China News Agency, Beijing, November 29th, title: Shen Weirong: How to understand the living Buddha reincarnation system in Tibetan Buddhism?
China News Agency reporter Li Hanxue
Among the many branches of Buddhism in the world, only Tibetan Buddhism has formed the living Buddha reincarnation system; and the Chinese common name "living Buddha" itself has a curious and mysterious meaning.
So what exactly does "living Buddha" mean?
Why did Tibetan Buddhism form such a system?
Why did the system of drawing lots from the golden urn formulated by the central government of the Qing Dynasty become the historical order for the reincarnation of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism?
Shen Weirong, a professor of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Tsinghua University, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East and West" to discuss the above topics.
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
China News Agency reporter: Why do you think the living Buddha reincarnation system exists only in Tibetan Buddhism? How did this living Buddha reincarnation system come into being?
Shen Weirong: The
living Buddha reincarnation system is a pioneering work of Tibetan Buddhism and an important symbol of the localization of Buddhism in Tibet. Its formation is directly related to the Bodhisattva belief of Mahayana Buddhism.
Since the tenth century, Tibet has been considered the land of Avalokiteshvara. Since Songtsan Gampo, Tibetan political and religious leaders have been considered the incarnation of Avalokitesvara. Even the macaque who created the earliest human in Tibet in Tibetan legends, Also believed to be the incarnation of Guanyin Bodhisattva.
Therefore, the formation of the living Buddha reincarnation system in Tibetan Buddhism is directly related to the worship of Avalokitesvara in Tibet, and it is a generally accepted way for Tibetan Buddhism to choose its religious leaders.
It is not appropriate to call the reincarnated living Buddhas of Tibet "living Buddhas". They are just the incarnations of Bodhisattvas, not incarnate Buddhas.
The incarnation Buddha who has been to the human world is only Sakyamuni Buddha, but there are countless incarnations of Bodhisattvas who have rescued suffering in the world.
The reincarnated Living Buddha is the manifestation of the Three Jewels of Buddhism, Dharma, and Sangha in the human world. They are the guardians of all sentient beings suffering in samsara. They are sanctified religious leaders who unite God and man.
The Bodhisattva concept of Mahayana Buddhism is a belief system that is widely accepted and deeply rooted in Indian, Chinese and Tibetan Buddhism. However, the living Buddha reincarnation system only appears in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. This is an independent innovation of Tibetan Buddhism. It is of great significance to the formation and development of Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
In February 2022, the Enthronement Ceremony of the Ninth Living Buddha Gejia Jiumeicicheng Nanjie was held at Kumbum Monastery in Huangzhong District, Xining City, Qinghai Province.
The Ninth Living Buddha Gejia Jiumeicicheng Nanjie wears a dharma hat.
Photo by Ma Mingyan
China News Agency reporter: Historically, what kind of influence did the reincarnated Living Buddha have among Tibetan Buddhist believers and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region?
Shen Weirong:
As mentioned earlier, the reincarnated Living Buddha is considered to be the incarnation of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva symbolized by compassion, which undoubtedly has a profound and extensive Mahayana belief foundation.
Since the demise of the Tubo Dynasty, there has never been a unified and powerful secular regime in Tibet. Religious leaders have become more and more influential in the entire Tibetan society, and the tendency of the integration of politics and religion in traditional Tibetan social governance has become more and more obvious.
The emergence of the living Buddha reincarnation system corresponds to the development of Tibetan society. People urgently need a leader who is not only a religious leader who is born in this world, but also has a worldly authority like a wheel king. Therefore, their social status and influence on the two ways of politics and religion are getting higher and higher.
The reincarnated living Buddha first appeared in the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism in the first half of the fourteenth century.
At that time, monasteries such as the Sakya Sect, which were traditionally based on family power, still adopted the succession system of uncles and nephews.
But gradually, the reincarnated living Buddha system showed obvious advantages compared with 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 sects of Tibetan Buddhism, and its influence also more widespread and profound.
