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Living Buddha Carrying Forward Buddhism in Tibet
Amid the sound of Buddhist horns and the chanting of sutras, a two-year-old Tibetan boy mounted the Buddhist throne Friday to perform his duties as the seventh Raichen living Buddha.
Soinam Puncog, the descendant of a herdsman, was tonsured at the Johkang Monastery on January 16 this year. He is expected to become a Buddhist abbot in Tibet after years of study.
Tibet has trained a great number of these reincarnated "soul boys" or living Buddhas, who are charged with carrying forward the 1,300-year-old traditions of Tibetan Buddhism from generation to generation.
Since 1978, over 50 living buddhas have been sent to the China Advanced Institute of Tibetan Buddhism in Beijing, where they work toward the Gexe Degree in Buddhism. They have returned to various lamaseries in Tibet after graduation and are playing key roles there.
To date, more than 3,270 young lamas are studying at Buddhist schools in Tibet.
In Sera Monastery, one of the three key monasteries in Tibet, hundreds of young lamas attended a debate on Buddhist scriptures one day this month.
Gexi Qamba Yixi, a 70-year-old abbot, said Sera has 900 lamas coming from all parts of Tibet. They listen to Buddhist lectures from 10 a.m. to noon each day, discuss the sutras in the afternoon, and exchange views with the tutors in the evening.
What the young lamas do at Sera Monastery nowadays is part of the experience of all living Buddha in Tibet. They study for years in hopes of getting the Lharamba Gexe Degree, the highest degree in Lamaist scholarship. They must resist all sorts of temptation and practice Buddhism for life.
The 10-year-old Bainqen Erdeni Qoigyijabu, the 11th Panchen Lama, has been a living Buddha since he ascended the holy throne in accordance with historical conventions and rigid Buddhist rituals.
With the help of tutors, the young Panchen Lama is now able to recite Buddhist sutras for three days and nights at a stretch. In addition, he has studied subjects other than Buddhism, and has gradually become a leader of Buddhist believers in Tibet.
At present, there are 352 living Buddhas in Tibet. The two unchosen candidates for the position of 11th Panchen Lama are still practicing Buddhism there. One of them, Gawang Nanzui, has become the reincarnation of the Qiongpo living Buddha.
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