February 19, 2025 • 22 mins
Most traditions of Buddhist practice have nothing that resembles the tulku tradition. In the Tibetan traditions, you can’t get away from them. What are they? And what are they good for?
Karma Pakshi, one of the first tulkus.
Words or phrases you might want to look up:
- Tulku, emanation body, transformation body
- Three bodies of the Buddha (kusum, trikaya)
- Karmapa
- Karma Pakshi
- The Second Karmapa Karma Pakshi: Tibetan Mahasiddha
- Jamgon Kongtrul
#Buddhism #Vajrayana #DoubleDorje #Mahamudra #Dzogchen
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:11):
Hello dear people who are kind enough to listen in. This is the Double Dorje Podcast, and I'm Alex Wilding sharing a few crumbs of wisdom gathered over my time involved with Tibetan Buddhism in the West.
My first teacher was a tulku and in fact most of my teachers were or are, but it's a funny business and I want to take a little bit of a look at it.
(00:36):
First of all, let me quickly ask you to remember to like, better still to subscribe, and even better than that, to tell your friends about this podcast. And if you're looking for the extra material and that extra material doesn't appear in your channel -
- in fact, it doesn't appear on many of those channels, then take a look at Podbean, which at the time of first publishing is the home of the Double Dorje.
(01:04):
The reality is, of course, that I don't really know who most of my listeners are, and some of you might be wondering what a tulku is in the first place.
Very shortly then, a tulku is somebody who is recognised as being the emanation, or rebirth if you like, of a previous highly regarded teacher, usually somebody who died relatively shortly, perhaps just a small number of years,
(01:32):
before the tulku was born. One way or another, this recognition is made when the child is quite small -
- perhaps just a few months, or perhaps a few years, and the child is then marked out for special training, education and preparation for taking up their role as a figure in the religious institution to which
(01:55):
their reincarnation lineage belongs.
The word tulku basically means transformation body, or it can be translated as emanation body, or you might see the Sanskrit equivalent of nirmanakaya.
This is the third of the three bodies of the Buddha.
(02:16):
I shan't digress by trying to explain that concept – the three bodies of the Buddha - in this episode, but I will mention that name in the list of words you might like to look up. So this word tulku turns up in two overlapping but actually different contexts.
It's on the one hand, the third of the three bodies of the Buddha, and it refers to this kind of recognised rebirth.
(02:45):
The term seems to have started to find use in this second meaning sometime around our western 13th century. It's often said that the second Karmapa, Karma Pakshi, was the first figure to be recognised as a tulku. That is to say,
the rebirth of the person later recognised as the first Karmapa.
(03:08):
Surprisingly, or I suppose, being realistic, it's not surprising at all, the story is more
complicated than the, so to speak, official Tibetan histories have it.
These histories have projected the theory backwards on to the earlier figures and the earlier stories.
If you want to plunge into fascinating details about this, Charles Manson, yes, you did hear that name correctly, Charles Manson, but of course it's a completely different person,
(03:40):
has written a fascinating and thorough account of the life of Karma Pakshi. Its full title is.
The Second Karmapa, Karma Pakshi (03:48):
Tibetan Mahasiddha.
I've included that name in the fabled word list.
To approach an understanding of what the tulku role is these days, let's try to take a look at how they fit in socially, religiously and administratively. We can argue, and perhaps you know, that people do about
(04:15):
whether Buddhism is a philosophy or religion or what.
What we can definitely say though, whichever side of that argument we come down on, is that it is a path to liberation. It says so on the tin! I really don't know quite why the term sermon tends to be used here,
although I suppose it might go back to the 19th century attempt to portray Buddhism as a kind of rational, oriental version of Protestantism, but the term is somewhat ingrained, so I'll stay with it.
(04:48):
The Buddha’s first sermon then was given in the Deer Park at Sarnath.
Here, in his very first teaching,
he spoke about the four noble truths. One (04:57):
life is crap. Two
This statement is called turning the wheel of the Dharma.
This first and very straightforward presentation of Buddhism is commemorated in the mouldings you may see over the entrance gate to Buddhist establishments round the world.
