Assassins in the Thangka: Conspiracy and the Tibetan Body Politic
Created in the late 19th century, the "Tibetan History Source Thangka Set" depicts Lalong Begidogi assassinating Udon Zan (Lhundrubma) in one detail. This piece is an imitation of an original Thangka set commissioned by His Holiness the Fifth. Such sets are shaped by teaching lineage diagrams and monastic source charts, within which killing a monarch is considered a "benevolent cause." Another work, the "Tangka Set of Historical Sources in Tibet"—also dating to the late 19th century—shows the assassination of Rong by the 8th Zanpu (king) of Tubo.
The martial arts contest between the ruler and his ministers was transformed into a scheme for assassination. When the emperor was killed, the presentation of authority in the Tubo Kingdom was altered irrevocably. A dramatic tale of vengeance unfolded in the wake of the murder, and this narrative came to pervade the Tubo Kingdom's early chronicles. The ruler was stabbed, the assassin vanished, and an act of regicide sent shockwaves through the heart of the capital. The monarch was cast as a demon, the murderer as a saint, and both figures were assigned dubious roles in the historical record.
Some Buddhist scholars have also questioned whether the account of events is accurate. As the dark steed was transformed into a white one, and the black garment into a white robe, the emphasis of historical narratives came to center on the restoration of religious law, with subsequent generations layering on apocalyptic interpretations.
Well before the killing in question, the Empire's history already teemed with violent conspiracies: princes dying suddenly after tranquil successions (the cruel inheritance system), reform-minded young emperors facing the consequences of interference from their maternal uncles, and courtiers losing their lives amid rumors (the struggle for power). From the eighth emperor's assassination onward, such internal strife never ceased within the imperial court.
The imperial period's "murder narrative" shaped how people fundamentally understood this history. Subsequently, within the Buddhist context that arose, killings carried out under noble pretenses and driven by elevated ideals regrettably grew both more frequent and more intricate.
Although the biographer attributed Tsangpuwa’s poisoning of Milarepa (རྩག་ཕུ་བ་; scholastic monks who doubted the monastic tradition) to “jealousy and barbarism,” the actual reasons for the assassination may have been more complex. That episode appears in the 18th-century “Milariba Biography Set,” which is located in the Chamdo region of Lhoka within the original Tibetan Nyingjei Lam partial image showing Zha Puwa poisoning; the lower left corner of that scene depicts Tsangpuwa’s illicit relations with women. Elsewhere, a blue glazed Tibetan medicine thangka provides a detailed explanation of the contact pulse. During the first half of the 20th century, a Lhasa local named Gunman Gunkyopanda held the first position in the inheritance line for the book “One Hundred Formulas for Prescriptions.”
After the empire broke apart, biographies and legal histories recounted most of the notable murder cases from varying viewpoints, and the lists of victims and perpetrators often featured prominent figures from Tibetan history—Milarepa, for example, appears as both killer and killed. As for the man himself, it is thought that Yudongba, a doctor driven by jealousy, poisoned him.
Given that Buddhists disregard the flesh's importance, it is crucial for them to demonstrate redemption after committing murder. The motives for killings are usually described as character flaws and mental deficiencies in the perpetrators, rather than specific conflicts of interest. Most murderers are commonly perceived as selfish, arrogant, jealous, or foolish, with people attributing non-human factors to their personalities, and they typically exhibit strong acts of remorse after killing others.
The core of the Tibetan lexicon documenting killings is made up of the ways and reasons behind those acts.
The 18th-century Biography Compilation of Basba—excerpted from "Tibetan Buddhist Tangka Art: The Painting Biography of Basba"—provides detailed depictions of the Sakya Khon family lineage and the various sacred sites and principal residences of the Sakya school, in addition to the life story of Jetsun Milarepa. Meanwhile, within the lexicon of fratricide, the word "དམེ་གྲིབ" fundamentally means "dirty," while poisoning is considered the most abhorrent killing method, earning it the label "assassination within assassination.
Dechoe Dorji (1898-1932/1940), the tenth regent of Zochent Monastery, is suggested by some oral texts from that monastery to have been poisoned by someone—possibly a member of the monastery, perhaps the steward of the Protector’s Hall. Separately, a partial image in a private collection, dating from the early 20th century and titled “Zaching II, Pema Banzha Dorje,” depicts Pagmo Drupa, who died at Sakya Monastery or was assassinated there.
Most people find it hard to believe that figures of the highest rank could either be assassinated or carry out assassinations themselves; thus, even clearly documented assassinations are intentionally overlooked or celebrated. In contrast, within the Tibetan region, unverifiable assassination acts are commonly wielded as a tool of public opinion. Furthermore, assassinations are employed to damage the public image of rivals, while those who express independent opinions or disagree are excluded from public view.
This article is translated from Sorang Wangqing's blog. During the World Peace Festival, Nyima Pandatsang (1865-1921), the founder of the Pandatsang family, was shot and killed in a garden. People at the time thought the gunman was merely a poor scapegoat, freed because evidence was lacking. The various factions in Lhasa then turned on each other, each accusing the others of being the one who planned the killing, and even now the true assassin has never been identified. It is difficult to admit or to make excuses.