The Tibetan Romeo 6th Dalai Lama Tshangyang Gyatsho
The 6th Dalai Lama Tshangyang Gyatsho was one of the most legendary and mysterious. He was born in a farmer family and was made the 6th Dalai Lama at the age of 15. As a teenage, he may have experienced all the worldly pleasures: desire, romance, the freedom of doing what he wanted. There are stories that he sneaked out of the Potala Palace at night to meet his lover, and numerous love poems believed to be written by him. Here is one of them:
I went to a holy Lama,
And asked for spiritual advice.
But I was unable to change my mind,
So again I drifted to (my) lover’s side.
The Lama’s face which I try to meditate upon,
Does not appear in my mind.
The lover’s face which I do not meditate upon,
Appears in my mind clear and distinct.
This Tibetan Romeo has left a legacy for Tibet. Next time when you visit the Potala Palace in Lhasa, visit the hall which was used to be his bedroom, the yellow house in Barkhor Street which is believed the place where he met his lover at night, and look for poetries written by this gifted poet.
