The Dalai Lama who gave up his monk's vows for verse
Tsangyang Gyatso, the Sixth Dalai Lama (1683–1706), broke sharply from his predecessors: he received novice monk's vows but publicly renounced even those before the Fifth Panchen Lama, never advancing to full ordination, and is remembered as a poet of the streets and taverns of Lhasa. The short love lyrics traditionally attributed to him are still sung in Tibet today, and his brief, turbulent life ended under disputed circumstances at age 23.
How we know
Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, b. 1 March 1683, d. c. 15 November 1706 (age 23); received novice (getsul) vows then renounced them before the Fifth Panchen Lama; declined full gelong ordination; associated with popular love-poetry (traditional ascription, debated by scholars). Sources: Wikipedia '6th Dalai Lama'; Buddhism Guide 'Tsangyang Gyatso'; Treasury of Lives (403 on direct fetch, cited in candidate). Graph Author bud-sixth-dalai-lama (b. 1683, d. 1706).
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