(05:28):
You may well have noticed it. Two deer, one on each side of a large 8-spoked wheel, the 8-spoked wheel representing the eightfold path, the deer, of course, reminding us of the Deer Park.
Now, what do tulkus have to do with this straightforward kind of Buddhism?
(05:49):
I think the answer is nothing really.
What do tulkus have to do with the vast scriptures of emptiness and compassion, or with the colourful rites and yogas of Tantric Buddhism? Once again, nothing really.
All of these
things can function, as they did for centuries,
without tulkus. Tulkus are clearly not necessary for treading the path, whether we are talking of a Hinayana path of simplicity and renunciation,
(06:19):
Or, at the other end, of an elaborate tantric path.
For tantric practise for sure, a lama or guru is utterly essential, but a lama does not have to be a tulku.
I felt it was maybe the right time to tackle this topic because we are once again in the middle of yet another case of serious allegations, including sexual misconduct, going up to rape, against an important youngish tulku.
(06:54):
I shan't actually mention the name because at this stage, although it does look very bad, these are still just anonymous allegations, and, if you're interested in any case, it won't take much sniffing around the net to find out who I'm talking about.
For our general concern here, it doesn't really matter whether this case turns out to be as serious as it looks, or whether it turns out to just be a case of empty accusations,
(07:22):
because what we do know is that there have been only too many well-proven cases of abuse in Tibetan Buddhism,
where a tulku is very often at the centre of the theatre. So it's important to get a grip on what their function really is, and what they may indeed be good for.
(07:45):
Tulkus typically are expected to take up the reins of their predecessor.
One thing this can mean is becoming the head figure of a small monastery with a dozen or a score of monks.
Or we can be thinking of a major figure with literally hundreds of subsidiary monasteries under the same umbrella.
(08:08):
As such, their role is indeed in part religious, especially in the ceremonial sense.
Usually - or maybe I should say invariably - they are expected to receive the empowerments and the transmissions that are central to their particular school.
(08:40):
This part of their education and training can be a huge exercise, taking many, many years and it should put the tulku into a position to maintain and pass on those transmissions and empowerments
to yet another generation.
Quite often the tulku will not be the main teacher, even in the studies departments of their monastery, let alone the retreat master. Their role often does include a large element of administration, and what we might call diplomacy.
(09:14):
It is very important to recognise that the society of old Tibet was highly stratified, extremely rigid and was ruled by what I'm tempted to call an unholy alliance of church and state.
There was indeed a secular government, but the power of the big Buddhist schools, the Gelug in particular, but also the Sakya, the Kagyu and so on, was enormous.
(09:42):
Amongst the many things that I am not is a scholar of Tibetan society, but I will mention that as a first approach, mediaeval Europe would be a better model than anything that we have today in order to start thinking about
the way things were in Tibet.
As a modern person, a product of the European enlightenment in fact, I am extremely doubtful about the wisdom of blending church and state at all.
(10:12):
Separating church and state was, after all, one of the founding principles of the American Pilgrim Fathers, even though that country seems to be slipping back towards some kind of authoritarian theocracy. But that too is not a subject for today.
Old Tibetan society can also be described at least loosely as feudal.
(10:36):
A high proportion of poorer Tibetans were, to all intents and purposes, tied to the land.
Social mobility? Well, you can forget it.
Some writers have made a lot out of the option of becoming some kind of begging wanderer, like a chodpa going from one cemetery to another, living on alms and donations, and free from other social responsibilities.
(11:01):
Perhaps that kind of option was open, but it is a very, very, very hard way of living.
So monasteries were centres of political, economic and religious power.
As a result of the rigid nature of society, tulkus had their path pretty much laid out.
(11:24):
They could fulfil their role well, or they could fulfil their role badly, but they didn't have a great deal of other choice.
Stories of how children, usually boys, of course, came to be recognised as tulkus do offer a fascinating insight into Tibetan religious society.
The Dalai Lama, for example, the present one, was born in a very remote part of eastern Tibet to a middle class family, while the family of the 17th Karmapa Orgyen Tinley Dorje,
(11:58):
Was, like all the people in his small village, frankly speaking, dirt poor.
