A tulku (Tibetan: སྤྲུལ་སྐུ, Wylie: sprul sku, ZYPY: Zhügu, also tülku, trulku) is a Tibetan Buddhistlama who has, through phowa and siddhi, consciously determined to emanate (often misunderstood as being reborn), often many times, in order to continue their Bodhisattva vow. 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 (1391–1474). It is held in the Vajrayana tradition that the oldest lineage of tulkus is that of the Karmapas (spiritual head of the Karma Kagyu lineage), which began with Düsum Khyenpa (1110-1193).
Nomenclature, orthography and etymology
The term tülku is the Tibetan 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.
History
The Tibetan institution of the tulku as reincarnate lama developed during the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries, as various Schools of Tibetan Buddhism began to accept the possibility that exemplary figures might remain within the human world as institutional teachers, manifesting from one lifetime to the next out of compassion. At this point, the notion of nirmanakaya, or created body of a Buddha, became linked to a notion of regular re-manifestation (Tibetan: yangsi, Wylie: g.yang-srid). The most dramatic—and, at the time, controversial—innovation here was the idea that a tulku could inherit the estate (Tibetan: labrang) of their previous incarnation. 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 re-manifestation was the second Karmapa, Karma Pakshi (1204-1283). The Karmapa is now in his 17th incarnation.
Usually the Tulku heirs have been male that is they appeared in male forms.
By far the most politically powerful tulku lineage for the past several hundred years have been the Dalai Lamas, which has seen a total of fourteen incarnations beginning with Gedun Drub. Note that the title "Dalai Lama" was not applied to this line from the beginning: the second incarnation was seen simply as the rebirth of Gedun Drub. The same was true of the third incarnation, 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 (1617–1682), 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 reincarnations of the Shamarpa secretly during the intervening period.
The recognition of tulkus has sometimes involved ambiguity as well as controversy [1]
. According to Tibetan historian Samten Gyaltsen Karmay, Lobsang Gyatso, the 5th Dalai Lama, wrote in his autobiography
The official Tsawa Kachu of the Ganden Palace showed me statues and rosaries (that belonged to the Fourth Dalai Lama and other lamas), but I was unable to distinguish between them! When he left the room I heard him tell the people outside that I had successfully passed the tests. Later, when he became my tutor, he would often admonish me and say: "You must work hard, since you were unable to recognize the objects!"
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. The vast majority of tulkus are men, although there are a small number of female tulku lineages.
Lineages of tulkus may be interlinked—for example the Panchen Lama traditionally recognizes the new incarnation of the Dalai Lama and vice versa. 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.[3] This process was portrayed in the movie Kundun.
As a tulku nears death, the people around him listen carefully for clues which may help in finding his reincarnation. 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.
While most tulkus historically have been Tibetans, some have also been born among various other peoples with whom the Tibetans have had contact, such as the Mongols. 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 Ösel (born 1985), the child of Spanish parents, who has been recognized as the reincarnation of Thubten Yeshe, an influential Tibetan lama.
Another Westerner who has been recognised as a tulku is Lama Shenphen Rinpoche, who was officially recognised by the board of Kharnang Monastery, and the Jhadrel Khangtsen of Sera-Jhe Monastic University.[4]
The American film actor Steven Seagal, while already an adult, was recognized by Penor Rinpoche, the head of the Nyingma school, as the reincarnation of a 17th century tertön from eastern Tibet, Chungdrag Dorje. 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 it is customary for a tulku.[5]
Dalai Lama
An example of one who is both a yangsi and a Tulku is His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This is because 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 Chenrezi, Avalokiteshvara. So he is a unique example of being considered both. [6]
The TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender uses a similar concept, where the Avatar Spirit is continually reborn into human form with new incarnations picked by selecting the objects of previous Avatars.
