Editing 3rd Dalai Lama (section)

{{Short description|Spiritual leader of Tibet from 1578 to 1588}}
{{Infobox Dalai Lama
|name           = 3rd Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso
|religion = [[Tibetan Buddhism|Buddhism]]
|title          = 3rd Dalai Lama
|image          = Sonam Gyatso.jpg
|caption        =
|period         = 1578–1588
|predecessor    = [[2nd Dalai Lama|Gendun Gyatso]]
|successor      = [[4th Dalai Lama|Yonten Gyatso]]
|module = {{Infobox Chinese|child=yes| headercolor=#FFCC33
|c      = 索南嘉措
|hindi          =
|pinyin         =
|tib    = བསོད་ནམས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་
|wylie          = bsod nams rgya mtsho
|zwpy   = Soinam Gyaco
|THDL           =
}}
|father         =
|mother         =
|birth_date     = 1543
|birth_place    = Tolung, [[Ü-Tsang]], [[Tibet]]
|death_date     = {{death year and age|1588|1543}}
|death_place    = [[Northern Yuan]]
}}
{{Tibetan Buddhism}}
The '''3rd Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso''' ({{bo|t=བསོད་ནམས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་|w=bsod nams rgya mtsho|z=Soinam Gyaco}}; 1543–1588), was the first in the tulku lineage to be entitled formally as the [[Dalai Lama]]. In 1578 [[Altan Khan]] presented the spiritual title of Dalai Lama, in honor of Sonam Gyatso's profound teachings conferred in Mongolia, which soon became a Tibetan Buddhist country. He founded [[Kumbum Monastery]], [[Litang County#History|Lithang Monastery]], and [[Namgyal Monastery]]. The spiritual title was retrospectively given to his two tulku lineage predecessors, the [[1st Dalai Lama]] and the [[2nd Dalai Lama]].

Sonam Gyatso was born near [[Lhasa]] in 1543 and was recognised as the reincarnation of [[Gendun Gyatso]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tbrc.org/kb/tbrc-detail.xq;jsessionid=48EACEC4EF34D7B1A57829F9CAD5C828?RID=P84&selected=works-by&wylie=n |title=tbrc.org: dge 'dun rgya mtsho |access-date=2008-11-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706005709/http://www.tbrc.org/kb/tbrc-detail.xq;jsessionid=48EACEC4EF34D7B1A57829F9CAD5C828?RID=P84&selected=works-by&wylie=n |archive-date=2009-07-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and subsequently enthroned at [[Drepung Monastery]] by [[Panchen Sonam Dragpa]], who became his tutor. Panchen Sonam Dragpa was the 15th [[Ganden Tripa]] and his texts still serve as the core curriculum for many [[Gelug]] monasteries. The 3rd Dalai Lama studied at Drepung Monastery and became its abbot. His reputation spread quickly and the monks at [[Sera Monastery]] also recognised him as their abbot.<ref name="Laird, Thomas 2006 p. 139">Laird, Thomas (2006). ''The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama'', p. 139. Grove Press, N.Y. {{ISBN|978-0-8021-1827-1}}</ref>

According to Sumpa Khenpo, the great [[Gelug]] scholar, he also studied [[Nyingma]] [[tantra|tantric]] doctrines.<ref>Stein, R. A. (1972). ''Tibetan Civilization'', pp. 171–172. Stanford University Press, Stanford California. {{ISBN|0-8047-0806-1}} (cloth); {{ISBN|0-8047-0901-7}} (paper).</ref>

When one of Tibet's regional kings, who had been supported by the [[Kagyu]] school, died in 1564, Sonam Gyatso presided over his funeral. His political power, and that of the [[Gelug]] school, grew in dominance in Tibet by the 1570s.<ref name="Laird, Thomas 2006 p. 139"/>