Reincarnation
by the Dalai Lama
(Translated
from the original Tibetan)
My fellow Tibetans, both in and outside Tibet, all those who follow the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and everyone who
has a connection to Tibet and Tibetans: due to the foresight of our ancient
kings, ministers and scholar-adepts, the complete teaching of the Buddha,
comprising the scriptural and experiential teachings of the Three Vehicles and
the Four Sets of Tantra and their related subjects and disciplines flourished
widely in the Land of Snow. Tibet has served as a source of Buddhist and
related cultural traditions for the world. In particular, it has contributed
significantly to the happiness of countless beings in Asia, including those in
China, Tibet and Mongolia.
In the course of upholding the Buddhist tradition in Tibet, we evolved a unique
Tibetan tradition of recognizing the reincarnations of scholar-adepts that has
been of immense help to both the Dharma and sentient beings, particularly to
the monastic community.
Since the omniscient Gedun Gyatso was recognized and confirmed as the
reincarnation of Gedun Drub in the fifteenth century and the Gaden Phodrang
Labrang (the Dalai Lama’s institution) was established, successive
reincarnations have been recognized. The third in the line, Sonam Gyatso, was
given the title of the Dalai Lama. The Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang
Gyatso, established the Gaden Phodrang Government in 1642, becoming the
spiritual and political head of Tibet. For more than 600 years since Gedun
Drub, a series of unmistaken reincarnations has been recognised in the lineage
of the Dalai Lama.
The Dalai Lamas have functioned as both the political and spiritual leaders of
Tibet for 369 years since 1642. I have now voluntarily brought this to an end,
proud and satisfied that we can pursue the kind of democratic system of
government flourishing elsewhere in the world. In fact, as far back as 1969, I
made clear that concerned people should decide whether the Dalai Lama’s
reincarnations should continue in the future. However, in the absence of clear
guidelines, should the concerned public express a strong wish for the Dalai
Lamas to continue, there is an obvious risk of vested political interests misusing
the reincarnation system to fulfil their own political agenda. Therefore, while
I remain physically and mentally fit, it seems important to me that we draw up
clear guidelines to recognise the next Dalai Lama, so that there is no room for
doubt or deception. For these guidelines to be fully comprehensible, it is
essential to understand the system of Tulku recognition and the basic concepts
behind it. Therefore, I shall briefly explain them below.
Past and future lives
In order to accept reincarnation or the reality of Tulkus, we need to accept the existence of past and future lives. Sentient
beings come to this present life from their previous lives and take rebirth
again after death. This kind of continuous rebirth is accepted by all the ancient
Indian spiritual traditions and schools of philosophy, except the Charvakas,
who were a materialist movement. Some modern thinkers deny past and future
lives on the premise that we cannot see them. Others do not draw such clear cut
conclusions on this basis.
Although many religious traditions accept rebirth, they differ in their views
of what it is that is reborn, how it is reborn, and how it passes through the
transitional period between two lives. Some religious traditions accept the
prospect of future life, but reject the idea of past lives.
Generally, Buddhists believe that there is no beginning to birth and that once
we achieve liberation from the cycle of existence by overcoming our karma and
destructive emotions, we will not be reborn under the sway of these conditions.
Therefore, Buddhists believe that there is an end to being reborn as a result
of karma and destructive emotions, but most Buddhist philosophical schools do
not accept that the mind-stream comes to an end. To reject past and future
rebirth would contradict the Buddhist concept of the ground, path and result,
which must be explained on the basis of the disciplined or undisciplined mind.
If we accept this argument, logically, we would also have to accept that the
world and its inhabitants come about without causes and conditions. Therefore,
as long as you are a Buddhist, it is necessary to accept past and future
rebirth.
For those who remember their past lives, rebirth is a clear experience.
However, most ordinary beings forget their past lives as they go through the
process of death, intermediate state and rebirth. As past and future rebirths
are slightly obscure to them, we need to use evidence-based logic to prove past
and future rebirths to them.
There are many different logical arguments given in the words of the Buddha and
subsequent commentaries to prove the existence of past and future lives. In
brief, they come down to four points: the logic that things are preceded by
things of a similar type, the logic that things are preceded by a substantial
cause, the logic that the mind has gained familiarity with things in the past,
and the logic of having gained experience of things in the past.
