On the Theory and Practice of Tibetan Reincarantion

The

Dalai Lama Emperor of China a nd t h e

A Political History of the

Tibetan Institution of Reincarnation

Peter Schwieger

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THE RISE OF A “UNIQUE CULTURE” The foundation for what we call “Tibet” was laid between the seventh and the first half of the ninth century a.d . During that period, Tibet developed from a decentralized clan society into a mighty kingdom competing against Tang Dynasty China for control of the Inner Asian trade routes, known today as the Silk Road. It was the only period in Tibetan history in which nearly the whole of what now—ethnically, culturally, and linguistically—constitutes Tibet was unified under a single Tibetan ruler. There were even times in this period when it subdued other groups. Moreover, this was the era in which what we generally perceive as Tibetan culture—Tibetan script, Buddhism, literature, and law—began.

The collapse of the Tibetan kingdom after the murder of its last king in 842 resulted in a fragmentation of political power. Without generous royal patronage and privileges, Buddhist monasticism was also unable to survive. Because textual production ceased, about one hundred years of Tibetan history vanished more or less in the dark. When Tibet finally reappeared on the stage, it was again dominated by decentralized clan structures. Between the tenth and thirteenth centuries, these clans became the basis for the rebirth of Buddhism in Tibet. This process, the subject of an excellent study,14 is referred to as the “Tibetan Renaissance.” Just as the various clans vied with each other to gain new esoteric Buddhist teachings from India, various distinct Buddhist traditions were established in Tibet. However, unlike the European Renaissance, the

FIGURE 0.1 The Tibetan plateau Created with stepmap.de

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Tibetan “rebirth process”15 did not result in a liberation from traditional and religious fetters but in an increasing canonization of beliefs and views. Compared to the period of the Tibetan kingdom, the horizon became narrow and closed. Whole segments of the world, once part of the Tibetan sphere of interaction, were simply forgotten. The prominent kings of the past were reduced to dharmarājas, kings whose only intention was the promotion of Buddhism for the welfare of sentient beings. The dominant role in Tibetan societies was now occupied by the lamas, the personal spiritual teachers competent to transmit powerful esoteric teachings.16 Tibet thus evolved into a religion-centric culture unified by Mahāyāna Buddhism in its special form of Vajrayāna, perceived generally nowadays as a “unique culture.” This view is enhanced by the fact that the clerical Tibetan elite began distinguishing themselves from others by narrating a coherent history of common origin, common fate, and a common project of salvation. This history links Tibet more strongly to the Buddhist India of the past than to imperial China and Inner Asia.

When the Mongols in 1249 brought most of the Tibetan areas under their rule, the lamas presented themselves as prominent figures. Through them, the Mongols were able to govern Tibet. The social and political role that the lamas already had was thereby enhanced. The head lamas of Sakya Monastery and their families administered Tibet as vassals of the Mongols. On several occasions, the Mongols had to reinforce their political authority by sending in military forces. After Qubilai Qan had finally established the Yuan Dynasty in China through the final defeat of the Southern Song in 1279, Tibet became part of the Yuan Empire.

Acting as Imperial Preceptors (dishi), Sakyapa hierarchs now ranked among the most influential imperial officials. Even though their decrees carried the same weight in Tibet as those of the emperor,17 they always acted explicitly on the emperor’s behalf. Therefore all of their decrees started with a set phrase of authorization, as illustrated by the document below. It was issued in a Dragon year by Rinchen Gyeltsen, a half-brother of Pakpa (1235–1280), who since 1274 had been his immediate successor as Imperial Preceptor. ATAR dates the decree at 1304. However, historiographic sources date the death of Rinchen Gyeltsen in either 1279 or 1282.18 The only Dragon year during the period 1274 to 1282 was 1280. Therefore 1280 is most likely the year of issue and 1282 the year of his death.

By the order of the Emperor Speech of the Imperial Preceptor Rinchen Gyeltsen: that which is pronounced to the heads of the Pacification Commissioners’ Office [xuanweisi, 宣慰司] who stay in the area of Tsang and Ü, the military officers,

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the soldiers, the local garrison commanders, the judges, those who collect taxes and travel [on official assignments], those in charge of the postal stations, the stockmen, the henchmen, the tribal chiefs, and the commoners: The monks, the patrons, and the disciples of the monastic estates and religious endowments belonging to Epa and owned by lopön Khöntön and lopön Rinchen Pel Zangpo are explaining [the doctrine], listening [to the teachings], and praying aspirational prayers for the emperor in accordance with the tradition.

