How the Dalai Lama Is Found - Essay Example

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXX DALAI LAMA ‘Finding’ the Dalai Lama’ Since the late 1950s Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism have come under intense pressure to preserve their cultural and religious identity. Chinese occupation and the government’s attempts to control the religious practices have come under huge international criticism. The head of Tibetan Buddhism, the 14th Dalai Lama, has been in exile and currently lives in the north Indian city of Dharamshaala. Amidst all the uncertainty over the future leadership of Tibet, Dalai Lama has made a public announcement on the issue of reincarnation. He has also warned the people of Tibet and the world to beware of any deception that is practiced by China or any other agency. He says that only Dalai Lama himself can tell about his future reincarnation and that no one else should try to manipulate people or abuse the system (Lama, 2010). All these events raise people’s curiosity about the way in which a Dalai Lama is ‘found’ and enthroned. The curiosity is also flamed by movies such as Little Buddha starring Keanu Reeves. The film revolves around the same concept and shows the spiritual master reincarnating as one soul in three different bodies (Smith, 100). Many critics who question the very concept of reincarnation question the validity of such traditions. But this concept has mass acceptance in the Indian sub-continent and Tibet. Tibetans believe that their Dalai Lamas are reincarnations of Avalokiteshvara, the personification of Compassion, who is also the patron saint of Tibet. According to the traditional Tibetan beliefs, Avalokiteshvara reincarnates repeatedly on this earth to serve humanity and hence for this mission he postpones his own nirvana. Dalai Lama, literally meaning ‘The Ocean of Wisdom’, was a title that was given by Mongolian king Altan Khan to the third head of Tibetan Buddhism. Since then it became a tradition to address the head of Tibet as Dalai Lama (Byrant, 94). There are many other traditions and the most important one is that of finding the reincarnated Dalai Lama. There is no one fixed method of finding Dalai Lama. Various methods have come into existence with the passing time. There have been many Dalai Lamas who have successfully predicted the place and time of their birth. On the other occasions prospective reincarnation’s identification of the belonging of his past life is a major signal of him being a Dalai Lama. This method was also used in finding the current Dalai Lama. The process of identification is not limited to the dead Dalai Lama and the prospective reincarnation. There is other medium through which Tibetan Buddhist have ideas of where the next Dalai Lama would be. For example spiritual masters, who have perfected their practice of meditation, are asked about the next Dalai Lama. Apart from these masters there are oracles who manifest through people experiencing trance near the sacred lakes of Tibetan capital of Lhasa. The above listed signs have been used to find out the Dalai Lama. These are not hard rules that have to be abided by the Tibetan Buddhists. These signs have come with the passage of many centuries and were accumulated over the years. Hence, while certain signs have helped in predicting the arrival of the next Dalai Lama, they cannot be used as a yardstick to be used. One more important phenomenon in Buddhism is dreams. Even the arrival of Buddha was preceded by her mother’s dream of white elephant. Similarly many Dalai Lamas have been found because of the dreams which people living around them have. One Dalai Lama’s father got saw a dream in which a deity declared that his son was a Dalai Lama. There are many ways in which the past Dalai Lamas have been found. For example, the second Dalai Lama Gedun Gyatso told his parents that he recollected his past life, he said that he was the first Dalai Lama and wanted to live in the Tashi Llunpo monastery. The third Dalai Lama was recognized by the ruler of Tibet. Similarly the fourth Dalai Lama was recognized by an abbot of Gaden monastery. He saw many auspicious signs at the boys birth and hence he was made Dalai Lama and named Yonten Gyatso. The fifth Dalai Lama, when brought before the fourth Dalai Lama’s belongings, immediately recognized the belongings as his own. Although this was kept a secret for a few years, eventually he was also enthroned with a big ceremony. There have been many incidents where there were many prospective candidates as the reincarnation of previous Dalai Lama. In such as case Tibetan Buddhists have a way called doug-ball method (Zen Tak) which is employed as it is