Tulku
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Tulku
A ''tulku'' (, also ''tülku'', ''trulku'') is a reincarnate custodian of a specific lineage of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism who is given empowerments and trained from a young age by students of his or her predecessor. High-profile examples of tulkus include the Dalai Lamas, the Panchen Lamas, the Samding Dorje Phagmos, the Karmapas, Khyentses, the Zhabdrung Rinpoches, and the Kongtruls. Nomenclature and etymology The word སྤྲུལ or 'sprul' (Modern Lhasa Tibetan ) 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' ...
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Tulku (film)
''Tulku'' is a 2009 documentary film, written and directed by Gesar Mukpo. The film details the personal experiences of five young Western men who were identified in childhood as being tulkus, or reincarnated Tibetan Buddhist masters. For over 700 years tulkus have been sought out as highly revered leaders and teachers of Tibetan Buddhism. Beginning in the 1970s, several tulkus have been identified as having incarnated in the West. These new, Western-born, very modern tulkus lead lives prone to culture clash and identity confusion. Background Gesar Mukpo, who wrote and directed ''Tulku'', was born in 1973, the son of world-renowned Tibetan Buddhist master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and his British wife Diana. At the age of three, Mukpo was identified by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche as the reincarnation of the late Shechen Kongtrul Rinpoche (the Jamgon Kongtrul of Shechen), one of his own father's teachers in Tibet. Three-year-old Gesar was then enthroned as a tulku in Berkeley, Calif ...
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Dalai Lamas
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso, who lives as a refugee in India. The Dalai Lama is also considered to be the successor in a line of tulkus who are believed to be incarnations of Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Since the time of the 5th Dalai Lama in the 17th century, his personage has always been a symbol of unification of the state of Tibet, where he has represented Buddhist values and traditions. The Dalai Lama was an important figure of the Geluk tradition, which was politically and numerically dominant in Central Tibet, but his religious authority went beyond sectarian boundaries. While he had no formal or institutional role in any of the religious traditions, which were headed by their own high lamas, he was a unifying symb ...
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Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majority regions surrounding the Himalayan areas of India (such as Ladakh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and a minority in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand), in much of Central Asia, in the southern Siberian regions such as Tuva, and in Mongolia. Tibetan Buddhism evolved as a form of Mahāyāna Buddhism stemming from the latest stages of Indian Buddhism (which also included many Vajrayāna elements). It thus preserves many Indian Buddhist tantric practices of the post-Gupta early medieval period (500 to 1200 CE), along with numerous native Tibetan developments. In the pre-modern era, Tibetan Buddhism spread outside of Tibet primarily due to the influence of the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), founded by Kublai Khan, which had ruled China, ...
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Samding Dorje Phagmo
The Samding Dorje Phagmo () is the highest female incarnation in Tibet''The Power-places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide'', (1988) p. 268. Keith Dowman. . and the third highest-ranking person in the hierarchy after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. She was listed among the highest-ranking reincarnations at the time of the 5th Dalai Lama, recognized by the Tibetan government and acknowledged by the emperors of Qing China. In her first incarnation, as Chökyi Drönma (1422 CE–1455 CE), she was the student and consort of the famous polymath Thang Tong Gyalpo, who first identified her as an emanation of Vajravārāhī, and the consort of Bodong Panchen. The seat of the Samding Dorje Phagmo is at Samding Monastery, in Tibet. History and background The seat of the Samding Dorje Phagmo is at the Samding Monastery "Temple of Soaring Meditation." The Samding Monastery is associated with the Bodong school of Tibetan Buddhism. It was unique because half of the inhabitants were ...
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Jamgon Kongtrul
Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé (, 1813–1899), also known as Jamgön Kongtrül the Great, was a Tibetan Buddhist scholar, poet, artist, physician, tertön and polymath.Jackson, Roger R. The Tibetan Leonardo, 2012, https://www.lionsroar.com/the-tibetan-leonardo/ He was one of the most prominent Tibetan Buddhists of the 19th century and he is credited as one of the founders of the Rimé movement (non-sectarian), compiling what is known as the "Five Great Treasuries".Jamgon Kongtrul, Kalu Rinpoche translation group, The Treasury of Knowledge: Book One: Myriad Worlds, Translators' Introduction. He achieved great renown as a scholar and writer, especially among the Nyingma and Kagyu lineages and composed over 90 volumes of Buddhist writing, including his magnum opus, '' The Treasury of Knowledge''. Overview Kongtrül was born in Rongyab (rong rgyab), Kham, then part of the Derge Kingdom.Alexander Gardner, "Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye," Treasury of Lives, accessed May 18, 2018, ht ...
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Panchen Lama
The Panchen Lama () is a tulku of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Panchen Lama is one of the most important figures in the Gelug tradition, with its spiritual authority second only to Dalai Lama. Along with the council of high lamas, he is in charge of seeking out the next Dalai Lama. ''Panchen'' is a portmanteau of '' Pandita'' and ''Chenpo'', meaning "great scholar". The recognition of Panchen Lamas began with Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen, tutor of the 5th Dalai Lama, who received the title "Panchen Bogd" from Altan Khan and the Dalai Lama in 1645. ''Bogd'' is Mongolian, meaning "holy". Khedrup Gelek Pelzang, Sönam Choklang and Ensapa Lobsang Döndrup were subsequently recognized as the first to third Panchen Lamas posthumously. In 1713, the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty granted the title Panchen Erdeni to the 5th Panchen Lama. In 1792, the Qianlong Emperor issued a decree known as the 29-Article Ordinance for the More Effective Governing of Tibet, and Article ...