Now even in the Sakya Sect, which traditionally adopts the family uncle and nephew inheritance system, the living Buddha reincarnation system has been widely adopted. Many Sakya Sect monasteries and their teachings have also seen multiple living Buddha reincarnations series.
Nine young Living Buddhas from Tibet Buddhist College completed their primary school studies and graduated successfully in Lhasa.
Photo by Li Lin
China News Agency reporter: Why did the central government of the Qing Dynasty establish the 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 is established.
Shen Weirong: The
system of drawing lots from the golden urn was an important measure formulated by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty to regulate the reincarnation system of living Buddhas.
Although Emperor Qianlong himself respected Tibetan Buddhism, as the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, his personal religious beliefs did not affect his effective rule of Tibet in terms of politics and religion.
In his famous inscription "Speaking of Lamas", which still stands in Lama Temple in Beijing today, Emperor Qianlong made a pedantic research on the history of lamas and Tibetan Buddhism, which is very interesting to read.
He severely criticized Qubi, the Mongolian emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, for flattering and admiring the monks. He believed that they blindly tolerated and indulged the monks, so that the lamas were "powerful, arrogance, and harm to the world, which is beyond words."
However, in the Qing Dynasty, "the prosperity of the Yellow Sect was not the same. Because Mongolia worshiped Buddha and believed in lamas the most, they had to protect it, thinking it was just a way of being gentle."
From today’s point of view, the common Tibetan Buddhist belief among Tibetans, Mongolians and Manchus is not only a link to maintain the affinity between these ethnic groups, but also an important support for the Qing Dynasty to effectively govern its northwest and southwest frontier ethnic areas.
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 "all passed on from brother to brother, uncle, nephew, and wife. Like this great lama Hobilehan, They all come from a family, almost the same as being enshrined in the world." Emperor Qianlong made up his mind to carry out rectification. Put the name of the book in the vase and draw lots to decide, although it cannot eliminate all the disadvantages, it may be a little fairer than the previous one who instructed it." This is the origin of the golden urn drawing lots system, which is basically a kind of Religious activities and the living Buddha election system dominated by monastery monks have increased the direct intervention of political authority, making the final decision on the living Buddha election in the hands of the political leaders of the central dynasty.
Undoubtedly, the establishment of the system of drawing lots from the golden urn was an important measure taken by the central government of the Qing Dynasty to use political authority to standardize the series of elections for the reincarnation of living Buddhas in Tibet, Mongolia and other regions. .
From the Qianlong era to the period of the Republic of China, the system of drawing lots from the golden urn has gradually become the historical custom of the reincarnation system of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism. Even the reincarnation of the highest-level living Buddhas like the Dalai Lama must be drawn by the central government through the drawing of lots from the golden urn. The method ultimately determines the choice of the reincarnated soul boy.
This is also the historical basis for us to still emphasize that the reincarnation of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism should adopt the system of drawing lots from the golden urn.
A projected image in the Tibet Million Serfs Liberation Memorial Hall shows the gold pemba vase used for drawing lots from the golden urn.
Photo by Jiang Feibo
China News Agency reporter: The 14th Dalai Lama once claimed that he might be reincarnated as a plant, a foreigner, or even no longer reincarnated. What do you think of this?
Shen Weirong:
As early as 1979, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, said in an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel that he might be the last Dalai Lama.
He said that he didn't want to be reincarnated as the Dalai Lama anymore, but would rather be reincarnated as a flower, a plant, etc.
This is what he said in a rather desperate state of mind at the time.
During the first two decades of his exile, the Dalai Lama failed to gain enough international attention when his political and religious career looked bleak, so he said he was reluctant to be reincarnated as a Dalai Lama.
Since then, the Dalai Lama has changed his mind many times and proposed various ways of reincarnation, showing his various entanglements about his own future.
For example, he said that he would be reincarnated as a foreigner, a woman, or as multiple people at the same time, and he even proposed to choose an adult as his reincarnation through democratic elections, etc., all of which may be because of him It is very clear that no matter what state and method he is reincarnated in, it may cause various political or religious controversies.
According to the principles of Mahayana Buddhism, as long as samsara is not empty, bodhisattvas will return to the world of emotional objects to save sentient beings.
