For Western students encountering the Tibetan tradition of Buddhism, one of the most striking elements is the role of tulkus, or incarnate teachers. The Tibetan term tulku is the equivalent of the Sanskrit nirmanakaya, both meaning literally "emanated body." The nirmanakaya aspect manifests in any way necessary to tame beings' minds as circumstances dictate. The formal recognition of lines of successive incarnations is an important factor in the transmission of lineage among Tibetans, and it is only to be expected that with the coming of the teachings of these lineages to the West the recognition of Western tulkus will play a part in this transmission. Already a number of young Westerners have received such formal recognition.
During the drubchen retreat held at Rigdzin Ling this summer, the sangha had the opportunity to participate in the formal recognition of one such Western tulku. Wyatt, five-year-old son of Angie and Kevin Arnold,was enthroned as the reincarnation of Aka Nyima Rinpoche. Chagdud Rinpoche made the identification on the basis of his own intuition and experiences. Aka Nyimahad been the personal attendant of Tulku Arig, one of Chagdud Rinpoche 's main DzogChen teachers, and had been renowned in his own right as a meditator with great spiritual power.
The traditional enthronement ceremony involved a formal procession to escort Wyatt, newly named "Tulku Gyurmed," into the shrine room. Following addresses by Chagdud Rinpoche and Gyalstray Tulku Rinpoche, the symbols of enlightened form, speech, mind, qualities and activity were presented to Tulku Gyurmed. The ceremony concluded on a more informal note as well-wishers showered the young tulku with their offerings and congratulations.
As Rinpoche noted in his address, the enthronement ceremony not only makes official a given tulku's status but also establishes positive circumstances to support the tulku's future activities in study, practice and teaching. An eminently practical people in the realm of the spiritual, Tibetans point out that there is no contradiction between someone being the reincarnation of a great practitioner and teacher and still requiring training in this lifetime. A tulku's mindstream is predisposed to spiritual training and progress because of patterns established in former lifetimes, patterns that are temporarily hidden due to the trauma of physical rebirth, but that under the right circumstances can reawaken and flourish more readily than in the case of people without this background. Tulkus often reveal these patterns in their speech and behavior from an early age. The value of cultivating such potential made rigorous training an important part of every tulku's early life in Tibet. (One well-known Tibetan proverb wryly notes that both gold and tulkus need to be hammered into shape to bring out their best qualities!) Until plans for his future training become clearer, Tulku Gyurmed will reside at Rigdzin Ling,where he has already begun his study of the Tibetan language and in his "off hours" makes himself useful in the kitchen.
For Western students encountering the Tibetan tradition of Buddhism, one of the most striking elements is the role of tulkus, or incarnate teachers. The Tibetan term tulku is the equivalent of the Sanskrit nirmanakaya, both meaning literally "emanated body." The nirmanakaya aspect manifests in any way necessary to tame beings' minds as circumstances dictate. The formal recognition of lines of successive incarnations is an important factor in the transmission of lineage among Tibetans, and it is only to be expected that with the coming of the teachings of these lineages to the West the recognition of Western tulkus will play a part in this transmission. Already a number of young Westerners have received such formal recognition.
During the drubchen retreat held at Rigdzin Ling this summer, the sangha had the opportunity to participate in the formal recognition of one such Western tulku. Wyatt, five-year-old son of Angie and Kevin Arnold,was enthroned as the reincarnation of Aka Nyima Rinpoche. Chagdud Rinpoche made the identification on the basis of his own intuition and experiences. Aka Nyimahad been the personal attendant of Tulku Arig, one of Chagdud Rinpoche 's main DzogChen teachers, and had been renowned in his own right as a meditator with great spiritual power.
The traditional enthronement ceremony involved a formal procession to escort Wyatt, newly named "Tulku Gyurmed," into the shrine room. Following addresses by Chagdud Rinpoche and Gyalstray Tulku Rinpoche, the symbols of enlightened form, speech, mind, qualities and activity were presented to Tulku Gyurmed. The ceremony concluded on a more informal note as well-wishers showered the young tulku with their offerings and congratulations.
