Tibetan Buddhism

Buddhism is a made-up religion. This ability to reinvent itself has played an important role in the successful spread of Buddhism. While some religions are still associated with one particular ethnic group or a specific geographical location, Buddhism has transcended such boundaries. What is more, whereas other religions have spread aggressively by force — physical and/or theological — Buddhism has largely cultivated for itself a positive reputation for peace and compassion wherever it has traveled. It has been able to achieve this for the most part because Buddhism has effectively recreated itself to adjust to the local context wherever it has spread.

Tibetan Buddhism is a case in point.

There are certain traits in Tibetan Buddhism that distinguish it from most other forms of Buddhism. To begin with, Buddhism arrived in Tibet rather late when compared to the acceptance of Buddhism in other countries. Buddhism began in India in the fifth century BCE, but did not reach Tibet until roughly 1,000 years later in the seventh century CE. By this time, Buddhism had already established itself elsewhere — Sri Lanka, China, Southeast Asia, Korea, Japan — centuries before. Buddhism entered Tibet from India a second time in the 11th century, introducing yet another form of Buddhism that interacted with the local culture and indigenous religious tradition.

Tibetan Buddhism is largely based on different scriptures from the ones that influenced Buddhism in places such as China, Korea and Japan. In those countries, Buddhist sutras became highly influential, whereas in Tibet other writings, including Buddhist tantras, shaped the religion. Buddhist tantras — intimately connected to esoteric Buddhism — developed in India in the sixth or seventh century CE, long after the time of the historical Buddha. The writings of tantric Buddhism are based on the notion that progress in the path to enlightenment may be hastened through techniques of esoteric ritual and yoga. In tantric Buddhism, the sacred is realized in the ordinary, and the adept can transcend worldly desires by fulfilling them. Spiritually accomplished teachers — known as lamas — reveal these esoteric teachings and practices to qualified disciples.

Lamas are highly revered religious figures in Tibetan Buddhism, and followers give them absolute faith and loyalty. As various Buddhist sects and monasteries in Tibet gained power, the leading lamas also began to wield significant authority, both political and spiritual. But since many of the lamas took vows of celibacy, problems of succession arose. A response to this issue was the rise of the unique Tibetan Buddhist practice of belief in a reincarnate lama. After the death of a great lama, religious elders begin a search to identify the next incarnation of the spiritual master. This practice was developed in Tibet in the 11th century and there are about 3,000 lines of incarnation of various lamas.

Luckily for Tibetan Buddhists and the search committee, the departed spirits of the lamas have tended to be reincarnated in Tibet. While there are numerous lamas in Tibetan Buddhism, the best known is the world-famous Dalai Lama.

The title “Dalai Lama” (Ocean of Wisdom) was created by a Mongolian ruler in the 16th century and bestowed upon a high-ranking lama in one of the Tibetan Buddhist sects. The first Dalai Lama to assume political and spiritual leadership of Tibet was the fifth Dalai Lama. This occurred in 1642 after defeating political and religious rivals — including those of other Tibetan Buddhist sects. From then until 1959, when a revolt broke out against Chinese control of the region, Tibet was ruled by a succession of Dalai Lamas, each male and each identified as a young child after his predecessor had died. The 14th (and current) Dalai Lama escaped to India, where he leads a government in exile. China rejects this government, calling the Dalai Lama and his followers “splitists.”

The second-highest-ranking lama, the Panchen Lama, plays a significant role in identifying the next Dalai Lama. In turn, the Dalai Lama selects the future Panchen Lama. After the death of the 10th Panchen Lama in 1989, the current Dalai Lama recognized a child in Tibet as the 11th incarnation. China rejected this selection — as control of the Panchen Lama can lead to control of the Dalai Lama — and chose a different boy instead. Chinese authorities removed the Dalai Lama’s choice and the boy has not been seen since.

Persecuting religion usually does not weaken it, but invigorates it. China’s attempt to repress Tibetan Buddhism has caused the religion to flourish elsewhere, including in the United States, where it is reinventing itself yet again to appeal to the wider public. The esoteric rituals central to Tibetan Buddhism designed to appease spirits and bring about good luck are downplayed or neglected altogether. Instead, an emphasis on Tibetan Buddhism as a mystical tradition that stresses meditation and logic characterizes the American version of the religion. Reverence for the Dalai Lama, however, remains constant.

In 2011, the Dalai Lama made a shrewd political move by divesting himself of political power. The Dalai Lama also has suggested that he might be reincarnated as a woman or indeed not be reincarnated at all after his death. Such is the privilege that comes with enlightenment to determine one’s own post-mortem fate. The Dalai Lama’s actions have infuriated the Chinese government, as he nullifies the importance of the Chinese-selected Panchen Lama. Many Tibetans, who seek to preserve cherished traditions in their political and spiritual struggle with China, also are troubled by these developments.

The institution of the Dalai Lama is man-made. Its demise also might be the same as Tibetan Buddhism reinvents itself to continue outside Tibet.

-- Jay Sakashita, Midweek, June 24, 2015