty, were created for a whole year. For painstaking work on their production, a special workshop was built, in the center of which there was a hall with dozens of embroiderers.

The Dalai Lamas did not leave the Potala too often and always returned to the palace, alive or dead. Among the walls, halls and galleries of the White and Around the palaces there are 8 tombs, where all the deceased rulers found peace in order.

The grave of the builder of the Potala, the Dalai Lama V, is the most luxurious. The funerary pagoda is decorated with 3,721 kilograms of gold, a huge amount of precious stones and rare wood. Contemporaries claimed that half of the wealth of the world had gone to the crypt of the fifth ruler of Tibet.

But, the magnificent Potala seemed boring and cramped to the Dalai Lama VII, so in 1755 the builders laid the first stone of the new complex, which was named Norbulinka. The work was carried out for almost 30 years and the grandiose construction was completed already under the Dalai Lama VIII in 1783.

Since the completion of the Norbulinka, the complex has become the summer residence of the Dalai Lamas, while they preferred to spend the cold season in Potale. Norbulinka is located on 36 hectares, of which 3.6 square kilometers is occupied by a park that stretches around the palace buildings.

In total, the summer complex includes 5 palaces: the three-storey Kelsang Potrang, founded by the first, Tsokil Potrang - the brainchild of the Dalai Lama VIII, the Golden Link and Chancel Potrang, built by the Dalai Lama XIII and Migur Potrang, completed just before the invasion of the Chinese army in the 50s of the XX century.

No Norbulinka palace is deprived of luxury — like the halls of the Potala, its rooms are decorated with frescoes and silk curtains, the ceilings are decorated with precious wood and gold, and the furnishings amaze with luxury. It is also worth adding that Buddha statues made of pure gold, decorated with precious stones, were installed in numerous prayer rooms of the palaces.

The Dalai Lamas were no strangers to worldly entertainment. The Khamsum Tsilnon theater pavilion was erected in Norbulinka Park, where concerts and theatrical performances were given. Two rows of walls rose around the palace - the outer ones marking the boundaries of the complex and the inner ones surrounding the personal apartments of the Supreme lama.

Only the Dalai Lama's entourage and his guests could enter through the carefully guarded gates of the second wall. But even behind the first wall, visitors did not feel free — there was a whole set of strict rules and a strict dress code. Even in the XX century, the entrance to the residence in European clothes, hats and shoes was strictly prohibited.

The protection of the Norbulinka was provided by a huge staff of guards, assisted by Tibetan mastiffs. The outer wall was divided into zones, each of which was controlled by a huge aggressive dog tied with a long rope of yak wool to a ring immured in masonry.

In general, dogs enjoyed special respect from all owners of Potala and Norbulinka. Especially for the entertainment of the nobility, including the Dalai Lamas, a small decorative breed of Lhasa Apso was bred. These animals inhabited palaces in large numbers, moved freely through the halls and the park, slept on pillows decorated with precious embroidery.

It would seem - live and enjoy, but only one of the rulers, the Dalai Lama XIII, lived a long and carefree life. Everyone else died very early and suspiciously suddenly. It is quite possible that they were simply poisoned, but this is not certain. The current head of Buddhism, the Dalai Lama XIV, fled the palace at the age of 23, also not having had time to really taste the delights of monarch life.

In the early 50s, the most progressive of all the rulers of Tibet, built a new villa in Norbulinka, in which some Western influence was already felt, and also, not particularly shy of his impoverished people, bought several limousines. In order for you to appreciate the absurdity of this expensive purchase, it should be noted separately that there were no roads suitable for VIP-class cars in Tibet, and the Dalai Lama traveled exclusively on a Land Rover SUV.

After Tibet was invaded by China, the owner of the Potala and Norbulinka settled in India, where he leads a modest life as a Buddhist monk. The only thing that the Dalai Lama XIV can afford is accommodation in "five-star" hotels during his trips around the world.