Author Topic: Parents of tulkus  (Read 19576 times)

Ratna Shugden

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Parents of tulkus
« on: October 30, 2015, 11:13:26 AM »
Are parents of tulkus necessarily above average people?

Matibhadra

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Re: Parents of tulkus
« Reply #1 on: October 31, 2015, 01:00:33 AM »
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Are parents of tulkus necessarily above average people?

Since some bodhisattvas emanate as animals, you might also ask whether their parents are also above average animals.

psylotripitaka

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Re: Parents of tulkus
« Reply #2 on: October 31, 2015, 06:09:10 AM »
According to the teachings, the parents of tulkus are emanations of Heruka and Vajrayogini.

Matibhadra

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Re: Parents of tulkus
« Reply #3 on: October 31, 2015, 07:26:57 AM »
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According to the teachings, the parents of tulkus are emanations of Heruka and Vajrayogini.

However, it is not always easy to tell who are the actual parents, specially the father, even of ordinary persons, let alone of a tulku.

psylotripitaka

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Re: Parents of tulkus
« Reply #4 on: October 31, 2015, 08:01:49 AM »
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According to the teachings, the parents of tulkus are emanations of Heruka and Vajrayogini.

However, it is not always easy to tell who are the actual parents, specially the father, even of ordinary persons, let alone of a tulku.

Agreed. I was referring to the subjective perspective of the tulku as explained in teachings on the 'nine mixings'.

Ratna Shugden

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Re: Parents of tulkus
« Reply #5 on: October 31, 2015, 11:37:55 AM »
Actually I'm thinking of human parents. Are they necessarily (Extraordinary) Dharma practitioners?

psylotripitaka

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Re: Parents of tulkus
« Reply #6 on: October 31, 2015, 02:34:50 PM »
Actually I'm thinking of human parents. Are they necessarily (Extraordinary) Dharma practitioners?

So am I, but the tulku perceives them as the deities. To common appearance, no they are not necessarily Dharma practitioners. We can know this from reading the liberation life stories of Masters. The tulku chooses a situation that would be conducive to the continuity of their practice and helping others.

Ratna Shugden

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Re: Parents of tulkus
« Reply #7 on: October 31, 2015, 02:36:12 PM »
Tenzin Nyudrup (Phuntsok Rinpoche) was recognized by the Dalai Lama to be Geshe Lama Konchog(Born Lobsang Puntsog (1917–2001))'s reincarnation. His father is a farmer.

Matibhadra

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Re: Parents of tulkus
« Reply #8 on: October 31, 2015, 07:34:11 PM »
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Tenzin Nyudrup (Phuntsok Rinpoche) was recognized by the Dalai Lama to be Geshe Lama Konchog(Born Lobsang Puntsog (1917–2001))'s reincarnation. His father is a farmer.

The parents of the current, evil dalie, were Muslim. But it's a fake tulku anyway.

I think that there are many high reincarnated lamas coming from non-scholarly, although faithful parentage. So seemingly are, for instance, the parents of the current Gungthang Rinpoche.

The great lama king Yeshe Ö was the grandson of the evil king Langdarma.

Matibhadra

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Re: Parents of tulkus
« Reply #9 on: October 31, 2015, 07:49:31 PM »
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Agreed. I was referring to the subjective perspective of the tulku as explained in teachings on the 'nine mixings'.

From a closely related perspective, one might also say that tulkus, at least as far as their illusory body is concerned, are their own father and mother, in the sense that they are born out of their own very subtle wind and mind, as separated from their parents' white and red drops.

eyesoftara

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Re: Parents of tulkus
« Reply #10 on: November 03, 2015, 08:04:56 AM »
Parents of Tulku are not necessarily above average as can be argued in this thread already. But what is sure is that they have the merits to be the parents of Tulkus. Hence, we can deduced that this is great merits that will surely lead to their enlightenment soon is a future lives.
 

Matibhadra

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Re: Parents of tulkus
« Reply #11 on: November 19, 2015, 06:48:37 AM »
In feudal Tibet, parents of “tulkus” were indeed often “above average”, in the sense of economic and political power. And the fact that “tulkus” were most often born in wealthy and powerful families used tho enhance even more such families' wealth and power, thus contributing to aggravate and perpetuate Tibet's extreme social iniquity, to the point that at the time of Tibet's peaceful liberation some 95% of the population were serfs of slaves of the remaining 5%. Since tulkus are supposed to be high bodhisattvas and only beneficial to sentient beings, the conclusion follows that many so-called “tulkus” who served to drive such iniquities were just fake tulkus.

For instance, one such “tulku”, born in a so-called “noble” family where just everyone was a “tulku”, and thus supposedly himself a bodhisattva, after having taken and failed to repay a loan to finance some unspecified youthful eccentricity, proudly tells in his self-biography how the head of his creditor was served by his “protector” in a tray, just because such creditor dared to ask his money back! Just incidentally such “tulku” used to be a most active anti-Shugden hater, the foremost one demanding the evil dalie to choose between Nyigmapas or Shugdenpas and distributing anti-Shugden chakras or amulets.

Bottom line, so-called “tulkus” and their parents may be no better than just the average mafioso together with their mafia crime families.

Andrea Keating

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Re: Parents of tulkus
« Reply #12 on: November 27, 2015, 08:11:26 AM »
Wouldn’t a returning Tulku be the one choosing his parents for that particular life?  Whether the parents were above average, royalties or commoners, wouldn’t the Tulku know best in what situation and conditions his life should be in and used to benefit others?

Klein

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Re: Parents of tulkus
« Reply #13 on: July 03, 2016, 03:33:24 PM »
Wouldn’t a returning Tulku be the one choosing his parents for that particular life?  Whether the parents were above average, royalties or commoners, wouldn’t the Tulku know best in what situation and conditions his life should be in and used to benefit others?

I agree with you Andrea. There are no fixed rules as to whether the parents of tulkus are above average people. I have heard of tulkus parents who are normal people from all walks of life. So it really depends on the parents' merits and karma to connect to the tulku who chose to take rebirth. Perhaps the parents only have the merits to give birth to a tulku and it ends there. The tulku can be born in any situation and if the tulku is real, he or she will return to their spiritual path.

SabS

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Re: Parents of tulkus
« Reply #14 on: March 30, 2019, 04:52:45 PM »
Wouldn’t a returning Tulku be the one choosing his parents for that particular life?  Whether the parents were above average, royalties or commoners, wouldn’t the Tulku know best in what situation and conditions his life should be in and used to benefit others?

I agree with you Andrea. There are no fixed rules as to whether the parents of tulkus are above average people. I have heard of tulkus parents who are normal people from all walks of life. So it really depends on the parents' merits and karma to connect to the tulku who chose to take rebirth. Perhaps the parents only have the merits to give birth to a tulku and it ends there. The tulku can be born in any situation and if the tulku is real, he or she will return to their spiritual path.

Yes, I agree with that too. Why would the tulkus limit themselves to parents who are above average when the main purpose is to help sentient beings. They know best where and how and as such will choose their parents according to the needs or conditions that best meet their criteria. Being parents to a tulku does bear much merits but it is also from thence on how they support their Tulku child in his enlightened activities as well, I would think. Whatever it may be, may all the tulkus continue to be with us to spread the Dharma until the very last of us gain the way out of sufferings. May we always be grateful and learn to appreciate them in their compassion, to never lose their wisdom from our sphere ever.