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A tulku (, also tülku, trulku) is an individual recognized as the reincarnation of a previous spiritual master (lama), and expected to be reincarnated, in turn, after death. The tulku is a distinctive and significant aspect of Tibetan Buddhism, embodying the concept of enlightened beings taking corporeal forms to continue the lineage of specific teachings. The term "tulku" is a loanword from Tibetan སྤྲུལ་སྐུ ("sprul sku"), which originally referred to an emperor or ruler taking human form on Earth, signifying a divine incarnation. Over time, it evolved within Tibetan Buddhism to denote the corporeal existence of certain highly accomplished Buddhist masters whose purpose was to ensure the preservation and transmission of a particular lineage.
The tulku system originated in Tibet, particularly associated with the recognition of the second Karmapa in the 13th century. Since then, numerous tulku lineages have been established, with each tulku having a distinctive role in preserving and propagating specific teachings. Other high-profile examples of tulkus include the Dalai Lamas, the , the Samding Dorje Phagmos, Khyentses, the Zhabdrung Rinpoches, and the Kongtruls.
The process of recognizing tulkus involves a combination of traditional and supernatural methods. When a tulku passes away, a committee of senior lamas convenes to identify the reincarnation. They may look for signs left by the departed tulku, consult oracles, rely on dreams or visions, and sometimes even observe natural phenomena like rainbows. This process combines mysticism and tradition to pinpoint the successor who will carry forward the teachings of their predecessor.
A Western tulku is the recognized successor to a lama or dharma master born in the West, commonly of non-Tibetan people ethnic heritage. This recognition has sparked debates and discussions regarding the cultural adaptation and authenticity of Westerners within the traditional Tibetan tulku system. Some argue that Westerners should explore their own forms of Buddhism rather than attempting to fit into this system. Western tulkus may struggle to gain recognition among laypeople and even other monastics. Generally, Western tulkus do not follow traditional Tibetan monastic life, and commonly leave their home monasteries for alternative careers, not necessarily chaplaincy.
Over time, indigenous religious ideas became assimilated by the new Buddhism; e.g. sprul became part of a compound noun, སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་'sprul.sku' ("incarnation body" or 'tülku', and 'btsan', the term for the imperial ruler of the Tibetan Empire, became a kind of mountain deity). Valentine summarizes the shift in meaning of the word tülku: "This term that was originally used to describe the Buddha as a 'magical emanation' of enlightenment, is best translated as 'incarnation' or 'steadfast incarnation' when used in the context of the tulku system to describe patriarchs that reliably return to human form."
According to the Light of Fearless Indestructible Wisdom by Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal: the term tülku "designates one who is 'noble' (or 'selfless' according to Buddha's usage) and used in Buddhist texts to denote a highly achieved being who has attained the first bhumi, a level of attainment which is truly egoless, or higher." Higher Vajrayana practitioners who have attained siddhis and mastered the bardo of dying, bardo of dharmata or bardo of becoming can be reborn as a tülkus. According to Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang:
In addition to Tibet, Tibetan Buddhism is a traditional religion in China and Mongolia. The Mongolian word for a tülku is qubilγan, though such persons may also be called by the honorific title qutuγtu (Tib: 'phags-pa and Skt: ārya or superior, not to be confused with the historic figure, 'Phags-pa Lama or the script attributed to him, ( Phags-pa script), or hutagt in the standard Khalkha dialect. The Chinese word for tülku is huófó (活佛), which literally means "living Buddha".
A related term in Tibetan is yangsi (literally "rebirth" or "re-becoming") which refers to an enlightened master who has returned to earthly existence for the sake of benefitting sentient beings. While the notion of a nirmāṇakāya is found throughout Mahayana Buddhism, and is integral to the doctrine of the trikaya ("Three Bodies"), the concept of the yangsi is uniquely Tibetan. Tulku, as a title, refers to one who is recognized as the yangsi of a master.
