Did the Chinese Buddhists Practice Tulku?

[mickey]

Greetings,

I thought occured (rare moment y'all) while thinking about
r.(shaolin)'s thread about Jue Yuan and Damo.

Tulku is a practic based on the Tibetan belief that monks are reincarnated. This is a science of theirs (possibly involving astronomy and astrology). And it involves, among other things, testing the child believed to be a reincarnation of a former monk by showing the child posessions of the former monk to see if the child recognizes them.

Does anyone know whether this was done in China as well?

I thank you in advance.

mickey

[David Jamieson]

It is possible if the sect in China is connected to the Tibetan sect.
I haven't read anything about it in Chinese buddhism however which is predominantly of the Mahayana school.

I have heard of this practice with the Tibetan buddhists though and understand it is how they ascertain who is the next Dalai Lama, Panchan Lama and various other high -ranked- members.

In brief, if it was a practice, it was rare.

However, I will say that recently the Chinese made claim that a particular lama of the Tibetan Buddhist faith was a Chinese and superceded the Tibetans choice. I believe personally that this was merely a political move to gain a seat in the Tibetan buddhist faith and ultimately to give the Chinese some sway in the Tibetan social order.

[Shaolinlueb]

Originally posted by Kung Lek
I believe personally that this was merely a political move to gain a seat in the Tibetan buddhist faith and ultimately to give the Chinese some sway in the Tibetan social order.

wehy dont they jsut kill millions like they used to? :rolleyes: dont get me started on how bad those tibetans have it. a group of friends went to tibet last year. i wish i went.

[David Jamieson]

lueb.

It is an easy subject to get emotional about. However, to do so is slightly myopic. No offense.

The Tibetans were regarded as 'backwards' by Mao. He invaded their country with the intent of bringing them into the modern era.

What actually happened though was that China gained a whole lot of new living space for Chinese and the Tibetans got to be treated to servitude of their new masters.

Not unlike the native populations of North America in many many respects.

But, that has nothing to do with what Mickey is asking.
Mickey, i've looked through some texts I have and have found nothing in regards to the practice your speaking of in Chinese Buddhist practice. Particularly not that of the modern era, but I went back to the earliest seeds i have stuff on and there is no mention of this idea being practiced by the Chinese Buddhists.