Тибет буддизміндегі Тұлқу ұғымы

Title in Tibetan Buddhism

A tulku (, also tülku, trulku) is a distinctive and significant aspect of Tibetan Buddhism, embodying the concept of enlightened beings taking corporeal forms to continue the lineage of specific teachings. The term "tulku" has its origins in the Tibetan word "sprul sku", which originally referred to an emperor or ruler taking human form on Earth, signifying a divine incarnation. Over time, this term evolved within Tibetan Buddhism to denote the corporeal existence of highly accomplished Buddhist masters whose purpose is to ensure the preservation and transmission of a particular lineage. The tulku system originated in Tibet, particularly associated with the recognition of the second Karmapa in the 13th century. Since then, numerous tulku lineages have been established, with each tulku having a distinctive role in preserving and propagating specific teachings. Other high profile examples of tulkus include the Dalai Lamas, the Panchen Lamas, the Samding Dorje Phagmos, Khyentses, the Zhabdrung Rinpoches, and the Kongtruls. The process of recognizing tulkus involves a combination of traditional and supernatural methods. When a tulku passes away, a committee of senior lamas convenes to identify the reincarnation. They may look for signs left by the departed tulku, consult oracles, rely on dreams or visions, and sometimes even observe natural phenomena like rainbows. This process combines mysticism and tradition to pinpoint the successor who will carry forward the teachings of their predecessor. A Western tulku is the recognized successor to a lama or dharma master born in the West, commonly of non Tibetan ethnic heritage. This recognition has sparked debates and discussions regarding the cultural adaptation and authenticity of Westerners within the traditional Tibetan tulku system. Some argue that Westerners should explore their own forms of Buddhism rather than attempting to fit into this system. Western tulkus may struggle to gain recognition among laypeople and even other monastics. Generally, Western tulkus do not follow traditional Tibetan monastic life, and commonly leave their home monasteries for alternative careers, not necessarily chaplaincy.

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). The term tülku became associated with the translation of the Sanskrit philosophical term nirmanakaya. According to the philosophical system of trikaya or three bodies of Buddha, nirmanakaya is the Buddha's "body" in the sense of the bodymind (Sanskrit: nāmarūpa). Thus, the person of Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha, is an example of nirmanakaya. 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', the term for the imperial ruler of the Tibetan Empire, became a kind of mountain deity). Valentine summarizes the shift in meaning of the word tülku: "This term that was originally used to describe the Buddha as a 'magical emanation' of enlightenment, is best translated as 'incarnation' or 'steadfast incarnation' when used in the context of the tulku system to describe patriarchs that reliably return to human form." According to the Light of Fearless Indestructible Wisdom by Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal: the term tülku "designates one who is 'noble' (or 'selfless' according to Buddha's usage) and used in Buddhist texts to denote a highly achieved being who has attained the first bhumi, a level of attainment which is truly egoless, or higher." Higher Vajrayana practitioners who have attained siddhis and mastered the bardo of dying, bardo of dharmata or bardo of becoming can be reborn as a tülkus. According to Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang:

In addition to Tibet, Tibetan Buddhism is a traditional religion in China and Mongolia. The Mongolian word for a tülku is qubilγan, though such persons may also be called by the honorific title qutuγtu (Tib: 'phags pa and Skt: ārya or superior, not to be confused with the historic figure, 'Phags pa Lama or the script attributed to him, (Phags pa script), or hutagt in the standard Khalkha dialect. The Chinese word for tülku is huófó (活佛), which literally means "living Buddha".

