Gos Trisang Yalag (Tibetan: མགོས་ཁྲི་བཟང་ཡབ་ལག; Wylie: mgos khri bzang yab lag; THL: gö tri zang yap lak), also known as Go Trizang Yalag or Go Pema Gungtsen, was an 8th-century minister of the Tibetan Empire during the reign of Emperor Trisong Detsen (r. c. 755–797/804 CE).
Background and Family
Gos Trisang Yalag belonged to the Go (འགོས, 'gos) family, a prominent clan dating from the imperial Yarlung period. The Go clan's ancestral lands were located in the area of present-day Chingra in Chonggye Dzong, Lhokha, in southern Tibet. According to the Treasury of Lives, King Trisong Detsen rewarded his minister Go Trizang Yablhak (an alternate rendering of the same name) with territories including parts of Nyangto, Dringtsam, the present-day northwest Bhutan, and the western portion of Lhodrak. The Go clan subsequently ruled over this region, which was called Go.
He held the status of a "Shang" (ཞང, imperial affine), meaning he was related to the Tibetan king through marriage, and was trusted by Trisong Detsen. He was a Buddhist.
Political Role
Gos Trisang Yalag served as a minister of religion for Trisong Detsen. According to the French Wikipedia, he served as lönchen (བློན་ཆེན, blon chen), or chancellor of Tibet, from approximately 768 to 782 CE.
With his assistance, Trisong Detsen removed the regent/minister Mazang Trompa Kye (Mashang Drompakye) and exiled the minister Nganlam Takdra Lukhong to Changtang. Following these political actions, Buddhism was recognized as the state religion of Tibet. Bon supporters were reportedly forced to convert to Buddhism, and their ritual objects were buried or thrown into water.
The Samye Debate
The political consolidation achieved with Gos Trisang Yalag's support enabled Trisong Detsen to host a two-year religious debate from 792 to 794 CE, known in modern scholarship as the Samye Debate. This debate pitted the Chinese Chan (Zen) Buddhist tradition, represented by the monk Moheyan, against the Indian Buddhist tradition, represented by Kamalaśīla. Trisong Detsen supported Kamalaśīla, who ultimately won the debate, and Moheyan was subsequently driven out of Tibet.
Sources
Information about Gos Trisang Yalag derives primarily from the Old Tibetan Chronicle (P.T. 1287, from the Pelliot Collection of Tibetan Empire manuscripts taken from the Sachu Manuscript Center, i.e., Dunhuang) and from the Chronicles of Ba. Additional references appear in the work Liberation Upon Hearing: The History of the Great Jarung Kashor Stupa, recorded and concealed by Yeshe Tsogyal in the 8th century and later discovered and translated.
Legacy
Gos Trisang Yalag is recognized as a significant figure in the establishment of Buddhism as the state religion of the Tibetan Empire and in the political restructuring that accompanied that transition. His role in supporting Trisong Detsen's religious and political reforms is documented in Tibetan historical sources.