According to the order of the emperor, do not take away and confiscate the fields, estates, land, water, and pastures owned by them. Do not lodge in their monastery. Do not levy taxes on their land and trade. Do not stir up trouble by using false pretexts, for example [demanding] pretended loans and [sowing] discord. Do not graze the dzo19 and horses [on their land]. Do not carry away their farm tools and pack donkeys as security. Concerning cattle and sheep, do not seize their herds. Do not take their pack horses away for compulsory labor. Do not use violence [toward them].

[I] have granted a document that must be preserved after it is proclaimed. If someone, after seeing this document, violates it, a punishment will be caused to be made. The [recipients of the document] shall also not perform any actions that violate the law.

A document written on the twenty-fourth day of the second month of the Dragon year [February 26, 128020] in the great religious center Metok Rawa of the great palace Dadu.21

In general, prominent lamas were highly esteemed not only by their direct disciples and common followers but also by those who possessed secular authority. The lamas were able to add a religion-based legitimacy to secular rule, thus furthering the acceptance of a ruler by his subjects. Moreover, the lamas were perceived as a source of esoteric and magic power.

The outstanding religious, social, and political significance of the lama culminated in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in the development of the Tibetan trülku concept. The trülku was to become the most respected position in Tibetan societies.

ON THE THEORY AND PRACTICE UNDERLYING THE TRÜLKU POSITION Any analysis of the political role of trülkus in Tibetan history requires some knowledge of the relevant Buddhist theory and practices. These basic concepts help us understand why trülkus were motivated to act in the

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social and political spheres and what they were capable of achieving by doing so.

Fundamental to this understanding is the great Mahāyāna ideal of the bodhisattva. A bodhisattva is someone who—motivated by compassion—progresses along the path to enlightenment for the benefit of others. He also vows to remain in the cycle of rebirth to help all living beings attain buddhahood. Those bodhisattvas who have reached at least the seventh of a total of ten stages of the path to enlightenment are regarded as transcendental bodhisattvas. At this seventh stage, the bodhisattva has freed himself from the bonds of cyclic existence and is able to enter the final nirvāṇa. But because of his altruistic attitude, he decides to carry on his work of saving living beings from suffering. From the seventh stage onward, he successively acquires more and more specialized skills for fulfilling this task. Examples include choosing the appropriate means of teaching in each case, dedicating his personal merit to others, and choosing whatever appearance is necessary. At the final tenth stage, he has become a celestial bodhisattva able to emit rays that ease the suffering on Earth.22 Later, in Vajrayāna Buddhism, the bodhisattva of the higher stages mingled with the tantric figure of the siddha, an enlightened person who has developed ordinary and extraordinary magical faculties.23 The primary model for the bodhisattva who deliberately chooses the conditions for his next existence and for demonstrating how a bodhisattva works for the benefit of others is the story of the Buddha Śākyamuni.24 However, this is not a bodhisattva who resides in his transcendent sphere but at the same time emanates his manifestations in our world. According to this concept, the Buddha would not have taken the step into final nirvāṇa but would have continued in his heavenly sphere while his emanations appeared here, reincarnating themselves in a coherent chain of human lives.

In the idea of the trülku, the bodhisattva doctrine therefore encounters the “three bodies of the Buddha” (Skt. trikāya, Tib. kusum), a doctrinal system developed in the fourth century a.d . by one of the two major schools of Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism, the Vijñānavāda or Yogācāra. The Vijñānavādin differentiated three “bodies” of the Buddha, i.e., three modes or degrees of reality.

The first and highest degree is called the dharmakāya (Tib. chöku), the “body of the Dharma” or “body of reality.” This is none other than the absolute or the transcendent reality beyond all dualities, which is common to all buddhas.

The second is the sambhogakāya (Tib. longku), the “body of enjoyment.”