Ultimately all these arguments are based on the idea that the nature of the
mind, its clarity and awareness, must have clarity and awareness as its
substantial cause. It cannot have any other entity such as an inanimate object
as its substantial cause. This is self-evident. Through logical analysis we
infer that a new stream of clarity and awareness cannot come about without
causes or from unrelated causes. While we observe that mind cannot be produced
in a laboratory, we also infer that nothing can eliminate the continuity of
subtle clarity and awareness.
As far as I know, no modern psychologist, physicist, or neuroscientist has been
able to observe or predict the production of mind either from matter or without
cause.
There are people who can remember their immediate past life or even many past
lives, as well as being able to recognise places and relatives from those
lives. This is not just something that happened in the past. Even today there
are many people in the East and West, who can recall incidents and experiences
from their past lives. Denying this is not an honest and impartial way of doing
research, because it runs counter to this evidence. The Tibetan system of
recognising reincarnations is an authentic mode of investigation based on
people’s recollection of their past lives.
How rebirth takes place
There are two ways in which someone can take rebirth after death: rebirth under the sway of karma and destructive emotions and rebirth
through the power of compassion and prayer. Regarding the first, due to
ignorance negative and positive karma are created and their imprints remain on
the consciousness. These are reactivated through craving and grasping,
propelling us into the next life. We then take rebirth involuntarily in higher
or lower realms. This is the way ordinary beings circle incessantly through
existence like the turning of a wheel. Even under such circumstances ordinary
beings can engage diligently with a positive aspiration in virtuous practices
in their day-to-day lives.
They familiarise themselves with virtue that at the time of death can be
reactivated providing the means for them to take rebirth in a higher realm of
existence. On the other hand, superior Bodhisattvas, who have attained the path
of seeing, are not reborn through the force of their karma and destructive
emotions, but due to the power of their compassion for sentient beings and
based on their prayers to benefit others. They are able to choose their place
and time of birth as well as their future parents. Such a rebirth, which is
solely for the benefit of others, is rebirth through the force of compassion
and prayer.
The meaning of Tulku
It seems the Tibetan custom of applying the epithet ‘Tulku’ (Buddha’s Emanation Body) to recognized reincarnations began when
devotees used it as an honorary title, but it has since become a common expression.
In general, the term Tulku refers to a particular aspect of the Buddha, one of
the three or four described in the Sutra Vehicle. According to this explanation
of these aspects of the Buddha, a person who is totally bound by destructive
emotions and karma has the potential to achieve the Truth Body (Dharmakaya),
comprising the Wisdom Truth Body and Nature Truth Body.
The former refers to the enlightened mind of a Buddha, which sees
everything directly and precisely, as it is, in an instant. It has been cleared
of all destructive emotions, as well as their imprints, through the
accumulation of merit and wisdom over a long period of time. The latter, the
Nature Truth Body, refers to the empty nature of that all-knowing enlightened
mind. These two together are aspects of the Buddhas for themselves. However, as
they are not directly accessible to others, but only amongst the Buddhas
themselves, it is imperative that the Buddhas manifest in physical forms that
are accessible to sentient beings in order to help them.
Hence, the ultimate physical aspect of a Buddha is the Body of Complete
Enjoyment (Sambhogakaya), which is accessible to superior Bodhisattvas, and has
five definite qualifications such as residing in the Akanishta Heaven. And from
the Body of Complete Enjoyment are manifested the myriad Emanation Bodies or
Tulkus (Nirmanakaya), of the Buddhas, which appear as gods or humans and are
accessible even to ordinary beings. These two physical aspects of the Buddha
are termed Form Bodies, which are meant for others.
The Emanation Body is three-fold: a) the Supreme Emanation Body like Shakyamuni
Buddha, the historical Buddha, who manifested the twelve deeds of a Buddha such
as being born in the place he chose and so forth; b) the Artistic Emanation
Body which serves others by appearing as craftsmen, artists and so on; and c)
the Incarnate Emanation Body, according to which Buddhas appear in various
forms such as human beings, deities, rivers, bridges, medicinal plants, and
trees to help sentient beings. Of these three types of Emanation Body, the
reincarnations of spiritual masters recognized and known as ‘Tulkus’ in Tibet
come under the third category.
