The case of Dalai Lama’s successor is in the headlines. Penpa Tsering, the head of Tibet’s exiled government, has strongly opposed China’s attempt to intervene in the Dalai Lama’s rebirth. He said that rebirth is a spiritual process. In such a situation, how can China decide where the next Dalai Lama will be born. Spiritual gurus decide where they have to be born.
The new Dalai Lama is rebirth of the previous
With the matter of succession of the Dalai Lama, it has also become a matter of discussion as to how the supreme religious leader of Tibetan Buddhism is selected. It also has the fact that every new Dalai Lama is reborn for the previous Lama. Its choice is not done but it is discovered. In this discovery, many symbols are taken care of and the new Dalai Lama is announced after being satisfied in every way based on its symptoms.
It is believed that the Dalai Lama takes rebirth in a new body after death. After his death, senior monks find a child who is the next avatar of the Dalai Lama. Senior monks look deeply at some spiritual signs. They analyze the signs and images in dreams. Let us see what was the currency of the Dalai Lama at the time of death, in which direction the body was, and what was the direction of smoke at the time of cremation. Apart from this, the major lake of Lahmo Latso also plays an important role in this discovery. This process is as interesting as it is complicated and sometimes incredible. This cannot be understood in such a normal.
Dalai Lama’s book mentions the entire process
There is a special way to understand this, how the current Dalai Lama was discovered, it should be known about it. The discovery of the current Dalai Lama living in Dharamshala in Himachal was also very interesting. He has mentioned this in great detail in his book ‘My Land and My People: Memoirs of the Dalai Lama of Tibet’. He writes that ‘I was born in 1935, the fifth day of the fifth month of the Wood Hogs of the Tibetan calendar, in a small village called Taksar in the Northeast, Tibet. The Taxer is located in the Dokham region. “Do” means the lower part of the valley which is found in the plains, and “Kham” is the eastern part of Tibet where there is a special Tibetan breed called Khampa.
Dalai Lama is from ordinary family
The Dalai Lama remembering his childhood and then from his later experiences that ‘our family’s life was simple, but was happy and satisfied, and a lot of credit for this satisfaction went to Thupate Gyatso, thirteenth Dalai Lama, who had been the spiritual and cosmic ruler of Tibet for many years. He clearly defined and defined the situation as Tibet’s independent nation.
13th Lama died in the year 1933
He also records in the book that in the year 1933 (Tibetan Water Bird Year), Thuptane Gyatso passed away and this news made Tibet depressed. My father who brought this news to my village was my own father. He went to the market in Kumbham and he heard this in the big monastery there. The thirteenth Dalai Lama had done so much for the peace and welfare of Tibet that people decided to create a golden tomb with a special grandeur as a symbol of their reverence and respect.
… the discovery of the new Dalai Lama started again
According to ancient way, this magnificent tomb was built within the Potala Palace in the capital of Lhasa. Then after this comes the time which was the most important. Search for new Dalai Lama. The current Dalai Lama further writes that, ‘With the death of the thirteenth Dalai Lama, the discovery of his rebirth started immediately, because every Dalai Lama is reborn by its predecessor. The first Dalai Lama, who was born in 1391 AD, was an incarnation of Buddha Chenresi in the form of compassion. He took a fast to protect all living beings.
What process was adopted?
The Dalai Lama describes it in detail, highlighting every aspect of the process for the discovery of the new Dalai Lama. According to his book written, ‘First, a Regent was appointed by the Tibetan National Assembly, which will handle the country’s rule until the new rebirth is found and mature. Then, according to ancient customs and traditions, the divine and scholars of the state were consulted to find out where the next birth of the Lama was.
Signs like clouds, fungi growth
When the signals associated with it were started to be seen, first of all, unusual clouds were seen in the north-east direction from Lhasa. He writes that after the death of the 13th Dalai Lama, his body was placed on a throne in his summer residence Norbulingka in Lhasa, but it was seen a few days later that his face was turned to east. In the north-eastern part of that temple, where his body was placed, a large star-like shaped fungus had grown on a wooden pillar. All these signs pointed to the direction where the new Dalai Lama was to be discovered. Subsequently, in 1935, (Tibetan Wood Bore Year), Regent Lhasa, who was almost ninety miles southeast from Lhasa, went to Lahamo Latso, the holy lake of Chokhoragyal.
Lahmo Latso Lake Role
According to the Dalai Lama, the people of Tibet believe that the future can be seen in the water of this lake. There are many such holy lakes in Tibet, but Lahmo Latso is the most famous. Sometimes philosophy appears as letters, and sometimes as paintings of places and future events. Prayers and meditation were spent for several days, and then the Regent visited three Tibetan letters – Aah, Ka and Ma -Ko. Then showed a picture of a monastery whose roofs were green and golden, and a blue tile house. In the first chapter of his book, the Dalai Lama mentions that he had blue tiles on the floor in his house.