This “body” is not an object of our conventional sensory perceptions but represents a pure reality to be evoked in meditation. Transcendent or celestial buddhas and bodhisattvas are generally characterized as showing the mode of

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sambhogakāya. Thus they are the objects of visualizing meditation and depicted in Buddhist art adorned with ornaments and insignia of royalty.

The third is the nirmāṇakāya, the “body of emanation” or “body of manifestation,” which in Tibetan is called trülku. This “body” refers to the mode of reality that we all experience in daily life. The nirmāṇakāya therefore denotes the emanation in human form, which a transcendent buddha or bodhisattva manifests in our world in order to propagate Buddhist teachings. Although such an emanation was regarded originally as a very rare phenomenon, this view changed during the later development of Buddhism, which became known as Vajrayāna.

According to the basic theory, Tibetan saints who are regarded as trülkus are the earthly emanations of transcendent bodhisattvas. Through control of the intermediate state between death and rebirth, these bodhisattvas intentionally choose a specific human existence over and over again in order to continue their salvation project in a series of successive reincarnations. However, there has never been anything like a distinct, elaborate canonical theory of the trülku, nor was the word trülku ever a “protected name” regulated by secular or religious law. But because it was a prestigious title, the term was applied more and more to clerics over the course of time. Many were regarded as being “more Tulkus in name than Tulkus in fact.” Others were considered to belong to the lower stages of the bodhisattva path and perceived “as somewhat, moderately or considerably gifted individuals, whose training brings out their best qualities.” Then again, others belonged to “a relatively small number of Tulku who were understood as ‘very high,’ corresponding to the higher bhūmis” or stages of the bodhisattva path.25 This last category of “very high” trülkus, or the trülku in the narrow sense, is the concern of this study.

Because the distinction between transcendent bodhisattvas and transcendent buddhas became blurred, a transcendent sambhogakāya buddha such as Amitābha could also be regarded as the origin of earthly emanations, although this is not backed by any classical Indian sūtra.26 A certain degree of inconsistency concerning the trülku practice is readily acknowledged by prominent contemporary representatives of Tibetan Buddhism, such as Zamdong rinpoché (Samdhong Rinpoche), the former head of the Tibetan government in exile.27 Therefore, one should take the trülku theory not as a normative set of rules but as a set of fundamental ideas that must all be present in the ideal case. In general, both the present Dalai Lama and Zamdong rinpoché look upon the trülku system as something that was pure in its beginnings but was later corrupted through certain external practices.

These include the regulation stipulating that material property, including

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serfs, had to be passed on to the next reincarnation and the pursuit of political objectives.28 The ability to control the passage from death to rebirth is considered an essential skill that the trülku in the narrow sense must possess. The technique for this controlled change of existence is called powa, i.e., the “transference” of consciousness. The powa teachings were transmitted especially within the Kagyü traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.29 A nice narrative about someone being able to transfer his consciousness into another body is told in the life story of the early Kagyü master Marpa.30 However, the Kadam tradition, later inherited by the Geluk school, knew such narratives as well. In the Kadam Lekbam, a book redacted in 1302,31 the narratives attributed to Atiśa (982–1054) include an elaborate story in which powa makes up the central plot.32 Here a king transfers his consciousness—for the benefit of his subjects—into the decaying cadaver of an elephant that has fallen into the well of the city. The king moves the elephant out of the well in this way, only to discover that his wicked minister has stolen “his body” in the meantime in order to act as king. He finds that the minister’s corpse has thereby been rendered inoperative, which gives him no other choice but to transfer his consciousness into a nearby dead parrot. The whole story then revolves around the intricacies of getting the real king’s consciousness back into the right body.

The typical activities of a trülku are those stemming from the bodhisattva ideal. With his altruistic attitude, he is expected to be active in both the social and political spheres. One of the earliest Tibetan narratives about the previous life of a saint, depicting the protagonist as someone who acts according to the bodhisattva ideal, is found in the aforementioned Kadam Lekbam.33 Its twentytwo stories deal with the previous lives of Dromtön, the main disciple of Atiśa , who generally appears as a king who represents the ideal Buddhist ruler. Thus from the earliest times right through to the modern age, the bodhisattva in Tibet has been perceived as socially and politically influential, a person guided not by selfishness but by a desire to benefit others. For this reason, the late Zhamarpa, Mipam Chökyi Lodrö, referring to such a model rooted in classical literature, explicitly talks about “bodhisattva politics” as enlightened politics, as opposed to samsāric or selfish politics.34 The social status and the spiritual attractiveness of a trülku—among other factors—correlate with the popularity of the cult and the narratives associated with the particular transcendent bodhisattva believed to have incarnated as a particular trülku. Each transcendent bodhisattva personifies a characteristic set of abilities and ideals. A trülku regarded as the emanation of that bodhisattva is therefore perceived as endowed with these specific abilities and embodying