Among these Tulkus there may be many who are truly qualified Incarnate
Emanation Bodies of the Buddhas, but this does not necessarily apply to all of
them. Amongst the Tulkus of Tibet there may be those who are reincarnations of
superior Bodhisattvas, Bodhisattvas on the paths of accumulation and
preparation, as well as masters who are evidently yet to enter these
Bodhisattva paths. Therefore, the title of Tulku is given to reincarnate Lamas
either on the grounds of their resembling enlightened beings or through their
connection to certain qualities of enlightened beings.
As Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo said:
“Reincarnation is what happens when someone takes rebirth after the
predecessor’s passing away; emanation is when manifestations take place without
the source’s passing away.”
Recognition of
Reincarnations
The practice of recognizing who is who by identifying someone’s previous life occurred even when Shakyamuni Buddha himself
was alive. Many accounts are found in the four Agama Sections of the Vinaya
Pitaka, the Jataka Stories, the Sutra of the Wise and Foolish, the Sutra of One
Hundred Karmas and so on, in which the Tathagata revealed the workings of
karma, recounting innumerable stories about how the effects of certain karmas
created in a past life are experienced by a person in his or her present life.
Also, in the life stories of Indian masters, who lived after the Buddha, many
reveal their previous places of birth. There are many such stories, but the
system of recognizing and numbering their reincarnations did not occur in
India.
The system of recognizing
reincarnations in Tibet
Past and future lives were asserted in the indigenous Tibetan Bon tradition
before the arrival of Buddhism. And since the spread of
Buddhism in Tibet, virtually all Tibetans have believed in past and future
lives. Investigating the reincarnations of many spiritual masters who upheld
the Dharma, as well as the custom of praying devotedly to them, flourished
everywhere in Tibet. Many authentic scriptures, indigenous Tibetan books such
as the Mani Kabum and the Fivefold Kathang Teachings and others like the The
Books of Kadam Disciples and the Jewel Garland: Responses to Queries, which
were recounted by the glorious, incomparable Indian master Dipankara Atisha in
the 11th century in Tibet, tell stories of the reincarnations of Arya
Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion. However, the present tradition
of formally recognizing the reincarnations of masters first began in the early
13th century with the recognition of Karmapa Pagshi as the reincarnation of
Karmapa Dusum Khyenpa by his disciples in accordance with his prediction.
Since then, there have been seventeen Karmapa incarnations over more
than nine hundred years. Similarly, since the recognition of Kunga Sangmo as
the reincarnation of Khandro Choekyi Dronme in the 15th century there have been
more than ten incarnations of Samding Dorje Phagmo. So, among the Tulkus
recognized in Tibet there are monastics and lay tantric practitioners, male and
female. This system of recognizing the reincarnations gradually spread to other
Tibetan Buddhist traditions, and Bon, in Tibet. Today, there are recognized
Tulkus in all the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the Sakya, Geluk, Kagyu and
Nyingma, as well as Jonang and Bodong, who serve the Dharma. It is also evident
that amongst these Tulkus some are a disgrace.
The omniscient Gedun Drub, who was a direct disciple of Je Tsongkhapa, founded
Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Tsang and took care of his students. He passed away
in 1474 at the age of 84. Although initially no efforts were made to identify
his reincarnation, people were obliged to recognize a child named Sangye
Chophel, who had been born in Tanak, Tsang (1476), because of what he had to
say about his amazing and flawless recollections of his past life. Since then,
a tradition began of searching for and recognizing the successive reincarnations
of the Dalai Lamas by the Gaden Phodrang Labrang and later the Gaden Phodrang
Government.
The ways of recognizing
reincarnations
After the system of recognizing Tulkus came into being, various procedures for going about it began to develop and grow. Among
these some of the most important involve the predecessor’s predictive letter
and other instructions and indications that might occur; the reincarnation’s
reliably recounting his previous life and speaking about it; identifying
possessions belonging to the predecessor and recognizing people who had been
close to him. Apart from these, additional methods include asking reliable
spiritual masters for their divination as well as seeking the predictions of
mundane oracles, who appear through mediums in trance, and observing the
visions that manifest in sacred lakes of protectors like Lhamoi Latso, a sacred
lake south of Lhasa.
