“It is indeed one of the great tragedies of Tibetan history that so few biographies of female adepts like Master Pema [Rigdzin Godem’s wife] are extant. Much could have been learned through a full account of her role as a master at a time when her family abided at the centre of the Northern Treasure Tradition.” –Jay Holt Valentine (2015)
“After 1642 [when the Mongolian military violently invaded and took over Tibet], the 5th Dalai Lama decisively embraced his role as a champion of the Northern Treasures. The year after the military victory (1643), he took it upon himself, in concert with Yölmo Tulku—whom he was careful to shield from retributions in the aftermath of the war— to recognise a new Dorjé Drak tulku. This tulku, Péma Trinlé (Padma ’phrin las, 1641–1717), was henceforth to be among the Fifth Dalai Lama’s closest disciples, and under his tutelage would play a seminal role in the liturgical reconstruction of the Nyingma tradition in Central Tibet over the ensuing decades.”
Introduction
For the second part in my series of articles on the false narrative of the 5th Dalai Lama/Gelugpas as great compassionate unifiers of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism, here is an article (based on generally publicly unknown academic research) about the deliberate hijacking (mainly for political purposes) of the Nyingma tradition’s Northern Treasures (བྱང་གཏེར་, Jang Ter ).
This tradition centres around the terma revelations of Rigdzin Gödem Ngödrup Gyaltsen (1337-1409). Nyingma traces its origins to the first diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet around the 8th century. But most of its materials belong to the category of ‘hidden treasures’ (terma), the fruits of a later process of continuous revelation of which the Northern Treasures are a typical, albeit singular, case.
Pulling together some recent contemporary academic research by scholars such as George Solomon Fitzherbert, Jay Holt Valentine, Stephane Arguillère and others (which most of the general public will never have the time or inclination to read), I share some of their important insights into the tradition. Including how the 5th Dalai Lama and the Gelugpa sectarians hijacked and used that sacred lineage traditions for mainly political purposes, as they did when they forcibly converted many Kagyu, Nyingma and Jonang monasteries to the Gelugpa texts, and ideology of one ruler/primary teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama.
Also, how that “hijacking” of the Northern Treasures continues to this day. In the form of the 14th Dalai Lama recognising the Taglung Tsetrul tulku of the Dorje Drag Monastery established in Shimla, India in 19884, without (it seems) any idea (or care) of the actual original history of the original family/female lineages of that tradition. Yet, the majority of Tibetans in exile and their western allies seem to be “clueless”, or deliberately ignoring/glossing over these important historical events and facts. Other than a few ethnic Tibetan scholars like Tsering Shakya and Jamyang Norbu, most Tibetan writers, poets and so-called “rebels” seem to have accepted without question the political and social propaganda of the Gelugpas (even in exile).
To prove this is not merely some personal opinion, I conclude with a contemporary example of such blatantly false and misleading Gelugpa-biased historical propaganda (about how the Mongolians and 5th Dalai Lama came to absolute power) in the Glimpses on History of Tibet published on the Tibetan government in exile (CTA)’s website, Tibet.net.
So although the 5th Dalai Lama told his advisors that the great Je Tāranātha’s Tagten Monastery, violently stolen by the Gelug-Mongol forces, was like “gilt bronze” when they tried to turn it into a Gelugpa monastery (Jonang on the inside gold plate Gelug on the outside), in actual fact, it is these hijacked traditions made to look like Gelugpa that are in fact like real gold, painted with the Gelug gilt bronze!
May this article help to raise public awareness about these important historical events, and shine the light of truth on how sacred Tibetan Buddhist traditions and monasteries were hijacked and/or forcibly converted to the Gelugpa-Mongolian sectarian agenda and ideology and how that propaganda continues to this day in the name of “non-sectarianism”.
Written, compiled and edited by Adele Tomlin. 2nd November 2025.
Origins and contents of the Northern Treasure tradition from the Nyingma (old school) of Tibetan Buddhism
Detailed academic research into the Northern Treasure tradition (without the Gelugpa sectarian control) has only just begun it seems. As Stephane Arguillère (2022) describes in his paper, “Introduction — For A Critical History of the Northern Treasures”, Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines, no. 62, Février, 2022, p.9] [1] :
“In 1366, in central Tibet, a ‘Treasure Revealer,’ Rigdzin Godem Ngodrub Gyaltsen (rGod kyi ldem ’phru can, dNgos grub rgyal mtshan, 1337–1408)4 is said to have extracted from a cave a collection of such texts now known as the ‘Northern Treasures’ (15 first volumes of the 63-vol. collection described), one of the most famous sets of ‘hidden treasures’ among the many collections of such revelations known in the Ancient Order (Nyingma) of Tibetan Buddhism.
