(Translated from the Tibetan)
Introduction
My fellow Tibetans, both in and outside Tibet, all those who follow
the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and everyone who has a connection to
Tibet and Tibetans: due to the foresight of our ancient kings, ministers
and scholar-adepts, the complete teaching of the Buddha, comprising the
scriptural and experiential teachings of the Three Vehicles and the
Four Sets of Tantra and their related subjects and disciplines
flourished widely in the Land of Snow. Tibet has served as a source of
Buddhist and related cultural traditions for the world. In particular,
it has contributed significantly to the happiness of countless beings in
Asia, including those in China, Tibet and Mongolia.
In the course of upholding the Buddhist tradition in Tibet, we
evolved a unique Tibetan tradition of recognizing the reincarnations of
scholar-adepts that has been of immense help to both the Dharma and
sentient beings, particularly to the monastic community.
Since the omniscient Gedun Gyatso was recognized and confirmed as
the reincarnation of Gedun Drub in the fifteenth century and the Gaden
Phodrang Labrang (the Dalai Lama’s institution) was established,
successive reincarnations have been recognized. The third in the line,
Sonam Gyatso, was given the title of the Dalai Lama. The Fifth Dalai
Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, established the Gaden Phodrang Government
in 1642, becoming the spiritual and political head of Tibet. For more
than 600 years since Gedun Drub, a series of unmistaken reincarnations
has been recognised in the lineage of the Dalai Lama.
The Dalai Lamas have functioned as both the political and spiritual
leaders of Tibet for 369 years since 1642. I have now voluntarily
brought this to an end, proud and satisfied that we can pursue the kind
of democratic system of government flourishing elsewhere in the world.
In fact, as far back as 1969, I made clear that concerned people should
decide whether the Dalai Lama’s reincarnations should continue in the
future. However, in the absence of clear guidelines, should the
concerned public express a strong wish for the Dalai Lamas to continue,
there is an obvious risk of vested political interests misusing the
reincarnation system to fulfil their own political agenda. Therefore,
while I remain physically and mentally fit, it seems important to me
that we draw up clear guidelines to recognise the next Dalai Lama, so
that there is no room for doubt or deception. For these guidelines to be
fully comprehensible, it is essential to understand the system of Tulku
recognition and the basic concepts behind it. Therefore, I shall
briefly explain them below.
Past and future lives
In order to accept reincarnation or the reality of Tulkus, we need
to accept the existence of past and future lives. Sentient beings come
to this present life from their previous lives and take rebirth again
after death. This kind of continuous rebirth is accepted by all the
ancient Indian spiritual traditions and schools of philosophy, except
the Charvakas, who were a materialist movement. Some modern thinkers
deny past and future lives on the premise that we cannot see them.
Others do not draw such clear cut conclusions on this basis.
Although many religious traditions accept rebirth, they differ in
their views of what it is that is reborn, how it is reborn, and how it
passes through the transitional period between two lives. Some religious
traditions accept the prospect of future life, but reject the idea of
past lives.
Generally, Buddhists believe that there is no beginning to birth and
that once we achieve liberation from the cycle of existence by
overcoming our karma and destructive emotions, we will not be reborn
under the sway of these conditions. Therefore, Buddhists believe that
there is an end to being reborn as a result of karma and destructive
emotions, but most Buddhist philosophical schools do not accept that the
mind-stream comes to an end. To reject past and future rebirth would
contradict the Buddhist concept of the ground, path and result, which
must be explained on the basis of the disciplined or undisciplined mind.
If we accept this argument, logically, we would also have to accept
that the world and its inhabitants come about without causes and
conditions. Therefore, as long as you are a Buddhist, it is necessary to
accept past and future rebirth.
For those who remember their past lives, rebirth is a clear
experience. However, most ordinary beings forget their past lives as
they go through the process of death, intermediate state and rebirth. As
past and future rebirths are slightly obscure to them, we need to use
evidence-based logic to prove past and future rebirths to them.
There are many different logical arguments given in the words of the
Buddha and subsequent commentaries to prove the existence of past and
future lives. In brief, they come down to four points: the logic that
things are preceded by things of a similar type, the logic that things
are preceded by a substantial cause, the logic that the mind has gained
familiarity with things in the past, and the logic of having gained
experience of things in the past.
