Beijing, 29 Nov (ZXS) -- Shen Weirong: How to understand the system of reincarnation of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism?
China News Agency reporter Li Hanxue
Among the many Buddhist tributaries in the world, only Tibetan Buddhism has formed a system of reincarnation of living Buddhas; And the Chinese common name "Living Buddha" itself is quite curious and mysterious. So what exactly does "living Buddha" mean? Why is this system unique to Tibetan Buddhism? Why did the system of the Golden Urn Lot-Drawing Determination, formulated by the central government of the Qing Dynasty, become the historical customization of the reincarnation of the living Buddha of Tibetan Buddhism? Shen Weirong, professor of the Department of Chinese and Chinese Literature at Tsinghua University, recently gave an exclusive interview to China News Agency's "East-West Question" to discuss the above topics.
The following is a summary of the interview:
China News Agency: Why do you think only Tibetan Buddhism has a system of reincarnation of living Buddhas? How did this system of reincarnation of living Buddhas come about?
Shen Weirong: The living Buddha reincarnation system is a pioneering achievement of Tibetan Buddhism and an important symbol of Buddhism's goal of localization in Tibet, and its formation is directly related to the bodhisattva belief of Mahayana Buddhism.
Since the 10th century, Tibet has been considered the incarnation of Guanyin, starting from Songtsen Gampo, Tibet's political and religious leaders are considered to be the incarnation of Guanyin, and even the macaque that created the earliest human beings in Tibet in Tibetan legend is also considered to be the incarnation of Guanyin. Therefore, the formation of the system of reincarnation of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism is directly related to the worship of Guanyin in Tibet, and is a universally accepted way for Tibetan Buddhism to select its religious leaders.
It is not very appropriate to call the reincarnated living Buddhas of Tibet "living Buddhas", they are only incarnations of bodhisattvas, not incarnated Buddhas. The only incarnated Buddha who has been to the world is Shakyamuni Buddha, and there are countless bodhisattvas who have saved suffering and distress in the world.
The reincarnated living Buddha is the embodiment of the Three Jewels of the Dharma and Sangha, the attachment of all sentient beings who suffer in samsara, and they are the sanctified religious leaders of the unity of God and man. The bodhisattva concept of Mahayana Buddhism is a belief system that is widely accepted and deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in Indian, Chinese and Tibetan Buddhism, but the reincarnation system of living Buddhas only appears in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, which is an important feature of the independent innovation of Tibetan Buddhism and is of great significance to the formation and development of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
In February 2022, the Tar Temple in Huangzhong District, Xining City, Qinghai Province, held the 9th Gejia Jigme Cicheng Nanjie Living Buddha Bedtime Succession Ceremony. The 9th Gega Jigme Cicheng Nanjie Living Buddha wears a hat. Photo by Ma Mingyan
China News Agency: Historically, what kind of influence did reincarnated living Buddhas have had among Tibetan Buddhist followers and in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau?
Shen Weirong: As mentioned earlier, the reincarnated living Buddha is considered to be the incarnation of the Bodhisattva Guanyin, symbolized by compassion, and undoubtedly has a deep and extensive foundation in Mahayana Buddhism. Since the fall of the Tubo Dynasty, there has never been a unified and powerful secular regime in Tibet, the influence of religious leaders in the entire Tibetan society has become more and more intense, and the tendency of theocratic governance in traditional Tibetan society has become more and more obvious. The emergence of the reincarnation system of living Buddhas corresponds to the development of this state of Tibetan society, and people urgently need to be both born religious leaders and leaders with worldly authority in the style of wheel kings, and reincarnated living Buddhas are combined with the functions of born and worldly leaders, so their social status and influence on the two paths of politics and religion are getting higher and higher.
Reincarnated living Buddhas first appeared in the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism in the first half of the fourteenth century. At that time, monasteries such as the Sakya school that traditionally relied on family power still adopted the succession system of uncles and nephews. Gradually, however, the system of reincarnated living Buddhas showed obvious advantages over the traditional family inheritance system, so it was adopted by more and more sects and monasteries, and gradually became the mainstream of the religious leader selection system of various schools of Tibetan Buddhism, and its influence became more and more widespread and extensive. Even in sects such as the Sakya sect that traditionally adopts the family uncle-nephew inheritance system, the system of reincarnation of living Buddhas has been widely adopted, and many Sakya monasteries and their teachings have also appeared in multiple series of reincarnation of living Buddhas.