A singular characteristic of these Northern Treasures is that this charismatic figure founded a tradition that has become, so to speak, ‘an empire within an empire’ inside the Nyingma family of Tibetan Buddhism—a branch whose main legacy includes, uniquely to this degree in Tibet, not only his own revelations, but also those of figures regarded as his later reincarnations (sprul sku), in a process of constant expansion at least from the 1366 revelations of Rigdzin Godem to those of Rigdzin Kalzang Padma Wangchug (rGod ldem’s 4th reincarnation, d. 1770 or 1771). This is quite unique among the Nyingmapas and this very specific character has not yet been properly studied
….a very large part of the fruits of all this history has recently (2015) been published in the form of a 63-volume compilation of its literature, highlighting an enormous collection of as-yet-unknown material from perhaps the 10th century to the most recent years of the 21st century. A complete copy of this collection, as a basis for the FCHNT project, has been purchased by the Instituts d’Asie of the Collège de France in Paris (the whole set of which is also freely available to scholars in pdf format on the BDRC/TBRC website). [2]”
The main seat and source of this tradition is the monastery of Tupten Dorje Drak, built in 1632 by the third Rigdzin Chenmo Ngak gi Wangpo. The reincarnations of Rigdzin Gödem, known as the Rigdzin Chenmos, are still the heads of the Jangter tradition, as well as of Dorje Drak.
At Dartsedo (Kanding, in Eastern Kham), there is a monastery called Do Dorje Drak, as one of the Rigdzin Chenmos was born in the family of Chagla Kings of Dartsedo. There are also a few monasteries in the Golok area, but most of the Jangter monasteries are to be found in Western Tibet, the provinces of Tsang and Tö or Ngari, and the Himalayan areas of India, Nepal and Ladakh.
Among the most important of Rigdzin Gödem’s many terma revelations are the Kagyé Rangjung Rangshar and the Dzogpachenpo Kunzang Gongpa Zangthal. Extremely popular in the Nyingma world is the Le’u Dünma, the ‘Prayer in Seven Chapters’ to Guru Rinpoche. Many of the termas were discovered in Zangzang Lhadrak in Tsang, Western Tibet. It was because this area was considered to be “north” and also perhaps because it lay to the north of Samyé, that this tradition got its name.
“Invisible” women of the “Northern Treasure” tradition: the mother and sister lineage
Jay Holt Valentine (2015) in his paper, The Family and Legacy of the Early Northern Treasure Tradition (see sources below) unlike many other contemporary male scholars, helpfully discusses the invisibility of prominent women in the Northern Treasure tradition, in terms of Godem’s mother and wife:
“Before proceeding to a fuller discussion of the maintenance of Gödem Truchen’s legacy, it will be helpful to reflect on the absence of significant data regarding the women who must have contributed to the early tradition.” [1]
Foremost among the women present during Gödem Truchen’s early years was his mother, Lady Sönam Khyeudren (14th c.). She was the biological link that connected her son to his Degyin Hor father and his Dopawa maternal uncle. Although The Ray of Sunlight maintains that she taught her son to read and write, it is silent regarding any of her other contributions. Nevertheless, given the fact that Gödem Truchen’s father died before he could learn the family trade required to support the family, it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which Lady Sönam would not have been involved in arranging the training of her young child. These observations lead one to speculate regarding the nature of the relationship between the Degyin Hor and Sé clans in general and Lady Sönam and the Sé brothers in particular.
There is no clarification of how these two groups came to be so intimately associated. One possible explanation is that Lady Sönam remarried one or both of the Sé brothers after the death of her husband. While this is only a hypothesis, it would explain the sudden appearance of the Sé brothers in the biography and may also explain why the Mount Trazang temple complex, which was founded by Gödem Truchen, eventually became the seat for the Sétön incarnation lineage. Regardless, it is safe to conclude that a more detailed account of Lady Sönam’s life would undoubtedly reveal significant information regarding the foundations of the Northern Treasure Tradition.”