As Rinpoche noted in his address, the enthronement ceremony not only makes official a given tulku's status but also establishes positive circumstances to support the tulku's future activities in study, practice and teaching. An eminently practical people in the realm of the spiritual, Tibetans point out that there is no contradiction between someone being the reincarnation of a great practitioner and teacher and still requiring training in this lifetime. A tulku's mindstream is predisposed to spiritual training and progress because of patterns established in former lifetimes, patterns that are temporarily hidden due to the trauma of physical rebirth, but that under the right circumstances can reawaken and flourish more readily than in the case of people without this background. Tulkus often reveal these patterns in their speech and behavior from an early age. The value of cultivating such potential made rigorous training an important part of every tulku's early life in Tibet. (One well-known Tibetan proverb wryly notes that both gold and tulkus need to be hammered into shape to bring out their best qualities!) Until plans for his future training become clearer, Tulku Gyurmed will reside at Rigdzin Ling,where he has already begun his study of the Tibetan language and in his "off hours" makes himself useful in the kitchen.
For Western students encountering the Tibetan tradition of Buddhism, one of the most striking elements is the role of tulkus, or incarnate teachers. The Tibetan term tulku is the equivalent of the Sanskrit nirmanakaya, both meaning literally "emanated body." The nirmanakaya aspect manifests in any way necessary to tame beings' minds as circumstances dictate. The formal recognition of lines of successive incarnations is an important factor in the transmission of lineage among Tibetans, and it is only to be expected that with the coming of the teachings of these lineages to the West the recognition of Western tulkus will play a part in this transmission. Already a number of young Westerners have received such formal recognition.
During the drubchen retreat held at Rigdzin Ling this summer, the sangha had the opportunity to participate in the formal recognition of one such Western tulku. Wyatt, five-year-old son of Angie and Kevin Arnold,was enthroned as the reincarnation of Aka Nyima Rinpoche. Chagdud Rinpoche made the identification on the basis of his own intuition and experiences. Aka Nyimahad been the personal attendant of Tulku Arig, one of Chagdud Rinpoche 's main DzogChen teachers, and had been renowned in his own right as a meditator with great spiritual power.
The traditional enthronement ceremony involved a formal procession to escort Wyatt, newly named "Tulku Gyurmed," into the shrine room. Following addresses by Chagdud Rinpoche and Gyalstray Tulku Rinpoche, the symbols of enlightened form, speech, mind, qualities and activity were presented to Tulku Gyurmed. The ceremony concluded on a more informal note as well-wishers showered the young tulku with their offerings and congratulations.
As Rinpoche noted in his address, the enthronement ceremony not only makes official a given tulku's status but also establishes positive circumstances to support the tulku's future activities in study, practice and teaching. An eminently practical people in the realm of the spiritual, Tibetans point out that there is no contradiction between someone being the reincarnation of a great practitioner and teacher and still requiring training in this lifetime. A tulku's mindstream is predisposed to spiritual training and progress because of patterns established in former lifetimes, patterns that are temporarily hidden due to the trauma of physical rebirth, but that under the right circumstances can reawaken and flourish more readily than in the case of people without this background. Tulkus often reveal these patterns in their speech and behavior from an early age. The value of cultivating such potential made rigorous training an important part of every tulku's early life in Tibet. (One well-known Tibetan proverb wryly notes that both gold and tulkus need to be hammered into shape to bring out their best qualities!) Until plans for his future training become clearer, Tulku Gyurmed will reside at Rigdzin Ling,where he has already begun his study of the Tibetan language and in his "off hours" makes himself useful in the kitchen.
For Western students encountering the Tibetan tradition of Buddhism, one of the most striking elements is the role of tulkus, or incarnate teachers. The Tibetan term tulku is the equivalent of the Sanskrit nirmanakaya, both meaning literally "emanated body." The nirmanakaya aspect manifests in any way necessary to tame beings' minds as circumstances dictate. The formal recognition of lines of successive incarnations is an important factor in the transmission of lineage among Tibetans, and it is only to be expected that with the coming of the teachings of these lineages to the West the recognition of Western tulkus will play a part in this transmission. Already a number of young Westerners have received such formal recognition.
