Research on the Life Story of the Dajing Dharmaraja bSod-nams rGyal-mtshan of the Ming Dynasty
Dajing(Great Respect)Dharmaraja bSod-nams rGyal-mtshan was the religious leader of Ji-er-jia tribe in Gansu and Qinghai areas in the Ming Dynasty.He was honored the title of Miaoshan Tonghui Guoshi妙善通慧国师during the Xuande period and lived in Xining,Liangzhou and other places.In the eighth year of Zhengtong(1443),his nephew inherited the title of Guoshi.He acted as the abbot of Jingning Temple at Linqing and took charge of the trade transfer for Tibetan Buddhist communities from Gansu and Qinghai areas in the mainland.During the Chenghua period,he joined Danengren Temple at the capital and was honored as Zen Master,Jingxiu hongshan Guoshi静修弘善国师,Great Guoshi,Xitian fozi.In the 12th year of Chenghua(1476),he assisted the Dawu(Great Enlightenment)Dharmaraja Grags-pa rGyal-mtshan for tea giving charity in Tibetan area of Amdo,and was entitled as Dajing Dharmaraja in the 20th year of Chenghua(1484)and passed away in the 20th year of Hongzhi(1499).Through the research of the life story of bSod-nams rGyal-mt-shan,especially in combination of the inscription of Chici Jingning Si Beiji from Linqing area,it can be seen that during the early and middle Ming Dynasty,the Tibetan Buddhist communities in Gansu and Qinghai areas have formed a strong community of common interests It is also shown that the Ming Dynasty's policies of gran-ting titles to Tibetan Buddhist monks for conciliation and more benefits through trade have presented alienation in the implementation process to some extent.