“Tradition maintains that Gödem Truchen’s treasures were disseminated through three different branches: the lineages of the son, the mother (i.e., Gödem Truchen’s wife), and the disciples. The lineage of the mother, commonly known as the Secret Mother (gsang yum) lineage, is difficult to trace because of the secretive nature of its transmission. The Garland of Light discusses Master Pema’s transmission lineage as if it were a mere copy of her son’s, received simply because the young child was in her care. Her importance is also minimized by the fact that her biography—if one was ever written—does not appear in The Garland of Light, despite the fact that she was clearly the most revered matriarch of the tradition. While her significance has been largely limited in this collection of
biographies to her role as a mother, there is evidence scattered throughout the collection that suggests she was a master of the tradition in her own right the tradition maintains that the three lineages (son, mother, and disciple) were united much later in the seventeenth century, which suggests that Master Pema’s secret transmission persisted despite the fact that the transactions do not appear in the written records. It is indeed one of the great tragedies of Tibetan history that so few biographies of female adepts like Master Pema are extant. Much could have been learned through a
full account of her role as a master at a time when her family abided at the center of the Northern Treasure Tradition.”
Interestingly, Valentine states that the lineage never really was a tulku/incarnation one until later, and that, it was only around the time of the 5th Dalai Lama that a tradition of a tulku for the tradition began (more on that below):
“…there is no indication in Gödem Truchen’s earliest biography that he was expected to return in human form. In this article, his succession has been traced through the fifteenth century, and it has been found that the tradition was primarily guided by his blood relatives and the families of his disciples. Although I have not yet determined exactly when the system of rule by incarnation was instituted within the Northern Treasure Tradition, it is clearly well established by the time that Pema Trinlé (1641-1717) was recognized as a child and enthroned and trained at Dorjé Drak Monastery in Central Tibet.”
The 5th Dalai Lama’s active role in the forced conversion of Karma Kagyu, Nyingma and Jonang monasteries stolen by the Gelugpas and his re-framing/”hijacking” of the Northern Treasure tradition as Gelugpa
As I mentioned here in this article, the scholar George Solomon Fitzherbert, in Rituals as War Propaganda in the Establishment of the Tibetan Ganden Phodrang State in the Mid-17th Century (2018: 98-99) states that unlike mainstream narratives that have painted the Dalai Lama as a great compassionate unifier of Tibet, he was actively involved in executing violent tantric rituals, as well as supporting conventional army violence of the Mongolian military. Moreover, although publicly he maintained a disctance from the Gelugpa sectarianism (for political reasons), privately he was actively involved in the suppression, censorship and forced conversion of stolen monasteries:
“The Karma Kagyü and Jonangpa schools, in particular, were suppressed, and the confiscation of estates and the forced conversion of monasteries which had allied themselves with the cause of the Tsangpa Dési were standard practices during the first decade after 1642. We know that the Dalai Lama was himself involved in these activities—it is testified to, for example, by his comments on the conversion of Tāranātha’s main Jonangpa seat at Takten (Rtag brtan) in 1650.”
“He [the 5th Dalai Lama] recalls that following the conversion, the monastery “remained like ‘gilt bronze’ ” (i.e. changed on the outside but not on the inside), so he sent some representatives to “expel senior monks” and “cleanse the monastery thoroughly by making it a Géluk establishment in both word and thought”. It is notable, in light of the discussion of the Dalai Lama’s visions and revelations later in the article, that part of his programme of conversion involved an initiation into the Karma Guru practices. We thus have the Dalai Lama here explicitly framing his (Nyingma-inspired) Karma Guru transmissions as Géluk practices.”
“Yet he maintained a public distance from the blatant sectarianism of the new regime, which was crucial to establish himself as an incarnation of Tibet’s patron Bodhisattva, Avalokiteśvara, and as a successor to Songtsen Gampo (the combined symbolism of which was expressed through the building of the Potala Palace, begun in 1645) were to be accepted beyond sectarian lines.”