Ultimately all these arguments are based on the idea that the nature
of the mind, its clarity and awareness, must have clarity and awareness
as its substantial cause. It cannot have any other entity such as an
inanimate object as its substantial cause. This is self-evident. Through
logical analysis we infer that a new stream of clarity and awareness
cannot come about without causes or from unrelated causes. While we
observe that mind cannot be produced in a laboratory, we also infer that
nothing can eliminate the continuity of subtle clarity and awareness.
As far as I know, no modern psychologist, physicist, or
neuroscientist has been able to observe or predict the production of
mind either from matter or without cause.
There are people who can remember their immediate past life or even
many past lives, as well as being able to recognise places and relatives
from those lives. This is not just something that happened in the past.
Even today there are many people in the East and West, who can recall
incidents and experiences from their past lives. Denying this is not an
honest and impartial way of doing research, because it runs counter to
this evidence. The Tibetan system of recognising reincarnations is an
authentic mode of investigation based on people’s recollection of their
past lives.
How rebirth takes place
There are two ways in which someone can take rebirth after death:
rebirth under the sway of karma and destructive emotions and rebirth
through the power of compassion and prayer. Regarding the first, due to
ignorance negative and positive karma are created and their imprints
remain on the consciousness. These are reactivated through craving and
grasping, propelling us into the next life. We then take rebirth
involuntarily in higher or lower realms. This is the way ordinary beings
circle incessantly through existence like the turning of a wheel. Even
under such circumstances ordinary beings can engage diligently with a
positive aspiration in virtuous practices in their day-to-day lives.
They familiarise themselves with virtue that at the time of death can be
reactivated providing the means for them to take rebirth in a higher
realm of existence. On the other hand, superior Bodhisattvas, who have
attained the path of seeing, are not reborn through the force of their
karma and destructive emotions, but due to the power of their compassion
for sentient beings and based on their prayers to benefit others. They
are able to choose their place and time of birth as well as their future
parents. Such a rebirth, which is solely for the benefit of others, is
rebirth through the force of compassion and prayer.
The meaning of Tulku
It seems the Tibetan custom of applying the epithet ‘Tulku’
(Buddha’s Emanation Body) to recognized reincarnations began when
devotees used it as an honorary title, but it has since become a common
expression. In general, the term Tulku refers to a particular aspect of
the Buddha, one of the three or four described in the Sutra Vehicle.
According to this explanation of these aspects of the Buddha, a person
who is totally bound by destructive emotions and karma has the potential
to achieve the Truth Body (Dharmakaya), comprising the Wisdom Truth
Body and Nature Truth Body. The former refers to the enlightened mind of
a Buddha, which sees everything directly and precisely, as it is, in an
instant. It has been cleared of all destructive emotions, as well as
their imprints, through the accumulation of merit and wisdom over a long
period of time. The latter, the Nature Truth Body, refers to the empty
nature of that all-knowing enlightened mind. These two together are
aspects of the Buddhas for themselves. However, as they are not directly
accessible to others, but only amongst the Buddhas themselves, it is
imperative that the Buddhas manifest in physical forms that are
accessible to sentient beings in order to help them. Hence, the ultimate
physical aspect of a Buddha is the Body of Complete Enjoyment
(Sambhogakaya), which is accessible to superior Bodhisattvas, and has
five definite qualifications such as residing in the Akanishta Heaven.
And from the Body of Complete Enjoyment are manifested the myriad
Emanation Bodies or Tulkus (Nirmanakaya), of the Buddhas, which appear
as gods or humans and are accessible even to ordinary beings. These two
physical aspects of the Buddha are termed Form Bodies, which are meant
for others.
The Emanation Body is three-fold: a) the Supreme Emanation Body like
Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha, who manifested the twelve
deeds of a Buddha such as being born in the place he chose and so forth;
b) the Artistic Emanation Body which serves others by appearing as
craftsmen, artists and so on; and c) the Incarnate Emanation Body,
according to which Buddhas appear in various forms such as human beings,
deities, rivers, bridges, medicinal plants, and trees to help sentient
beings. Of these three types of Emanation Body, the reincarnations of
spiritual masters recognized and known as ‘Tulkus’ in Tibet come under
the third category. Among these Tulkus there may be many who are truly
qualified Incarnate Emanation Bodies of the Buddhas, but this does not
necessarily apply to all of them. Amongst the Tulkus of Tibet there may
be those who are reincarnations of superior Bodhisattvas, Bodhisattvas
on the paths of accumulation and preparation, as well as masters who are
evidently yet to enter these Bodhisattva paths. Therefore, the title of
Tulku is given to reincarnate Lamas either on the grounds of their
resembling enlightened beings or through their connection to certain
qualities of enlightened beings.
As Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo said:
“Reincarnation is what happens when someone takes
rebirth after the predecessor’s passing away; emanation is when
manifestations take place without the source’s passing away.”
Recognition of Reincarnations
The practice of recognizing who is who by identifying someone’s
previous life occurred even when Shakyamuni Buddha himself was alive.
Many accounts are found in the four Agama Sections of the Vinaya Pitaka,
the Jataka Stories, the Sutra of the Wise and Foolish, the Sutra of One
Hundred Karmas and so on, in which the Tathagata revealed the workings
of karma, recounting innumerable stories about how the effects of
certain karmas created in a past life are experienced by a person in his
or her present life. Also, in the life stories of Indian masters, who
lived after the Buddha, many reveal their previous places of birth.
There are many such stories, but the system of recognizing and numbering
their reincarnations did not occur in India.
The system of recognizing reincarnations in Tibet
Past and future lives were asserted in the indigenous Tibetan Bon
tradition before the arrival of Buddhism. And since the spread of
Buddhism in Tibet, virtually all Tibetans have believed in past and
future lives. Investigating the reincarnations of many spiritual masters
who upheld the Dharma, as well as the custom of praying devotedly to
them, flourished everywhere in Tibet. Many authentic scriptures,
indigenous Tibetan books such as the Mani Kabum and the Fivefold Kathang
Teachings and others like the The Books of Kadam Disciples and the
Jewel Garland: Responses to Queries, which were recounted by the
glorious, incomparable Indian master Dipankara Atisha in the 11th
century in Tibet, tell stories of the reincarnations of Arya
Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion. However, the present
tradition of formally recognizing the reincarnations of masters first
began in the early 13th century with the recognition of Karmapa Pagshi
as the reincarnation of Karmapa Dusum Khyenpa by his disciples in
accordance with his prediction. Since then, there have been seventeen
Karmapa incarnations over more than nine hundred years. Similarly, since
the recognition of Kunga Sangmo as the reincarnation of Khandro Choekyi
Dronme in the 15th century there have been more than ten incarnations
of Samding Dorje Phagmo. So, among the Tulkus recognized in Tibet there
are monastics and lay tantric practitioners, male and female. This
system of recognizing the reincarnations gradually spread to other
Tibetan Buddhist traditions, and Bon, in Tibet. Today, there are
recognized Tulkus in all the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the Sakya,
Geluk, Kagyu and Nyingma, as well as Jonang and Bodong, who serve the
Dharma. It is also evident that amongst these Tulkus some are a
disgrace.
The omniscient Gedun Drub, who was a direct disciple of Je
Tsongkhapa, founded Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Tsang and took care of his
students. He passed away in 1474 at the age of 84. Although initially
no efforts were made to identify his reincarnation, people were obliged
to recognize a child named Sangye Chophel, who had been born in Tanak,
Tsang (1476), because of what he had to say about his amazing and
flawless recollections of his past life. Since then, a tradition began
of searching for and recognizing the successive reincarnations of the
Dalai Lamas by the Gaden Phodrang Labrang and later the Gaden Phodrang
Government.
The ways of recognizing reincarnations
After the system of recognizing Tulkus came into being, various
procedures for going about it began to develop and grow. Among these
some of the most important involve the predecessor’s predictive letter
and other instructions and indications that might occur; the
reincarnation’s reliably recounting his previous life and speaking about
it; identifying possessions belonging to the predecessor and
recognizing people who had been close to him. Apart from these,
additional methods include asking reliable spiritual masters for their
divination as well as seeking the predictions of mundane oracles, who
appear through mediums in trance, and observing the visions that
manifest in sacred lakes of protectors like Lhamoi Latso, a sacred lake
south of Lhasa.
