Buddhism - Trulku

Rachel Lauren Moore

The Trulku Phenomenon

REL 2692

April 18th, 2013

In Buddhism, reincarnation is a truth that all schools accept in one way or another. The doctrine in Mahayana Buddhism differs from the other main schools—it emphasizes universal responsibility over personal liberation. The doctrine of reincarnation in this school suggests that a person may continually grow with each lifetime they endure; each lifetime they will strengthen and then finally reach enlightenment. When Buddhism reached Tibet, it fused with Himalayan culture of Central Asia. This mixture produced the idea and institution of Trulku and was cherished by the Tibetans.

The Trulku tradition, derived from Mahayana Buddhism, can appear in many different forms and contexts. The term refers to someone who is thought to hold the characteristics of spiritual realization. Being dubbed a Trulku is considered a high honor. The Trulku tradition is often thought to be an uniquely Tibetan phenomenon. However, the term is often used in different contexts. Tibetan Buddhist Trulku's are found in many schools of Buddhism, and in the Tibetan context, a Trulku is seen as someone who has been reincarnated from a specific realized person. Generally speaking—a Trulku can be anyone that has come to realization and feels that they are the reincarnation of a holy person. The claim to be a Trulku can be self-made. In Tibetan context, a Trulku is when a small child is recognized as the reincarnation of a recently deceased lama. Also in Tibet, a newly claimed Trulku would be seen as the rebirth of a person who previously held the monastic seat, and would pick up the leftover teachings and various works that had been interrupted by the previous person's death. This idea, as unusual as it was, became systematic. These seats were very important in Tibet, because in the monasteries most of them were held by Trulku's. There is also a second meaning of Trulku that refers to a vast majority of people, each...