Fitzherbert (2018) also astutely points out [in a brilliant and original piece of scholarship and analysis, how the hijacking of the Northern Treasure tradition (which the Dalai Lama practiced and patronised… was renowned for its particular emphasis on the practices of Phurpa (Vajrakīla) and Shinjé (Yamāntaka) and the efficacy of its wrathful magic.) was “a stroke of political genius”:
“Whether driven by family loyalties or by the sincerity of religious experience (and probably by both), as a polemical strategy the elevation of this [Northern Treasure] tradition under the wing of the Ganden Phodrang government was a stroke of political genius. For by nailing his [5th Dalai Lama’s] colours to the mast of the Northern Treasures, several things were achieved at once: he had a clear angle on the religious illegitimacy of the Tsangpa Dynasty from its inception with Zhingshakpa Tséten Dorjé; he could effectively marginalise that strand of the Nyingma tradition which had allied itself to the Tsangpa cause (namely the “Nangtsé faction” of Zhikpo Lingpa-Sokdokpa- Gongra); and he had at his disposal an entire esoteric tradition of intimidating wrathful tantric practices and practical magic, which could be brought into the service of the state.”
The “demonisation” of the Nyingma Nangtse faction by the 5th Dalai Lama as part of a strategy to hijack the Northern Treasures for the Gelugpa dictatorship
According to Fitzherbert (2018):
“The key historical figure in this polemical strategy was his own uncle, Jangdak Tashi Topgyel, alias Wangpodé, who had been exiled from his hereditary fiefdom of Jang Ngamring after a dispute with the newly ascendant Tsangpa Dési dynasty.. The young Dalai Lama had been brought up on stories of Tashi Topgyel’s magical prowess. Praising Tashi Topgyel’s vanquishing of Zhingshakpa (reputed to have died due to his wrathful magic), the latter is described as one who fulfi lled the “ten conditions” of an enemy of religion.
The Dalai Lama writes in his Biographies of the Northern Treasures (Byang pa’i rnam thar):
“in his [Tashi Topgyel’s] magical powers and abilities, he was unmatched by any other. Tashi Topgyel’s rivalry with the faction of Zhikpo Lingpa was also very important, since the latter (inconveniently for the Dalai Lama) also had associations with the former lineage holders of the Northern Treasures. This enmity between Tashi Topgyel and the Nangtsé faction gave the Dalai Lama an angle froom which he could discredit that lineage retrospectively, and not just on openly political grounds connected to the recent war.”
The Nangtse group (who they are, their origins) , and how the 5th Dalai Lama and Ganden government persecuted and tried to destroy them to take over the Northern Treasure tradition, will be the subject of another article, but in a nutshell here “Zhikpo Lingpa met the brothers Lekden Dorjé and Ngari Panchen (holders of the Northern Treasures lineage before Tashi Topgyel Wangpodé) in Samye and the three performed rituals together.”
Tashi Topgyel had been succeeded as the head of the Northern Treasures lineage by his son (the Fi h Dalai Lama’s cousin), Ngakgi Wangpo, who had established Dorjé Drak Monastery in 1632 as a new home of the Northern Treasures. After Ngakgi Wangpo’s death in 1639, the Fifth Dalai Lama—by merit of these connections and his close discipleship of Zur Chöying Rangdröl (himself Ngakgi Wangpo’s protégé)177—now had a strong and legitimate claim to being the main lineage successor of the tradition. This was particularly so after 1642…”
The political (mis-) use of the 5th Dalai Lama’s student Pema Trinley and Yolmo Tulku Tenzin Norbu to takeover the Dorje Drag insitution and incarnations in Tibet and make claim to the Northern Treasures
I am going to quote here the full text from Fitzherbert’s original and extremely valuable translation and analysis of how the 5th Dalai Lama and Gelukpa’s effectively stole/hijacked the Northern Treasures tradition and thus unethically established themselves as the lineage that recognised the Dorje Drag Tulkus (as they did with the Jonang Je Tāranātha tulkus in the form of Khalkha Dampa):
“Yölmo Tulku Tendzin Norbu, was in disgrace on account of the rituals (mentioned earlier) he had performed on behalf of the Tsangpa Dési, which in the post-war period le him in a very vulnerable supplicant position vis-à-vis the Dalai Lama.
After 1642, the Dalai Lama decisively embraced his role as a champion of the Northern Treasures. The year after the military victory (1643), he took it upon himself, in concert with Yölmo Tulku—whom he was careful to shield from retributions in the aftermath of the war— to recognise a new Dorjé Drak tulku. This tulku, Péma Trinlé (Padma ’phrin las, 1641–1717), was henceforth to be among the Fifth Dalai Lama’s closest disciples, and under his tutelage would play a seminal role in the liturgical reconstruction of the Nyingma tradition in Central Tibet over the ensuing decades.
