type
status
date
slug
summary
tags
category
icon
password
AI summary
The system of reincarnation of living Buddhas is a unique way of inheritance in Tibetan Buddhism. It means that after the death of a living Buddha, the search for his reincarnated soul boy is done according to the clues he provided during his lifetime, and then he is confirmed according to a certain procedure to become the successor of the living Buddha.
The reincarnation system of living Buddhas has been widely recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community and continues to this day. So how did it come about? Let me take you back to the past and explore the origin of the reincarnation system of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism in the long river of history.
The term "Living Buddha" first appeared in the Yuan Dynasty. Living Buddha, called "Zhugu" in Tibetan, is the abbreviation of "Zhubeigu", which means "illusion" or "incarnation".
In the 13th century, Tibet became an administrative region directly under the jurisdiction of the central government of the Yuan Dynasty. Kublai Khan named the Sakya sect leader Phagpa as "the son of the Buddha in the West, the incarnation of the Buddha". After that, people began to call Tibetan monks "living Buddhas". After Tibetan Buddhism was introduced into Mongolia, the word "Zhugu" was called "Hubilhan" in Mongolian, referring to monks who had achieved certain achievements in religious practice. It was not until the establishment of the living Buddha reincarnation system that it became a special name for the successor of the temple leader.
The Tibetan Buddhist system of reincarnation of living Buddhas was formed under specific historical conditions and has undergone a long period of development.
The earliest selection of reincarnated living Buddhas was initiated by the Black Hat sect of the Karma Kagyu sect.
Before this, the inheritance methods of various sects of Tibetan Buddhism were different. For example, the Kadam sect, the predecessor of the Gelug sect, was passed down from master to disciple, while the Sakya sect was inherited from father to son.
In 1252, Karmapaxi, a high monk of the Karma Kagyu sect, was named the national teacher by Mongke and was given a black hat with gold edges and a gold seal. In 1283, Karmapaxi passed away. According to the rules of the Karma Kagyu sect, marriage is not allowed, and the religious power cannot be inherited by the direct relatives.
In order to safeguard the interests of the sect, based on the Buddhist concept of "consciousness is immortal, reincarnation, reappearance of the body, coming with a wish", a child was found as the "reincarnation of Karmapa". This was the first time in the history of Tibetan Buddhism that a child was confirmed as the reincarnation of a predecessor, and the reincarnation system of the Black Hat Living Buddha was established.
The establishment of the living Buddha reincarnation system is based on both religious theory and complex practical needs. This inheritance method was created and formed in the late period of Tibetan Buddhism.
At that time, there were conflicts and struggles among various sects to compete for believers, expand their influence, and compete for spheres of influence. Through the reincarnation of living Buddhas, the basic doctrines and rituals of Buddhism can be coordinated with the complex political and religious factors of the political and religious upper levels, solving the problem of the inheritance and continuation of the status of religious leaders and political and economic power. It has gradually developed into an important means to safeguard the interests of temples, maintain religious privileges, and consolidate the system of the unity of politics and religion, and has been imitated by various sects of Tibetan Buddhism.
By the time the People's Republic of China was founded, there were already about a thousand living Buddha reincarnation systems in all ethnic groups and regions that believed in Tibetan Buddhism, forming a huge group of living Buddhas.
The Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism was founded at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries.
Since lamas were forbidden to marry, the religious leaders of the Gelug sect adopted the method of reincarnation first created by the Kagyu sect, and gradually formed the two largest living Buddha systems of the Dalai Lama and Panchen Erdeni.
The Dalai Lama reincarnation system was established in the 16th century.
In 1546, after the death of Gendun Gyatso, a disciple of the abbot of Drepung Monastery, in order to prevent internal division, the reincarnation method of the Karma Kagyu sect was adopted. The upper-level lamas in power found the three-year-old Sonam Gyatso as his reincarnated soul boy, who became the successor leader of the Yellow Sect temple group. This was the beginning of the Yellow Sect's adoption of the system of reincarnation of living Buddhas.
In 1578, Altan Khan, the leader of the Tumed tribe of Mongolia, bestowed the title of "Vazir Dalai Lama, the Holy One" on Sonam Gyatso. Since then, the Yellow Sect temple group has recognized Tsongkhapa's disciple Gendun Zhuba as the first Dalai Lama, Gendun Gyatso as the second Dalai Lama, and Sonam Gyatso as the third Dalai Lama according to this title.
In 1652, the Fifth Dalai Lama traveled thousands of miles to Beijing to pay homage to Emperor Shunzhi, and was granted the title of "The Dalai Lama of the Western Paradise, the Great Benevolent and Free Buddha, who leads the Buddhist religion under the heaven" (meaning "a master who has achieved the highest accomplishment in both exoteric and esoteric Buddhism, has transcended the ordinary and entered into a saint, and whose knowledge of Buddhism is as vast as the ocean"). The title of Dalai Lama was officially confirmed from then on.