It arose in the context of a political vacuum spurred by the assassination of Ralpachen, which saw monastic centers develop political power in a second spreading of Buddhism in Tibet. It had "purely politico-mercantile origins and functions" and later became a significant spiritual institution. However, some commentators argue that the political shift was "grafted onto the tradition of recognizing reincarnations, not the other way around." Turrell V. Wylie wrote that the tulku system "developed in Tibetan Buddhism primarily for political reasons" while Reginald Ray argued that such a view ignores "misses what is perhaps its most distinctive feature" which is its "important ideological and religious dimensions", being "deeply rooted" in the bodhisattva concept.
Tulku have been associated with ruling power since its origination, expressing indigenous Tibetan notions of kingship. This system supplanted the earlier model of monastic governance, in which a celibate religious head acted as abbot, while his brother, a married administrative head, continued the family line, with his eldest son becoming the next religious head, creating an uncle-nephew system of inheritance. The first recognized tulku was perhaps Rangjung Dorje, 3rd Karmapa Lama.
Giuseppe Tucci traced the origin of the tulku concept to Indian Vajrayana, particularly in a fragmentary biography of Maitripada he discovered in Nepal. The tulku system of preserving Dharma lineages developed in Tibet after the 12th century, with the first recognized tulku being perhaps Rangjung Dorje, 3rd Karmapa Lama. Foreign tulkus have been identified since at least the sixteenth century, when the grandson of the Mongol Altan Khan was recognized as the 4th Dalai Lama. The Mongol conversion to Buddhism served a political function and allowed Tibet to build a closer relationship with the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. Traditionally, however, tulku were only recognized from Tibetan cultural areas, encompassing Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia, and Bhutan.
The Chinese annexation of Tibet in 1959 created massive social upheaval. This intensified during the Cultural Revolution which brought irreparable damage to the institutions and traditions which constitute Tibetan Buddhism as one of the Four Olds. As a result, Tibetan Buddhism has flourished in areas of Tibetan culture not under Chinese rule, such as Nepal, Bhutan, and parts of North India. In India, the traditional monastic system is largely intact and the tulku system remains politically relevant. Compounded with the inherent transnational character of proselytization religions, Tibetan Buddhism is "pulled between the need to adapt itself and the need to preserve itself".
Westerners began taking an interest in Tibetan Buddhism during the counterculture of the 1960s, and Tibetan Buddhism became popular among western Buddhists and they began to be recognized as incarnations of Buddhist masters around this time. Most of these, however, were expatriate Tibetans or Tibetans of Mixed race, such as the son of Chögyam Trungpa. Initially, Westerners were not recognized as tulkus by the wider Tibetan diaspora.
The recognition of Westerners as tulkus began in the 1970s, following the spread of Tibetan Buddhism to modern Western countries such as the United States. The first recognized Western tulku was Dylan Henderson, an American boy identified as his father's teacher, or alternatively Ossian MacLise. MacLise, however, was born in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The Karmapa is a long line of consciously reborn lamas. A Karmapa's identity is confirmed through a combination realized lama supernatural insight, prediction letters left by the previous Karmapa, and the young child's own self-proclamation and ability to identify objects and people known to its previous incarnation.
After the first Karmapa died in 1193, a lama had recurrent visions of a particular child as his rebirth. This child (born ) was recognized as the Karma Pakshi, 2nd Karmapa Lama (1204–1283), thus beginning the Tibetan tulku tradition. Karma Pakshi was the first recognized tulku in Tibetan Buddhism that predicted the circumstances of his rebirth.
The 8th, 10th, and 12th incarnations, as well as the 16th Karmapa, each faced conflicts during their recognition, which were ultimately resolved. There was a controversy over the enthronement of two 17th Karmapas.
Despite this, when the Tashilhunpo monks started hearing what seemed credible accounts that an incarnation of Gendun Drup had appeared nearby and repeatedly announced himself from the age of two, their curiosity was aroused. It was some 55 years after Tsongkhapa's death when eventually, the monastic authorities saw compelling evidence that convinced them the child in question was indeed the incarnation of their founder. They felt obliged to break with their own tradition and in 1487, the boy was renamed Gendun Gyatso and installed at Tashilhunpo as Gendun Drup's tulku, albeit informally.