Search teams sent on the basis of signals
He says that ‘detailed description of these philosophy was written and it was kept strict confidential. The following year, the high -ranking Lamas and dignitaries were sent to all parts of Tibet to search for the location that Rejent saw in the lake. The scholars who went to the east entered our Dokham region during the winter, and they saw the green and golden roofs of Kumbham Math. In Tatsar village, he immediately noted a house with a blue tile. His leader asked if there was a child in the family living in that house, and he was told that there was a boy of about two years.
Home where the new Dalai Lama was born
It is mentioned in the book My Land and My People that after hearing this important thing, two members of the party, a servant and two local monastery officers who were his guides, went to that house in a pseudo -disguise. A junior monastery officer of the main party, named Losang Tsewang, described himself as a leader, while the real leader, Lama of Sera Math was in Kevatsang Rinpoche, was in ordinary clothes and behaving like a servant.
Search for signs started
The Dalai Lama writes that, ‘At the door of the house, the strangers were welcomed by my parents, who invited Losang as the owner, while Lama and others were taken to the quarters of the servants. There he saw the small child of the family, and as soon as the little boy saw the Lama, he went to him and wanted to sit on his lap. Lama wore a cloak with a lining made of a sheep skin, but he had a garland of the thirteenth Dalai Lama in his neck. The little boy recognized that garland and started asking for it.
Attractions shown in two year old child
Lama promised that if he tells who he is, he would garland him, and the boy replied that he is “Sera-Aga”. In the local dialect, it means “Sera Ke Lama”. Lama asked who is the “owner”, and the boy named Losang. He also mentioned the name of the real servant, who was Amdo Kasang. Lama looked at the little boy with great interest throughout the day and every time his interest grew in it, until he was taken to bed, he kept watching every activity. The entire party stopped in that house overnight, and the next morning, when they were preparing to leave, the boy got up from his bed and insisted that he wanted to go with them. The 14th current Dalai Lama writes that ‘that boy was me’.
Did you get rebirth?
The Dalai Lama writes that ’till now, my parents had no good information about the real mission of those travelers, but a few days later the entire search team of senior Lamas came to our house. Then my parents understood that I can be reborn, because there are many avatari lama in Tibet, and my elder brother had already proved to be one of them. A recent Avatari Lama died in Kumbham Math, and he felt that visitors could be in search of his rebirth, but it did not come to his mind that I myself could be reborn by the Dalai Lama.
Whatever I told Lama, he indicated to them that perhaps they discovered rebirth, which they were looking for. The people of the party brought two uniform black garlands with them, one of which was from the thirteenth Dalai Lama. When they gave me both, I took his garland and put it in his neck. Lama writes that ‘I am telling all this on the basis that I was told later what I did then.’
… but some tests were yet to be
The same examination was also done with two yellow garlands. Subsequently, he introduced two drums, a very small drum that the Dalai Lama used to call the servants, and a large, attractive and blonde drum. I chose a small drum and started playing it in the same way that the drum is played during prayers. Finally, he introduced two sticks. I touched the wrong stick, then stopped and looked at it for a while, and then I took another stick, which was of the Dalai Lama, and grabbed it in my hand.
Indications, which were later discovered and mixed with facts
Later, the search team was surprised at my hesitation. Surprisingly, because he came to know that the first stick was also used by the Dalai Lama and he gave it to a Lama, which gave it to the Kevatsang Rinpoche. These exams made them more convinced that rebirth has been found, and his confidence strengthened the three letters seen in the lake by Regent. He believed that the first letter, ‘Aa’, was for Amdo, which was the name of our district. The ‘Ka’ could have been for Kumbham, which was one of the largest monasteries in the vicinity, and which was seen by the Regent in Darshan; Or ‘Ka’ and ‘Ma’ could be for Karma Rollpai Dorje Math on the mountain above the village.
The 13th Dalai Lama had given some signs even while alive
He also found it important that a few years ago, the thirteenth Dalai Lama stayed in Karma Rollpai Dorje Math while returning from China. There he was welcomed by the Avatari Lama of the monastery, and the people of the village, including my nine -year -old father, paid tribute and respect to him. It was also remembered that the Dalai Lama had left one pair of shoes or jachen in the monastery. He had also seen the house for some time, where I was born, and commented that it is a beautiful place. With all these facts, the search team became completely convinced that the discharge of rebirth has been completed. Lama writes that after this belief, further procedures started and then after a long process, I was built 14th Dalai Lama.
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