Theory and practice of reincarnation of living Buddhas

Theory and practice of reincarnation of living Buddhas

The reincarnation system of living Buddhas is a religious system created by Tibetan Buddhism. It is a combination of the Buddhist theory of dependent origination and the theory of "reappearance of incarnation" with the actual interests of Tibetan Buddhist temple groups. In addition to religious theories, the feudal nature of Tibet's social, political and economic development, the mutual struggles between various sects, and the relationship between religion and secular ruling forces have all created conditions for the formation of the reincarnation system of living Buddhas. After the formation of this unique religious system, along with the development of the reincarnation of living Buddhas, a set of unique religious rituals and rigorous historical customs have been formed, which are generally observed and used by the Tibetan Buddhist community, ensuring the orderly development of this system.

The core of Buddhist epistemology is the theory of dependent origination and the theory of karma and causality, which states that "all dharmas arise from causes and conditions, and when causes and conditions cease, dharmas also cease." Mahayana Buddhism advocates that all sentient beings have Buddha nature, but they cannot be awakened because of delusion. Therefore, there are sayings in Buddhism such as "Buddha is an enlightened person, and humans are unenlightened Buddhas" and "Buddha is a person who has been through, and humans are future Buddhas." This means that all sentient beings in the world originally have the same wisdom and virtue as the Buddha, but because of delusion and attachment, they lose their true nature and cannot awaken, and fall into the endless sea of ​​suffering of reincarnation. Only under the guidance of the first awakened one, the Buddha, can they develop a bodhi mind and practice the bodhisattva path, and then awaken their true nature, thus escaping from the six realms of reincarnation and reaching the other shore of Nirvana. Therefore, the Buddha and Bodhisattvas take it as their responsibility to save all sentient beings, which is also the "equal original wish" of the Buddha and Bodhisattva. In order to realize this original wish, the "three-body theory" came into being, that is, all Buddhas have Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya. Simply put, Dharmakaya is the body of truth, Sambhogakaya is the body of wisdom, and Nirmanakaya is the body of merit. For example, Tathagata has three bodies, Dharmakaya Buddha Vairocana Buddha, Sambhogakaya Buddha Rulai Buddha, and Nirmanakaya Buddha Sakyamuni Buddha. Among them, the incarnation refers to the body that has accumulated the infinite and boundless merits of the Buddha, can observe the situation and teach, manifest according to the type, and save all sentient beings. The relationship between the countless sentient beings in the world who need to be saved and the incarnation and reincarnation of this Buddha is the fundamental theoretical basis of the reincarnation of living Buddhas, which is a clever combination of the three-body theory of the reincarnation of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and the theory of dependent origination of the countless sentient beings waiting for Buddhas to save them.

Here, it should be noted that the reincarnation of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism has nothing to do with the Buddhist theory of reincarnation, and the so-called "reincarnation" is wrong. According to the Buddhist view, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas themselves are enlightened beings who have escaped from reincarnation, and their incarnations and reincarnations are to help sentient beings escape from reincarnation. If they are still in reincarnation, they cannot help sentient beings escape from reincarnation. Therefore, Mr. Zhao Puchu has a wonderful explanation: "Living beings reincarnate according to their own confusion and karma, while Buddhas and Bodhisattvas reincarnate according to their own compassionate wishes." "Reincarnation" and "reincarnation" are essentially different, and the two cannot be confused.

