ABSTRACT
Since it is inconceivable that the man was the Sixth Dalai Lama as he and many of his followers claimed, is it really necessary to retell the cock-and-bull story which he and his biographer recorded? Is it not enough to know that the tradition is false? Why should history bother itself with such things when what actually happened in the past is so much more important and worthy of our attention? In justifying this final section on the Sixth Dalai Lama the point has to be made that since his impersonator was firmly believed within his own lifetime (and still is by many) to be the man he said he was, everything known about him went to influence the image of the historical figure. In dealing with that image we approach the perception of the past as it directly influenced people's lives. To that extent we are dealing with history itself. Moreover, the fictions spun by the man for the edification of his audience tend to slide into truth and so at several points we approach "what really happened". The tale is in any case a good one. The thread of the narrative is best picked up after the Dalai Lama has been installed in the Potala Palace and is starting his studies. The following is only a summary.2 2 1
Dargye Nomunqan was clearly aware that something went wrong with the Dalai Lama's studies, though the trouble is played down. The regent had appointed as his tutor a monk called Jamyang Drakpa, an historical figure who had been a close attendant of the Great Fifth. The regent threatened this man with all sorts of dire consequences if the young lama did not study properly. The lama told his biographer: Because at that time I was very young I used not to listen properly when I was being given "authorizations". Instead I would get up and walk around. My guru would stand up . . . and taking the book in his hands he would say: "Please, I beg you not to do this! Please sit and listen to this! If you don't listen, the regent will scold me." He would join his hands together in supplication. And so I'd obey and take my seat. He would sit down before me and deliver the remainder of the authorization. I remember how this happened on several occasions. It was the cause of all sorts of changes in fortune falling on my head later. Saying this he would strike his head with his fist again and again while weeping.
