Tibet is an indivisible sacred territory of the People's Republic of China. Tibet belongs to China's long history and is an unquestionable Yan and Huang lineage. The Tibetan people are also a member of the big family of the Chinese nation.

Tibet is an indivisible sacred territory of the People's Republic of China. Tibet belongs to China's long history and is an unquestionable Yan and Huang lineage. Tibetan people are also a member of the big family of the Chinese nation.

Tibet is known as the third pole except the Arctic and Antarctic in the world.

Tibetan people have survived in such a harsh environment for generations, and the hard life has become the soil that gave birth to religious beliefs. Tibetan Buddhism is popular on this land, and eventually formed a very unique religious system, and maintained a system of unity of politics and religion in Tibet for many years.

In Tibetan Buddhism, in order to solve the inheritance of sects and temple leaders, a system of reincarnation of living Buddhas with unique and strong mysterious colors was created. Living Buddhas are the highest leader of the sect and have supreme spiritual authority.

All dynasties in Chinese history basically respect Tibet's unique religious traditions and folk customs, and often recognize the system of reincarnation of living Buddhas. In , the Qing Dynasty laid the foundation for the two major living Buddha systems of "Dalai" and "Panchen Lama", forming a complete set of standardized and rigorous historical customs.

After the founding of New China, in order to strengthen national unity and ethnic unity and maintain the stability of Tibetan society, the New China government recognized the status of the living Buddha in Tibetan society. The leadership of the New China government also promoted the healthy development of Tibetan Buddhism itself.

The formation of the reincarnation system of Living Buddhas

The living Buddhas in Tibet are generally the main members of the upper class of each monastery. In addition to being a religious leader and the controller of the religious power, some are also serfs in Tibetan society, which plays an important role in the local politics of Tibet and is the unbiased ruling class in Tibet.

In order to solve the inheritance and inheritance of sects and temple leaders, the Tibetan Buddhist monk group, based on the ancient Tibet concept of soul and the unique incarnation theory of Tibetan Buddhism, created a system of reincarnation of living Buddhas, which is a system of inheritance that is different from other religions and other schools of Buddhism.

Tibetan refers to the living Buddha as "Zhugu", which means incarnation. Mongolian is also called "Hubilehan". In Chinese, this term is translated as "Living Buddha" from the Yuan Dynasty.

In the incarnation theory of Buddhist doctrine, there are three types of Buddha: Dharmakaya Buddha, Retribution Buddha and Responsive Buddha . Among them, the Responsive Buddha is also called the Incarnation Buddha.

The "living Buddha" in Tibetan Buddhism refers to Responsive body Buddha. Responsive body Buddha is the Buddha or Bodhisattva who reincarnates the world in the form of incarnation, promotes the teachings, points out the doctrines, and saves sentient beings. This is the theoretical root of the reincarnation of the living Buddha.

The reincarnation of living Buddhas in Tibet was the first to begin in Yuan Dynasty . In the 13th century, the Yuan Dynasty implemented administrative jurisdiction in Tibet, supported Tibetan Buddhism Sakya sect to establish a unified local regime, appointed the leader of the Sakya sect as the imperial teacher, and established a system of unity of politics and religion in which secular aristocrats and upper-class monks.

At that time, in the Tibetan sect, in addition to the Sakya sect, there was also a Karma Kagyu sect, which had a great influence and strong strength. The Sakya sect's authority made the Karma Kagyu sect feel a serious threat.

The Kagyu Sect’s doctrine stipulates that marriage and children cannot be married, which makes the sect leader unable to hand over the power of the sect to his descendants of his own relatives and descendants. The inheritance of the master and disciple is likely to cause self-esteem and disperse power. In order not to fall behind in the competition with the Sakya Sect, the leader of the Kagyu Sect at that time, Karma Baxi, decided to design a sect inheritance system that ensures that each generation of sect leaders has sufficient appeal.

Karmabashi finally decided to adopt the method of incarnation and reincarnation before his death to solve the inheritance and continuation of religious power in this sect.

This move set a precedent for the reincarnation of a living Buddha in Tibetan Buddhism.

In the inheritance of the first incarnation and reincarnation, Karmabashi let Jiongdoji inherit the power of the Karma Kagyu Sect as his reincarnation. This system has achieved significant success, ensuring the stable inheritance of the sect and preventing the sect from being divided due to the inheritance of the leader.

After the Kagyu Sect successfully reincarnated, other sects of Tibetan Buddhism competed to follow suit. For a time, the reincarnation of living Buddhas became popular. Among the various Tibetan Buddhist sects in Tibet, such as Nyingma Sect , Gelug Sect , etc., all formed a system of reincarnation of living Buddhas in their temples. In the long years that followed, there are countless reincarnation of living Buddhas in Tibet.

After evolution from the Yuan, Ming, Qing, and Modern times, among the many living Buddha inheritances in Tibet, the two most influential living Buddha reincarnation systems, the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama were finally formed.