The so-called "living Buddha" is not a "living Buddha", but the Tibetan word "Zhugu" means "incarnation". This is based on the Mahayana Buddhist theory that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have three bodies: Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya. Tibetan Buddhism believes that the Dharmakaya is not obvious, the Sambhogakaya appears and disappears from time to time, and the Nirmanakaya appears randomly. Therefore, those who have attained enlightenment save all living beings when they are alive, and do not abandon all living beings after their death. They come back again according to their wishes, and their "incarnation" appears in their physical bodies, that is, "reincarnation or reincarnation". The Chinese word "living Buddha" was first seen in official historical records in the Ming Dynasty. According to the "Ming Shilu", in November of the tenth year of Zhengde (1515), the emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty's close associates advised him: "There are Hu monks in the Western Regions who can know the three lives, and the locals call them living Buddhas." The so-called reincarnation of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism has nothing to do with the Buddhist theory of reincarnation. The "three lives" refer to the past, present and future three lives. Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty ignored the opposition of his ministers and sent eunuch Liu Yun to Tibet to bring foreign offerings and other things to invite the "Living Buddha". Later, the term "Living Buddha" gradually became the common Chinese term for the reincarnation of Tibetan Buddhism. According to the Tibetan historical material "The Feast of the Sages", the "Living Buddha" referred to by the natives was the eighth Karmapa Mikyo Dorje of the Black Hat School. After meeting Liu Yun, Mikyo Dorje said that "the omen of my going now is not auspicious" and hoped to enter the court in a few years. This is the origin of the Chinese term "Living Buddha".

Tibetan Buddhism divides "Zhugu" or Living Buddha into two types. One is called "Qiaoge Zhugu" in Tibetan, which refers to the incarnation of Sakyamuni Buddha. It can also be understood as the highest incarnation or supreme incarnation, but it is only a concept and there is no example in the practice of reincarnation of Living Buddha; the other is called "Jiewa Zhugu" in Tibetan, which means the reincarnation. The reincarnation of Living Buddha in Tibetan Buddhism generally refers to "Jiewa Zhugu", that is, the reincarnation. In layman's terms, "rebirth" means reincarnation or rebirth, which can also be understood as reincarnation, reflecting the relationship of successive generations. There is no so-called "unfinished Zhugu", nor can one reincarnate multiple times in one life or reincarnate in one lifetime. Living Buddhas often say "If this life fails, reincarnate again" and "Return with a wish and be reborn freely" to fulfill their "equal original wish". For example, the Dalai Lamas and Panchen Erdeni have always been in a relationship of successive generations, and there has never been a so-called "unfinished Zhugu".

The initial practice of the reincarnation of living Buddhas adopted the theory of rebirth and formed a custom. The reincarnation system of living Buddhas first began in the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism, whose founder was Dusong Khyenpa (1110-1193). The origin of the reincarnation of living Buddhas is related to Karmapa (1204-1283), an important figure of the sect. Karmapa passed away in Tsurphu Monastery in Tibet in 1283. In 1284, Rangchung Dorje was born in Gongtang, Shigatse. In 1288, Rangchung Dorje was invited to Tsurphu Monastery, where Ugyenpa Rinchenbei presided over the ceremony of identifying him as the reincarnation of Karmapa, giving him precepts and the secret name of Karmapa, "Rangchung Dorje". In this way, Rangchung Dorje became the first reincarnated living Buddha in the history of Tibetan Buddhism, and thus created the reincarnation system of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism.

According to the "Red History" and "The Feast of the Sages" and other documents, Karmapa initially intended to use the method of taking over a body to revive his soul. After his death, his body was kept for 7 days and he began to look for a body to take over. He found a complete body of a 3-year-old child in Doilungpachang, and took over the body to reincarnate. When he happened to move his eyeballs, the family of the deceased thought that it was an ominous sign for the dead to move their eyes, so his mother took out his eyeballs with a needle. Without eyes, he could not do things that benefited others, so he escaped from the corpse and looked for other corpses, but he only found a dead pigeon full of maggots, so he was very discouraged. With the persuasion and help of the dakini who protected the place, he was reborn as a human being and reincarnated. From then on, he created and formed the custom and tradition of the reincarnation of living Buddhas.

The reason why the practice of reincarnation of living Buddhas has been recognized by the religious community and society is inseparable from the management and care of the central government.