In a strict sense, tulku is a Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit nirmāṇakāya, which refers to the "transformation" or "emanation body" of a Buddha. Tulku is therefore the physical "form in which a Buddha appears to ordinary beings." A related term in Tibetan is yangsi (literally "rebirth" or "re becoming") which refers to an enlightened master who has returned to earthly existence for the sake of benefitting sentient beings. While the notion of a nirmāṇakāya is found throughout Mahayana Buddhism, and is integral to the doctrine of the trikaya ("Three Bodies"), the concept of the yangsi is uniquely Tibetan. Tulku, as a title, refers to one who is recognized as the yangsi of a master. It arose in the context of a political vacuum spurred by the assassination of Ralpachen, which saw monastic centers develop political power in a second spreading of Buddhism in Tibet. It had "purely politico mercantile origins and functions" and later became a significant spiritual institution. However, some commentators argue that the political shift was "grafted onto the tradition of recognizing reincarnations, not the other way around." Turrell V. Wylie wrote that the tulku system "developed in Tibetan Buddhism primarily for political reasons" while Reginald Ray argued that such a view ignores "miss[es] what is perhaps its most distinctive feature" which is its "important ideological and religious dimensions", being "deeply rooted" in the bodhisattva concept. Tulku have been associated with ruling power since its origination, expressing indigenous Tibetan notions of kingship. This system supplanted the earlier model of monastic governance, in which a celibate religious head acted as abbot, while his brother, a married administrative head, continued the family line, with his eldest son becoming the next religious head, creating an uncle nephew system of inheritance. The first recognized tulku was perhaps Rangjung Dorje, 3rd Karmapa Lama. Giuseppe Tucci traced the origin of the tulku concept to Indian Vajrayana, particularly in a fragmentary biography of Maitripada he discovered in Nepal. The tulku system of preserving Dharma lineages developed in Tibet after the 12th century, with the first recognized tulku being perhaps Rangjung Dorje, 3rd Karmapa Lama. Foreign tulkus have been identified since at least the sixteenth century, when the grandson of the Mongol Altan Khan was recognized as the 4th Dalai Lama. The Mongol conversion to Buddhism served a political function and allowed Tibet to build a closer relationship with the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. Traditionally, however, tulku were only recognized from Tibetan cultural areas, encompassing Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia, and Bhutan. The Chinese annexation of Tibet in 1959 created massive social upheaval. This intensified during the Cultural Revolution which brought irreparable damage to the institutions and traditions which constitute Tibetan Buddhism as one of the Four Olds. As a result, Tibetan Buddhism has flourished in areas of Tibetan culture not under Chinese rule, such as Nepal, Bhutan, and parts of North India. In India, the traditional monastic system is largely intact and the tulku system remains politically relevant. Compounded with the inherent transnational character of proselytizing religions, Tibetan Buddhism is "pulled between the need to adapt itself and the need to preserve itself". Westerners began taking an interest in Tibetan Buddhism during the counterculture of the 1960s, and Tibetan Buddhism became popular among western Buddhists and they began to be recognized as incarnations of Buddhist masters around this time. Most of these, however, were expatriate Tibetans or Tibetans of mixed heritage, such as the son of Chögyam Trungpa. Initially, Westerners were not recognized as tulkus by the wider Tibetan diaspora. The recognition of Westerners as tulkus began in the 1970s, following the spread of Tibetan Buddhism to modern Western countries such as the United States. The first recognized Western tulku was Dylan Henderson, an American boy identified as his father's teacher, or alternatively Ossian MacLise. MacLise, however, was born in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Düsum Khyenpa, 1st Karmapa Lama (, 1110–1193), was a disciple of the Tibetan master Gampopa. A talented child who studied Buddhism with his father from an early age and who sought out great teachers in his twenties and thirties, he is said to have attained enlightenment at the age of fifty while practicing dream yoga. He was henceforth regarded by the contemporary highly respected masters Shakya Śri and Lama Shang as the Karmapa, a manifestation of Avalokiteśvara, whose coming was predicted in the Samadhiraja Sutra and the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. The Karmapa is a long line of consciously reborn lamas. A Karmapa's identity is confirmed through a combination realized lineage teachers supernatural insight, prediction letters left by the previous Karmapa, and the young child's own self proclamation and ability to identify objects and people known to its previous incarnation. After the first Karmapa died in 1193, a lama had recurrent visions of a particular child as his rebirth. This child (born c. 1205) was recognized as the Karma Pakshi, 2nd Karmapa Lama (1204–1283), thus beginning the Tibetan tulku tradition. Karma Pakshi was the first recognized tulku in Tibetan Buddhism that predicted the circumstances of his rebirth. The 8th, 10th, and 12th incarnations, as well as the 16th Karmapa, each faced conflicts during their recognition, which were ultimately resolved. There was a controversy over the enthronement of two 17th Karmapas.

Gendun Drup (1391–1474), a disciple of the founder Je Tsongkapa, was the ordination name of the monk who came to be known as the 'First Dalai Lama', but only from 104 years after he died. There had been resistance, since first he was ordained a monk in the Kadampa tradition and for various reasons, for hundreds of years the Kadampa school had eschewed the adoption of the tulku system to which the older schools adhered. Tsongkhapa largely modelled his new, reformed Gelugpa school on the Kadampa tradition and refrained from starting a tulku system. Therefore, although Gendun Drup grew to be a very important Gelugpa lama, after he died in 1474 there was no question of any search being made to identify his incarnation. Despite this, when the Tashilhunpo monks started hearing what seemed credible accounts that an incarnation of Gendun Drup had appeared nearby and repeatedly announced himself from the age of two, their curiosity was aroused. It was some 55 years after Tsongkhapa's death when eventually, the monastic authorities saw compelling evidence that convinced them the child in question was indeed the incarnation of their founder. They felt obliged to break with their own tradition and in 1487, the boy was renamed Gendun Gyatso and installed at Tashilhunpo as Gendun Drup's tulku, albeit informally. Gendun Gyatso died in 1542 and the lineage of Dalai Lama tulkus finally became firmly established when the third incarnation, Sonam Gyatso (1543–1588), came forth. He made himself known as the tulku of Gendun Gyatso and was formally recognised and enthroned at Drepung in 1546. When Gendun Gyatso was given the titular name "Dalai Lama" by the Tümed Altan Khan in 1578, his two predecessors were accorded the title posthumously and he became known as the third in the lineage.

