Tibetan Buddhists have conceived of borderlands as both wild and savage lands (mtha' 'khob yul) and as fertile fields for missionary activity. This paper explores how the concept of Thakhob functioned as a rhetorical and discursive instrument for proselytization, particularly among the Gelukpas from the 15th century onward. Examining a range of early modern Tibetan sources—including biographies, pilgrimage texts, and religious histories—it analyzes how Geluk monks and scholars framed their missionary efforts in the eastern Tibetan borderlands as “bringing the light of Dharma” to dark and uncivilized territories. The concept of Thakhob was central to justifying these religious and political expansions, portraying certain lands as both predestined to be tamed and recoverable as sacred “hidden lands” (sbas yul), ideal for conversion. This justification was often reinforced through methods such as the interpretation of dreams, prophetic visions, and the ‘discovery’ of hidden texts (gter ma).
This paper specifically examines how, beginning in the 15th century, two close disciples of Tsongkhapa—the founder of the Geluk tradition—Tsakho Ngawang Drakpa (1365–?) and Gendun Gyaltsen (1374–1450), returned to Eastern Tibet to “spread the light of Dharma in the dark borderlands” of Ngawa and Gyalrong, the strongholds of the Jonang tradition and Bon religion. Their dreams not only revealed the realms of conversion ('dul zhing) but also guided their spiritual activities, marking the early Gelukpa engagement with these regions. These efforts laid the groundwork for later intensifications of missionary activity, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries. Under the Qing-Geluk alliance, the concept of Thakhob continued to be a crucial justificatory tool, now deployed by later Kirti lamas (eighth), as well as the second and third Jamyang Zhepas and the third Gungtang lama. The Qing imperial patronage provided a favorable political climate for these figures, allowing them to extend Geluk influence more systematically from within Eastern Tibet.
This study draws on a range of primary sources, including the Fifth Kirti Tenpai Gyeltsen’s Wish-Granting Tree (Dpag bsam ljon pa, 1741)—the earliest extant biographies of the Kirti lamas—as well as the Gsung 'bums of Tsongkhapa (W22109; W635) and Khedrup Je (WA1KG10279), which contain the only known contemporary sources on Tsakho Ngawang Drakpa. By tracing the deployment of Thakhob across multiple centuries, this study highlights its enduring role in shaping Gelukpa expansion and the broader religio-political landscape of eastern Tibet.
This paper explores the concept of Thakhob (mtha' 'khob) as a rhetorical tool that legitimized religio-political expansion in early modern Tibet. It examines how both Tibetan Buddhists and Bonpos invoked Thakhob—a designation for borderlands inhabited by “uncivilized” peoples and untouched by the rays of Dharma—to justify their civilizing missions. Through various methods, including the interpretation of dreams and prophecies or “discovery” of hidden lands and texts, they sought to propagate their respective religious traditions. Specifically, this paper traces how, beginning in the 15th century, early Geluk monks and scholars initiated efforts to proselytize the eastern Tibetan borderlands, particularly the Bon strongholds of Gyalrong. These missionary activities intensified in the 18th and 19th centuries under the Qing-Geluk alliance, with prominent Tibetan and Mongour Geluk lamas playing key roles. By examining Thakhob as a conceptual and discursive device, this paper highlights its role in framing expansionist projects as a civilizing endeavor.