In 1645, Gushri Khan, the leader of the Khoshut tribe of the Eleuth Mongols, invaded Tibet with the help of Lobsang Chokyi Gyaltsen, the abbot of Tashilhunpo Monastery, and drove out the forces of the Tsangpa Khan. In recognition of Lobsang Chokyi Gyaltsen's achievements, Gushri Khan bestowed upon him the title of "Panchen Bogdo" (meaning "great scholar"), and posthumously recognized the successive generations of masters and apprentices before Lobsang Chokyi Gyaltsen as the first, second, and third Panchen Lamas. This was the official beginning of the title of Panchen Lama.
After the Fourth Panchen Lama passed away, Lobsang Yixi was recognized as his reincarnation. In 1713, the Qing Dynasty central government officially conferred the title of "Panchen Erdeni" (Erdeni means "treasure") on Lobsang Yixi. In this way, the Gelugpa established a Panchen Lama living Buddha system.
In addition to the two major reincarnation systems of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Erdeni, the Qing Dynasty also saw the reincarnation system of the Mongol Jebtsundamba Living Buddha, which governed the political and religious affairs of the Khalkha region, and the reincarnation system of the Zhangjia Living Buddha, which governed the religious affairs of the Inner Mongolian and Gansu-Qinghai Tibetan regions. In addition, there were also famous reincarnation systems of the Demu, Pabala, Jamyang, and Reting.
Historically, living Buddhas have played an important role in the political and religious life of Tibet and are an important force for the central government to exercise effective management over Tibet. Therefore, successive central governments have always attached great importance to the management of the reincarnation of living Buddhas.
The Yuan Dynasty implemented a system of conferring titles on great living Buddhas. Kublai Khan conferred Phagpa as the imperial teacher, in charge of Buddhist affairs throughout the country. In the Ming Dynasty, based on the characteristics of the numerous local religious sects in Tibet, the policy of "conferring titles to many and establishing many sects, governing according to local customs" was implemented. For example, the famous "three great Dharma Kings" of Tibetan Buddhism, the Great Treasure Dharma King, the Mahayana Dharma King, and the Great Compassion Dharma King, were titles given by the Ming Dynasty to the leaders of the Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug sects in Tibet.
The Qing Dynasty's methods of managing the reincarnation of living Buddhas became increasingly perfect, and a relatively complete reincarnation system was formed. For example, the title of Great Living Buddha Hutuktu was granted by the imperial court, and the names of the names were recorded in the registers of the Lifanyuan. Their reincarnation had to be reported to the Lifanyuan and accepted by the Qing court. The reincarnation of a Hutuktu had to be done by drawing lots from the golden urn, and to be exempted from the drawing lots had to be reported to the imperial court for approval. The central government could remove or re-confer the title of a living Buddha, and could stop, prohibit or approve the reincarnation of a living Buddha, and so on.
The Republic of China followed the historical custom of the Qing Dynasty and promulgated the "Regulations on the Management of Lama Temples" in 1935. In 1936, the "Regulations on the Reincarnation of Lamas" were promulgated, which made legal provisions for important matters in the reincarnation of living Buddhas such as the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, and completed the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama and the 9th Panchen Lama.
.webp?table=block&id=13db5dc8-d074-80b2-8fe9-f21b87232b6a&t=13db5dc8-d074-80b2-8fe9-f21b87232b6a&width=640&cache=v2)
The golden urn for drawing lots for the reincarnation of the living Buddha, two of them, one in the Lama Temple in Beijing and the other in the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa
After the founding of New China, especially after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, the living Buddha reincarnation system of Tibetan Buddhism received due attention in accordance with the state's religious policy.
In accordance with historical customs and Tibetan Buddhist rituals, the search, identification and enthronement of the reincarnated soul boy of the 10th Panchen Lama was successfully completed in 1995.
Since 1991, Tibet, Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu, Yunnan and other five provinces and regions have approved nearly 1,000 new reincarnated living Buddhas. On July 18, 2007, China's State Administration of Religious Affairs promulgated the "Regulations on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism", which was officially implemented on September 1.
This is another important measure for the Chinese government to implement the Regulations on Religious Affairs and protect citizens' freedom of religious belief in accordance with the law. It indicates that the Chinese government's management of the reincarnation of living Buddhas has further entered the track of legalization. It will definitely have an important impact on standardizing the management of the reincarnation of living Buddhas, better protecting citizens' freedom of religious belief in accordance with the law, maintaining the normal order of Tibetan Buddhism and building a socialist harmonious society.
上一篇
After experiencing all kinds of suffering in this world, I know the preciousness of saying "Amitabha"
下一篇
Debunking Tai Sui Myths: A Guide to Understanding and Harnessing Its Power
Loading...