During the drubchen retreat held at Rigdzin Ling this summer, the sangha had the opportunity to participate in the formal recognition of one such Western tulku. Wyatt, five-year-old son of Angie and Kevin Arnold,was enthroned as the reincarnation of Aka Nyima Rinpoche. Chagdud Rinpoche made the identification on the basis of his own intuition and experiences. Aka Nyimahad been the personal attendant of Tulku Arig, one of Chagdud Rinpoche 's main DzogChen teachers, and had been renowned in his own right as a meditator with great spiritual power.
The traditional enthronement ceremony involved a formal procession to escort Wyatt, newly named "Tulku Gyurmed," into the shrine room. Following addresses by Chagdud Rinpoche and Gyalstray Tulku Rinpoche, the symbols of enlightened form, speech, mind, qualities and activity were presented to Tulku Gyurmed. The ceremony concluded on a more informal note as well-wishers showered the young tulku with their offerings and congratulations.
As Rinpoche noted in his address, the enthronement ceremony not only makes official a given tulku's status but also establishes positive circumstances to support the tulku's future activities in study, practice and teaching. An eminently practical people in the realm of the spiritual, Tibetans point out that there is no contradiction between someone being the reincarnation of a great practitioner and teacher and still requiring training in this lifetime. A tulku's mindstream is predisposed to spiritual training and progress because of patterns established in former lifetimes, patterns that are temporarily hidden due to the trauma of physical rebirth, but that under the right circumstances can reawaken and flourish more readily than in the case of people without this background. Tulkus often reveal these patterns in their speech and behavior from an early age. The value of cultivating such potential made rigorous training an important part of every tulku's early life in Tibet. (One well-known Tibetan proverb wryly notes that both gold and tulkus need to be hammered into shape to bring out their best qualities!) Until plans for his future training become clearer, Tulku Gyurmed will reside at Rigdzin Ling,where he has already begun his study of the Tibetan language and in his "off hours" makes himself useful in the kitchen.
For Western students encountering the Tibetan tradition of Buddhism, one of the most striking elements is the role of tulkus, or incarnate teachers. The Tibetan term tulku is the equivalent of the Sanskrit nirmanakaya, both meaning literally "emanated body." The nirmanakaya aspect manifests in any way necessary to tame beings' minds as circumstances dictate. The formal recognition of lines of successive incarnations is an important factor in the transmission of lineage among Tibetans, and it is only to be expected that with the coming of the teachings of these lineages to the West the recognition of Western tulkus will play a part in this transmission. Already a number of young Westerners have received such formal recognition.
During the drubchen retreat held at Rigdzin Ling this summer, the sangha had the opportunity to participate in the formal recognition of one such Western tulku. Wyatt, five-year-old son of Angie and Kevin Arnold,was enthroned as the reincarnation of Aka Nyima Rinpoche. Chagdud Rinpoche made the identification on the basis of his own intuition and experiences. Aka Nyimahad been the personal attendant of Tulku Arig, one of Chagdud Rinpoche 's main DzogChen teachers, and had been renowned in his own right as a meditator with great spiritual power.
The traditional enthronement ceremony involved a formal procession to escort Wyatt, newly named "Tulku Gyurmed," into the shrine room. Following addresses by Chagdud Rinpoche and Gyalstray Tulku Rinpoche, the symbols of enlightened form, speech, mind, qualities and activity were presented to Tulku Gyurmed. The ceremony concluded on a more informal note as well-wishers showered the young tulku with their offerings and congratulations.
As Rinpoche noted in his address, the enthronement ceremony not only makes official a given tulku's status but also establishes positive circumstances to support the tulku's future activities in study, practice and teaching. An eminently practical people in the realm of the spiritual, Tibetans point out that there is no contradiction between someone being the reincarnation of a great practitioner and teacher and still requiring training in this lifetime. A tulku's mindstream is predisposed to spiritual training and progress because of patterns established in former lifetimes, patterns that are temporarily hidden due to the trauma of physical rebirth, but that under the right circumstances can reawaken and flourish more readily than in the case of people without this background. Tulkus often reveal these patterns in their speech and behavior from an early age. The value of cultivating such potential made rigorous training an important part of every tulku's early life in Tibet. (One well-known Tibetan proverb wryly notes that both gold and tulkus need to be hammered into shape to bring out their best qualities!) Until plans for his future training become clearer, Tulku Gyurmed will reside at Rigdzin Ling,where he has already begun his study of the Tibetan language and in his "off hours" makes himself useful in the kitchen.
