Born in Tibet

by Marco Pallis

  The tenure of monastic land, including domicile, cattle, horses, implements, seed, and incidental expenses, was granted to a peasant on a three-year lease, which might be renewed. In return he had to provide the monastery with a contracted return in kind and labor; any profits above the contract he could keep for himself. When his lease was up he was obliged to return the same quota that he had taken over and in equally good condition. The leaseholder had to provide the monastery with such items as meat, silk and its products, grain, etc., and, by trading, to supply the monastery’s requirements of tea. Certain properties were allocated to meeting the expenses of particular annual celebrations. There were other less wealthy tenants whose contribution to the monastery was to provide fuel, consisting of wood and dried dung; transport animals such as yaks, horses, and mules were allotted under similar conditions of return at the end of the contract period.

  Every peasant owned his own small holding and was usually self-supporting. He was free to dispose of his land inside his own area but seldom did so. He was, however, expected to farm a given plot of the monastic estate every so many years.

  The abbot or, in cases when more than a single monastery was involved, the supreme abbot was responsible for renovations and alterations of the monastery. The income for this came from the personal donations that he received. The senior secretary directed the disbursement for the major projects, but the abbot’s more personal expenditure such as his clothes, table, traveling expenses, guests, and petty cash or, in the case of a minor, his educational expenses was all under the management of his bursar. When he received large gifts of brocade or cloth the abbot would hand over most of these to the monastery.

  There was also the matter of farmland belonging personally to the abbot; the produce from this went to the monastery.

  Thus monasteries and peasants were always interdependent and in cases of tenants falling into financial difficulties the abbot would give them assistance.

  APPENDIX 2

  The Doctrine of Tulkus

  TO UNDERSTAND THE doctrine of tulkus in Tibet, it is necessary first of all to understand the Buddhist attitude to “rebirth.” It is true that the Buddha spoke of an undergoing of countless existences by each one of us, and almost all Asian people envisage life in this sense: Naturally, one has always to distinguish between popularized versions of this doctrine and its proper understanding by those who do not confuse the issue through overvaluing their individual selves. In fact, the Buddha’s message was not that these countless lives possess an intrinsic reality, but that there is for all of us the possibility of a release from their illusion. He saw that a stream of suffering pervades the lives of men and other beings and that their desire to perpetuate their own individuality is one of the strongest forces keeping them wedded to suffering. He taught that to abandon the sense of “I” leads to release from all those tendencies that bring about successive birth and death; as Tilopa, an Indian sage, put it: The spiritual quest is like a snake unwinding itself.

  While we remain more or less enmeshed in a selfhood regarded as our own, past and future lives are continually being produced by those forces which still bind us to worldly existence. In the case of a tulku, however, the forces which produce his existence are of a different order. Something, or someone, that has no “individuality” or ego in the ordinary sense decides to work on earth for the sake of all beings. He (or “it”) therefore takes birth over a certain period of time, in a series of human individuals, and it is these who are named ‘tulkus.’

  The influence in question may emanate from any of the archetypal sources of wisdom, which is the stable essence of the universe, or else of compassion, which is wisdom in operation throughout countless world systems. So it may be said of a tulku that he is an emanation of Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, or of Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion; the Dalai Lama is known as an incarnation of the latter. In Tibet, a great sage such as Milarepa, known to have passed quite beyond the bondage of created things, is said to extend his influence over various lines of such incarnations. In the present book one finds lamas, such as Gyalwa Karmapa, Khyentse Rinpoche, and Jamgön Kongtrül Rinpoche who are recognized to be embodiments of particular spiritual influences. One such influence may in fact manifest itself through several individuals at once, as was the case with the five incarnations of the Jamgön Kongtrül.

  These are high incarnates; but not all known tulkus are of this kind. In some instances a man of advanced spiritual development, but short of final liberation, dies before accomplishing a certain task and returns to complete it. Another kind of incarnation is known as a “tulku of benediction”: When a certain well-beloved lama dies, his disciples will ask another lama who has been closely associated with the deceased (the latter, as often as not, will be the presiding lama of their school) to locate his spirit; as a result of this, the lama, though he does not return in person, confers his blessing upon the one who is to carry on his teaching; the person thus designated for the task will then reincarnate the departed master in the sense of perpetuating his spiritual influence.

  Multiple incarnations, of which an example was given above, most frequently occur in fives, of which one in particular will embody the visible presence of the departed lama, another his powers of speech, and yet another his powers of thought; again, one will represent his activities and another his qualities.

  Readers who are interested in this oft-misunderstood aspect of Tibetan spirituality may also consult with advantage the chapter on the Dalai Lama and his function in a book entitled The Way and the Mountain by Marco Pallis (who contributed the foreword to the present book) published by Peter Owen, London; that chapter contains much information on the subject of tulkuhood, both factual and technical. The same book also contains two other chapters treating compassion and gnosis from the point of view of the Tibetan tradition.

  GLOSSARY

  Amrita

  ambrosia, food of the gods; the Elixir of Immortality; also a metaphor for spiritual healing.