After Rangchung Dorje took the throne in Chubu Monastery, because Emperor Mongke of the Yuan Dynasty had given Karmapa a black hat with gold edges, the reincarnation system was called the Karma Kagyu Black Hat System. The hat then became the symbol and heirloom of the reincarnation system, and the reincarnation system also had the meaning of "granted by imperial power". In 1332, Rangchung Dorje was summoned to Dadu (now Beijing) to meet the emperor and preach. In 1333, Emperor Shundi of the Yuan Dynasty conferred on him the title of "Karmapa, the Perfect Buddhist Dharma with Emptiness of Nature"; the following year, he was conferred the title of "Karmapa, the Buddha Who Understands All Emptiness of Nature" and was granted an imperial edict and a seal of the state teacher. Through the conferring of titles, his legal identity and status as a reincarnated living Buddha were confirmed by the Yuan central government, and his title of "Karmapa" was also conferred by the central government and used and inherited. The reincarnation of living Buddhas was also given legal significance and legitimacy by the spontaneous initiative of the people, and was able to form a legal system, which promoted the development of the reincarnation system of living Buddhas. In 1406, Emperor Yongle summoned the fifth Karmapa, Deyin Xieba, to Nanjing, and the following year conferred him the title of "Great Dharma King of the West, Great and Free Buddha, Who is Complete in All Actions, the Most Excellent Perfect Enlightenment and Wonderful Wisdom, and Who is Good at Protecting the Country and Teaching the Tathagata", referred to as "Great Dharma King", which was the highest title bestowed by the central government of the Ming Dynasty on Tibetan Buddhist monks. From then on, "Great Dharma King" became the exclusive honorific title of the Karmapa Living Buddhas of all generations.

The reincarnation system of the Dalai Lama was formally formed from the third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso. In 1546, the Drepung Monastery in Lhasa recognized the three-year-old Sonam Gyatso as the reincarnation of the previous abbot, Gendun Gyatso (1475-1542), and held a ceremony of enthronement at the Drepung Monastery in 1547, starting the reincarnation system of the Living Buddha of the Gelug Sect. In 1587, the Ming Dynasty conferred Sonam Gyatso the title of "Dorjichang" (meaning "Vajra Holder"), granted him a seal, and allowed him to pay tribute. This was the first time that the reincarnation system of the Dalai Lama was conferred by the central government, and it also marked the formal and legal establishment of this reincarnation system conferred by the central government. In 1653, the fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, was summoned to Beijing to meet the Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty and was conferred the title of "Dalai Lama, the Great Buddha of the Western Heaven, the Leader of the Buddhist Teachings of the World, the Ordinary Waqila Dalai Lama", and was given a golden book and a golden seal, so that the title of "Dalai Lama" and his status in the Tibetan religious community were officially confirmed by the central government. From then on, the system that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama of all generations must be conferred by the central government became a custom.

The Panchen Lama reincarnation system was formally formed from the fourth Panchen Lama Lobsang Chokyi Gyaltsen (1570-1662). In 1583, he was recognized as the reincarnation of the high monk Lobsang Dondrub of the Angong Monastery in Shigatse. He held a throne ceremony at the Angong Monastery and served as the Dharma Master of the Monastery. Later, he served as the Dharma Master of the Tashilhunpo Monastery. In 1713, Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty sent an imperial envoy to Tashilhunpo Monastery to confer the title of "Panchen Erdeni" on the Fifth Dalai Lama "in accordance with the example of conferring the title of the Fifth Dalai Lama" and bestowed a golden book and a golden seal. From then on, the central government decided that "Panchen Erdeni" would become the official name of the Panchen Lama reincarnation system and its legal status in the Tibetan religious community. After that, it became a custom that all reincarnations of the Panchen Lama must be conferred by the central government.

Looking at the principles and practices of the reincarnation system of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism, it can be found that the reincarnation of living Buddhas has traditions and rules. It must comply with religious principles, religious rituals, and historical customs. The reincarnation of living Buddhas is by no means a simple internal religious affair, but a comprehensive manifestation of national sovereignty, government authority, and religious principles. The conferment of titles on great living Buddhas is not only a conferment system, but also a management system. It not only reflects the care and attention of the central government to influential great living Buddhas, but also gives the reincarnation system of living Buddhas legal significance.