Nine young living Buddhas from the Tibetan Buddhist College completed their primary school studies and successfully graduated in Lhasa. Photo by Li Lin
China News Agency: Why did the central government of the Qing Dynasty establish a system of drawing lots from the golden urn to standardize the management of the reincarnation of living Buddhas? Please also briefly introduce the implementation of the relevant historical customization after it was established.
Shen Weirong: The Golden Urn Drawing System is an important measure formulated during the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty to standardize the system of reincarnation of living Buddhas, and it is a symbolic measure of the central government of the Qing Dynasty to exercise management power over local political and religious affairs in Tibet.
Although the Qianlong Emperor himself respected Tibetan Buddhism, as the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, he did not affect his effective rule over Tibet because of his personal religious beliefs. In his famous inscription, "Lama Says," which still stands today in the Lama Temple in Beijing, the Qianlong Emperor gave a very scholarly account of the history of lamas and Tibetan Buddhism, which was very interesting to read. He severely criticized the Mongol emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, Qupi, for respecting the Fan monks, believing that they were blindly appeasing and conniving at them, so that the lamas were "arrogant and arrogant, and harmed all directions, and could not be overwhelmed." In the Qing Dynasty, "the Xinghuang Sect was very different, covering Mongolia to worship Buddha, the most believing lama, must not protect it, thinking that it is only the way of tenderness." Today, the Tibetan Buddhist beliefs shared by Tibetans, Mongolians, and Manchus not only maintained the bonds of affinity between these ethnic groups, but also served as an important aid for the Qing Dynasty to effectively govern its northwestern and southwestern frontier ethnic regions.
In view of the obvious unreasonable and compliant chaos in the reincarnation system of living Buddhas in Tibet and Mongolia at that time, some living Buddhas "were passed down from brother, uncle and nephew to brother." It seems that the great lama of this religion, Hubilhan, is from a family of relatives, almost no different from the knighthood", the Qianlong Emperor was determined to carry out rectification, "I hereby make a golden bottle and send it to Tibet, and in the reincarnation of Khubilhan, all the people who are raised, each with his name in the bottle, and signed for confirmation, although it cannot eliminate its disadvantages, compared with the previous one's instructions, or slightly more public." This is the origin of the Golden Urn drawing system, which increased the direct intervention of political authority in the living Buddha election system, which was basically a religious act and dominated by monks in monasteries, so that the final decision on the election of living Buddha was in the hands of the political leaders of the central dynasty.
Undoubtedly, the formulation of the Golden Urn drawing system is an important measure taken by the Qing central government to standardize the series of elections for the reincarnation of living Buddhas of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet, Mongolia and other regions with political authority, and has played a positive role in reforming and reorganizing the norms of the living Buddha reincarnation system of Tibetan Buddhism. From the beginning of the Qianlong era until the Republic of China period, the golden urn drawing system gradually became the historical customization of the Tibetan Buddhist living Buddha reincarnation system, and even the reincarnation of the highest level of living Buddha like the Dalai Lama had to finally decide the choice of his reincarnated soul child through the central government by drawing lots from the golden urn. This is also the historical basis for our emphasis today that the reincarnation of the Living Buddha of Tibetan Buddhism should adopt the Golden Urn drawing system.
A projected image in the Tibet One Million Serf Liberation Memorial Hall shows the golden Pemba bottle used for drawing lots on the gold urn. Photo by Jiang Feibo
China News Agency: What do you think of the 14th Dalai Lama's claim that he may be reincarnated as a plant, a foreigner, or even no longer reincarnated?
Shen Weirong: As early as 1979, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, said in an interview with the German weekly Der Spiegel that he may be the last Dalai Lama. He said that he did not want to be reincarnated as the Dalai Lama in the future, but would rather be reincarnated as a flower, a plant, etc. This is a passage he said in the more desperate state of mind at that time. During the first two decades of his exile, the Dalai Lama did not receive enough attention in the international community, when his political and religious career seemed uncertain, so he said he was reluctant to be reincarnated as the Dalai Lama. Since then, the Dalai Lama has changed his mind many times and proposed various ways of reincarnation, showing his various entanglements with his future. For example, he has said that he will be reincarnated as a foreigner, a woman, or multiple people at the same time, and even he has proposed to choose an adult as his reincarnation in a democratically elected way, etc., because he knows very well that no matter what state and way he is reincarnated, it may cause various political or religious controversies.
