The golden urn put in front of the figure of Sakyamuni in the Jokhang Temple of Lhasa [Photo/Xinhua]

In Tibetan Buddhism, the procedure of "drawing lots from the golden urn" is the most significant religious rite and historic mechanism in the reincarnation system formed through hundreds of years’ development.

Initiated by Karma Kargyu sect, the reincarnation of Rinpoche has been carried out successively among all sects of Tibetan Buddhism with gradually complicated procedures. The reincarnation, a unique inheritance system in Tibetan Buddhism, has been widespread as the Gelug sect thrived in Ming Dynasty(1368-1644).

In early days of Qing Dynasty(1644-1840), the reincarnation system became the focus and means of power struggle among Tibetan monks and aristocracy as well as Mongolian nobles, which mainly centered around the choice of "reincarnated soul boy".

According to the reincarnation system, sometimes several "soul boys" appeared at the same time, which indubitably aroused disputes between different sides. To solve the problem, Emperor Qianlong granted two golden urns in 1792, one placed in the Lama Temple of Beijing and the other in the Jokhang Temple of Lhasa.

On the instruction of Emperor Qianlong, from 1792 to 1793, after long deliberation, General Fu Kang’an, jointed with Sun Shiyi, Huiling, High Commissioner Helin and other ministers, to work out the famous 29-Article Ordinance for More Effective Governance of Tibet.

The 29-Article Ordinance rules that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Erdeni and various Hotogtu Rinpoches must follow the procedure of "drawing lots from the golden urn" under the supervision of the High Commissioners. The name, birth date of several candidates should be written in the three languages of Manchurian, Tibetan and Han Chinese on one side of three ivory slips. Then, before the public, the slips are put into the golden urn, from which one is drawn out. Then, the candidates whose name is on the selected ivory slip is confirmed as the Rinpoche and reported to the imperial court for approval. The selections of Rinpoche of various Tibetan monasteries will be jointly confirmed by the Dalai Lama, the High Commissioners and the Hotogtu Rinpoche, and those confirmed are awarded with the certificate of appointment stamped with the seal of the three people. If a Mongolian prince of Qinghai wants to invite a Tibetan Rinpoche, he should get the written permission of the Xi’ning Minister and the passport delivered by the High Commissioners stationed in Tibet. A Buddhist monk leaving for pilgrimage outside Tibet should also get a passport for their travel. If anyone travels without official permission, the officer in charge will face severe penalty once the case has been established. The Rinpoches and lamas under the administration of the Hotogtu Rinpoche should be registered in two book forms, one in the hands of the High Commissioners, and the other held by the Dalai Lama.

For the first time in Tibet, the procedure of "drawing lots from the golden urn" chose the 8th Phagpalha Hutuktu in the Potala Palace in 1796.

The Qing imperial court improved the system later by adding some rules such as the direct grant without lot-drawing procedure on the condition that there was only one "reincarnated soul boy". All the procedures have to be approved by the central government, manifesting its majesty on the reincarnation issue.

Since the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, the procedure of "drawing lots from the golden urn" has chosen many Rinpoches, such as the 11th Panchen Erdeni, the 17th Karmapa, the 7th Reting Rinpoch and the 6th Dedruk Tulku, with the same golden urn put in front of the figure of Sakyamuni in the Jokhang Temple of Lhasa 200 years ago by the instruction of Emperor Qianlong.

Source from People's Daily Overseas Edition

The procedure of "drawing lots from the golden urn" [File Photo/Baidu]

The golden urn [Photo/Osaka.chineseconsulate.org]