On the morning of January 22, 1989, the sky of Shigatse, an ancient city on the Tibetan Plateau, was blue and cloudless.
The golden dome of Tashilhunpo Monastery shines in the sun.
Religious figures and monks from all walks of life in Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and other regions gathered here from all over the world to pay homage to the 10th Panchen Lama and witness the opening ceremony of the temple presided over by the master.
In the days that followed, the 10th Panchen Lama performed a top-touching ceremony for more than 50,000 monks.
The compassionate spirit of the Living Buddha shines on every believer.
However, just after the consecration ceremony, the Panchen Lama passed away suddenly.
So, what happened before the death of the 10th Panchen Lama?
After his death, what happened to his dharma body?
He presided over the construction of the Panchen Dongling Tashi Nanjie
Erdeni Chokyi Gyaltsen, the 10th Panchen Lama of Tibetan Buddhism.
A true Buddhist master, a "living Buddha" in the minds of countless believers, and a true patriot.
Throughout his life, the 10th Panchen Lama has been working hard for the development of Tibetan Buddhism and the stability and reunification of the motherland.
In 1982, the 10th Panchen Lama Erdeni Chokyi Gyaltsen sent a request to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, hoping that the Central Committee would approve the construction of a joint burial pagoda to bury the remains of the 5th to 9th Panchen Lamas.
Taking into account the wishes of Tibetan Buddhists across the country, the central government quickly approved it and allocated 7.8 million yuan to support the construction of the shrine.
Along with it, there were 108 kilograms of gold, 1,000 kilograms of silver, 665 kilograms of mercury and other large quantities of construction materials.
The news came and caused a stir across the country.
Believers from all over the world have also donated gems, pearls, and jadeites for the construction of the spiritual pagoda worship hall.
With the support of all walks of life, the 10th Panchen Lama began to personally preside over the construction of the spiritual pagoda and worship hall.
From the selection of the site of the temple, the determination of the design plan, to the construction of brick by brick, all the painstaking efforts of the 10th Panchen Lama.
The construction of the Lingta Shrine Hall started in April 1984 and took more than four years to complete.
The 10th Panchen Lama named him: Panchen Dongling Tashi Nanjie.
Subsequently, the 10th Panchen Lama began to plan a trip to Tibet and personally consecrated the shrine of the Ling Pagoda.
It was December 1988, and Tibet was in the midst of a bitterly cold winter, and oxygen levels were at their lowest during the year.
Due to his hard work all year round, the health of the 10th Panchen Lama was not good.
Therefore, many people are persuading him to go to Tibet at another time.
However, the Panchen said: "The day of consecration is calculated by reciting scriptures and divination, and it cannot be easily changed, so I must go to Tibet on time." ”
Before leaving, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission in Beijing held a special send-off party for the 10 th Panchen Lama.
Before leaving, the 10 th Panchen Lama, who has always devoted himself to Tibet's stable development and attached importance to the great cause of the motherland's reunification, said: "The purpose of my visit to Tibet this time is to preside over the consecration ceremony of Tashi Namgye.
After that, I plan to discuss with the relevant units of the Tibet Autonomous Region about the establishment of a Tibetan Buddhism Guidance Association, hoping that more people will learn Tibetan Buddhist scriptures and improve their knowledge of Buddhism. ”
In the end, he also confidently promised: "I will live up to everyone's expectations, arrange work properly, pay attention to the combination of work and rest, and we will reunite in Beijing after the Spring Festival!"
However, as everyone knows, after this trip, the 10th Panchen Lama will remain in Tibet forever.
At 8 a.m. on January 9, 1989, the sky was clear in Beijing.
At the airport in the western suburbs, a silver-white special plane carrying the 10 th Panchen Lama and more than 60 entourages took off amid the sound of farewell.
After more than four hours of flight, the plane landed at Lhasa Gonggar Airport at 1 p.m.
More than an hour later, the 10 th Panchen Lama arrived at the hotel where he was staying and immediately began his intense work.
Despite the fatigue of the long flight and altitude sickness, he worked until 1 a.m. the next day.
For the next few days, every day.
Accept the worship of the believers, attend the welcome meeting of the Tibet Autonomous Region, convene the preparatory meeting for the opening of Tash Nanjie, worship the statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, and discuss the reform and opening up...
Before going to Shigatse to preside over the consecration ceremony, the 10th Panchen Lama made as much contact as possible with the local Tibetans and religious followers in Lhasa, investigated the current development of Tibet, and laid the foundation for the follow-up work of Tibet's development.
In the early morning of January 13, the 10th Panchen Lama, with the deep friendship of the people of Lhasa, led a team to Shigatse.
Along the way, we rested for one night in Gyantse County and arrived at our destination on the morning of the 14th.
Shigatse is the capital of Later Tibet and the seat of the mother temple of the Panchen Lama of Tashilhunpo Monastery.
Therefore, the 10th Panchen Lama was warmly welcomed by the local monks and the masses of the people.