But these are exceptions. In many cases - cynics might say suspiciously many - the young tulkus are found in well to do families, often those who provide financial and other support to the monastery concerned.
(12:20):
This binds their generous donations even more closely to the monastery.
And there are a couple of major Nyingma lineages, each having quite a number of tulkus,
where it seems to be practically the rule that the rebirth is kept in the family. Uncles, nephews, brothers, cousins - if you're born as one of those, you may well be recognised as a tulku. Otherwise you don't stand much chance.
(12:48):
It's important to mention as well that it's possible for somebody, through study, practise and personal qualities, to rise through the hierarchy without being a tulku, to a very high level.
The 19th century figure of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great had quite humble beginnings, but rose to become enormously significant as a result of his towering intellect, enormous commitment to practise, and.
(13:16):
diplomatic skills.
So that's another case worth mentioning, and there are more, but this path to prominence is the exception.
So how's it working out, as this whole system now has to survive and coexist with a more or less modern society?
(13:42):
The religious system must now become at least partially compatible with the West, that is to say, the society that descends from the European Enlightenment.
Let's try to put ourselves in the shoes of that kid.
Sometimes, indeed, he, or even occasionally she, may have been chosen for some non-obvious, let's even call it mystical, reasons.
(14:07):
More often, the factors will be concerned with power and wealth, often that of powerful, influential families, and indeed, from more or less the same family as the predecessor.
This kid is now taken away from his mother at a very young age and brought up in strict monastic circumstances.
It must, I think reasonably, be feared that the circumstances are, at least from time to time, abusive.
(14:36):
In any event, they are harsh. At some stage the kid is put on a throne and told that they are wonderful, special and have an insight that the rest of us don't hear - lots of presents and treats.
And then back to harsh reality.
And that's how they grow up. Is it any wonder that at least some of them are, frankly speaking, emotionally illiterate?
(15:00):
It must be said that some of these kids do survive emotionally. Perhaps a few of them really are very special souls.
As four examples with which I'm more or less personally familiar,
we have the four Kagyu tulkus who came to the UK in the 1960s.
(15:21):
My own first teacher, Chime Rinpoche, was one of those, and has had a few struggles in his life, but has not gone weird.
Akong Rinpoche did a quite wonderful job of looking after Samye Ling in Scotland, developing it towards the centre that it is today, and bringing a number of charitable organisations in Nepal and Tibet into being.
(15:44):
As for Ato Rinpoche, I never heard a whisper of impropriety from that corner. When he disrobed in order to marry his English wife, he did so properly, requesting permission and handing his robes back to the Karmapa.
He had zero interest in building up any sort of large organisation of his own, but worked very hard, giving teachings at centres in Britain, America and particularly in Europe.
(16:12):
I wonder whether he even ever got cross!
It's hard to imagine, but I suppose it must have happened.
So far so good, but as a fourth we also had Trungpa whose behaviour meant that he had to leave Samye Ling.
Was it the smashing of Akong's personal shrine, urinating down the stairwell, and collapsing into a drunken stupor when important visitors were expected that was the final straw?
(16:39):
Quite possibly. And having mentioned that story, I want to point out that I'm not just repeating rumours here. This is taken from the account of his very own wife who to this very day carries the flag for him.
Trungpa found a following, initially amongst the dropouts and hippies, and went on to build up a large organisation in America, some of which still exists.
(17:05):
In spite of mottos from his early days like “Buddhadharma without credentials”, he did in fact end up creating what was thought of as a Royal Court and wanted to be treated like a king, pretty much literally.
But this is not the place for an expose. You can find that kind of thing on the web if you like. Suffice it to say that alcohol and other abuses brought him to an early death, so unless you are in the circle of his followers, it's not unreasonable to assess his life as something of a disaster.
(17:40):
We've also had cases like Sogyal Lakar, who ended up in a very public disgrace, labelled as such by the Dalai Lama.