When there happens to be more than one prospective candidate for recognition as
a Tulku, and it becomes difficult to decide, there is a practice of making the
final decision by divination employing the dough-ball method (zen tak) before a
sacred image while calling upon the power of truth.
Emanation before the
passing away of the predecessor
(ma-dhey tulku)
Usually a reincarnation has to be someone’s taking rebirth as a human being
after previously passing away. Ordinary sentient beings
generally cannot manifest an emanation before death (ma-dhey tulku), but
superior Bodhisattvas, who can manifest themselves in hundreds or thousands of
bodies simultaneously, can manifest an emanation before death. Within the
Tibetan system of recognizing Tulkus there are emanations who belong to the
same mind-stream as the predecessor, emanations who are connected to others
through the power of karma and prayers, and emanations who come as a result of
blessings and appointment.
The main purpose of the appearance of a reincarnation is to continue the
predecessor’s unfinished work to serve Dharma and beings. In the case of a Lama
who is an ordinary being, instead of having a reincarnation belonging to the
same mind-stream, someone else with connections to that Lama through pure karma
and prayers may be recognized as his or her emanation. Alternatively it is
possible for the Lama to appoint a successor who is either his disciple or
someone young who is to be recognized as his emanation. Since these options are
possible in the case of an ordinary being, an emanation before death that is
not of the same mind-stream is feasible. In some cases one high Lama may have
several reincarnations simultaneously, such as incarnations of body, speech and
mind and so on. In recent times, there have been well-known emanations before
death such as Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje and Chogye Trichen Ngawang Khyenrab.
Using the Golden Urn
As the degenerate age gets worse, and as more
reincarnations of high Lamas are being recognized, some of them for political
motives, increasing numbers have been recognized through inappropriate and
questionable means, as a result of which huge damage has been done to the
Dharma.
During the conflict between Tibet and the Gurkhas (1791-93) the Tibetan
Government had to call on Manchu military support. Consequently the Gurkha
military was expelled from Tibet, but afterwards Manchu officials made a
29-point proposal on the pretext of making the Tibetan Government’s
administration more efficient. This proposal included the suggestion of picking
lots from a Golden Urn to decide on the recognition of the reincarnations of
the Dalai Lamas, Panchen Lamas and Hutuktus, a Mongolian title given to high
Lamas. Therefore, this procedure was followed in the case of recognizing some
reincarnations of the Dalai Lama, Panchen Lama and other high Lamas. The ritual
to be followed was written by the Eighth Dalai Lama Jampel Gyatso. Even
after such a system had been introduced, this procedure was dispensed with for
the Ninth, Thirteenth and myself, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.
Even in the case of the Tenth Dalai Lama, the authentic reincarnation had
already been found and in reality this procedure was not followed, but in order
to humour the Manchus it was merely announced that this procedure had been
observed.
The Golden Urn system was actually used only in the cases of the Eleventh and
Twelfth Dalai Lamas. However, the Twelfth Dalai Lama had already been
recognized before the procedure was employed. Therefore, there has only been
one occasion when a Dalai Lama was recognized by using this method. Likewise,
among the reincarnations of the Panchen Lama, apart from the Eighth and the
Ninth, there have been no instances of this method being employed. This system
was imposed by the Manchus, but Tibetans had no faith in it because it lacked
any spiritual quality. However, if it were to be used honestly, it seems that
we could consider it as similar to the manner of divination employing the
dough-ball method (zen tak).
In 1880, during the recognition of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama as the
reincarnation of the Twelfth, traces of the Priest-Patron relationship between
Tibet and the Manchus still existed. He was recognized as the unmistaken
reincarnation by the Eighth Panchen Lama, the predictions of the Nechung and
Samye oracles and by observing visions that appeared in Lhamoi Latso, therefore
the Golden Urn procedure was not followed. This can be clearly understood from
the Thirteenth Dalai Lama’s final testament of the Water-Monkey Year (1933) in
which he states:
“As you all know, I was selected not in the customary way of picking lots from
the golden urn, but my selection was foretold and divined. In accordance with
these divinations and prophecies I was recognized as the reincarnation of the
Dalai Lama and enthroned.”
