Note 5 — Chapter VII · GOVERNMENT OF LHASA—CUSTOMS, FESTIVALS, ETC.
Reading edition
The Desi is commonly called “regent” (gyal-tsab), or “king” (gyalbo).5 The office is now elective, but no layman may hold it; it is filled by a lama from one of the four great lings, Tangye ling, Kundu ling, Tse-chog ling, and Tsomo ling; though there have been cases, as, for instance, that of the Desi Shata (or Shadra), where lamas from other places have been selected.6