Banning of Tulkus in History

[michaelb]

The regent Reting Rinpoche was a student of Kyabje Chatral Sangye Dorje. Chatral Rinpoche used to have to sneak into the Potala so those gyalpo people couldn't get to him. HH Dalai Lama also wanted dzogchen teachings from Chatral Rinpoche, his teacher's teacher but I don't think that's happened. Anyway, it's probably Reti ng's Rinpoche's practice of dzogchen that led to him being marginalized by sectarian gelugpa Lhasa elite.

[Karma Dorje]

At a Gelug conference His Holiness the Dalai Lama mentioned one fully trained, excellent and practice oriented Geshe Lharampa was more valuable than a handful of mediocre tulkus. We can understand from the above that the tulku system was also designed as a way of maintaining the estates of teachers (crucial since they couldn't have children as their heirs due to being monks). For this reason, many recognitions happened without the best of intentions.

Hey, you really CAN take it with you. Who knew?

[JKhedrup]

LOL. Where there's a will there's a way.

Of course there are many highly attained tulkus who bring great benefit. Sometimes I worry about sounding too cynical, at the same time it is good for people to know the very human side of Tibetan history as well, and that the institutions were not without problems (like any institution in samsara). That way people hopefully will still check the teacher's credentials no matter what sexy titles they have.

[Caz]

Read that letter..one thing is clear..this dude does NOT like shugden!! Holy crap!! Anyone know if HHDL ever responded to this or not?

The "Reting Lama" repeatedly bashes the Gelug tradition in this letter as defunct because of so called "Spirit worship" obviously not to push the TOS but that would mean HHDL is proper-gating a lineage with no blessings seeing as practically all the lineage Guru where practitoners.

[JKhedrup]

not to push the TOS but that would mean HHDL is proper-gating a lineage with no blessings seeing as practically all the lineage Guru where practitoners.

The notion that His Holiness propagates a lineage with no blessings is ridiculous.

I am locking the thread until a team decision can be made about how to handle this.

It seems that it has become inevitable that this thread will devolve into a flame war about the contentious issue we agreed not to discuss so as to keep the peace here at DW.

It seems a reminder (yet again) of the ToS is in order:

In light of certain contentious practices and traditions that exist within the scope of Vajrayana Buddhism, the Dharma Wheel website will abide by instructions given to practitioners by the Dalai Lama in regards to discussion of controversial issues, practices, and images

If people don't want to abide by the ToS then they can post on forums that don't follow HH Dalai Lama's instructions (there are several such places). Users who register here know full well what the policies are, so it should come as no surprise when they are enforced.