When I was recognized as the Fourteenth incarnation of the Dalai Lama in 1939,
the Priest-Patron relationship between Tibet and China had already come to an
end. Therefore, there was no question of any need to confirm the reincarnation
by employing the Golden Urn. It is well-known that the then Regent of Tibet and
the Tibetan National Assembly had followed the procedure for recognizing the
Dalai Lama’s reincarnation taking account of the predictions of high Lamas,
oracles and the visions seen in Lhamoi Latso; the Chinese had no involvement in
it whatever. Nevertheless, some concerned officials of the Guomintang later
cunningly spread lies in the newspapers claiming that they had agreed to forego
the use of the Golden Urn and that Wu Chung-tsin presided over my enthronement,
and so on. This lie was exposed by Ngabo Ngawang Jigme, the Vice-Chairman
of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, who the People’s
Republic of China considered to be a most progressive person, at the Second
Session of the Fifth People’s Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region (31st
July 1989). This is clear, when, at the end of his speech, in which he gave a
detailed explanation of events and presented documentary evidence, he demanded:
“What need is there for the Communist Party to follow suit and continue the
lies of the Guomintang?”
Deceptive strategy and
false hopes
In the recent past, there have been cases of irresponsible managers of wealthy Lama-estates who indulged in improper methods to recognize
reincarnations, which have undermined the Dharma, the monastic community and
our society. Moreover, since the Manchu era Chinese political authorities
repeatedly engaged in various deceitful means using Buddhism, Buddhist masters
and Tulkus as tools to fulfil their political ends as they involved themselves
in Tibetan and Mongolian affairs. Today, the authoritarian rulers of the
People’s Republic of China, who as communists reject religion, but still
involve themselves in religious affairs, have imposed a so-called re-education
campaign and declared the so-called Order No. Five, concerning the control and
recognition of reincarnations, which came into force on 1st September 2007.
This is outrageous and disgraceful. The enforcement of various inappropriate
methods for recognizing reincarnations to eradicate our unique Tibetan cultural
traditions is doing damage that will be difficult to repair.
Moreover, they say they are waiting for my death and will recognize a Fifteenth
Dalai Lama of their choice. It is clear from their recent rules and regulations
and subsequent declarations that they have a detailed strategy to deceive Tibetans,
followers of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and the world community. Therefore,
as I have a responsibility to protect the Dharma and sentient beings and
counter such detrimental schemes, I make the following declaration.
The next incarnation of
the Dalai Lama
As I mentioned earlier, reincarnation is a phenomenon which should take place either through the voluntary choice of the
concerned person or at least on the strength of his or her karma, merit and
prayers. Therefore, the person who reincarnates has sole legitimate authority
over where and how he or she takes rebirth and how that reincarnation is to be
recognized. It is a reality that no one else can force the person concerned, or
manipulate him or her. It is particularly inappropriate for Chinese communists,
who explicitly reject even the idea of past and future lives, let alone the
concept of reincarnate Tulkus, to meddle in the system of reincarnation and
especially the reincarnations of the Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas. Such brazen
meddling contradicts their own political ideology and reveals their double
standards. Should this situation continue in the future, it will be impossible
for Tibetans and those who follow the Tibetan Buddhist tradition to acknowledge
or accept it.
When I am about ninety I will consult the high Lamas of the Tibetan Buddhist
traditions, the Tibetan public, and other concerned people who follow Tibetan
Buddhism, and re-evaluate whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should
continue or not. On that basis we will take a decision. If it is decided that
the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama should continue and there is a need for the
Fifteenth Dalai Lama to be recognized, responsibility for doing so will
primarily rest on the concerned officers of the Dalai Lama’s Gaden Phodrang
Trust. They should consult the various heads of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions
and the reliable oath-bound Dharma Protectors who are linked inseparably to the
lineage of the Dalai Lamas. They should seek advice and direction from these
concerned beings and carry out the procedures of search and recognition in
accordance with past tradition. I shall leave clear written instructions about
this. Bear in mind that, apart from the reincarnation recognized through such
legitimate methods, no recognition or acceptance should be given to a candidate
chosen for political ends by anyone, including those in the People’s Republic
of China.
The Dalai Lama
Dharamsala
September 24, 2011
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