Interpretation of the Reincarnation of the Living Buddha

 

Interpretation of the Reincarnation of the Living Buddha

 

The wise man Agudengba and the caravan leader Lacuo continued their trip to Tibet. They came to Zhangzhong along southern Tibet.

Along the way, the two chatted about Tibetan Buddhism and the reincarnation of the Living Buddha.

Agudemba said:

Living Buddha is the product of Tibetan Buddhism's development to a certain social and historical stage. It is also a unique religious and cultural phenomenon cultivated in the magical snowy land of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and is unique on the world's religious stage.

To this day, the "living Buddhas" of various sects are still the most important religious clergy in Tibetan Buddhism, playing an irreplaceable role and enjoying the supreme religious status among the majority of religious believers.

As for his title, the Han people used to call him "Living Buddha", which is actually not very accurate. It should be translated as "Reincarnated Lord". In Tibetan, "Living Buddha" has many different honorific titles, among which the most commonly used ones are "Drug", "Lama", "Ala", "Rinpoche", etc.

Agudengba gave a brief explanation to Lacuo on these commonly used titles for living Buddhas:

"Zhugu" is the transliteration of Tibetan (sprul-sku), which means "incarnation". This is named according to the theory of the three bodies of Mahayana Buddhism: dharma body, sambhogakaya and incarnation. Tibetan Buddhism believes that the Dharmakaya is not visible, the Sambhogakaya appears and disappears, and the incarnation appears randomly. Therefore, an accomplished and enlightened person can "benefit sentient beings" everywhere while he is alive; when he passes away, he can have several "incarnations". In other words, under the guidance of this Buddhist theory, Tibetan Buddhism finally found a support in the human world for the physical body of the Bodhisattva of the Ten Grounds to save all living beings, that is, the "reincarnated or reincarnated living Buddha." Therefore, "Zhugu" means "incarnation". It is the only accurate and comprehensive title among various titles that can best express the profound meaning and spiritual realm contained in "Living Buddha". Therefore, it is the orthodox title of "Living Buddha".

"Lama" is the transliteration of Tibetan (bla-ma). The word was originally translated from Sanskrit (gu-ru). Its original meaning is "guru"; however, it also contains Meaning of "Supreme One or Supreme Teacher". Therefore, with the formation of the Living Buddha system, the honorific title "Lama" gradually became another important title for "Living Buddha" to indicate that Living Buddha is the "teacher" or "guru" who guides believers on the path to becoming a Buddha.

"Akka" is the transliteration of Tibetan (A-lags). Literally, the word has no actual meaning. It is a modal particle expressing respect. Since it became another name for "Living Buddha", the word has the actual meaning. In many Tibetan areas, especially the Amdo Tibetan area, the word "Akha" is used to honor the Living Buddha and has become the special name for the Living Buddha, thus completely replacing the other two important titles of the Living Buddha, namely "Zhugu" and "Lama" . Therefore, the word "Akka" already contains a special meaning of guiding believers from darkness to light.

"Rinpoche" is the transliteration of Tibetan (rin-po-che), which means "treasure" or "treasure". This is the most cordial and highly respected title given to the Living Buddha by the Tibetan religious people. When the majority of Tibetan believers visit or talk about a living Buddha, they generally call him "Rinpoche" instead of calling him by the systematic title of the living Buddha, let alone by his name directly. Among the various titles of living Buddhas, "Rinpoche" is the only one commonly used.

Agudengba said to Lacuo again:

The reincarnation system of living Buddhas originated in the early twelfth century. In 1193 AD, the founder of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism, Master Dusongchenpa (meaning the three times of holy consciousness, the three times are past, present and future), told him before his death that he would be reincarnated, and later generations followed the master's instructions. The last words were to search for and identify the reincarnated soul boy, thus setting the precedent for the reincarnation of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism.

Since then, the new religious system of the reincarnation of the Living Buddha has been widely adopted by various sects of Tibetan Buddhism. In the long-term development process, a set of strict and systematic procedures for the search, identification, and education of reincarnated living Buddhas have gradually been formed. system. The living Buddha lineage has sprung up on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau like mushrooms after a rain. It is estimated that the total number of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism reaches nearly ten thousand.