According to the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism, as long as samsara is not empty, bodhisattvas are to return to the world of emotions and save all sentient beings. As the incarnation of Guanyin, the Dalai Lama should naturally return to the world to save suffering. Undoubtedly, his reincarnation cannot be decided by democratic elections, nor can an adult be elected.
On International Children's Day, young living Buddha students from the Tibetan Buddhist Institute played a game of "losing handkerchiefs" with students from Lhasa No. 1 Primary School. Photo by Mima Ouzhu
China News Agency: In today's society, how should we understand the significance of living Buddhas to Tibetan Buddhism and its followers?
Shen Weirong: At present, people often refer to Tibetan Buddhist teachers as "Rinpoche", and there were rumors that there were 100,000 or even 300,000 "Rinpoche" in Beijing's Chaoyang District, thinking that they were all reincarnated living Buddhas, but in fact, not every lama and teacher is a "Rinpoche", and not everyone who can be called "Rinpoche" is a reincarnated living Buddha. The formation of each series of reincarnated living Buddhas has a special origin and a long historical process, and their identification requires a reasonable and legal religious procedure, and cannot be established arbitrarily. At present, the state has a strict and unified certification system for general reincarnated living Buddhas, effectively manages the reincarnation procedures of living Buddhas, and puts an end to the chaos of real and false living Buddhas.
The significance of reincarnated living Buddhas to Tibetan Buddhism and its followers is based on the bodhisattva beliefs of Mahayana Buddhism. If these reincarnated living Buddhas and Rinpoche are not only properly selected and officially recognized, but also if their manners and careers do show the qualities and abilities of bodhisattvas, then they will be able to benefit the vast number of believers and play a positive role in promoting the spread and development of Tibetan Buddhism in this lifetime.
Living Buddha Samding Dorjipam Deqing Quzhen chanting at Samding Temple. Photo by Li Lin
On the other hand, if those who claim to be Rinpoche, or those who are promoted as Rinpoche's reincarnated living Buddhas, do not actually have the bodhisattva's compassion and supreme desire to save all sentient beings, and they do not have the historical basis for becoming reincarnated living Buddhas, they are some fake products, and they are chasing fame and fortune by the eight winds of the world, then they will not only be unable to benefit themselves and altruism, but will inevitably bring great damage to the development of Tibetan Buddhism in the current world. The vast number of good men and women should maintain a high degree of vigilance against such false living Buddhas.
In recent years, the state has respected the reincarnation of living Buddhas, a unique inheritance method of Tibetan Buddhism, and expects Tibetan Buddhism to become the cultural wealth of the Chinese national community. In this context, we should more strictly regulate the system of reincarnation of living Buddhas, put an end to the emergence of false living Buddhas, and keep the spread of Tibetan Buddhism among the people on a rational and legal track. (End)
Respondent Profile:
Shen Weirong received a bachelor's, master's degree, lecturer in the Department of History, Nanjing University (1979–1990), and a Ph.D. in Central Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Bonn, Germany (1990–1998). He has served as a co-researcher at the Department of Indian Sanskrit Studies at Harvard University, an acting professor at the Department of Central Asia at Humboldt University in Germany, a co-researcher for foreigners at the Faculty of Letters at Kyoto University in Japan, a visiting professor at the Institute of History and Philology of the Academia Sinica in Taiwan, a researcher at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, a researcher at the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin, a professor at the Institute of Chinese Studies at Chinese Minmin University, the director of the Institute of History and Philology in the Western Regions, and the director of the Center for Sino-Tibetan Buddhist Studies. 2013/14 Minister of Education Jiang Scholar Distinguished Professor.
He is currently a professor at the Department of Chinese of Tsinghua University, the Institute for Advanced Study of Humanities and Social Sciences of Tsinghua University, the vice president of the Chinese Ethnic History Society, the vice president of the Chinese Minority Literature Research Association, the vice president of the China Yuan History Research Association, and the vice president of the China Mongolian Studies Research Association. His specialty is Tibetan history and Sino-Tibetan Buddhist philology. Representative works include Philological Studies on the History of Buddhism in Tibet (Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 2010), Imagining Tibet (Beijing Normal University Press, 2015), Text and History: The Formation of Tibetan Buddhist Historical Narratives and the Construction of Sino-Tibetan Buddhist Studies (Peking University Press, 2016), Return to Philology (Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 2018), History of the Great Yuan and New Qing Dynasty (Shanghai Ancient Books Press, 2018) and Saving History from the Method of Deduction: A Study on the History of Tibetan Esoteric Teachings in the Yuan Dynasty Court (Zhonghua Bookstore, 2022), etc.