A
tulku is a custodian of a specific lineage of teachings in Tibetan
Buddhism who is given empowerments and trained from a young age by
students of his predecessor.
Tulku
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A
tulku (
Tibetan:
སྤྲུལ་སྐུ,
Wylie:
sprul sku,
ZYPY: Zhügu, also
tülku,
trulku) is a custodian of a specific lineage of teachings in
Tibetan Buddhism who is given
empowerments and trained from a young age by students of his predecessor.
High-profile examples of tulkus include the
Khyentses, the
Kongtruls, the
Dalai Lamas and the
Karmapas.
Nomenclature and etymology
The word སྤྲུལ or 'sprul' (Modern Lhasa Tibetan
[ʈʉl])
was a verb in Old Tibetan literature and was used to describe the
བཙན་པོ་ btsanpo ('emperor'/天子) taking a human form on earth. So the
'sprul' idea of taking a corporeal form is a local religious idea alien
to Indian Buddhism and other forms of Buddhism (e.g. Theravadin or Zen).
Over time, indigenous religious ideas became assimilated by the new
Buddhism; e.g. 'sprul' became part of a compound noun,
སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་'sprul.sku' ("incarnation body" or 'tülku', and 'btsan', the
term for the imperial ruler of the Tibetan Empire, became a kind of
mountain deity). The term
tülku became associated with the translation of the
Sanskrit philosophical term
nirmanakaya. According to the philosophical system of
trikaya or
three bodies of Buddha, nirmanakaya is the Buddha's "body" in the sense of the
bodymind (Sanskrit:
nāmarūpa). Thus, the person of
Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha, is an example of nirmanakaya. In the context of Tibetan Buddhism,
tülku is used to refer to the corporeal existence of enlightened Buddhist masters in general.
In addition to Tibetans and related peoples, Tibetan Buddhism is a
traditional religion of the Mongols and their relatives. The Mongolian
word for a tulku is
qubilγan, though such persons may also be called by the honorific title
qutuγtu (Tib: '
phags-pa and Skt:
ārya
or 'superior', not to be confused with the historic figure, 'Phags-pa
Lama or the script attributed to him, 'Phags-pa script), or
hutagt in the standard
Khalkha dialect. According to the
Light of Fearless Indestructible Wisdom by Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal:
designates
one who is "noble" (or "selfless" according to Buddha's usage) and used
in Buddhist texts to denote a highly achieved being who has attained
the first bhumi, a level of attainment which is truly egoless, or
higher.
The Chinese word for tulku is
huófó (活佛), which literally means "living Buddha" and is sometimes used to mean tulku.
Meaning of "tulku"
Bardo
Having failed to reach
Buddhahood or a
Pure Land upon death, a practitioner can attempt to be born as a tulku as a last resort via
bardo instructions.
[1]
Finding a successor
Pamela Logan outlines a general approach for finding a successor:
When an old tulku dies, a committee of senior lamas convenes to find
the young reincarnation. The group may employ a number of methods in
their search. First, they will probably look for a letter left behind by
the departed tulku indicating where he intends to be born again. They
will ask the close friends of the departed to recall everything he said
during his last days, in case he may have given hints. Often, an oracle
is consulted. Sometimes a prominent lama has a dream that reveals
details of the child's house, parents, or of geographical features near
his home. Sometimes heaven presents a sign, perhaps a rainbow, leading
the search party to the child.[2]
Training
Logan describes the training a tulku undergoes from a young age:
He is brought up inside a monastery, under the direction of a head
tutor and a number of other teachers or servants. He must study hard and
adhere to a strict regimen. He has few if any toys or playmates, and is
rarely allowed outside. Early on, he learns to receive important
visitors, take part in complicated rituals, and give blessings to
followers and pilgrims. Sometimes one or both parents are allowed to
live near the young tulku. Older brothers are sometimes inducted into
the monastery as monk-companions for the holy child. Yet his elderly
tutors are the most influential people in his life, and they become his
de facto parents.[3]
The academic atmosphere is balanced by unconditional love:
Countering the bleak academic regimen is an atmosphere of
overwhelming, unconditional love. During the tulku's every waking
moment, monks, family members, and awed, adoring visitors, shower the
youth with love.
If you visit a child tulku, you will probably notice that his
quarters are pervaded by a wonderful glow. Everyone beams at the tulku.
The tulku beams back. If he asks for something, he is given it
immediately, and if he errs, he is corrected just as immediately.
Western visitors to the young 14th Dalai Lama commented on “the
extraordinary steadiness of his gaze.” Even when quite young, the boys
have remarkable poise; they sit calmly without fidgeting, even through
ceremonies that may last all day.[4]
History
The tulku system of preserving Dharma lineages did not operate in India. The first tulku line of Tibet is the
Karmapas. After the
first Karmapa
died in 1193, a lama had recurrent visions of a particular child as his
rebirth. This child (born ca. 1205) was recognized as the
second Karmapa, thus beginning the Tibetan tulku tradition.
[citation needed]
Tulku lineages
Tibetologist
Françoise Pommaret estimates there are presently approximately 500 tulku lineages found across
Tibet,
Bhutan, Northern
India,
Nepal,
Mongolia, and the southwest provinces of
China.
[5]
Criticism
In the 2009 documentary film
Tulku,
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche states the tulku system may not work in present day:
And now, I personally think that to hold that culture,
institutionalized Tulku. That culture is dying; it’s not going to work
anymore. And even if it… And if it doesn’t work, I think it’s almost for
the better because this tulku, it’s going to… If the Tibetans are not careful, this Tulku system is going to ruin Buddhism. At the end of the day Buddhism is more important [than] Tulku system, who cares about Tulku... [and] what happens to them.[6]
Documentaries
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Tulkus. |
See also
References