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these specific ideals. This also encourages him to live and act according to such patterns. The corresponding socialization, education, and spiritual practices from early childhood on guarantee the successful shaping of a personality to this end.

The most prominent candidate as a model for such outstanding social behavior and spiritual accomplishment was the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. The foundation for his attractiveness and popularity appears to have already been laid by the early representatives of the Kadam school, who in the eleventh century propagated Avalokiteśvara for the first time as the special patron of Tibet. In this same period, some had the idea to identify Songtsen Gampo, the founder of the Tibetan kingdom in the seventh century, with Avalokiteśvara, while other spiritual disciples of the aforementioned Kadampa teacher Dromtön soon tried to link their master to both King Songtsen Gampo and the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.35 Another important source for the Avalokiteśvara cult and the emphasis on his significance for Tibet and its history is the Mani Kambum. According to Tibetan tradition, this text was “discovered” in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries by three successive “treasure revealers” (tertön), but it was probably enriched later by other contributors.36 Both literary efforts were well known to the Fifth Dalai Lama, who would later use these ideas to conceptualize his own view of Tibetan history and Avalokiteśvara’s role in it.37 However, a few other transcendent bodhisattvas also played their parts. Together they even made it possible to create a network of connections mirroring the political relationships throughout a wide area.38 Geoffrey Samuel has very elegantly described these divine figures as “symbolic markers for different patterns within Tibetan culture,” who “were not simply beings outside humanity, but forces that were active within human life.”39 In Tibetan history, the strength of these patterns has been demonstrated in many ways. One is that Tibetans have based their interpretations of dominant, foreign political actors in the Tibetan world on these concepts. This is not mere opportunistic political maneuvering, but an attempt to explain political developments and their decisive actors in light of Tibetan Buddhism. However, there are magical aspects involved as well. The transcendent bodhisattvas are classified as “divinities who have gone beyond this world.” Thus they are able to pacify and control the “mundane gods.” This ability is also ascribed to their earthly emanations, the trülkus. As a result, the image of the trülku as having magical power at his disposal was widespread—even beyond the Tibetan areas.

Within the technical terminology of Tibetan Buddhism, the term for “subduing,” “taming,” or “disciplining” (dülwa) local gods is the same as the term used for the set of rules regulating the life of the monastic community.40 And among

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those who have to be disciplined (dülja) are not only the local gods but also the spiritual teacher’s “disciples.” Their lack of discipline is sometimes even perceived as being influenced by the local gods. Martin Mills has illustrated this in an interesting narrative, which came to the ears of the Russian scholar Bajar Baradiin during his stay in Labrang Monastery at the beginning of the twentieth century.41 Another example is the biography of Taktsang Repa (1574–1651), a lama regarded as the first in the line of reincarnations at Hemis Monastery in Ladakh. The text relates vivid episodes of taming robbers, local deities, and undisciplined monks.42 Here as well, the disputes among the monks were seen as resulting from the influence of the local gods. The lama resolved the situation by taming the gods and making them obey.

There are several accounts by Western travelers of the impressive dignity that Tibetan trülkus used to radiate. Perhaps the earliest is the description handed down by the Jesuit Ippolito Desideri (1684–1733), who lived in Tibet from 1716 to 1721. He wrote about the children who had been identified as trülkus: All of them manage in the same way to behave with a certain external composure, gravity, and dignity proper to holy persons, which causes great astonishment.

