Is Emperor Kangxi Dorje Shugden?

[Big Uncle]

Dear all,

Why did the admin placed a biography of Kangxi on this website? He sounds like a fantastic emperor and probably the best that China ever knew. I was at Beijing a couple of months back and visited Yong He Gong and I saw an explanation that it was once a Qing palace that was converted into a temple dedicated to Maitreya (tibetan style) and Lama Tsongkhapa. Apparently, the palace was built by Emperor Kangxi and converted partially into a temple by his son, Prince Yongzheng and totally converted by Qian Loong, Yongzheng's heir.

Well, why I said Emperor Kangxi is Dorje Shugden? Well, the Tibetans regard the Emperors of China as emanations of Manjushri and we know Dorje Shugden is Manjushri, so I can't be far off now can I?

[WisdomBeing]

On http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulku_Dragpa_Gyaltsen, it was reported that in the Chronology of Tibet for the Wood Sheep year (1655-1656) which was written by Sumpa Khenpo, it states that “The Kangxi Emperor [is born and] becomes famous as the reincarnation of Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen.”

There's also an article on Emperor Kangxi here (http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?p=5762), where it says he was born on 4 May 1654 and passed away on 20 December 1722. I was wondering how could Emperor Kangxi be Dorje Shugden when Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen only passed into clear light and manifested as Dorje Shugden in 1656.

Technically speaking, it is difficult to reconcile because Kangxi was born before Dorje Shugden 'existed'.

However, I deduced that the logical way to look at it is that Dorje Shugden is an emanation of Manjushri, who has no limit on his manifestation, thus not restrained by space and time.

[Helena]

If we were to think within conventional reasoning, then we might find it impossible that Dorje Shugden or Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen's of incarnation can include Emperor Kangxi.

However, if we believe that they are Buddhas, and Buddhas are limitless in their 'powers', then they can be anywhere and anything at the same time.

Just like how we can or cannot accept that there is Dorje Shugden and there is a possible incarnation of Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen among us today. Depending again on perception and understanding of whether Buddhas are boundless in their abilities or not.

I too hold the opinion that Dorje Shugden is an emanation of Manjushri. Hence, there is no limit to anything that Dorje Shugden or Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen can do - be it manifestation or more.

Only we, the samsaric mortals are restrained by space and time.

[beggar]

I was wondering how could Emperor Kangxi be Dorje Shugden when Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen only passed into clear light and manifested as Dorje Shugden in 1656.

Technically speaking, it is difficult to reconcile because Kangxi was born before Dorje Shugden 'existed'.

It is not uncommon that very highly attained lamas can emanation their next incarnation while they are simultaneously still alive. As WB and Helena have pointed out, the enlightened mind is without limit, so this is not surprising; and historically, it has happened before.

So yes, Kangxi is among Dorje Shugden's highly recornigsed and respected incarnations. he is known for having brought a lot of peace to the country, and from him, Buddhism (especially Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings and lineage) grew very widespread, until it became the most widely practised religion of the country. And it's a very big country, as you know! It was his grandson, Qian Long, who converted a palace into the Yung He temple mentioned by Big Uncle and is still there today.  There are other major sites dedicated to Tsongkhapa's practice also. Wu Tai Shan is among the five greatest religious sites in China, and is full of Manjushri energy with many temples dedicated to Manjushri and/or Lama Tsongkhapa. I attach some pictures here.

Good to note that many sites like these are also associated very closely with Changkya Rolpai Dorje Rinpoche who is of course Pabongkha Rinpoche's previous incarnation. It's very connected.

[DSFriend]

Well, why I said Emperor Kangxi is Dorje Shugden? Well, the Tibetans regard the Emperors of China as emanations of Manjushri and we know Dorje Shugden is Manjushri, so I can't be far off now can I?

Dear Big Uncle. Thank you for sharing about what you read during your trip. I hope to one day visit Wu Tai Shan. It is interesting to know how the Tibetans take such high regard for Emperors of China. Did you see any paintings or reference of Dorje Shugden in Wu Tai Shan?