As the incarnation of Guanyin Bodhisattva, 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 June 1st International Children's Day, young living Buddha students from Tibet Buddhist Institute played a game of "throwing the handkerchief" with students from the No. 1 Primary School in Lhasa.
Photo by Mima Ouzhu
China News Agency reporter: 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 the masters of Tibetan Buddhism as "Rinpoches". There were rumors that there were 100,000 or even 300,000 "Rinpoches" in Chaoyang District, Beijing, and they thought they were all reincarnated living Buddhas. But in fact, not every lama and guru is a "Rinpoche", and not everyone who can be called a "Rinpoche" is a reincarnated living Buddha.
The formation of each series of reincarnated living Buddhas has a special origin and a long historical process. There needs to be a reasonable and legal religious procedure for their identification, which cannot be established arbitrarily.
At present, the state has a strict and unified certification system for general reincarnated living Buddhas, which effectively manages the reincarnation procedures of living Buddhas and puts an end to the chaos of true and false living Buddhas flying all over the sky.
The significance of the reincarnated Living Buddha to Tibetan Buddhism and its believers is based on the Bodhisattva belief of Mahayana Buddhism.
If these reincarnated living Buddhas and Rinpoches are not only properly selected and formally recognized, but also show the qualities and abilities of bodhisattvas in their demeanor and career, then they will be able to benefit the majority of believers. Tibetan Buddhism has played an active role in promoting and developing Tibetan Buddhism in this world.
The living Buddha Sangding Dorji Pam Deqing Quzhen was chanting sutras in the Sangding Temple.
Photo by Li Lin
On the contrary, if those who claim to be Rinpoche, or those reincarnated living Buddhas who are promoted as Rinpoche, actually do not have the compassionate heart of a bodhisattva and the supreme vow to save sentient beings, and they do not have the qualifications to become reincarnated living Buddhas. The historical basis is that there are some counterfeit fakes, who are chased by the world's eight winds, and they are not only unable to benefit themselves and others, but will inevitably bring huge damage to the development of Tibetan Buddhism in this world.
All faithful men and women should keep a high degree of vigilance against such fake Living Buddhas.
In recent years, the state respects the reincarnation of living Buddhas, a unique inheritance method of Tibetan Buddhism, and expects Tibetan Buddhism to become the cultural wealth of the Chinese nation community.
Against this background, we should more strictly regulate the reincarnation system of living Buddhas, put an end to the appearance of false living Buddhas, and keep the spread of Tibetan Buddhism among the people on a rational and legal track.
(Finish)
Respondent profile:
Shen Weirong, Bachelor, Master, Lecturer (1979–1990) of the Department of History, Nanjing University, Ph.D. (1990–1998), Department of Central Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Bonn, Germany.
He has served as a cooperative 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 at the Faculty of Letters at Kyoto University in Japan, a visiting professor at the Institute of History and Linguistics at the "Academia Sinica" in Taiwan, a researcher at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and a professor at the Berlin Institute for Advanced Study. Researcher of the Research Institute, professor of the Chinese Academy of Renmin University of China, director of the Institute of History and Language of the Western Regions, and director of the Sino-Tibetan Buddhist Research Center.
Distinguished Professor of Changjiang Scholars of the Ministry of Education in 2013/14.
He is currently a professor of the Chinese Department of Tsinghua University, Tsinghua Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, vice-chairman of the Chinese Ethnic History Society, vice-chairman of the Chinese Minority Literature Research Association, vice-chairman of the Chinese Yuan History Research Association, and vice-chairman of the Chinese Mongolian Studies Association .
His majors are Tibetan history and Sino-Tibetan Buddhist philology.
Representative works include "A Philological Study of Tibetan Buddhist History" (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 The Construction of Tibetan Buddhist Studies" (Peking University Press, 2016), "Return to Philology" (Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 2018), "Great Yuan History and New Qing History" (Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 2018) and "From Rescuing History in the Method of Performing Juer: A Study on the History of Tibetan Esotericism in the Court of the Yuan Dynasty" (Zhonghua Book Company, 2022), etc.