The subject of the Great Fifth’s close relationship with Péma Trinlé, and the latter’s re-working of the liturgies of the Northern Treasures Phurpa (Vajrakīla) cycles, replete with wrathful rites of “scattering, burning and suppressing” (gtor sreg mnan gsum), has been covered extensively by the translations and commentaries of Martin Boord (Rig ’dz in rdo rje).”
“In this way, the Dalai Lama’s authority, via his disciple Péma Trinlé, would forever be impressed on both the terma (gter ma) and kama (bka’ ma) traditions of wrathful tantra practiced at Dorjé Drak and its associated network of monasteries. For under Péma Trinlé’s leadership, Dorjé Drak would soon become one of the leading Nyingmapa monasteries in all of Tibet and the main Nyingmapa institution for the performance of wrathful tantric rituals for the defence of the Ganden Phodrang state, and the lineage of the Dalai Lamas in particular.”
As Boord (Rig ’dz in rdo rje) states:
“As knowledge of the Jangter [Northern Treasures] spread throughout Tibet, it gradually
became established as a major religious system with over five monasteries propagating its teachings, chief among which was the mother monastery of Dorje Drag. Monks of this seminary, properly trained in its rituals, have always been highly prized for their religious expertise.
Fitzherbert concludes that:
“As a result of this patronage [including their forceful interference in Mindrolling Monastery too], the Nyingma school in Central Tibet would henceforth be tied to the fortunes of the Ganden Phodrang. And the Ganden Phodrang could henceforth benefit from the propaganda value of the Nyingmapa occult arts; it could call upon their services in war magic if and when required; and they could, with some justification, claim to be more than a narrow sectarian government by and for the Gélukpa at the exclusion of all others.”
20th-21st Century Contemporary use of the Dorje Drag monastery and Northern Treasures to maintain the Gelugpa sectarian dominance/power of the Dalai Lama institution
As Fitzherbert (2018: 102: fn 182] notes, this Gelugpa hijacking of the Northern Treasures continues in Indian exile:
“Dorjé Drak has been re-established in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, and continues to perform extensive annual exorcisitic rituals in defence of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile. When the author visited in November 2017, several monks were engaged full time in fashioning wrathful (triangular) torma for the upcoming performance of the hurling rite (gtor rgyag) of Shinjé, performed annually in defence of the Dalai Lama as part of one of the New Year ceremonies, the Gutor Chenmo (dgu gtor chen mo).”
Yet, how many Tibetans in exile (or Tibet) or even in the Nyingma tradition are fully aware of how the Gelugpa sectarians were able to hijack and claim the Northern Treasures tradition as their own, never mind that there were other original family lineages from Rigdzin Godem from the mother and son? Probably not many at all.
Misleading and false account of Tibetan Buddhist history on exile government Tibet.net website
Reasons for this lack of accurate understanding of Tibetan history can be seen with examples like the information on the Tibet.net exile government website’s account of Tibetan Buddhist history, which glibly and (inaccurately) describes the violent army takeover of Tibet by the Mongolians, as Tibet and Mongolia “becoming closer” and the 5th Dalai Lama “assuming power”.
I emailed the Department of Information and Relations at Tibet.net and pointed out their Gelugpa sectarian biased historical account was inaccurate and false, according to most independent historians and academics on that time period.
I received an acknowledgement only but no offer to change or amend it to reflect the historical facts (even according to the words of the 5th Dalai Lama himself). So it is not surprising that the Gelugpas and Tibetans also think that the Northern Treasures is Gelugpa tradition, and that their tulku of the Dorje Drag monastery is legitimate. There seems to be a deep denial of historical facts.
However, when we delve into the research and original sources more, we can see that it is not only the Chinese communists who the Gelugpas claim issue false historical propaganda, but the Gelgupa/Ganden Phodrang forces themselves! Takes one to know one as they say.
Endnotes
[1] See also Stéphane Arguillère, “Introduction — For A Critical History of the Northern Treasures”, Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines, no. 62, Février, 2022, pp. 5-21 and others recent research papers on the Northern Treasure tradition.
