Tulkus

Simonthepilgrim

On my shelves, whilst searching for a completely different book, I came across my old copy of the Dalai Lama's first autobiography, My Land and My People. There is an interesting passage about "Incarnations", the tulkus which are such an extraordinary part of the Tibetan system:

Incarnations are beings who have either achieved the lower or the highest stages of Nirvana, or have achieved the highest stage below Nirvana—the Bodhisattvas, Arahats and Buddhas.They are reincarnated in order to help other beings to rise towards Nirvana, and by doing so the Bodhisattvas are themselves helped to rise to Buddahood, and the Arahats also reach Buddahood finally. Buddhas are reincarnated solely to help others, since they themselves have already achieved the highest of all levels. They are not reincarnated through any active volition of their own; such an active mental process has no place in Nirvana; they are reincarnated rather by the innate wish to help others through which they have achieved Buddahood. Their reincarnations occur when-ever conditions are suitable, and do not mean that they leave their state in Nirvana; in simile, it is rather as reflections of the moon may be seen on earth, when conditions are suitable, in placid lakes and seas, while the moon itself remains in its course in the sky. By the same simile, the moon may be reflected in many different places at the same moment, and a Buddha may be incarnate simultaneously in many different bodies. All such incarnate beings, as I have already indicated, can influence by their own wishes in each life the place and time when they will be reborn; and after each birth, they have a lingering memory of their previous life which enables others to identify them.

Jason

Very interesting perspctive. That explains the idea of 'tulkus' in a much better way than the average modern day definitions. Thank you Simon.

Simonthepilgrim

Elohim wrote:

Very interesting perspctive. That explains the idea of 'tulkus' in a much better way than the average modern day definitions. Thank you Simon.

I found myself wondering why "average modern day definitions" are so unsatisfactory. And I think it has something to do with "demythologising".

Jason

Simon,

Yes, I wholeheartedly agree. The modern-day Western practitioner often uses terminology that demystifies, demythologizes, and strips away the very essence of the original meaning. Perhaps they are just afraid because it sounds too much like a 'fairytale' or 'superstition'. They tend to replace the originals with contemporary, psychologically accepted arch-types, which, in my opinion, do not always hold water.

Jason

Palzang

I like the definition very much, Simon, and it agrees very much with my understanding of what a tulku is.

Palzang