Gendun Gyatso died in 1542 and the lineage of Dalai Lama tulkus finally became firmly established when the third incarnation, Sonam Gyatso (1543–1588), came forth. He made himself known as the tulku of Gendun Gyatso and was formally recognised and enthroned at Drepung in 1546. When Gendun Gyatso was given the titular name "Dalai Lama" by the Tümed Altan Khan in 1578, his two predecessors were accorded the title posthumously and he became known as the third in the lineage.
Chokyi Gyaltsen was the first to bear the title "Grand Situ" (), conferred upon him in 1407 by the Yongle Emperor of Ming dynasty. He was a close disciple of Deshin Shekpa, 5th Karmapa Lama, who appointed him abbot of Karma Goen, the Karmapa's principal monastery at the time. The full title bestowed was Kenting Naya Tang Nyontse Geshetse Tai Situpa which is shortened to Kenting Tai Situ. The full title means "far reaching, unshakable, great master, holder of the command".
The current Tai Situpa, Pema Tönyö Nyinje, is the 12th. He is the head of Palpung Monastery.
The current (12th) Samding Dorje Pakmo Trülku is Dechen Chökyi Drönma, who was born in 1938 or 1942. Dechen Chökyi Drönma was very young at the time of the Chinese occupation, and her exact date of birth is contested. Dechen Chökyi Drönma was recognised by the present 14th Dalai Lama as a true incarnation and served as a vice president of the Buddhist Association of China in 1956 while he was president, and Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama also as vice president. She went to Lhasa in 1958 and received the empowerment of Yamantaka from the Dalai Lama and the empowerment of Vajrayogini from the Dalai Lama's tutor, Trijang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso. She has been trained in the Bodongpa tradition and remains the head of the Samding Monastery. She simultaneously holds the post of a high government cadre in the Tibet Autonomous Region. She has as a result been accused of collaborating with the Chinese.
The 11th Trungpa tulku was Chögyam Trungpa (1940–1987). He was one of the most influential teachers of Buddhism in the West and founded Shambhala Buddhism.
Choseng Trungpa Rinpoche is the 12th and current Trungpa tulku.
Besides the mind incarnation, there was also a line of claimants for the speech incarnation. At the time the monarchy was founded in 1907, Choley Yeshe Ngodub (or Chogley Yeshey Ngodrup) was the speech incarnation and also served as the last Druk Desi. After his death in 1917, he was succeeded by Chogley Jigme Tenzin (1919–1949). The next claimant, unrecognized by the Bhutan government, lived at Tawang monastery in India and was evacuated to the western Himalayas during the 1962 Sino-Indian War.
Another line of claimants to be the mind incarnation of Ngawang Namgyal existed in Tibet, and was represented by Namkhai Norbu, who lived in Italy.
In 1713, the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty granted the title Panchen Erdeni to the 5th Panchen Lama. In 1792, the Qianlong Emperor issued a decree known as the 29-Article Ordinance for the More Effective Governing of Tibet, and Article One of the decree was designed to be used in the selection of rinpoches, lamas and other high offices within Tibetan Buddhism, including the Dalai Lamas, Panchen Lamas and Mongolian lamas.
Traditionally, the Panchen Lama is the head of Tashilhunpo Monastery, and holds religious and secular power over the Tsang region centered in Shigatse, independent of the Ganden Podrang authority led by the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama are closely connected, and each participates in the process of recognizing the other's reincarnations.
The current 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, was recognized by the 14th Dalai Lama on 14 May 1995. Three days later, the six-year-old Panchen Lama was kidnapped by the Chinese government and his family was taken into custody. The Chinese government instead named Gyaincain Norbu as the 11th Panchen Lama. Their nomination has been widely rejected by Buddhists in Tibet and abroad, while governments have called for information about and the release of the Panchen Lama. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima has never been publicly seen since 1995.