Arguillere writes that: “a great history of the Northern Treasures, written by a contemporary author, not well identified yet, who signed his name as Chos dbyings and who is obviously a monk from the ’Khor
gdong monastery in the Golok area, or from one of its branches. In any case, the exact identity of the author, who is above all a compiler, is of little importance.” I would beg to differ, the identity of the author can sometimes tell us a lot about the source and origin too. Compilers (especially if they are Gelugpa sectarian biased) may also approach the collection from that perspective too.
[2] Unlike many other contemporary male scholars, Valentine, J (2015) notes here that “I agree with the sentiments of Mary Pat Fisher, who maintains that when historical sources clearly reflect androcentric tendencies, it is often necessary to use feminist analytical methods to highlight the significant contributions of women, even if these methods result in conclusions that were unintended by the original authors. Karen Pechilis takes this line of reasoning one step further by asserting that if gender biases are identified in our source material, then it becomes “necessary to discover patterns of oppression and empowerment in history.
[2] In: Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie, vol. 27, 2018. Le bouddhisme et l’armée au Tibet pendant la période du
Ganden Phodrang (1642-1959) / Buddhism and the Millitary in Tibet during the Ganden Phodrang Period (1642-1959) pp. 49-119; doi : https://doi.org/10.3406/asie.2018.1508; https://www.persee.fr/doc/asie_0766-1177_2018_num_27_1_1508.
[3] “After the war [the use of the word war is debatable, it should really read “Mongolian military invasion”}, the Dalai Lama was quick to ensure that Yölmo Tulku was spared,issuing instructions in writing in 1642 that his monastery and property were to be protected; see Karmay, Illusive Play, 157. The following year, Yölmo Tulku was invited to Lhasa and the two had lengthy discussions. The Dalai Lama praised him effusively as “an uncontestable textual rediscoverer” whose “analytic spirit was very pure,” and granted him an additional estate adjoining his monastery at Evam Chokgar (E waM lcog sgar); see Karmay, Illusive Play, The two then joined forces in the recognition and enthronement of the young Dorjé Drak tulku, Péma Trinlé.” Fitzherbert (2018)
[4] “One such monk, for example, was invariably required in the sKu lnga shrine in the Jo-khang in Lhasa, another at the lHa mo khang, and eight in the mGon khang at the base of the Potala palace engaged in the worship of Mahākāla. Four monks from rDo-rje-brag annually performed the ’Gong po ar gtad ritual for the suppression of demons at the Lhasa Rigs-gsum shrine and the oracle of dGa’-gdong was regularly consulted to divine the whereabouts of deceased lamas.” Fitzherbert (2018)
[5] “Among these liturgies are many violent rites that would certainly qualify as war magic. In addition, the Great Fifth also patronised Péma Trinlé’s re-working of another seminal Nyingmapa tantric cycle that centred on the “liberation” (bsgral ba) rite, namely the Gathering of Intentions Sutra (Dgongs pa ’dus pa’i mdo), treated extensively by Dalton.” Fitzherbert (2018).
Sources
Arguillère, S. (2022). Introduction : For A Critical History of the Northern Treasures. Revue d’Études Tibétaines n° 62.
Arguillère, S. (2024). Introduction: Northern Treasures-Lives and Deities-For a Critical History of the Northern Treasures. Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines.
Boord, Martin J (2013). Gathering The Elements: The Cult of the Wrathful Deity Vajrakīla according to the Texts of the Northern Treasures Tradition of Tibet. Berlin: Wandel Verlag.
Valentine, J. (2015). The Family and Legacy of the Early Northern Treasure Tradition. Journal of Global Buddhism.
Valentine, J. Introduction to and Translation of The Garland of Light: Lives of the Masters of the Northern Treasure Tradition. Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines, no. 39, April 2016, pp. 133–165.
FitzHerbert Solomon G. (2018). Rituals as War Propaganda in the Establishment of the Tibetan Ganden Phodrang State in the Mid-17th Century. In: Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie, vol. 27. Le bouddhisme et l’armée au Tibet pendant la période du Ganden Phodrang (1642-1959) / Buddhism and the Millitary in Tibet during the Ganden Phodrang Period (1642-1959) pp. 49-119; doi : https://doi.org/10.3406/asie.2018.1508.