  Atiyana

  ‘the Ultimate Way’; the last and highest vehicle of spiritual instruction.

  Bardo

  the indeterminate state intermediate between death and rebirth.

  Bhikshu

  a Buddhist monk who has received the higher ordination; a full member of the Sangha.

  Bodhisattva

  one who is on the way to attaining Buddhahood; transposed into a higher dimension, this term indicates one who has been entirely freed from self and thus is qualified to work for the freeing of all beings still in Bondage to the world and its illusions.

  Bön

  the old religion of the Tibetans prior to the coming of Buddhism: a form of ‘Shamanism’.

  Buddha

  ‘the Wake’, who has won the victory over Ignorance (here likened to a sleep full of dreams good and bad) and attained Enlightenment.

  Buddha-mandala

  a symbolical representation of various levels and aspects inherent in Buddhahood.

  Chakra

  a wheel or circle. Used in certain centres or focal points of the human body, with their special subtle and spiritual correspondences, which figure in various forms of yoga.

  Chöten

  see Stupa.

  Dakini

  a feminine aspect of divinity; a ‘goddess’.

  Dharma

  the religion founded by the Buddha, his Doctrine; the law or ‘Norm’ governing all existence; any particular entity, thing or being. The dharmas are the innumerable things composing the Universe. (Dharma comes from a root out of which a whole series of related meanings can be drawn.)

  Dharmakaya

  the ‘Body of Quiddity’ or ‘Essential Body’ of all the Buddhas; the ‘body of the Norm’; the inexpressible reality underlying everything.

  Drogpa

  a Tibetan highlander; an alpine herdsman.

  Düdsi

  see Amrita.

  Gelugpa

  the latest of the four
schools of Tibetan Buddhism, founded early in the fifteenth century by Lobsang Tragpa, surnamed Tsong Khapa. In this school great emphasis is laid on scriptural study and learning generally. Both the Dalai and Panchen Lamas belong to this school.

  Genyen

  one who has received the primary ordination; this is imparted at one level to lay adherents and at another to celibates training for an eventual monastic ordination in the full sense.

  Geshe

  the highest scholastic qualification in the Gelug and Sakya Orders; a ‘doctorate’ in religious studies.

  Getsül

  a novice monk.

  Gönkhang

  ‘house of the Protective Divinities’; a special temple reserved for certain rites.

  Gönpo

  a protective aspect of Divinity.

  Guru

  a Spiritual Master; one’s personal teacher.

  Gyalwa Karmapa

  the head Lama of the Karma Kagyü Order. Gyalwa is a title meaning ‘Victorious’; karma means ‘action’ and here refers to the activities of a Buddha.

  Hinayana

  the ‘Lesser Vehicle’, contrasted with Mahayana, the ‘Greater Vehicle’. The former corresponds to the preliminary stages of the spiritual Way. (This particular terminology belongs to the northern schools of Buddhism, in China, Japan and Tibet; the southern schools of Ceylon, Burma and Thailand do not use these terms).

  Kadampa

  the school founded by the Indian saint Atisha Dipankara who came to Tibet towards the middle of the eleventh century; in this school special stress is laid on scriptural instruction and on the practice of loving kindness. The Gelugpa school (see above) was a later revival of the Kadampa.

  Kagyü

  the ‘Oral Tradition’, the second oldest school of Buddhism in Tibet; whence also Kagyüpa, a follower of this school. Its characteristic teachings go back to Marpa and Milarepa, two saints who lived in the eleventh century; the former obtained his doctrine from Naropa, the head of the great Buddhist centre of Nalanda, in what is now the Indian province of Bihar. The Kagyü Order has numerous subdivisions of which the Karma Kagyü, to which the author of this book belongs, is one. Its present form was given to the whole Order by Gampopa, a direct disciple of Milarepa.

  Kalung

  ‘ritual authorisation’ allowing one to engage in a particular method or to read the books relating thereunto; sometimes kalung indicates permission to recite a certain mantra.

  Karma

  literally ‘action’. In Buddhist parlance this word usually refers to ‘action and its concordant reaction”, cause of successive rebirth in ever varying states of existence, according to the merit or demerit thus incurred. Karma may be said to correspond to the ‘immanent justice’ of the Universe. In relation to any given being, karma is the ‘fate’ that being has inherited from past causes and modified in its present state of existence, thus determining the nature of a future existence in the world. Suffering is the recurrent price of this process: Buddhahood is deliverance therefrom through an understanding of the real nature of things, including that of the karmic process itself.

  Lama

  literally ‘superior’, by derivation a ‘spiritual teacher’, the equivalent of guru; such a teacher may be a monk or a layman. Not all monks ate ‘lamas’, therefore, though in India and the West the title is often loosely applied in that sense. (Concerning ‘incarnate Lamas’ or Tulkus see Appendix II.)

  Mahamudra

  the ‘great symbol’, which transcends expression and contains the Universe; the most profound form of Tantrik meditation.