The Third Drubwang Penor Rinpoche, 11th Throneholder of Palyul Monastery, former Supreme Head of the Nyingma tradition was recognized as a tulku and brought to Palyul Monastery in 1936 at the age of four. He recounted that as a young tulku in Tibet, inspired by seeing the skull relic, he made prayers to find Ahkon Lhamo's incarnation. Though most of the kapala relic was pulverized into dust during the Cultural Revolution, one Tibetan man managed to save a silver dollar-size piece on which the syllable "AH" appears. Penor Rinpoche acquired it from him on a return trip to Tibet in 1987. He had it preserved in a crystal lotus bowl.
In 1987, Penor Rinpoche officially recognized Alyce Louise Zeoli as the tulku of Genyenma Ahkon Lhamo during her visit to his Namdroling Monastery in Bylakuppe, Karnataka, India. He gave her the crystal lotus bowl containing the relic of Ahkon Lhamo just prior to the occasion of her enthronement ceremony as Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo at Kunzang Palyul Choling (KPC) in 1988. The relic remains at KPC and is displayed on auspicious days.
The current lineage holder as the 4th Jamgon Kongtrul is Lodrö Chökyi Nyima. He was recognized in August 1996 by Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Karmapa, who gave the name Jamgon Lodro Chokyi Nyima Dronme Chok Thamced Le Nampar Gyalwe De. He was born on November26, 1995, in Chushur Dzong, near Chushur Dzong, in Central Tibet. This recognition was confirmed by the 14th Dalai Lama, Sakya Trizin, head of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism, and Mindroling Trichen, former head of the Nyingma tradition. All three performed hair-cutting ceremonies and bestowed names, as is traditional. As the reincarnation of Jamgon Kongtrul, Lodrö is entitled to be called "Rinpoche".
Several tulkus of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, including those of body (sku), speech (gsung), mind (thugs), qualities (yon tan) and activity (), were recognized in Tibet. Of these, the body incarnation was Dzongsar Khyentse Jamyang Chökyi Wangpo, who was enthroned at Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo's main seat at Dzongsar Monastery but died in an accident c. 1909. The activity incarnation Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, who was originally enthroned at Katok Monastery succeeded him. The speech incarnation was the Second Beru Khyentse and the mind incarnation Dilgo Khyentse. Since the early 1960s, Dilgo Khyentse, single-handedly upholding the unique tradition of Khyentse incarnations, propagated Buddhism tirelessly in India, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, and the West.
His recognized successor, Kyabje Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, was more commonly known as Dudjom Rinpoche (1904–1987). He is considered to be the direct incarnation of Dudjom Lingpa. He was a Nyingma householder, yogi, and a Vajrayana and Dzogchen master. According to his disciple Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal, he was revered as "His Holiness" and as a "Master of Masters".
The third Dudjom tulku, Sangye Pema Zhepa, was first recognized by terton Khandro Tare Lama through a prophetic poem written in dakini script on the day of his birth. Tare Lama wrote to Chatral Rinpoche, who confirmed the prophecy and recognized the three-year-old tulku in person. Recognitions were also conferred by the 14th Dalai Lama, Penor Rinpoche, Sakya Trizin, and others. On February 15, 2022, Dudjom Rinpoche Sangye Pema Zhepa, after telling his staff that he was going to rest and relax, suddenly died. He was 32 years of age when he passed at the Dudjom Labrang, his residence.
In 1986, after certain traditional tests, the Dalai Lama formally recognized Tenzin Ösel Hita as the tulku or reincarnation of Thubten Yeshe—making him one of only a handful of Western tulkus—and renamed him "Tenzin Ösel Rinpoche" (). This makes Thubten Yeshe the first in a new lineage of tulkus. As a child Ösel was heavily promoted by the FPMT, and made the subject of a book by Vicki Mackenzie, Reincarnation: The Boy Lama. He is the fifth of nine siblings.
The academic atmosphere is balanced by unconditional love:
The tulku system has been criticized since its inception. In the centuries following the inception of the system used to identify reincarnate lamas, the process became increasingly corrupted and politicized by those living outside monastic-ordination systems, as the process also led indirectly to sources of material wealth and power in Tibet. Highly respected teachers like the 14th Dalai Lama and Shamar Rinpoche have bemoaned the practice as belonging to feudal times, and have advocated revamping the system in way that divorces the reincarnate teacher from administrative politics and allows them to distinguish themselves.