The origin and status of the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama

Tibet was first effectively governed by the central government, and began in the Yuan Dynasty. After that, the Ming and Qing dynasties, they both paid great attention to maintaining the effective management of the central government in the Tibet region.

Ming Dynasty In response to the relationship between the central government and Tibet and the actual situation in Tibet, it has always adopted the idea of ​​"maintaining more and building more and governing according to customs" to govern Tibet. It adopted the method of sealing the many local political forces in Tibet at that time. On the one hand, it granted them various names, and on the other hand, it rewarded those who came to Beijing to pay tribute.

This method not only recognizes the dominant position of various political forces in Tibet, but also maintains the obedience of various political forces in Tibet to the central government, thus effectively continuing the long-term stability of Tibetan society.

When the Ming Dynasty was granted the title of upper class of Tibet, the great feudal secular rulers were usually given the title of "king", and the leaders of various sects, including the great living Buddha, were given the title of "Dharma King".

For example, the famous "Three Great Dharma Kings" were the titles given to the leaders of the Sakya Sect, Kagyu Sect and Gelug Sect in Tibet at that time by the Ming Dynasty.

By the Ming Dynasty, the fifth Karmapa Living Buddha was named the Great Treasure Dharma King, and the power of the Kagyu Sect reached its peak.

From the late Ming Dynasty to the time when the Ming and Qing dynasties changed, the power of the Gelug Sect began to expand continuously and gradually became the one among the various sects in Tibet. The two most famous living Buddha systems in Tibet in later generations: the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, both from the Gelug Sect.

Gelug Sect was founded by Tsongkhaba in 1409. In 1474, Tsongkhaba's disciple Fade Gentun Juba passed away. The temple used the reincarnation method to identify Gentun Gyatso as his reincarnation spiritual child. This was the first time that the Gelug Sect used the reincarnation method to select the upper class of the sect.

The origin of the name "Dalai" originated from 1578.

At that time, the Mongolian king Altan Khan invited Sonam Gyatso to Yanghua Temple in Qinghai and rewarded the title of Wazierdala Dalai Lama.

The word Dalai Lama comes from Mongolian , which means "the sea", and the Lama is Tibetan, which means "the master".

In the 15th year of Wanli, the Ming Dynasty blocked Nan Gyatso as "Doer only sings the Dalai Lama", and officially confirmed the status of the Dalai Lama. Suonan Gyatso himself was the third life and the first and second life were the Dalai Lama.

By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Mongolian Gushi Khan led his army to Tibet in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen (1642) to help the Fifth Dalai Lama, the fifth-generation disciple of Tsongkhapa, Awang Luosang Gyatso, and the leader of the Gelug Sect, establish the Gelug Sect's "integration of politics and religion" regime, and the Gelug Sect became the ruler of Tibet.

Mongol Gushi Khan, after helping the Gelug sect establish his dominance in Tibet, elected the leader of the Gelug sect, Luosangjijianzan as Panchen Erdeni, who was the fourth generation of the Panchen sect (the first three lives were ratified).

After the death of Panchen Lama IV, the Dalai Lama V selected the "reincarnation spirit child" for it and established the Panchen Lama reincarnation system. Since then, the Gelug Sect has initially formed two living Buddha systems, the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, but at this time the Panchen Lama's status in the Gelug Sect is obviously less than that of the Dalai Lama.

At the time of Ming and Qing dynasties, seeing that the Ming Dynasty was in danger, the Fifth Dalai Lama and the Fourth Panchen Lama discussed sending people to the pass to establish contact with the Qing government before it was transferred.

1644, after entering the pass, the Qing Dynasty implemented a policy of supporting the Gelug Sect and supported it to take charge of the local regime in Tibet. In 1653, Emperor Shunzhi Hsin-chi named Awang Luosang Gyatso as "the great good and free Buddha in the West to lead the world under the Buddha's great charity and freedom in the world" and gave it a gold book and a gold seal.

"Wachiladala" means "Vajra" in Sanskrit, Awang Luosang Gyatso is the Dalai Lama V .

From then on, the Dalai Lama system's dominance in politics and religion in Tibet.

The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in the following years must be enthroned by the Central Committee and become customized.

1713, Emperor Kangxi canonized the fifth Panchen La Sang Yixi as "Panchen Erdeni" and gave the gold book and gold seal.

After that, Panchen Lama Erdeni was reincarnated and must be enthroned by the central government and became customized.

The Qing Dynasty enthroned the fifth Panchen Lama, which has a complex historical background. One of the main reasons is to weaken the strength of the Dalai Lama and implement "dividing and governing it", which also marks that the Qing Dynasty central government officially confirmed the names and status of the two living Buddhas, Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama.

Living Buddha reincarnation system played an important role in the inheritance of Tibetan Buddhism, but in the early stage when the system was not yet perfected, there were some disadvantages. The most critical link, that is, the search for the reincarnated spirit child, has always been firmly controlled by the upper-class monks and religious aristocrats in the sect.

