89.
Q: What is the reincarnation system of the Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism? | |
A: The reincarnation system of Living Buddhas was established as a means to decide the succession of religious leaders of Tibetan Buddhism, and it is this characteristic that differentiates it from other Buddhist sects. It combines the Buddhist doctrine of the perpetuity of the soul and the power of karma, with the Buddhist concepts of enlightenment and release from worldly cares, reincarnation, and lifting souls out of purgatory. It has won the acknowledgement of the Buddhist circles. The reincarnation system of the Living Buddhas began with the Garma Gargyu sub-sect of Tibetan Buddhism. When Dusum Qingba Qoigyi Chagba, chief of the Garma Gargyu sub-sect, passed aeay in 1193, he told his disciples that he would "Teturn through reincarnation." Eleven years later, Garma Baxi was born, and at the age of ten was chosen as reincarnated soul boy by Dusum Qingba's chief disciple Bongchagba. After a decade of training, Garma Baxi became the first reincarnated Living Buddha in Tibet. In the mid-16th century, the Dalai and Panchen of the Yellow Sect also adopted the reincarnation system, and by the mid-17th century, reincarnation had become the main hereditary means of determining the Living Buddha within Tibetan Buddhism.
Following the adoption of the reincarnation ssytem of the Living Buddha, fraudulent practices were perpetrated in the search for soul boys reincarnate. To put a stop to any fraud, in 1793 the central government of the Qing Dynasty bestowed a golden urn on the Jokhang Monastery in Lhasa (later transferred to the Potala Palace), from which to draw lots when ascertaining the correct soul boy to be Living Buddha above the level of Hutuktu, such as Dalai and Panchen, in Tibetan areas. The central government also granted a golden urn to the Yonghegong Lamasery in Beijing, for choosing Living Buddhas above the level of Hutuktu in Mongolian areas. |
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