  Mahayana

  the ‘Great Vehicle’ or ‘Great Way’ that leads beings to Enlightenment, to the final awakening.

  Mandala

  a symbolical design, usually circular in shape with an inscribed square, meant to serve as a ‘mnenonic key’ for those who practise yogic meditation under one of its many forms. Such a mandala may be painted or merely pictured in the mind; in connection with certain rites mandalas are sometimes carried out in coloured sand upon the ground.

  Mantra

  sonorous form expressive of Buddhahood under one or other of its aspects; formula pregnant with the influence of a particular Bodhisattva or Sage. The language of mantra is Sanskrit, the words are never translated. Such mantras play an important part in various rituals. Chiefly, they are ‘invoked’, with or without the aid of a rosary, as a means of concentrating attention and as an element of initiatic method.

  Mudra

  a symbolic gesture, used both in rites and yogic exercises; an essential feature in the sacred iconography of divinities and saints.

  Nyingmapa

  the earliest of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism—the word itself means ‘ancient’. The patron of the Order is Padma Sambhava who brought the Buddhist tradition to Tibet.

  Nirmanakaya

  the ‘Emanation Body’ of the Buddhas; the earthly form of the Buddha in this, or any other world cycle; also symbolical manifestations of the Doctrine, such as sacred images, paintings and books.

  Prasena

  exceptional form of divination only practised by initiates.

  Rinpoche

  literally ‘precious one’. A title given to Incarnate Lamas, senior abbots and occasionally even to kings.

  Sakya

  the third in date of the monastic foundations of Tibet. The chief centre (whence the name) lies some seventy miles to the north of Mt Everest, but this Order also has many adherents in Eastern Tibet.

  Samadhi

  a state of spiritual concentration; a yogic trance; also used of the death of any spiritual person.

  Sambhogakaya

  the ‘Fruition Body’ or ‘Body of Bliss’ of the Buddhas; the link between the inexpressible Essence and its manifestation in the visible Buddhas; the various aspects of wisdom, compassion and other divine names or qualities.

  Samsara

  the Round of Existence; the indefinite play of interacting cause and effect which expresses itself in the birth and death of beings, with its incidental suffering.

  Sangha

  the ‘Congregation’ founded by the Buddha; his dedicated followers; the whole Order of Buddhist monks. In the Mahayana this term embraces the whole company of Saints, in all states of existence.

  Serto

  a golden crest ornament to indicate dignity, placed on the roofs of sacred edifices and houses; people of importance also put it on the heads of their horses. See illustration labeled “The serto on a monastery roof.”

  Shramanera

  a monk undergoing training: many monks remain at this degree and do not take the higher ordination for bhikshuship.

  Stupa

  symbolical monument, roughly bell-shaped, common to the Buddhist world since early times. In its Tibetan and kindred forms, the tiers and other details of a stupa denote various stages of spiritual realization.

  Sutra

  a book of the canonical Scriptures; also a theoretical treatize not directly concerned with methodic realization, accessible to all the faithful without restriction.

  Tagpa

  elementary form of divination.

  Taisitu

  Chinese title confered by one of the Ming emperors on the abbots of Pepung.

  Tanka

  a sacred painting, usually carried out on cotton cloth primed with plaster and mounted on Chinese silk so as to form a scroll that can, if necessary, be rolled up. Patchwork tankas occur, but more rarely; also a few have been embroidered, mostly by Mongol artists.

  Tantra

  a treatise relating to methods of spiritual concentration; a book of instruction concerning particular forms of yoga. As compared with sutras (see under that heading), tantras remain relatively ‘secret’ documents, for the use of initiates only; a kalung is required in order to qualify a person to study one of these, while a wang (empowerment) is required in order to practise the method in question.

  Togden

  a term used in the K
agyü school indicating one who has actually experienced reality in a high degree.

  Torma

  a symbolical cake, usually conical in shape, to be used in rituals. (The Sanskrit equivalent is bhalinta.)

  Tulku

  see Appendix II.

  Upasaka

  see Genyen.

  Vajra

  a symbol of the nature of reality indicating its eternal or ‘adamantine’ quality; a ritual sceptre, shaped like the thunderbolt of Jupiter. (In Tibetan it is called dorje, meaning the ‘noble stone’).

  Vajra posture

  the cross-legged meditation position associated with the Buddha and with yogins generally.

  Vajrayana

  the highest of the three Vehicles or Ways. The way from which there is no turning back until Enlightenment is reached.

  Varshka Vihara

  place for the traditional ‘summer retreat’ carried out by monks ever since the time of the Buddha.

  Vihara

  originally a Sanskrit word meaning ‘a dwelling’. In Buddhism it is used for a religious building, usually a monastery.

  Wangkur

  literally ‘empowerment’; an ‘initiation’, conferred privately or sometimes also to groups, enabling those receiving it to practise a particular meditation or yogic method under a qualified Spiritual Master. In Tibet (as elsewhere) all teachings aiming at a supra-individual realization follow this pattern, though forms and rites will vary considerably as to detail.