The magnitude of the scene, the number of people, and the enthusiasm are unprecedented.
Here, the 10th Panchen Lama will hold the consecration ceremony of Tashi Namgye, when more than 50,000 followers will come from afar.
But it was also here that the 10th Panchen Lama died suddenly after the consecration ceremony.
Tired overnight, he died suddenly
At about 9 o'clock in the morning of January 28, 1989, Beijing suddenly received an urgent telegram, asking experts and doctors from here to rush to Shigatse to rescue the 10th Panchen Lama.
According to Shigatse, the Panchen Lama suddenly suffered an acute myocardial infarction at 4 o'clock this morning, and now his life is in critical condition, and his breathing has almost stopped.
After receiving the order, the Central Health Commission of the Communist Party of China immediately gave instructions, and a group of experts from Beijing Hospital urgently boarded the plane and went straight to Nanyuan Airport.
After a transfer, the group arrived at the rescue site at 6:20 p.m.
In the spacious rescue hall, more than 50 medical staff are around.
Someone is operating a ventilator, someone is busy doing a cardiac massage, someone is observing an electrocardiogram.
Everyone was busy, a tense rescue picture.
They are experts and nurses from major hospitals in Tibet, who have been rescuing the Panchen Lama for 14 hours.
At this time, the Panchen Lama's pupils had already begun to dilate.
Experts in Beijing immediately stepped forward to examine the heart and found that there was a faint and irregular peristalsis in the heart.
And save!
In response to the Panchen's condition, the specialist immediately performed a cardiac puncture.
The surgery was successful, but the heart did not have the slightest pacing response.
The doctor immediately performed a second intracardiac pacing, and the operation was still normal, but the heart still did not respond.
Next, injections, artificial respiration, cardiac compressions...
The medical staff did all the rescue measures, but unfortunately they could only watch the Panchen Lama's heart peristalsis getting weaker and weaker.
At 8:16 p.m. that night, the heart of the 10th Panchen Lama completely stopped beating, and the electrocardiogram completely turned into a straight line.
The 10th Panchen Lama, passed away and sat down.
The death of the 10th Panchen Lama caused a sensation throughout the country.
Because just a few days ago, this "living Buddha" in the minds of countless monks also personally presided over the consecration ceremony and carried out a topping ceremony for more than 50,000 believers.
But the outside world didn't know that it was such high-intensity work that cost the life of the 10th Panchen Lama.
After coming to Shigatse, the Panchen Lama's busy figure never stopped.
He repeatedly inspected every aspect of the consecration ceremony, repeatedly confirmed the decoration and arrangement of the newly built shrine, and led the lamas to chant sutras for three consecutive days and three nights to pray for the blessings of the 5th to 9th Panchen Lamas.
In addition to working overtime to perform the consecration ceremony, the Panchen Lama also took time to meet with the delegates and monks who came to visit him.
After a few days of continuous rotation, even the young entourage was a little overwhelmed.
Everyone was very worried about the master's health and advised him to pay attention to the combination of work and rest.
But the Panchen Lama was full of spirit, patting his chest and assuring everyone: "I am as strong as an ox, no problem." ”
In turn, he reminded everyone to pay attention to altitude sickness and worry about everyone's living conditions.
He even personally urged the logistics department to pay more attention to the physical condition of the female comrades in the team to prevent altitude sickness.
On the morning of January 22, the consecration ceremony finally began.
Under Tashilhunpo Monastery, prayer flags are displayed, Dharma horns are sounded, and the crowd cheers.
During the ceremony, the Panchen Lama led the monks to recite Buddhist scriptures, delivered a speech in a loud voice, and worked hard all day.
After the consecration ceremony, January 24-26 should be the rest time of the Panchen Lama, and make some preparations for returning to Beijing for the Spring Festival.
However, instead of resting, he convened three forums in a row for monks and party and government cadres from various places to discuss with everyone the establishment of a Buddhist guidance association.
In addition to this, he has to accept the worship of monks from all over the country.
In just three days, more than 20,000 people were received.
The monks who couldn't see the head and tail walked in front of him, and the Panchen Lama's arms were swollen and he couldn't lift them up at all, but he still insisted on touching the top and praying for the monks.
He said that this is his unshirkable responsibility.
For nearly 20 days since he came to Tibet, the Panchen Lama was busy almost from morning to night, and could not rest until midnight every day.
In the early morning of January 28, he was still busy giving instructions and meeting with the monks.
It wasn't until two or three o'clock in the morning that the Panchen Lama went to bed.
But not long after I fell asleep, I suddenly had a heart attack and couldn't wake up.
Days of ultra-intense work took the life of the Panchen Lama.
It is a pity that such a revered "living Buddha" passed away in such a way.
However, at the moment, there is no room for people to be sentimental, because dealing with the Panchen Lama's Dharma body is also a big project.
How is the legal body handled?