placed in front of a scared image while the priests invoke the divine power of truth. The story of the finding of the 14th Dalai Lama is also very interesting. While embalming the body of the thirteenth Lama, people around him found that his face mysteriously turned from facing South East direction to the North East direction. This was taken as a signal and search was carried after many masters had visions a lake and a house. This led to the finding of current Dalai Lama (Stewart, 33). China and the Dalai Lama The succession of Dalai Lama is extremely important for the Tibetan people. The present Dalai Lama has been the father figure and political head of Tibet. He took on political responsibility after China’s invasion of Tibet in 1949. During that time he was involved in many peace talks with Chinese officials. In 1954, he personally met Chairman of China Mr Mao Zedong and other important people in the government. But there was no cessation of violence from China’s side. In 1959, the Chinese troops invaded Tibet and resumed their brutal oppression of Tibetan people. This situation forces him to flee to neighboring country of India. Even Dalai Lama’s arrival was marked with Chinese invasion of India territories in 1960. India was a weak country then and so it surrendered. After some time Chinese troops went back. The reason for this invasion was said to the two factors of China’s expansionist policies and Dalai Lama’s arrival in India. This is not for the first time China has attempted to intrude into the inner functioning of Tibet. Many centuries ago the king of the Manchu dynasty desired to control the Tibet and he came up with many schemes. Many times in the past the news about finding of the Dalai Lama have been kept secret because of these reasons. There is still continuous oppression of Tibetan people which has recently resulted in self-immolation by Buddhist monks. One such example of Chinese interference is the recent appointment of Panchem Lama by the Chinese government. Panchen Lama is the second highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama (Stroh, 2008). His appointment is disputed by the Dalai Lama who says that the real Panchen Lama has been abducted by the Chinese Government. Dalai Lama’s next birth Recently His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has appointed his political successor. A young, energetic man called Kalon Tripa will now deal with the political problems of Tibet. But the questions still lingers over the religious successor of the Dalai Lama. Would he be reincarnated or will he emanate. First of all it is important to understand the difference between the above two terms. The Dalai Lama himself says that he can come back to earth by two different methods. First is emanation. He can emanate before death. This kind of emanation is possible in case of highest bodhisattvas who have attained mastery over these things. The other case of emanation can be that the Present Dalai Lama will choose one successor not as his emanation but as a representative of the same mind stream. The other method is reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. He says that he will discuss the matter of his reincarnation with other Tibetan priests and ordinary people. if they think that the tradition of reincarnation should continue then he will reincarnate. He has prepared a trust called the Dalai Lama’s Gaden Phodrand Trust. This trust is given the responsibility of choosing the fifteenth Dalai Lama under the instructions of current Dalai Lama. Since it is now decided that the next Dalai Lama will not be the political head of Tibet, the position and stature of Dalai Lama may not have the same significance in the political scene. But what shall remain totally stable is the people’s belief in the Dalai Lama and his teachings. The Dalai Lama says that when he turns ninety, he will consult the members of his trust about whether to emanate or reincarnate. Whatever the method of rebirth is, Tibetan people will always follow their beliefs ardently and welcome the next Dalai Lama with immense warmth. References Lama, D. (2010) Reincarnation Statement. (Electronically accessed on 25 November 2011) http://www.dalailama.com/messages/tibet/reincarnation-statement William S. (2004) Plato and Popcorn: A Philosophers Guide to 75 Though Provoking Movies, New York: McFarland, 100 Byrant, B. (2003) The Wheel of Time and Mandala: Visual Scripture of Tibetan Buddhism, New York: Snow Lion Publications, 94 Sroh, B. (2008) The Dharma King. (Electronically accessed on 25 November 2011) http://www.dharmaking.com/aboutBook.html Stewart, W. (2000) The 14th Dalai Lama. New York: First Avenue Editions, 33 Read More