The Tai Situpa lineage is one of the oldest tulku lineages in the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism In Tibetan Buddhism tradition, Kenting Tai Situpa is considered as emanation of Bodhisattva Maitreya and Padmasambhava and who has been incarnated numerous times as Indian and Tibetan yogis since the time of the historical Buddha. Traditionally, the Panchen Lama is the head of Tashilhunpo Monastery, and holds religious and secular power over the Tsang region centered in Shigatse, independent of the Ganden Podrang authority led by the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama are closely connected, and each participates in the process of recognizing the other's reincarnations. The current 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, was recognized by the 14th Dalai Lama on 14 May 1995. Three days later, the six year old Panchen Lama was kidnapped by the Chinese government and his family was taken into custody. The Chinese government instead named Gyaincain Norbu as the 11th Panchen Lama. Their nomination has been widely rejected by Buddhists in Tibet and abroad, while governments have called for information about and the release of the Panchen Lama. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima has never been publicly seen since 1995.

The first Genyenma Ahkon Lhamo, a meditator recognized as a wisdom dakini was one of the main disciples of Namchö Mingyur Dorje (1645–1667) and sister of Rigdzin Kunzang Sherab, Migyur Dorje's Dharma heir and the First Throneholder of Palyul Monastery (founded 1665). She was credited as being instrumental to the founding of Palyul (now one of the Nyingma's six main or "mother" monasteries) and for leaving a relic that is important to Palyul. During the cremation of her body, her kapala (top half of the skull) is said to have flown three kilometers and come to rest at the foot of the teaching throne of her brother. Found to be miraculously embossed with the sacred syllable AH, the kapala became an important relic housed at Palyul monastery in Tibet. The Third Drubwang Padma Norbu ("Penor") Rinpoche, 11th Throneholder of Palyul Monastery, former Supreme Head of the Nyingma tradition was recognized as a tulku and brought to Palyul Monastery in 1936 at the age of four. He recounted that as a young tulku in Tibet, inspired by seeing the skull relic, he made prayers to find Ahkon Lhamo's incarnation. Though most of the kapala relic was pulverized into dust during the Cultural Revolution, one Tibetan man managed to save a silver dollar size piece on which the syllable "AH" appears. Penor Rinpoche acquired it from him on a return trip to Tibet in 1987. He had it preserved in a crystal lotus bowl. In 1987, Penor Rinpoche officially recognized Alyce Louise Zeoli as the tulku of Genyenma Ahkon Lhamo during her visit to his Namdroling Monastery in Bylakuppe, Karnataka, India. He gave her the crystal lotus bowl containing the relic of Ahkon Lhamo just prior to the occasion of her enthronement ceremony as Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo at Kunzang Palyul Choling (KPC) in 1988. The relic remains at KPC and is displayed on auspicious days.

Kongtrul tulkus are the main custodians of Jamgon Kongtrul (1813–1899). Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé was a Tibetan Buddhist scholar, poet, artist, physician, tertön and polymath. He is credited as one of the founders of the Rimé movement (non sectarian), compiling what is known as the "Five Great Treasuries". 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. There have been several recognized tulkus of Lodro Thaye. The current lineage holder as the 4th Jamgon Kongtrul is Lodrö Chökyi Nyima. He was recognized in August 1996 by Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Karmapa, who gave the name Jamgon Lodro Chokyi Nyima Dronme Chok Thamced Le Nampar Gyalwe De. He was born on November26, 1995, in Chushur Dzong, near Chushur Dzong, in Central Tibet. This recognition was confirmed by the 14th Dalai Lama, Sakya Trizin, head of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism, and Mindroling Trichen, former head of the Nyingma tradition. All three performed hair cutting ceremonies and bestowed names, as is traditional. As the reincarnation of Jamgon Kongtrul, Lodrö is entitled to be called "Rinpoche".

Khyentse tulkus are the main custodians of the lineage of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820–1892), a teacher, scholar and tertön of 19th century Tibet. He was a leading figure in the Rimé movement. Several tulkus of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, including those of body (sku), speech (gsung), mind (thugs), qualities (yon tan) and activity , were recognized in Tibet. Of these, the body incarnation was Dzongsar Khyentse Jamyang Chökyi Wangpo, who was enthroned at Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo's main seat at Dzongsar Monastery but died in an accident c. 1909. The activity incarnation Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, who was originally enthroned at Katok Monastery succeeded him. The speech incarnation was the Second Beru Khyentse and the mind incarnation Dilgo Khyentse. Since the early 1960s, Dilgo Khyentse, single handedly upholding the unique tradition of Khyentse incarnations, propagated Buddhism tirelessly in India, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, and the West.