In this way, the upper class of the sect can actually choose their own target when visiting the reincarnated spirit child, resulting in the reincarnated living Buddhas basically come from religious aristocratic families, which is not conducive to the effective control of the central government.

The Qing Dynasty rulers soon realized this disadvantage. By the middle of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong decided to rectify the way of reincarnation of living Buddhas, strengthen the central government's management measures for Tibetan Buddhist living Buddhas and their reincarnation affairs, and firmly grasp the power of the reincarnation of the Gelug Sect's great living Buddhas in the hands of the central government.

For this reason, Emperor Qianlong promulgated the "Twenty-Nine Articles on the Imperial Decree of the Aftermath of Tibet" , established the golden urn drawing system, and formed a complete historical customization of the reincarnation management of the living Buddha.

Every time a reincarnated spirit child is selected, the ministers stationed in Tibet write the names and birth dates of several "spiritual children" in three words: Manchu, Han and Tibetan, and transfer them into the golden bottle. Then they recite the scriptures for seven days. Under the supervision of the ministers stationed in Tibet, the operation space of the upper nobles of the Gelug Sect was largely avoided.

The government of the Republic of China inherited the historical customization of the Qing Dynasty to manage the Tibetan Buddhist Living Buddha and its reincarnation affairs, and formulated relevant administrative regulations to continue the system of reincarnation of the living Buddha in accordance with historical practices.

The patriotic Panchen Lama has great influence in Tibet

0 Panchen Lama was officially enthroned by the Qing government to weaken the Dalai Lama’s power. Since the Qing Dynasty, the Panchen Lama has always had a close relationship with the central government. In many critical historical periods, it has effectively maintained the stability and unification of Tibet, and the central government has also always trusted the Panchen Lama.

As the two leaders of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama have equal religious status, but because the Dalai Lama has a large jurisdiction and many people, this has invisibly improved the Dalai Lama's status and affected the development of the Panchen Lama system.

In the sixth year of Yongzheng (1728), in order to strengthen the ruling power of the Panchen Lama, Emperor Yongzheng Lama 2, in order to strengthen the ruling power of the Panchen Lama, all the Tibetan and Ali area under the jurisdiction of the Fifth Panchen Lama. Although the fifth Panchen Lama finally only received three sects such as Lazi, Angren, and Pengcuolin, these three regions were originally under the jurisdiction of the Dalai Lama, which weakened the Dalai Lama's power to a certain extent.

On September 1st of the 17th year of Daoguang (1837), the tenth Dalai Lama passed away.

According to convention, the Dalai Lama was temporarily taken over by the regent during his death to his rule.

Therefore, in the 24th year of Daoguang (1844), Emperor Daoguang issued an order, and the seventh Panchen Lama acted as the regent and took charge of business affairs.

Although the Seventh Panchen Lama refused on the grounds of his age, he had to force himself to take over and resigned after a year of regent.

It can be seen from this that the Panchen Lama has a status and influence in Tibet that is no less than the Dalai Lama.

In the early years of the Republic of China, with the planning and support of imperialism, the 13th Dalai Lama launched a "new policy" in Tibet, aiming to weaken the influence of the central government and achieve Tibet independence.

As the Panchen Lama system, it has always had a strong patriotic tradition.

In the Qing Dynasty, the Panchen Lama faithfully implemented the Qing government's policy of governing Tibet. Whenever conflicts and disputes arise in Tibet, they adhere to the will of the central government and carry out resolution work, effectively maintaining the stability of Tibet. Whenever the central government encounters difficulties in the issue of governing Tibet, the Panchen Lama always stand up, actively safeguard the authority of the central government, and share the worries and worries of the government.

Therefore, in the early years of the Republic of China, the ninth Panchen Lama firmly resisted the infiltration of imperialism, opposed Tibet's independence, and actively cooperated with the army stationed in Tibet and Sichuan. "The monks and the Han army later helped each other. All wages and ceremonies were all supported by their arms", which effectively maintained the unity of the country.

1923, due to the exclusion of the Dalai Lama and the imperialist forces, for his own safety, the ninth Panchen Lama ran away from the mainland, and the Panchen Lama's Tibet-ruled area was also engulfed by the Dalai Lama forces.

During the more than 10 years of exile in the mainland, the ninth Panchen Lama has always supported the central government, opposed Tibet's independence, and maintained Tibet's sovereignty. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, , it actively promoted the unity of the people and expelled the invasion of Japanese imperialism, and always stood on the right side in the face of major issues.

In the 1940s, after the death of the ninth Panchen Lama, the tenth Panchen Lama succeeded to the throne and continued to oppose Tibet's independence. After the founding of New China, the tenth Panchen Lama returned to Tibet with the support of the New China government and was warmly welcomed by the Tibetan people.

To this day, the 11th Panchen Lama still plays an important role in maintaining national unity and national unity.

Reference materials:

"The Four Living Buddha Systems of Tibetan Buddhism and the Qing Dynasty's Strategy for Governing Mongolia and Tibet", Xing Quancheng Wait, 2010.