According to Buddhist customs, after the death of a living Buddha, the Dharma body needs to be preserved in a special spiritual pagoda worship hall.
This is a custom that originated during the time of Shakyamuni and was spread after Buddhism entered Tibet.
The greatest purpose of the 10th Panchen Lama's visit to Tibet was to consecrate Tashi Namgye, and Tashi Namgye, which had been built for more than four years, was to house the spiritual pagoda of the 5th to 9th Panchen Lama.
This is enough to see how much Tibetan Buddhism attaches importance to the living Buddha body.
After the unexpected death of the 10th Panchen Lama, the Party Central Committee quickly made a decision to build a golden pagoda for him.
This is not only the only golden spiritual pagoda in the lineage of the Panchen Lama in the past dynasties, but also the first golden spiritual pagoda in the history of Later Tibet.
In recognition of the merits of the 10th Panchen Lama, the state allocated a total of 64 million yuan, 614 kilograms of gold, and a large number of jewelry materials for the construction of the pagoda.
After research, the shape of the spiritual pagoda of the 10th Panchen Lama was designed as a long neck, a round bottle belly, and a square base, and the spiritual pagoda was 11.52 meters high, and the site was built next to the spiritual pagoda of the 4th Panchen Lama.
On September 20, 1990, the groundbreaking ceremony of the 10th Panchen Lama Pagoda began.
Before the ceremony began, more than 700 monks of Tashilhunpo Monastery spent more than a year holding various prayer activities for the project.
Chanting, fruit offerings, flat fire offerings, and so on.
On the other hand, Tashilhunpo Monastery's protection of the 10th Panchen Lama's Dharma body has also been put on the agenda.
Since the State Council proposed to build a golden pagoda for the 10th Panchen Lama, the senior monks of Tashilhunpo Monastery have begun to protect the Panchen Lama's Dharma body with great care.
The monks first dehydrated the body of the Dharma and carefully bathed and scrubbed it with precious medicines such as saffron and sandalwood spices and salt water.
Then wrap it tightly with silk to absorb the moisture of the body so that it can be well protected in the future.
After four months, replace it with a new satin until the moisture in the body is completely absorbed.
In order to protect the Dharma body of the 10th Panchen Lama, the Tibet Autonomous Region Government provided more than 500 kilograms of precious medicinal materials, including five kilograms of saffron alone.
On August 30, 1993, Tashilhunpo Monastery held a grand ceremony for the 10th Panchen Lama's Dharma body to enter the pagoda.
In the solemn sound of the Dharma and suona, the body of the 10th Panchen Lama was lifted out of the Tashilhunpo Monastery, which had been enshrined for more than four years, and was slowly invited to the spiritual pagoda worship hall.
The jug and bottle of the spiritual pagoda worship hall are equipped with a modern safety device, and there is a white sandalwood box inside, and the Dharma body is placed inside.
The relics and scriptures of the Panchen Lama also entered the pagoda together with the Dharma body.
On September 4, Tibetan Buddhism in mainland China ushered in a day that will always be memorable - the opening ceremony of the 10th Panchen Spiritual Pagoda.
Before dawn, Tashilhunpo Monastery was already crowded with monks from Tibet, Gansu, Sichuan and other places.
In the morning, more than 800 monks of Tashilhunpo Monastery and more than 1,000 representatives from all walks of life gathered in one place.
At 8 o'clock in the morning, the consecration ceremony officially began.
Six lamas dressed in purple robes sounded the trumpet of welcoming the invitation.
Two eminent monks performed a debate for the guests on the spot, seven musicians played gongs, drums and suona, and more than a dozen lamas wearing yellow hats and carrying copper kettles poured butter tea for the guests and presented fried fruits.
Then, the leaders of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Government accompanied the mother of the 10th Panchen Lama, unveiled the colored tassels tied to the door of the 10th Panchen Lama's spiritual pagoda worship hall, and lit the gold butter lamp in the main hall of the spiritual pagoda.
The atmosphere of the celebration was suddenly pushed to a climax, with thunderous applause and cheers from the crowd, which can be called a rare event in Tibetan Buddhism in a century.
After the consecration ceremony, the body of the 10th Panchen Lama has been kept in the spiritual pagoda worship hall.
At the same time, the search for the next Panchen Lama is also underway.
On November 29, 1995, Gyaltsen Norbu, who was born on February 13, 1990, was officially recognized as the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama and crowned as the 11th Panchen Lama.
epilogue
The 10th Panchen Lama, the real living Buddha and master in the minds of countless monks.
It is a pity that such a monk with profound Buddhist attainments and dedication to the promotion of Buddhism and the prosperity and stability of the motherland passed away early at the age of 51.
Working day and night, endless busyness, after all, took his life.
After his death, the 10th Panchen Lama enjoyed unprecedented respect.
The government built the first golden spiritual pagoda in the history of the Panchen Lama to place the spiritual body, which is not only an affirmation of his Buddhist attainments, but also a praise for his feelings for the country and the people.