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Karmapa
The Karmapa (honorific title '' His Holiness the Gyalwa'' ྒྱལ་བ་, Victorious One''Karmapa'', more formally as ''Gyalwang'' ྒྱལ་དབང་ཀརྨ་པ་, King of Victorious Ones''Karmapa'', and informally as the ''Karmapa Lama'') is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the Kagyu (བཀའ་བརྒྱུད, ), itself one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Karmapa was Tibet's first consciously incarnating lama. The historical seat of the Karmapas is Tsurphu Monastery in the Tolung valley of Tibet. The Karmapa's principal seat in exile is the Dharma Chakra Centre at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim, India. His regional monastic seats are Karma Triyana Dharmachakra in New York and Dhagpo Kagyu Ling in Dordogne, France. Due to a controversy within the Karma Kagyu school over the recognition process, the identity of the current 17th Karmapa is disputed by some. See Karmapa controversy for details. Origin of the lineage ...
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Zhabdrung Rinpoche
Zhabdrung (also Shabdrung; ; "before the feet of ones submit") was a title used when referring to or addressing great lamas in Tibet, particularly those who held a hereditary lineage. In Bhutan the title almost always refers to Ngawang Namgyal (1594–1651), the founder of the Bhutanese state, or one of his successive reincarnations. Ngawang Namgyal The lineage traces through the founder of the country, Ngawang Namgyal, a high Drukpa Lineage lama from Tibet who was the first to unify the warring valley kingdoms under a single rule. He is revered as the third most important figure behind Padmasambhava and Shakyamuni Buddha by the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. Ngawang Namgyal established the dual system of government under the "Great Tsa Yig" legal code. Under this system, political power was vested in an administrative leader, the Druk Desi, assisted by a collection of local governors or ministers called penlops. A religious leader, the Je Khenpo, held ...
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Vajrayana
Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring to Buddhism, Buddhist traditions associated with Tantra and "Secret Mantra", which developed in the Medieval India, medieval Indian subcontinent and spread to Tibet, Nepal, other Himalayan states, East Asia, and Mongolia. Vajrayāna practices are connected to specific lineages in Buddhism, through the teachings of lineage holders. Others might generally refer to texts as the Buddhist Tantras. It includes practices that make use of mantras, dharanis, mudras, mandalas and the visualization of deities and Buddhas. Traditional Vajrayāna sources say that the tantras and the lineage of Vajrayāna were taught by Gautama Buddha, Śākyamuni Buddha and other figures such as the bodhisattva Vajrapani and Padmasambhava. Contemporary historians of Bu ...
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Longchen Nyingthig
Longchen Nyingthig () is a '' terma'', revealed scripture, of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, which gives a systematic explanation of Dzogchen. It was revealed by Jigme Lingpa (1730–1798). Etymology Longchen Nyingthig may be translated as 'seminal heart of Longchenpa', or 'vast expanse heart essence', a reference to the central figure of Jigme Lingpa's 'pure visions' () in which the texts were revealed. 'Nyingthig' (which connotes 'seminal essence' or 'heart focus'). 'Thig' is an etymon of 'thig-le' which is the Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit ' bindu', the central point of the 'mandala' (Tibetan: khorlo). Alternate orthographies: Longchen Nyingtik. History and background Dzogchen teachings have been classified in three sections namely: Semde (mind class/cycle); Longdé (space class/cycle); and Mengagde (direct/oral instruction class/cycle). Shri Singha divided the Mengagde into a further four cycles: the outer, inner, esoteric, and innermost esoteric cycle ...
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Unmistaken Child
''Unmistaken Child'' is a 2008 independent documentary film, which follows a Tibetan Buddhist monk's search for the reincarnation of his beloved teacher, a world-renowned lama. It was directed by Nati Baratz. Plot The documentary follows a Tibetan Buddhist monk's search for the reincarnation of his beloved teacher, the world-renowned lama (master teacher) Geshe Lama Konchog. The filming, which began in October 2001, spans a time frame of five and a half years. It follows the deceased lama's closest disciple – a modest young monk named Tenzin Zopa, who speaks English well – as he seeks to find the child who is his master's reincarnation. Because Tenzin is only a humble monk, he questions his ability to accurately find and recognize the reincarnation of an enlightened master. He is daunted by the difficulty of the task, for which he alone seems responsible. Following a combination of prayer, intuition, and various forms of divination, Tenzin travels to the tiny villages of the ...
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Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo
Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (, 1820–1892), also known by his tertön title, Pema Ösel Dongak Lingpa, was a renowned teacher, scholar and tertön of 19th-century Tibet. He was a leading figure in the Rimé movement. Having seen how the Gelug institutions pushed the other traditions into the corners of Tibet's cultural life, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé compiled together the teachings of the Sakya, Kagyu and Nyingma, including many near-extinct teachings, thus creating the Rimé movement. Without their collection and printing of rare works, the suppression of Buddhism by the Communists would have been much more final. Biography Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo was born in 1820 on the 5th day of the 6th month of the Iron Dragon year of the 14th Rabjung, in the region of Yaru Khyungchen Drak in the village of Taerlung in Derge, Kham. His father was Rinchen Namgyal, the secretary of the king of Derge belonging to the Nyö clan, and a descendant of Drikung Changc ...
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