Tulku

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In Tibetan Buddhism, tulku (also tülku, trulku, etc.) is an epithet used to refer to a high lama or other spiritually significant figure. The most famous example is the Dalai Lama, who is said to be a manifestation of the celestial bodhisattva Avalokitesvara as well as the reincarnation of the previous thirteen Dalai Lamas, starting with Gedun Drup (1391 – 1474), the first abbot of Tashilhunpo monastery in Tibet.

1 Meaning
2 History
3 A list of notable tulku lineages
4 See also
5 External link

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Meaning

Etymologically, the term tulku has several meanings which have changed over history. Originally, it derives from the Mahayana Buddhist concept of nirmanakaya ('emanation body'), referring to the third 'body' (or ontological level) of the Buddha, in which Buddhahood is manifest within the world (as opposed to within nirvana or the celestial realms). In this sense, the term refers primarily to a tulku's status as a manifestation of one or more celestial figures (such as Amitabha, Avalokitesvara, Manjusri, Tara, etc.). In this sense, the Tibetan use is hardly innovative: many Buddhist figures within the Mahayana tradition have been declared nirmanakayas, both inside and outside Tibet. In most Mahayana traditions, however, they have been understood as one-off events, single lives that exemplified the Buddhist teachings.

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History

However, from the 12th-14th Century, various Tibetan schools of Buddhism began to accept the possibility that such exemplary figures might remain within the human world as institutional teachers, reincarnating from one lifetime to the next out of compassion for their students. In this sense, the notion of an 'emanation body' became linked to a notion of regular re-incarnation (Tib. yangsi, Wylie g.yang srid). The most dramatic (and, at the time, controversial) innovation here was the idea that - in the case of tulkus - a re-incarnation could inherit the estate (called a labrang) of his previous incarnation.

This last idea - of inheritance - allowed for the rise of hugely wealthy estates belonging to lineages of reincarnating tulkus. The first recognized tulku of this kind was the Karmapa (or more precisely, the second Karmapa, Karma Pakshi (1024-1283). The Karmapa, head of the Karma Kagyu school of Buddhism, is presently on his 17th incarnation. By far the most politically powerful of such incarnate lineages have been the Dalai Lamas, with 13 incarnations being recognised since the 'First' Dalai Lama, Gendundrup. By the time of the Ganden Podrang government of the Dalai Lamas, 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.

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. At least one modern tulku incarnation, Steven Seagal, is of North American origin [1]. Female tulkus have been known to occur but are exceedingly uncommon.

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 in always the potential candidate is vetted by respected lamas, who often use tests such as checking if the child can recognize persons or artifacts from his previous life or answer questions only knowable by his former self.

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 describing where they will be found. Prophecies, which may date forward or backward many generations, also play a role.

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