When there happens to be more than one prospective candidate for
recognition as a Tulku, and it becomes difficult to decide, there is a
practice of making the final decision by divination employing the
dough-ball method (zen tak) before a sacred image while calling upon the
power of truth.
Emanation before the passing away of the predecessor (ma-dhey tulku)
Usually a reincarnation has to be someone’s taking rebirth as a
human being after previously passing away. Ordinary sentient beings
generally cannot manifest an emanation before death (ma-dhey tulku), but
superior Bodhisattvas, who can manifest themselves in hundreds or
thousands of bodies simultaneously, can manifest an emanation before
death. Within the Tibetan system of recognizing Tulkus there are
emanations who belong to the same mind-stream as the predecessor,
emanations who are connected to others through the power of karma and
prayers, and emanations who come as a result of blessings and
appointment.
The main purpose of the appearance of a reincarnation is to continue
the predecessor’s unfinished work to serve Dharma and beings. In the
case of a Lama who is an ordinary being, instead of having a
reincarnation belonging to the same mind-stream, someone else with
connections to that Lama through pure karma and prayers may be
recognized as his or her emanation. Alternatively it is possible for the
Lama to appoint a successor who is either his disciple or someone young
who is to be recognized as his emanation. Since these options are
possible in the case of an ordinary being, an emanation before death
that is not of the same mind-stream is feasible. In some cases one high
Lama may have several reincarnations simultaneously, such as
incarnations of body, speech and mind and so on. In recent times, there
have been well-known emanations before death such as Dudjom Jigdral
Yeshe Dorje and Chogye Trichen Ngawang Khyenrab.
Using the Golden Urn
As the degenerate age gets worse, and as more reincarnations of high
Lamas are being recognized, some of them for political motives,
increasing numbers have been recognized through inappropriate and
questionable means, as a result of which huge damage has been done to
the Dharma.
During the conflict between Tibet and the Gurkhas (1791-93) the
Tibetan Government had to call on Manchu military support. Consequently
the Gurkha military was expelled from Tibet, but afterwards Manchu
officials made a 29-point proposal on the pretext of making the Tibetan
Government’s administration more efficient. This proposal included the
suggestion of picking lots from a Golden Urn to decide on the
recognition of the reincarnations of the Dalai Lamas, Panchen Lamas and
Hutuktus, a Mongolian title given to high Lamas. Therefore, this
procedure was followed in the case of recognizing some reincarnations of
the Dalai Lama, Panchen Lama and other high Lamas. The ritual to be
followed was written by the Eighth Dalai Lama Jampel Gyatso. Even after
such a system had been introduced, this procedure was dispensed with
for the Ninth, Thirteenth and myself, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.
Even in the case of the Tenth Dalai Lama, the authentic
reincarnation had already been found and in reality this procedure was
not followed, but in order to humour the Manchus it was merely announced
that this procedure had been observed.
The Golden Urn system was actually used only in the cases of the
Eleventh and Twelfth Dalai Lamas. However, the Twelfth Dalai Lama had
already been recognized before the procedure was employed. Therefore,
there has only been one occasion when a Dalai Lama was recognized by
using this method. Likewise, among the reincarnations of the Panchen
Lama, apart from the Eighth and the Ninth, there have been no instances
of this method being employed. This system was imposed by the Manchus,
but Tibetans had no faith in it because it lacked any spiritual quality.
However, if it were to be used honestly, it seems that we could
consider it as similar to the manner of divination employing the
dough-ball method (zen tak).
In 1880, during the recognition of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama as the
reincarnation of the Twelfth, traces of the Priest-Patron relationship
between Tibet and the Manchus still existed. He was recognized as the
unmistaken reincarnation by the Eighth Panchen Lama, the predictions of
the Nechung and Samye oracles and by observing visions that appeared in
Lhamoi Latso, therefore the Golden Urn procedure was not followed. This
can be clearly understood from the Thirteenth Dalai Lama’s final
testament of the Water-Monkey Year (1933) in which he states:
“As you all know, I was selected not in the customary way of picking
lots from the golden urn, but my selection was foretold and divined. In
accordance with these divinations and prophecies I was recognized as
the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama and enthroned.”
