Abstract
This article discusses three Tibetan letters held by the St. Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences and originally collected by the Russian Orientalist Fyodor Shcherbatskoy. The three letters are attributed to the well-known figure of Agvaan Dorzhiev, the Buryat who became an aide of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, but the authors determine that only the third letter is actually by Dorzhiev, while the other two were composed by a Kalmyk leader. The article discusses the historical significance of each of the letters and provides an annotated translation of them.
Keywords: Tibetan letters, Agvaan Dorzhiev, Tshe ring zla ’od, Tibetan schoolboys at Rugby
Introduction
This article deals with three Tibetan letters (two of which form a set), that are held by the St. Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and are attributed to Dorzhiev (1854–1938), an aide of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama (1876–1933). We discuss their historical significance and provide annotated translations of each of the letters.
In 1904, as British troops were closing in on Lhasa, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama headed north in hopes of winning the support of Russia. Thereafter he spent time in Khalkha, at Kumbum (sku ’bum) monastery in Kökenuur (Qinghai 青海), and at Mount Wutai (五台山). Wherever he stayed, large numbers of pilgrims gathered, crossing national borders and the boundaries of bannerlands to do so. The act of paying homage to the Dalai Lama created a sense of unity that transcended all borders.
Behind this historical event of the Dalai Lama's travels to the north is the presence of his Buryat aide, Dorzhiev. His real name was Nawang Lobsang (ngag dbang blo bzang), and he had been born on the eastern shores of Lake Baikal. After studying and practising Buddhism in Ikhe Khuree (present-day Ulaanbaatar), Mount Wutai, and elsewhere, at the age of 26, he clandestinely entered the Tibetan capital of Lhasa because of his Russian nationality. He obtained the degree of Geshe Lharampa (dge bshes lha rams pa) at Drepung (bras spungs) monastery around 1888, and was selected as the Dalai Lama's debate partner (mtshan zhabs) for debates concerning exoteric Buddhism.