Although, in fairness to the system, there are good grounds for wondering whether he ever was initially recognised as a tulku. We do know that there was never an enthronement, and there was never any sort of certificate. His mother, who was pushing his career,
(18:07):
did claim to have once had a handwritten note from Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, recognising Sogyal as a tulku,
but this note was lost in the flight from Tibet. I suppose it could happen, although Jamyang Khyentse himself, in his extremely detailed autobiography, says nothing about it and only mentioned Sogyal
(18:30):
briefly, as a peripheral figure in one of Jamyang Khyentse's dreams.
In old Tibet, that magic land, some of this emotional derailment might have been kept at least largely in check, through the very fact of the rigidity of that society.
Nowadays, on the other hand, a tulku gone bad has far more opportunity to cut loose, get drunk, say “Hey, I'm a mahasiddha! My mad behaviour is crazy wisdom, done out of pure motivation to help sentient beings
(19:05):
smash through the dualistic mind.”
This kind of thing can find a following.
Now a few minutes ago I mentioned my own first teacher, a tulku who did end up in the West. Long ago, back in the 1970s, I recall him saying that, while he did believe that there was “something in it”, when he was talking about the tulku system,
(19:29):
he nevertheless felt that it was a thing that had worked in old Tibet but was not fit for the new world. And that was 50 years ago, long before the high-profile scandals I mentioned above.
As a very different case, I might offer you the example of my present teacher. It is true that he has been recognised as a tulku, but this happened later in life, in response to his evident qualities.
(19:58):
He was brought up in his own family.
Has a family of his own, has known hard work,
has done serious amounts of study and retreat and is, if I may say so, extremely normal, even if he is normal in an extraordinary way.
But that's a student speaking, so don't worry about it!
(20:30):
So individual tulkus vary enormously. We cannot shove them all into the same bag, whether good or bad.
It's the system of tulku recognition that now appears barely fit for purpose in our non-traditional world.
It has its advantages in the early training and education of the promising kids, but, as must be clear, it's riddled with problems.
(20:57):
Somehow we have to move to a system in which the recognition of authorised teachers is based on learning experience, kindness and other personal qualities.
How we make that transition is of course a much bigger question than anything I've talked about here, and I feel quite sure that it would be above my pay grade.
(21:21):
So once more, Please remember to share or subscribe and tell your friends - I need say no more about that. And remember, some tulkus really are amazing teachers and amazing people, but only too many are not.
So - buyer beware.
Bye.
Hello dear people who are kind enough to listen in. This is the Double Dorje Podcast, and I'm Alex Wilding sharing a few crumbs of wisdom gathered over my time involved with Tibetan Buddhism in the West.
My first teacher was a tulku and in fact most of my teachers were or are, but it's a funny business and I want to take a little bit of a look at it.
(00:36):
First of all, let me quickly ask you to remember to like, better still to subscribe, and even better than that, to tell your friends about this podcast. And if you're looking for the extra material and that extra material doesn't appear in your channel -
- in fact, it doesn't appear on many of those channels, then take a look at Podbean, which at the time of first publishing is the home of the Double Dorje.
(01:04):
The reality is, of course, that I don't really know who most of my listeners are, and some of you might be wondering what a tulku is in the first place.
Very shortly then, a tulku is somebody who is recognised as being the emanation, or rebirth if you like, of a previous highly regarded teacher, usually somebody who died relatively shortly, perhaps just a small number of years,
(01:32):
before the tulku was born. One way or another, this recognition is made when the child is quite small -
- perhaps just a few months, or perhaps a few years, and the child is then marked out for special training, education and preparation for taking up their role as a figure in the religious institution to which
(01:55):
their reincarnation lineage belongs.
The word tulku basically means transformation body, or it can be translated as emanation body, or you might see the Sanskrit equivalent of nirmanakaya.
This is the third of the three bodies of the Buddha.
(02:16):
I shan't digress by trying to explain that concept – the three bodies of the Buddha - in this episode, but I will mention that name in the list of words you might like to look up. So this word tulku turns up in two overlapping but actually different contexts.
It's on the one hand, the third of the three bodies of the Buddha, and it refers to this kind of recognised rebirth.
