The four living Buddhas were born in the same family, and Qianlong reformed the identification system
Before the reform of Emperor Qianlong, the identification of the reincarnation of the living Buddha was completed by Chuizhong, who means **God. At that time, there were four major temples, which were Lamu Monastery near Ganden Monastery in Dazi District, Naiqiao Monastery at the foot of Drepung Monastery Mountain, Kadong Monastery in Duilong Deqing District, and Samye Monastery in Shannan.
Due to the possibility of bribery of the king and god, the monopoly and kinship of the Great Living Buddha occur from time to time.
The 6th Panchen Erdeni was one of the biggest leaders of the Gelug lineage, and his relatives were also very strong, including his cousin Tashilhunpo Monastery Dzongpa Living Buddha, and their cousin Karma Kagyu Red Hat 10th Living Buddha Chodrup Gyatso, and a niece was the Shamba Kagyu Sangding Monastery Dorjee Pam Living Buddha.
These relatives were of very high status in the religious circles, and their relationship also made the influence of the 6th Panchen Erdeni even more significant. However, things changed for the worse.
The 6th Panchen Lama died of smallpox at the age of 42 at Xihuang Temple in Beijing. The following year, his golden pagoda arrived at Tashilhunpo Monastery along with numerous gold, silver and jewelry, including gifts from the Qianlong Emperor and other ministers, as well as from the Mongol princes.
The Panchen Lama's cousin, the Living Buddha Dzongpa, monopolized most of the possessions and refused the Red Riding Hood's request to give only a small portion of alms to the other monks. This made the Red Riding Hood Living Buddha deeply jealous of the Living Buddha of Zhongba.
The Red Riding Hood Living Buddha colluded with the Gurgour people to invade**, and the minister stationed in Tibet was weak and powerless, so he had to pay money to drive them away. Five years later, the Gurkhors invaded again and invaded Shigatse and looted the Tashilhunpo monastery.
When Emperor Qianlong learned of this, he ordered Fukangan to lead his troops into Tibet, successfully driving out the Gurghorts, and even hitting its capital Kathmandu. King Gurkoh pledged not to invade again** and handed over the looted wealth and the corpse of the Red Riding Hood Living Buddha who committed suicide in fear of sin.
The Red Riding Hood 10 Living Buddha was sentenced to death for treason, and his body was dismembered and displayed in public in front of several large temples, and the right to reincarnate was permanently stripped away. This incident made the Qianlong Emperor deeply aware of the serious drawbacks of the reincarnation system of the living Buddha and its great impact on the political situation.
In order to ensure the legitimacy and impartiality of the reincarnated spirit child, he ordered the manufacture of two golden bumpa bottles, stipulating that all important reincarnations of living Buddhas must be decided by casting lots in the golden vase, and under the supervision of the minister stationed in Tibet, and then reported to **, and appointed by the emperor himself.
A golden vase is located at the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, which is responsible for the certification of the living Buddha in the ** region; Another golden vase is located in the Lama Temple in Beijing, which is responsible for the certification of the living Buddha in the Ganqingmeng area. In this way, the Qianlong Emperor hoped that through this system, the reincarnation of the living Buddha would be more just and transparent, and at the same time, it would also effectively prevent the abuse of political power and religious interference.
This concludes today's conversation, just like a gold bumba bottle and an ivory pick, although they are different, they complement each other perfectly.