Agudengba said to Lacuo:

It is worth mentioning here that different sects of Tibetan Buddhism have produced different living Buddha systems, and the titles of each living Buddha system have their own special causes and symbolic meanings.

Agudengba briefly analyzed the titles of several representative living Buddha systems.

The title of the Karmapa Living Buddha system is named after the name of the sect to which it belongs, which is taken from the word "Karma" (ka-rma) of the Karma Kagyu Sect. Tracing back to its origins, the name of the sect comes from the name of the ancestral temple, which in turn comes from the name of a certain place.

In 1157 AD, Dusong Qinba founded a monastery in Karma near Leiwuqi, Qamdo, and then named it Karma Lading Monastery (or Karma Dansa Monastery). He used the temple as a dojo and vigorously preached the Kagyu teachings and his own Buddhist views, thus forming the most dynamic sect in the Kagyu sect and taking the name of the Karmalading Temple as the name of the sect.

Later, the first reincarnated living Buddha in the history of Tibetan Buddhism was born in the Karma Kagyu sect, and was also named after the sect. When the two major living Buddha systems were formed in the Karma Kagyu sect, they were still called "Karmapa", that is, they were called respectively "Karmapa·Black Hat Line" and "Karmapa·Red Hat Line", among which the red hat line was forced to discontinue when he was reincarnated to the tenth life; while the black hat line has been inherited and has been reincarnated to the 17th life. The 17th Karmapa is currently living with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India.

In short, the Karmapa Living Buddha is the oldest living Buddha system with the most reincarnations in the history of Tibetan Buddhism.

Agudengpa talked about the origin of the title "Dalai Lama":

The titles of the Dalai Lama, Panchen Erdeni and other living Buddhas of the Gelug sect were conferred by the central dynasties of the past dynasties. In 1578 AD, the third Dalai Lama Sonam Gyatso met with Alatan Khan of the Tumed Tribe of Mongolia at the Yanghua Temple on the banks of Qinghai Lake, and exchanged honorary titles with each other. Alatan Khan presented Sonam Gyatso with the "Holy Consciousness All Wazilda Lama". Alatan Khan later reported to the Ming Dynasty and was canonized by the Ming Dynasty. Among them, "Vazildala" is the transliteration of Sanskrit Vajra-dhra, which means holding the Vajra; "Dalai" is the Mongolian transliteration, which means "sea"; Lama is the Tibetan transliteration, which means "guru". This is the original origin of the systematic title of Dalai Lama Living Buddha.

In 1653 AD, Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty conferred the title of the Fifth Dalai Lama as "the Ordinary Wachi Lathara Dalai Lama led by the Great Good Self-Contained Buddha of the Western Heaven to lead Buddhism in the world." From then on, the title of Dalai Lama, the living Buddha system, was determined and became the title of one of the two major living Buddha systems of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Dalai Lama (ta-la-Bla-ma) is recognized by Tibetan Buddhism as the incarnation of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, and has been reincarnated as the 14th Dalai Lama.

Agudengba also talked about the origin of the title "Panchen":

Panchen Erdeni (Pan-chen-Aer-Te-ni) is one of the two major living Buddha systems of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism. He is considered to be the incarnation of the Infinite Light Buddha.

In 1645 AD, Gushi Khan of Mongolia's Hoshu special tribe presented the fourth Panchen Lobsang Choeky Gyaltsen with the title "Panchen Bogdo". The word "Ban" in the title is the abbreviation of the Sanskrit "Ban Zhida", which means a scholar who is familiar with the "Five Ming Studies"; the word "Zen" is the abbreviation of the Tibetan "Zen Bo", which means "big" or "master" "; "Bokduo" is Mongolian, meaning "a wise, wise and heroic person". From then on, Panchen Lama became the title of this living Buddha system.