(02:45):
The term seems to have started to find use in this second meaning sometime around our western 13th century. It's often said that the second Karmapa, Karma Pakshi, was the first figure to be recognised as a tulku. That is to say,
the rebirth of the person later recognised as the first Karmapa.
(03:08):
Surprisingly, or I suppose, being realistic, it's not surprising at all, the story is more
complicated than the, so to speak, official Tibetan histories have it.
These histories have projected the theory backwards on to the earlier figures and the earlier stories.
If you want to plunge into fascinating details about this, Charles Manson, yes, you did hear that name correctly, Charles Manson, but of course it's a completely different person,
(03:40):
has written a fascinating and thorough account of the life of Karma Pakshi. Its full title is.
The Second Karmapa, Karma Pakshi (03:48):
Tibetan Mahasiddha.
I've included that name in the fabled word list.
To approach an understanding of what the tulku role is these days, let's try to take a look at how they fit in socially, religiously and administratively. We can argue, and perhaps you know, that people do about
(04:15):
whether Buddhism is a philosophy or religion or what.
What we can definitely say though, whichever side of that argument we come down on, is that it is a path to liberation. It says so on the tin! I really don't know quite why the term sermon tends to be used here,
although I suppose it might go back to the 19th century attempt to portray Buddhism as a kind of rational, oriental version of Protestantism, but the term is somewhat ingrained, so I'll stay with it.
(04:48):
The Buddha’s first sermon then was given in the Deer Park at Sarnath.
Here, in his very first teaching,
he spoke about the four noble truths. One (04:57):
life is crap. Two
This statement is called turning the wheel of the Dharma.
This first and very straightforward presentation of Buddhism is commemorated in the mouldings you may see over the entrance gate to Buddhist establishments round the world.
(05:28):
You may well have noticed it. Two deer, one on each side of a large 8-spoked wheel, the 8-spoked wheel representing the eightfold path, the deer, of course, reminding us of the Deer Park.
Now, what do tulkus have to do with this straightforward kind of Buddhism?
(05:49):
I think the answer is nothing really.
What do tulkus have to do with the vast scriptures of emptiness and compassion, or with the colourful rites and yogas of Tantric Buddhism? Once again, nothing really.
All of these
things can function, as they did for centuries,
without tulkus. Tulkus are clearly not necessary for treading the path, whether we are talking of a Hinayana path of simplicity and renunciation,
(06:19):
Or, at the other end, of an elaborate tantric path.
For tantric practise for sure, a lama or guru is utterly essential, but a lama does not have to be a tulku.
I felt it was maybe the right time to tackle this topic because we are once again in the middle of yet another case of serious allegations, including sexual misconduct, going up to rape, against an important youngish tulku.
(06:54):
I shan't actually mention the name because at this stage, although it does look very bad, these are still just anonymous allegations, and, if you're interested in any case, it won't take much sniffing around the net to find out who I'm talking about.
For our general concern here, it doesn't really matter whether this case turns out to be as serious as it looks, or whether it turns out to just be a case of empty accusations,
(07:22):
because what we do know is that there have been only too many well-proven cases of abuse in Tibetan Buddhism,
where a tulku is very often at the centre of the theatre. So it's important to get a grip on what their function really is, and what they may indeed be good for.
(07:45):
Tulkus typically are expected to take up the reins of their predecessor.
One thing this can mean is becoming the head figure of a small monastery with a dozen or a score of monks.
Or we can be thinking of a major figure with literally hundreds of subsidiary monasteries under the same umbrella.
(08:08):
As such, their role is indeed in part religious, especially in the ceremonial sense.
Usually - or maybe I should say invariably - they are expected to receive the empowerments and the transmissions that are central to their particular school.
(08:40):
This part of their education and training can be a huge exercise, taking many, many years and it should put the tulku into a position to maintain and pass on those transmissions and empowerments
to yet another generation.
Quite often the tulku will not be the main teacher, even in the studies departments of their monastery, let alone the retreat master. Their role often does include a large element of administration, and what we might call diplomacy.