Dudjom Lingpa (1835–1904) was a Tibetan meditation master, spiritual teacher and tertön. He stands out from the norm of Tibetan Buddhist teachers in the sense that he had no formal education, nor did he take ordination as a monk or belong to any established Buddhist school or tradition of his time. His recognized successor, Kyabje Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, was more commonly known as Dudjom Rinpoche (1904–1987). He is considered to be the direct incarnation of Dudjom Lingpa. On February 15, 2022, Dudjom Rinpoche Sangye Pema Zhepa, after telling his staff that he was going to rest and relax, suddenly died. He was 32 years of age when he passed at the Dudjom Labrang, his residence.

Thubten Yeshe (1935–1984) was a Tibetan lama who, while exiled in Nepal, co founded Kopan Monastery (1969) and the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (1975). He followed the Gelug tradition, and was considered unconventional in his teaching style. Lama Yeshe died in 1984, 20 minutes before dawn on the first day of Losar, the Tibetan New Year. His body was cremated at the Vajrapani Institute in Boulder Creek, California, where there is a stupa honoring him. In 1986, after certain traditional tests, the Dalai Lama formally recognized Tenzin Ösel Hita as the tulku or reincarnation of Thubten Yeshe—making him one of only a handful of Western tulkus—and renamed him "Tenzin Ösel Rinpoche" This makes Thubten Yeshe the first in a new lineage of tulkus. As a child Ösel was heavily promoted by the FPMT, and made the subject of a book by Vicki Mackenzie, Reincarnation: The Boy Lama. He is the fifth of nine siblings.

According to Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, the tulku system is a method of identifying and nurturing spiritual talent, ensuring the continuity of the tradition, and controlling resources and revenue streams. He describes how the system also ensured control of valuable real estate and financial capital, making Tibetan monasteries early examples of capitalistic institutions. In an analysis of an article titled "Time for Radical Change in How We Raise Our Tulkus" by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, Ken McLeod relates that the tulku system is facing challenges in the modern world. Tulkus can no longer be secluded during training as they were in Tibet, and their roles are changing. There is a shift from the traditional three year retreat, and the adoption of titles like "His Holiness" has become a competition among tulku lineages to establish pedigree. The tulku system has been criticized since its inception. In the centuries following the inception of the system used to identify reincarnate lamas, the process became increasingly corrupted and politicized by those living outside monastic ordination systems, as the process also led indirectly to sources of material wealth and power in Tibet. Highly respected teachers like the 14th Dalai Lama and Shamar Rinpoche have bemoaned the practice as belonging to feudal times, and have advocated revamping the system in way that divorces the reincarnate teacher from administrative politics and allows them to distinguish themselves. Criticism has also been directed against individual tulkus, including both Tibetan and Western tulkus. The validity of the recognition of Tsangyang Gyatso (born 1683) as the 6th Dalai Lama in 1697 was questioned due to the fact that he preferred a libertine lifestyle to that of an ordained monk. Living as a ngagpa (lay practitioner and yogi), he grew his hair long, dressed as a regular Tibetan, and was said to drink alcohol and enjoy the company of women. Chögyam Trungpa, the 11th Trungpa tulku, was criticized for his unconventional teaching style, for his sexual involvement with a number of his female students, and for smoking tobacco and liberally using alcohol; many who knew him characterized him as an alcoholic. The case of Trungpa has been used as an example in calls to reform the tulku system. The enthronement of Steven Seagal in 1997 prompted debate. Penor Rinpoche, who has recognized several Western tulku, defended his recognition of Seagal, arguing that it was not uncommon to recognize tulku late in life or for there to exist large gaps between incarnations of a tulku. Seagal is involved in the international arms trade and the government of Russia, which has prompted criticism of his title by English journalist Marina Hyde. Tibetan tulku Sogyal Rinpoche, recognized as an incarnation of 19th century Tibetan master and visionary Tertön Sogyal Lerab Lingpa, was accused of sexual and physical assault and abuse, as well as misusing charitable funds, with allegations stretching back to the 1970s. In 2017 his organisation, Rigpa, announced these allegations would be investigated by an outside party and on 5 September 2018, Rigpa released an independent report produced by the UK law firm Lewis Silkin LLP, which upheld most of the allegations. The case of Sogyal Rinpoche has been used as an example in calls to reform the tulku system. Penor Rinpoche has faced criticism for having officially recognized several Western tulkus, including accusations of bestowing titles for payment, which he has denied. The current Dalai Lama is uncertain whether the recognition of Western tulkus is beneficial.