When I was recognized as the Fourteenth incarnation of the Dalai
Lama in 1939, the Priest-Patron relationship between Tibet and China had
already come to an end. Therefore, there was no question of any need to
confirm the reincarnation by employing the Golden Urn. It is well-known
that the then Regent of Tibet and the Tibetan National Assembly had
followed the procedure for recognizing the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation
taking account of the predictions of high Lamas, oracles and the visions
seen in Lhamoi Latso; the Chinese had no involvement in it whatever.
Nevertheless, some concerned officials of the Guomintang later cunningly
spread lies in the newspapers claiming that they had agreed to forego
the use of the Golden Urn and that Wu Chung-tsin presided over my
enthronement, and so on. This lie was exposed by Ngabo Ngawang Jigme,
the Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s
Congress, who the People’s Republic of China considered to be a most
progressive person, at the Second Session of the Fifth People’s Congress
of the Tibet Autonomous Region (31st July 1989). This is clear, when,
at the end of his speech, in which he gave a detailed explanation of
events and presented documentary evidence, he demanded:
“What need is there for the Communist Party to follow suit and continue the lies of the Guomintang?”
Deceptive strategy and false hopes
In the recent past, there have been cases of irresponsible managers
of wealthy Lama-estates who indulged in improper methods to recognize
reincarnations, which have undermined the Dharma, the monastic community
and our society. Moreover, since the Manchu era Chinese political
authorities repeatedly engaged in various deceitful means using
Buddhism, Buddhist masters and Tulkus as tools to fulfil their political
ends as they involved themselves in Tibetan and Mongolian affairs.
Today, the authoritarian rulers of the People’s Republic of China, who
as communists reject religion, but still involve themselves in religious
affairs, have imposed a so-called re-education campaign and declared
the so-called Order No. Five, concerning the control and recognition of
reincarnations, which came into force on 1st September 2007. This is
outrageous and disgraceful. The enforcement of various inappropriate
methods for recognizing reincarnations to eradicate our unique Tibetan
cultural traditions is doing damage that will be difficult to repair.
Moreover, they say they are waiting for my death and will recognize a
Fifteenth Dalai Lama of their choice. It is clear from their recent
rules and regulations and subsequent declarations that they have a
detailed strategy to deceive Tibetans, followers of the Tibetan Buddhist
tradition and the world community. Therefore, as I have a
responsibility to protect the Dharma and sentient beings and counter
such detrimental schemes, I make the following declaration.
The next incarnation of the Dalai Lama
As I mentioned earlier, reincarnation is a phenomenon which should
take place either through the voluntary choice of the concerned person
or at least on the strength of his or her karma, merit and prayers.
Therefore, the person who reincarnates has sole legitimate authority
over where and how he or she takes rebirth and how that reincarnation is
to be recognized. It is a reality that no one else can force the person
concerned, or manipulate him or her. It is particularly inappropriate
for Chinese communists, who explicitly reject even the idea of past and
future lives, let alone the concept of reincarnate Tulkus, to meddle in
the system of reincarnation and especially the reincarnations of the
Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas. Such brazen meddling contradicts their
own political ideology and reveals their double standards. Should this
situation continue in the future, it will be impossible for Tibetans and
those who follow the Tibetan Buddhist tradition to acknowledge or
accept it.
When I am about ninety I will consult the high Lamas of the Tibetan
Buddhist traditions, the Tibetan public, and other concerned people who
follow Tibetan Buddhism, and re-evaluate whether the institution of the
Dalai Lama should continue or not. On that basis we will take a
decision. If it is decided that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama
should continue and there is a need for the Fifteenth Dalai Lama to be
recognized, responsibility for doing so will primarily rest on the
concerned officers of the Dalai Lama’s Gaden Phodrang Trust. They should
consult the various heads of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions and the
reliable oath-bound Dharma Protectors who are linked inseparably to the
lineage of the Dalai Lamas. They should seek advice and direction from
these concerned beings and carry out the procedures of search and
recognition in accordance with past tradition. I shall leave clear
written instructions about this. Bear in mind that, apart from the
reincarnation recognized through such legitimate methods, no recognition
or acceptance should be given to a candidate chosen for political ends
by anyone, including those in the People’s Republic of China.
The Dalai Lama
Dharamsala
September 24, 2011