(09:14):
It is very important to recognise that the society of old Tibet was highly stratified, extremely rigid and was ruled by what I'm tempted to call an unholy alliance of church and state.
There was indeed a secular government, but the power of the big Buddhist schools, the Gelug in particular, but also the Sakya, the Kagyu and so on, was enormous.
(09:42):
Amongst the many things that I am not is a scholar of Tibetan society, but I will mention that as a first approach, mediaeval Europe would be a better model than anything that we have today in order to start thinking about
the way things were in Tibet.
As a modern person, a product of the European enlightenment in fact, I am extremely doubtful about the wisdom of blending church and state at all.
(10:12):
Separating church and state was, after all, one of the founding principles of the American Pilgrim Fathers, even though that country seems to be slipping back towards some kind of authoritarian theocracy. But that too is not a subject for today.
Old Tibetan society can also be described at least loosely as feudal.
(10:36):
A high proportion of poorer Tibetans were, to all intents and purposes, tied to the land.
Social mobility? Well, you can forget it.
Some writers have made a lot out of the option of becoming some kind of begging wanderer, like a chodpa going from one cemetery to another, living on alms and donations, and free from other social responsibilities.
(11:01):
Perhaps that kind of option was open, but it is a very, very, very hard way of living.
So monasteries were centres of political, economic and religious power.
As a result of the rigid nature of society, tulkus had their path pretty much laid out.
(11:24):
They could fulfil their role well, or they could fulfil their role badly, but they didn't have a great deal of other choice.
Stories of how children, usually boys, of course, came to be recognised as tulkus do offer a fascinating insight into Tibetan religious society.
The Dalai Lama, for example, the present one, was born in a very remote part of eastern Tibet to a middle class family, while the family of the 17th Karmapa Orgyen Tinley Dorje,
(11:58):
Was, like all the people in his small village, frankly speaking, dirt poor.
But these are exceptions. In many cases - cynics might say suspiciously many - the young tulkus are found in well to do families, often those who provide financial and other support to the monastery concerned.
(12:20):
This binds their generous donations even more closely to the monastery.
And there are a couple of major Nyingma lineages, each having quite a number of tulkus,
where it seems to be practically the rule that the rebirth is kept in the family. Uncles, nephews, brothers, cousins - if you're born as one of those, you may well be recognised as a tulku. Otherwise you don't stand much chance.
(12:48):
It's important to mention as well that it's possible for somebody, through study, practise and personal qualities, to rise through the hierarchy without being a tulku, to a very high level.
The 19th century figure of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great had quite humble beginnings, but rose to become enormously significant as a result of his towering intellect, enormous commitment to practise, and.
(13:16):
diplomatic skills.
So that's another case worth mentioning, and there are more, but this path to prominence is the exception.
So how's it working out, as this whole system now has to survive and coexist with a more or less modern society?
(13:42):
The religious system must now become at least partially compatible with the West, that is to say, the society that descends from the European Enlightenment.
Let's try to put ourselves in the shoes of that kid.
Sometimes, indeed, he, or even occasionally she, may have been chosen for some non-obvious, let's even call it mystical, reasons.
(14:07):
More often, the factors will be concerned with power and wealth, often that of powerful, influential families, and indeed, from more or less the same family as the predecessor.
This kid is now taken away from his mother at a very young age and brought up in strict monastic circumstances.
It must, I think reasonably, be feared that the circumstances are, at least from time to time, abusive.
(14:36):
In any event, they are harsh. At some stage the kid is put on a throne and told that they are wonderful, special and have an insight that the rest of us don't hear - lots of presents and treats.
And then back to harsh reality.
And that's how they grow up. Is it any wonder that at least some of them are, frankly speaking, emotionally illiterate?
(15:00):
It must be said that some of these kids do survive emotionally. Perhaps a few of them really are very special souls.
As four examples with which I'm more or less personally familiar,
we have the four Kagyu tulkus who came to the UK in the 1960s.
(15:21):
My own first teacher, Chime Rinpoche, was one of those, and has had a few struggles in his life, but has not gone weird.
