dhist practice, thereby trading political control of Ti-
bet for spiritual authority over the Mongol khan.
Mongol rule over Tibet was formally achieved in 1252
by Ogodei’s nephew, Möngke (r. 1251–1259), whose
guru was the BKA’ BRGYUD(KAGYU) master, miracle
worker, and eventual second KARMA PA, Karma Pak-
shi (1204–1283).
Möngke’s successor and brother, Kublai Khan
(Qubilai Khan, r. 1260–1294) followed Gödan Khan’s
example when he proclaimed himself emperor of the
Chinese Yuan dynasty in 1260. Urged by his wife
Chabi, Kublai allowed ’Phags pa to initiate him into
the Hevajra Tantraon the promise that he would gain
the intelligence and compassion of the great protector
Mahakala. Tibetan VAJRAYANA Buddhism offered
worldly benefits to the emperor as well. By naming
’Phags pa guoshi(national preceptor) and, ten years
later, dishi(imperial preceptor), the two reigned side-
by-side as “sun and moon” in an ostensibly balanced
yon mchod(patron-lama) relationship. ’Phags pa acted
as the Mongols’ agent in Tibet and as head of their
Zongshiyuan (court of the general administration of
Buddhism), the office in charge of religious institu-
tions throughout the empire. Kublai’s protection and
patronage of the Tibetan Sa skya pa signaled his aus-
picious status as a world-ruling Buddhist cakravartin
(wheel-turning king), though he also encouraged an
atmosphere of religious tolerance, even sponsoring de-
bates at court between Buddhists and Daoists. In 1345
Kublai was posthumously celebrated at the Juyong-
guan, a grand stone stupa-gate constructed northeast
of the Mongol capital at Dadu (modern Beijing), where
a multilingual inscription asserted his identity as
“benevolent king” and “Mañjus ́r-emperor.” Kublai’s
representation as an emanation of Mañjus ́r, the bo-
dhisattva of wisdom, who, it was believed, dwelled in
China’s Wutaishan (Five Terrace Mountains in mod-
ern Shanxi province), was a strategic move designed to
solidify waning Mongol control over north China.
Mongolian Buddhism after the fall of the Yuan
dynasty (late fourteenth to sixteenth centuries)
The Mongol Yuan dynasty was not long able to rule
China effectively after Kublai’s death, however. By the
middle of the fourteenth century, they had lost con-
trol of southern China and, in 1368, the Yuan was top-
pled by a former Chinese Buddhist monk, Zhu
Yuanzhang, who founded the Ming dynasty. With the
collapse of their East Asian empire, the Mongols re-
treated beyond the Great Wall. Evidence of their con-
tinued devotion to Buddhism is sparse in the centuries
following the end of the Yuan. Buddhist practice was
mainly limited to the Genghisid aristocracy, who re-
tained limited political control in the Chahar region of
eastern Inner Mongolia as the Northern Yuan. In the
late sixteenth century, however, as the Ming dynasty
began to decay, a number of khans moved to rebuild
the Mongol empire. Among them was a Western Mon-
gol of the Tumed tribe, Altan (the Golden) Khan (r.
1543–1582). Altan drove the Northern Yuan east to
Liaodong, captured Ogodei’s old Outer Mongolian
capital, Kharakhorum, and forged an alliance with the
Ming. Altan was not a blood descendant of Genghis
Khan, however, which proved to be an obstacle in his
attempts to forge a new Mongolian confederation. Fol-
lowing an initiation into Tibetan Buddhism presaged
in a dream, in 1577 he arranged to meet the DGE LUGS
(GELUK) lama Bsod nams rgya mtsho (1543–1588) at
Kokonor, in modern Qinghai province (Amdo). Bsod
nams rgya mtsho was in the direct lineage of TSONG
KHA PA(1357–1419), the founder of the Dge lugs or-
der. At Kokonor the two exchanged titles: Bsod nams
rgya mtsho recognized Altan as Kublai Khan’s incar-
nation, and Altan gave Bsod nams rgya mtsho a new
title, Dalai (meaning “ocean” in Mongolian) Lama.
Bsod nams rgya mtsho became the third in the DALAI
LAMAlineage, with two of his predecessors posthu-
mously named as the first and second. This exalted ti-
tle and Mongol support gave the Dge lugs pa an
advantage in their ongoing struggles with the Bka’
brgyud pa, who were advisers to the Tibetan kings, and
the Sa skya pa. The Mongols had once again become
an essential component in the power structure of Ti-
betan Buddhism.
To honor Bsod nams rgya mtsho, Altan Khan built
a monastery, Byang chen theg chen chos ‘khor gling,
at his capital Koke qota (modern Hohhot in Inner
Mongolia). There, following Altan’s decree prohibit-
ing shamanist practices, the third Dalai Lama used the
fire MANDALAof Mahakala to burn ongod,shamanist
ancestral images. By Altan Khan’s order, the deities of
Tibetan Buddhism quickly replaced many of the spir-
its of shamanism, while in the following decades the
shamanist spirits of important Mongolian mountains
were incorporated whole into an expanding Buddhist
pantheon.
The Dge lugs pa’s willingness to ally themselves with
Mongol khans brought other candidates forward.
Among them was Genghis’s descendant, Abadai Khan
of the Outer Mongolian Khalkha tribe, who met with
Bsod nams rgya mtsho at Koke qota in 1576 or 1577,
where he was entitled as khan. Abadai Khan returnedMONGOLIA