Criticism has also been directed against individual tulkus, including both Tibetan and . The validity of the recognition of Tsangyang Gyatso (born 1683) as the 6th Dalai Lama in 1697 was questioned due to the fact that he preferred a libertine lifestyle to that of an ordained monk. Living as a ngagpa (lay practitioner and yogi), he grew his hair long, dressed as a regular Tibetan, and was said to drink alcohol and enjoy the company of women.
Chögyam Trungpa, the 11th Trungpa tulku, was criticized for his unconventional teaching style, for his sexual involvement with a number of his female students, and for smoking tobacco and liberally using alcohol; many who knew him characterized him as an alcoholic. The case of Trungpa has been used as an example in calls to reform the tulku system.
The enthronement of Steven Seagal in 1997 prompted debate. Penor Rinpoche, who has recognized several Western tulku, defended his recognition of Seagal, arguing that it was not uncommon to recognize tulku late in life or for there to exist large gaps between incarnations of a tulku. Seagal is involved in the international arms trade and the government of Russia, which has prompted criticism of his title by English journalist Marina Hyde.
Tibetan tulku Sogyal Rinpoche, recognized as an incarnation of 19th-century Tibetan master and visionary Tertön Sogyal Lerab Lingpa, was accused of sexual and physical assault and abuse, as well as misusing charitable funds, with allegations stretching back to the 1970s. In 2017 his organisation, Rigpa, announced these allegations would be investigated by an outside party and on 5 September 2018, Rigpa released an independent report produced by the UK law firm Lewis Silkin LLP, which upheld most of the allegations. The case of Sogyal Rinpoche has been used as an example in calls to reform the tulku system.
Penor Rinpoche has faced criticism for having officially recognized several , including accusations of bestowing titles for payment, which he has denied. The current Dalai Lama is uncertain whether the recognition of Western tulkus is beneficial.
Lineage of Thubten Yeshe
Thubten Yeshe (1935–1984) was a lama who, while exiled in Nepal, co-founded Kopan Monastery (1969) and the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (1975). He followed the Gelug tradition, and was considered unconventional in his teaching style. Lama Yeshe died in 1984, 20 minutes before dawn on the first day of Losar, the Tibetan New Year. His body was cremated at the Vajrapani Institute in Boulder Creek, California, where there is a stupa honoring him.
Process
Finding a successor
Pamela Logan outlines a general approach for finding a successor:
Training
Logan describes the training a tulku undergoes from a young age:
Analysis and criticism
According to Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, the tulku system is a method of identifying and nurturing spiritual talent, ensuring the continuity of the tradition, and controlling resources and revenue streams. He describes how the system also ensured control of valuable real estate and financial capital, making Tibetan monasteries early examples of capitalistic institutions. In an analysis of an article titled "Time for Radical Change in How We Raise Our Tulkus" by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, Ken McLeod relates that the tulku system is facing challenges in the modern world. Tulkus can no longer be secluded during training as they were in Tibet, and their roles are changing. There is a shift from the traditional three-year retreat, and the adoption of titles like "His Holiness" has become a competition among tulku lineages to establish pedigree.
List of tulku lineages
This is a list of tulku lineages. Tibetologist Françoise Pommaret estimates there are presently approximately 500 tulku lineages found across Tibet, Bhutan, Northern India, Nepal, Mongolia, and the southwest provinces of China.
See also
Notes
Citations
Works cited
(2025). 9781558497085, University of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 9781558497085
(2025). 9789004254558, BRILL. ISBN 9789004254558
(1999). 9780906026496, Serindia Publications. ISBN 9780906026496
(2015). 9780470671641, John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780470671641
Further reading
(2025). 9781559393904, Shambhala. ISBN 9781559393904
(2025). 9780199945610, OUP USA. ISBN 9780199945610
External links
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