Akong Rinpoche did a quite wonderful job of looking after Samye Ling in Scotland, developing it towards the centre that it is today, and bringing a number of charitable organisations in Nepal and Tibet into being.
(15:44):
As for Ato Rinpoche, I never heard a whisper of impropriety from that corner. When he disrobed in order to marry his English wife, he did so properly, requesting permission and handing his robes back to the Karmapa.
He had zero interest in building up any sort of large organisation of his own, but worked very hard, giving teachings at centres in Britain, America and particularly in Europe.
(16:12):
I wonder whether he even ever got cross!
It's hard to imagine, but I suppose it must have happened.
So far so good, but as a fourth we also had Trungpa whose behaviour meant that he had to leave Samye Ling.
Was it the smashing of Akong's personal shrine, urinating down the stairwell, and collapsing into a drunken stupor when important visitors were expected that was the final straw?
(16:39):
Quite possibly. And having mentioned that story, I want to point out that I'm not just repeating rumours here. This is taken from the account of his very own wife who to this very day carries the flag for him.
Trungpa found a following, initially amongst the dropouts and hippies, and went on to build up a large organisation in America, some of which still exists.
(17:05):
In spite of mottos from his early days like “Buddhadharma without credentials”, he did in fact end up creating what was thought of as a Royal Court and wanted to be treated like a king, pretty much literally.
But this is not the place for an expose. You can find that kind of thing on the web if you like. Suffice it to say that alcohol and other abuses brought him to an early death, so unless you are in the circle of his followers, it's not unreasonable to assess his life as something of a disaster.
(17:40):
We've also had cases like Sogyal Lakar, who ended up in a very public disgrace, labelled as such by the Dalai Lama.
Although, in fairness to the system, there are good grounds for wondering whether he ever was initially recognised as a tulku. We do know that there was never an enthronement, and there was never any sort of certificate. His mother, who was pushing his career,
(18:07):
did claim to have once had a handwritten note from Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, recognising Sogyal as a tulku,
but this note was lost in the flight from Tibet. I suppose it could happen, although Jamyang Khyentse himself, in his extremely detailed autobiography, says nothing about it and only mentioned Sogyal
(18:30):
briefly, as a peripheral figure in one of Jamyang Khyentse's dreams.
In old Tibet, that magic land, some of this emotional derailment might have been kept at least largely in check, through the very fact of the rigidity of that society.
Nowadays, on the other hand, a tulku gone bad has far more opportunity to cut loose, get drunk, say “Hey, I'm a mahasiddha! My mad behaviour is crazy wisdom, done out of pure motivation to help sentient beings
(19:05):
smash through the dualistic mind.”
This kind of thing can find a following.
Now a few minutes ago I mentioned my own first teacher, a tulku who did end up in the West. Long ago, back in the 1970s, I recall him saying that, while he did believe that there was “something in it”, when he was talking about the tulku system,
(19:29):
he nevertheless felt that it was a thing that had worked in old Tibet but was not fit for the new world. And that was 50 years ago, long before the high-profile scandals I mentioned above.
As a very different case, I might offer you the example of my present teacher. It is true that he has been recognised as a tulku, but this happened later in life, in response to his evident qualities.
(19:58):
He was brought up in his own family.
Has a family of his own, has known hard work,
has done serious amounts of study and retreat and is, if I may say so, extremely normal, even if he is normal in an extraordinary way.
But that's a student speaking, so don't worry about it!
(20:30):
So individual tulkus vary enormously. We cannot shove them all into the same bag, whether good or bad.
It's the system of tulku recognition that now appears barely fit for purpose in our non-traditional world.
It has its advantages in the early training and education of the promising kids, but, as must be clear, it's riddled with problems.
(20:57):
Somehow we have to move to a system in which the recognition of authorised teachers is based on learning experience, kindness and other personal qualities.
How we make that transition is of course a much bigger question than anything I've talked about here, and I feel quite sure that it would be above my pay grade.
(21:21):
So once more, Please remember to share or subscribe and tell your friends - I need say no more about that. And remember, some tulkus really are amazing teachers and amazing people, but only too many are not.
So - buyer beware.
Bye.
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