Because as soon as the young man is called lama we see him suddenly endowed with an almost superhuman spirit, taking on the dignity and reserve proper to a priest. Nor is he overwhelmed by ambition or avarice, vices that would be very easy to contract among all the applause and veneration of the people for his new rank, acquired at such a young age, and he lives in this way until his death, sequestered by custom from the common herd. All who are selected for the rank of Grand Lama or lama in the manner I have discussed behave like this from the start, and although many of them lead the most reprehensible life in secret, they still conform to the same upright comportment and correct behavior and continue in that way until the end of their lives.43

Desideri was astonished about this phenomenon to such an extent that he had only one explanation to offer: There remains only the possibility that the Devil should be the chief director and perpetrator of this fraud, availing himself of those boys he has selected to obtain the same result, in some degree tempering their melancholic humors to give them the tint of modesty, removing some of the fuel of certain passion so that they will not overflow externally, and also selecting from the start those of similar character who are by nature better disposed to give the same appearance of moderate and appropriate behavior.44

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Because in most cases the trülku is a lama, i.e., a male spiritual teacher, one of his primary spheres of activity is the teacher-disciple relationship. In Vajrayāna or tantric Buddhism, this relationship is very special. The spiritual teacher is not merely someone who transmits the Buddhist teachings but the one who bestows empowerments (Skt. abhiṣeka, Tib. wang) on his disciples to enable them to perform the cult practices of specific tantric deities.45 Modeled on medieval Indian rites of the investiture of a king,46 the empowerment ritual enhances the status of the lama. He introduces the disciple to the maṇḍala or realm of the deity in question and himself takes the role of the deity, i.e., a transcendent bodhisattva in the mode of sambhogakāya. Then he gives the deity’s blessing. Afterward, the disciple is authorized to perform the tantric practice in which he also will identify himself with the deity. Because the trülku is believed to possess an “enhanced ability to ‘manifest’ divine realities as focuses of blessing,” he became more attractive as a performer of empowerments than ordinary lamas.47 This also influenced the choice of the personal “root lama” (Tib. tsawé lama). Ideally, the disciple’s relationship with his root lama is based on filial devotion and perceived as a connection resulting from karmic causes in previous lives. The relationship between prominent trülkus, such as the Dalai Lamas and the Panchen Lamas, can therefore be seen as a continuous exchange of the disciple and teacher roles during a succession of lives.48 Due to the strong obligation the disciple feels toward his root lama, the relationship has also had a strong influence on Tibetan politics.

Abbot of a monastery became another position typically occupied by a trülku, as an alternative to the regulations that the succession to the abbatial seat had to fall on a member of the noble family linked with the monastery. In addition, a trülku as the head of a monastery guaranteed wider public appeal, which led to more donations and greater prosperity.

However, it was not only the monastery that benefited from the munificence of pilgrims and patrons. Donations ranging from small gifts to vast estates were also received by the trülku himself. Even though a great portion of this wealth was redistributed as an act of charity or as a contribution to the financing of religious ceremonies organized by the monastery,49 huge amounts could be accumulated over the centuries by passing the material property on to the next respective reincarnation. Needless to say, the numerous ways of controlling these resources were not without appeal for noble Tibetan families.

His role as a prominent lama and abbot enabled the trülku to perform all the functions attached to those positions, including teaching the Dharma, bestowing tantric empowerments, ordaining monks, mediating disputes among the laity or between monks of different monastic communities, establishing relations with the secular authorities, or performing divination at the request of

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monks or laypeople. It also included performing various ritual services for the common people, such as mitigating diseases, natural forces, and enemies; prolonging life; increasing harvests and wealth; gaining control over people and resources; and destroying evil forces of all kinds. Being perceived as having especially divine powers at his command, the trülku became the “more efficient” performer of the diverse activities typical of higher Tibetan ecclesiastics.

Consequently, the trülku also became the favored candidate for the position of “priest” in the “priest-patron” (chöyön) institution, created at the religiopolitical level by the Tibetan historiography on the famous relationship between the Sakya hierarch Pakpa (Pakpa Lodrö Gyeltsen, 1235–1280) and Qubilai Qan (r. 1260–1294), founder of qanate China in 1260 and the Yuan Dynasty in 1271. It has been rightly commented on that “priest-patron relationship” is a far too simplified description of this complex institution, and that “preceptorofficiant and donor” or even “officiant/spiritual preceptor-donee and donor” are more appropriate designations.50 However, for the sake of convenience, the concise expression “priest-patron relationship” has been widely accepted in the historical literature on Tibet as an equivalent for the term chöyön, and will therefore be used here.

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