Capture and Disappearance
Using the Dalai Lama's behaviour as an excuse, Lhazang Khan, the king of the Qośot or Khoshut Mongols, and an ally of the Qing Emperor of China, killed the regent, and kidnapped the Sixth Dalai Lama who was killed or died (and/or achieved nirvana and some believe can still be met as if alive), soon after on the way to China.
On the 28 June 1706, Lhazang Khan deposed Tsangyang, and installed a 25-year-old lama, Ngawang Yeshey Gyatso, as the 6th Dalai Lama in 1707, claiming that he was the true rebirth of Lobsang Gyatso. The Gelukpa dignitaries and the Tibetan people rejected Lhazang Khan's installation of Ngawang Yeshey Gyatso, and recognised Tsangyang as the true reincarnation. However, Ngawang Yeshey Gyatso is considered by Tibetans to have been an incarnation of Avalokitesvara.
While being taken out of the country, Tsangyang composed a poem which some say foretold of his next birth. "White crane lend me your wings. I will not fly far. From Lithang I shall return." (བྱ་དེ་ཁྲུང་ཁྲུང་དཀར་པོ།། ང་ལ་གཤོག་རྩལ་གཡར་དང་།། ཐག་རིང་རྒྱང་ནས་མི་འགྲོ།། ལི་ཐང་བསྐོར་ནས་སླེབས་ཡོང་།། (cha de jung jung kar po// nga la shog tsel yar dang// thak ring gyang ne min dro// li thang gor ne leb yong//) ). Tsangyang died mysteriously near Kokonor, on 15 November 1706, which is why there is no tomb for him in the Potala. Rumours persisted he had escaped and lived in secrecy somewhere between China and Mongolia
The Tibetans then appealed to the Dzungar Mongols who invaded Tibet and killed Lhazang Khan in late 1717.
Tsangyang was succeeded by Kelzang Gyatso who was born in Lithang.
Read more about this topic: 6th Dalai Lama
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