12th Dalai Lama

Trinley Gyatso
12th Dalai Lama
Reign	1860–1875
Predecessor	Khedrup Gyatso
Successor	Thubten Gyatso
Tibetan	འཕྲིན་ལས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་
Wylie	'phrin las rgya mtsho
Transcription (PRC)	Chinlai Gyaco
Chinese	成烈嘉措
Born	26 January 1857(1857-01-26) Lhoka, Ü-Tsang, Tibet
Died	25 April 1875 (aged 18) Lhasa, Tibet

Trinley Gyatso (26 January 1857 – 25 April 1875), also spelled Trinle Gyatso and Thinle Gyatso, was the 12th Dalai Lama of Tibet.

His short life coincided with a time of major political unrest and wars among Tibet's neighbours. Tibet particularly suffered from the weakening of the Qing Dynasty which formerly offered it some outside support against the British Empire which was aiming to influence Tibet as an expansion from its colonisation of India.

He was recognised as a reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in 1858 and enthroned in 1860. During his period of training as a child, Tibet banned Europeans from entering the country because of wars Britain was fighting against Sikkim and Bhutan, both of whom were controlled to a considerable degree by the lamas in Lhasa. These wars were seen as efforts to colonise Tibet - something seen as unacceptable by the lamas. Also, with missionaries threatening to enter Tibet via the Mekong and Salween Rivers, Tibet ceased recognising the authority of the Manchu government for the same reason.

Trinley Gyatso was fully enthroned as Dalai Lama on 11 March 1873 but could not stamp his full authority on Tibet because he died of a mysterious illness on 25 April 1875.

"During the period of the short-lived Dalai Lamas—from the Ninth to the Twelfth incarnations—the Panchen was the lama of the hour, filling the void left by the four Dalai Lamas who died in their youth."

Further reading

• Mullin, Glenn H. (2001). The Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of Reincarnation, pp. 367-375. Clear Light Publishers. Santa Fe, New Mexico. ISBN 1-57416-092-3.

Buddhist titles
Preceded by Khedrup Gyatso	Dalai Lama 1860–1875 Recognized in 1858	Succeeded by Thubten Gyatso