Tulku Topics

• karma kagyu school
• dalai lama tenzin gyatso
• karma kagyu lineage
• tenzin gyatso
• lama tenzin
• dalai lamas
• vajrayana tradition
• living buddha
• tibetan buddhism
• dalai lama
• shamarpa
• honorific title
• karmapa
• chinese sources
• spiritual head
• emanation
• rya
• skt
• tib

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Tulku, Tulku

The most famous example is the lineage of Dalai Lamas; the current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is held to be the fourteenth mindstream emanation, the first being Gendun Drup (13911474). It is held in the Vajrayana tradition that the oldest lineage of tulku s is that of the Karmapas (spiritual head of the Karma Kagyu lineage), which began with Dsum Khyenpa (1110-1193).

The Mongolian word for a tulku is qubilan , though such persons may also be called by the honorific title qututu (Tib: phags-pa / Skt: rya ), or hutagt in the standard Khalkha dialect.

Thus, the term Living Buddha is sometimes used to mean tulku, although this is rare outside of Chinese sources. Also, modern Chinese sources typically refer to a young incarnation of a (presumably male) tulku as a "soul boy" ().

This rule of inheritance allowed for the rise of hugely wealthy estates belonging to the lineages of reincarnating tulkus. The first recognized tulku of this kind within the Vajrayana traditions was the Karmapa, the head of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism; precisely, the first to be recognized as a manifestation was the second Karmapa, Karma Pakshi (1204-1283). The Karmapa is now in his 17th emanation.

The same was true of the third emanation, Sonam Gyatso, until he was dubbed "Dalai Lama" as an adult, after which he applied the title posthumously to his predecessors and declared himself the 3rd Dalai Lama. It was Lobsang Gyatso (16171682), the 5th Dalai Lama, who established the Dalai Lamas as Tibet's predominant political power. After their control was consolidated, recognition of some of the most important tulkus was vetted by the government at Lhasa, and could on occasion be banned if its previous incumbent fell out of favour. A notable example of this penalty was the Shamarpa, once the most powerful subordinate of the Karmapa, whose recognition of reincarnation was banned by order of the Dalai Lama in 1792. This ban remained in place until after the Dalai Lama lost power in Tibet during the 1950s, although it was later revealed that the Karmapa had recognized emanation of the Shamarpa secretly during the intervening period.

The vast majority of tulkus are men, although there are a small number of female tulku lineages.

In most cases there is no such relationship, but the potential candidate is always vetted by respected lamas. This often involves tests such as checking whether the child can recognize acquaintances or possessions from his previous life or answer questions only known to his former life-experience. According to the book Magic and Mystery in Tibet by Alexandra David-Neel, A number of objects such as rosaries, ritualistic implements, books, tea-cups, etc., are placed together, and the child must pick out those which belonged to the late tulku , thus showing that he recognizes the things which were his in his previous life. David-Neel, Alexandra.

Sometimes, a tulku will leave a prediction letter or song describing where they will be found. Prophecies, which may date forward or backward many generations, also play a role.

In modern times, as Tibetan Buddhism has attracted followers across the world, a small number of tulkus have been found among Western people. Perhaps the most religiously significant such tulku is Tenzin sel (born 1985), the child of Spanish parents, who has been recognized as the reincarnation of Thubten Yeshe, an influential Tibetan lama.

Penor Rinpoche notes that "such recognition does not mean that one is already a realized teacher"; Seagal has not been enthroned and has not undergone the extensive program of training and study that is customary for a tulku.

He is a yangsi in the sense of being the rebirth of the first Dalai Lama: from the first to the fourteenth, the present one. He is considered a tulku in the sense of being an emanation of the boddhisattva Chenrezig (Avalokiteshvara).

Source: Wikipedia > Tulku