By Mayank Chhaya

[Photo] Monks waiting for initiation at the temple near the Dalai Lama's official residence in McLeodganj. Lamaism is said to have emerged from the fusion of "Bon", a shamanistic worship of nature spirits, and Buddhism. (Photos: Mayank Chhaya)

[Photo] A Tibetan monk playing table tennis in McLeodganj. Tibetan monks are said to embrace what is referred to as "Geluk-pa", or the "virtuous way". (Photos: Mayank Chhaya)

The known history of what today is called Tibet has been traced back to the seventh century, the era of the first hero-king, Song-tsen Gam-po. Before that, what is known about Tibet is in the realm of ancient myths, including the one that says Tibetans were generated by a monkey and a mountain ogress.

Gam-po is significant in that he has been credited with the translation of several Buddhist scriptures into Tibetan. This led to Buddhism's making its presence felt in Tibet. One of Gam-po's queens was Bhrikuti Devi, a Nepalese princess who brought with her many Buddhist images, including one of Sakyamuni -- the sage of the Sakya caste -- namely, the Buddha.

Before Buddhism came to Tibet the prevalent religion was Bon, a set of local beliefs. It was a shamanistic worship of nature spirits in which human and animal sacrifice, exorcism, magic and sorcery were practiced. Bonism was soon merged into Buddhism, but without its cruder practices. The fusion became known as Lamaism, from the word lama, meaning master or teacher.

It was the Tibetan monk Tsong-khapa (1358-1419) who carried forward the reform initiated in A.D.1042 by Atisha, a notable teacher from India. Tsong-khapa founded the Geluk-pa sect (Virtuous Way), or Yellow Hat sect, in the beginning of the 15th century. He demanded celibacy among monks. After 1587 the Grand Lama of this school was called the Dalai Lama. Interestingly, the title of Dalai Lama was first conferred by the Mongol warrior king Altan Khan, who proclaimed the head of the Geluk-pa sect as Dalai Lama Vajradhara (the All-Embracing Lama, Holder of the Thunderbolt).

By 1641 the Dalai Lama had acquired temporal and spiritual authority over all of Tibet. The Tibetans regard the fifth Dalai Lama, who reigned during the 17th century, as their greatest leader because it was during his time that the great Potala Palace was built.

The Chinese revolution of 1911 brought down the Manchu dynasty and led to China's losing control over Tibet. In 1913 the Chinese authorities gave into British pressure for the holding of a tripartite meeting (China-Tibet-Britain) in Simla, India. A treaty was drafted by the British that divided Tibet into Inner and Outer regions, the latter being autonomous.

But the outbreak of World War I in 1914 pushed Tibet out of international focus. During the 1930s, when China became more unified, new efforts were begun to wrest power over Tibet. After nearly two decades of uncertainty and the emergence of a Communist China, the Chinese army captured the frontier fortress of Qamdo, 370 miles from the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. The Tibetan forces capitulated, with the current Dalai Lama sending a peace mission to Peking. On May 31,1950, an agreement was signed granting nominal autonomy but for all practical purposes bringing Tibet under Peking's control.

This, however, did not reduce tensions between the Chinese garrisons and the Khamba tribesmen of Tibet. In March 1959 the Dalai Lama rejected the Chinese request that he use his temporal power to rein in the tribesmen. The Dalai Lama was summoned by the Chinese commander in Lhasa to appear before him. This sparked revulsion and large-scale antagonism toward the Chinese among Tibetans. On March 31,1959, the Dalai Lama fled to India, where he was given political asylum.

The Dalai Lama is considered the 14th reincarnation of Tsong-khapa. He was born Tenzin Gyatso on July 6, 1935, into a family of farmers in Takster, in northeastern Tibet. When he was 2 years old he was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. He is also considered a living Buddha.