In 1713 AD, Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty conferred the title of "Panchen Erdeni" on the fifth Panchen Lama Lobsang Yeshi. "Erdeni" is Manchu, meaning "treasure". After that, the title of Panchen Erdeni was confirmed. Of course, it was still sometimes referred to as "Panchen". Now the Panchen Erdeni Living Buddha has been reincarnated into the 11th life. His residence is Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse, Tibet.

Agudemba continued:

The systematic title of Vphags-pa-lha is named after the famous Master Shengtian in the history of Indian Buddhism. The Tibetan word "Pabala" is the free translation of "Holy Heaven". The residence of the living Buddha Prabhala in the past dynasties is Qamdo Qiangbalin Temple, and now the 11th Living Buddha Prabhala has been reincarnated.

The title of the Jamyang Living Buddha system is named after the title of the eminent monk who founded the Labrang Monastery in Gansu. Because this learned monk became the first Jamyang Living Buddha, his full name is written in Tibetan as Vjam-dbyngs-bzhad-pa (Jiamutyang Xieba), which means "Manjusri", so it is not difficult to understand that the Jamyang Living Buddha system It is the incarnation of Manjushri Bodhisattva. Now he is reincarnated as the 6th Living Buddha Jamyang, and his residence is Labrang Monastery.

The systematic title of Gongtang Living Buddha (gung-thang) is named after the name of Gongtang Temple. The first Gongtang Living Buddha spent his later years in Gongtang Monastery in Tibet, and began to become the reincarnated Living Buddha in the temple. Therefore, Gongtang Living Buddha and Gongtang Monastery have an inseparable causal relationship; starting from the second Gongtang Living Buddha, Please come to Labrang Monastery to reside in Xi. Therefore, the residence of Gongtang Living Buddhas in the past dynasties was Labrang Monastery, not Gongtang Monastery in Tibet. Now he has been reincarnated into the sixth living Buddha Gongtang.

In addition, there are many other living Buddha systems, such as Zhangjia Living Buddha (Zhangjia Hutuktu), Jebtsundamba Living Buddha (Jebtsundamba Hutuktu), Xiarong Gabu Living Buddha, Rezhen Living Buddha ( Rezhen Hutuktu), Dorje Zha Living Buddha, Summer East Living Buddha, Cemo Lin Living Buddha, Dimu Living Buddha (Dimu Hutuktu), Situ Living Buddha (Situ of Babang Temple), Jiangyang Qinze Living Buddha, Tu Guan Living Buddha (Tu Guan Hutuk Tu), Zhi Hecang Living Buddha, Zhuo Cang Ju Bacang Living Buddha, Zhuo Cang Man Bacang Living Buddha, Wujia Living Buddha, Red Hat Living Buddha and so on.

After listening to Agudengpa's explanation, Lacuo gained a new understanding of the Living Buddha and the reincarnation of the Living Buddha.

Agudengba sang an impromptu song "The Interpretation of the Reincarnation of the Living Buddha":

 

Living Buddha is the title of the Han people.

In fact, this Chinese translation is not accurate.

It should be translated as the reincarnated lord.

The honorific title of Living Buddha in Tibetan language,

Commonly used ones include Zhugu and Lama.

At the same time there is Allah and Rinpoche.

Zhugu, Tibetan means incarnation,

It is the orthodox title for Living Buddha.

Lama, whose original meaning is guru,

There is also a supreme meaning.

Akka contains special meaning,

Guide from darkness to light.

Rinpoche means treasure,

This is the most respected honorific.

 

The reincarnation system of Tibetan living Buddhas,

Originated at the beginning of the twelfth century.

Following Dusong Khyenpa’s last words,

Find and identify the reincarnated soul boy.

This is the first time that a living Buddha has reincarnated.

Lineages of living Buddhas are springing up like mushrooms after a rain;

continues on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,

The total number of living Buddhas can reach nearly ten thousand.

Among the various sects of Tibetan Buddhism,

There are different living Buddha systems,

The title of each living Buddha system,

There are special causes and symbols.

The unique religious culture of the snowy region,

Unique among world religions.