[Vajraprotector]

I've read that some said Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen became Kangxi, some said that he became Qianlong (grandson of Kangxi), who was born in 1711. But that's a bit too "long" away from when Tulku Dragpa Gyeltsen was "murdered" in 1656. I don't know which one to believe as there's no official recognition, also perhaps this is due to the fact that the search for his reincarnation was banned? So far the Qianlong idea is just a "belief".

One version of Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen’s story is that he reincarnated as a Chinese Emperor. The belief among Tibetans is that Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen did, but not immediately. He took birth as the Ching Emperor Qianlong (ascended throne in 1736), active during the time of the seventh and eighth Dalai Lamas and who was patron and disciple to the great Tibetan scholar Changya Rolpa’i Dorje. This belief might be based on a prediction the first Panchen Lama Lobsang Chokyi Gyaltsen made to his young disciple, Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen, that in future he would be born in the land of Manjushri (Tibet was considered the land of Avalokiteshvara and China the land of Manjushri) in order to benefit a great number of beings, when there was no Dharma in that land and that he would light the torch of Dharma there which will blaze forever.

Quoted in ‘jam.mgon bstan.sung rgyal.chen rdo.rje shugs.ldan rtsal kyi be.bum bzhugs.so, Vol. 1, Guru Deva Losang Tenzin, Delhi, 1983, p. 17.

Excerpt from research by Ursula Bernis, http://www.shugdensociety.info/Bernis2EN.html

[jessicajameson]

This is going to sound like a really silly question.

But when talking about emanations, does the person emanated know that they are who they are said to be an emanation of?

So in this case with Emperor Kangxi. If he is in the reincarnation lineage of the emanation of Manjushri (first recorded being Birwapa), does he know that he is in that lineage? That he is an emanation of Manjushri?

More so if they don't have that conditioning as they are growing up. E.g. how when the Dalai Lama reincarnates he is looked for, found and "groomed up" appropriately.

Just came to mind, because (on a completely different scene) I remember hearing that even prostitutes and hookers...some of them are emanations of Buddhas. Do those people know who they are emanations of?

[Vajraprotector]

This is going to sound like a really silly question.

But when talking about emanations, does the person emanated know that they are who they are said to be an emanation of?

So in this case with Emperor Kangxi. If he is in the reincarnation lineage of the emanation of Manjushri (first recorded being Birwapa), does he know that he is in that lineage? That he is an emanation of Manjushri?

More so if they don't have that conditioning as they are growing up. E.g. how when the Dalai Lama reincarnates he is looked for, found and "groomed up" appropriately.

Just came to mind, because (on a completely different scene) I remember hearing that even prostitutes and hookers...some of them are emanations of Buddhas. Do those people know who they are emanations of?

Hi Jessica,
I have asked this question before to a Geshe and he answered that sometimes Buddhas manifest emanations that are not fully enlightened or highly attained by nature, and hence they would not know that they are emanation of Manjushri, until it's time for them to enter clear light/ "pass away". 

I am not so sure if I understood correctly what was mentioned above, but what is sure is that I have read on threads here before re Tulkus (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=9.0)

1)  In Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, Pabongkha Rinpoche gives the exemple of Buton Je who did not achieve enlightment in that life because he was engrossed in astrology.

2) Zemey Rimpoche's exellent book also gives several examples of High incarnates who strayed and couldn't achieve liberation in that life.

3) If an enlightened being chooses to incarnate again for the sake of ordinary sentient beings, he has to enter a contaminated continuum of agregates coming from the union of the father and mother (in order for these beings to be able to interact with him). These contaminated agregates are going to determine his gross level of consciousness (and his actions) until that incarnate starts meditating a lot in order to ripen the seeds present in his subtle mind. That enlightened being's subtle mind is unchanging and has powerfull potentialities from past lives.

However, that subtle mind is attached to a grosser level of mind that is determined by the contaminated agregates he choose to be reborne into. If a tulku does nothing to ripen potentialities in his subtle mind, then not much is going to happen. The ripening of the enlightened potential in his mind is dependent on strong guru yoga. Also, potentialities in the tulku's mind make them generally very eager to practice dharma and also makes them capable of greater auterities than most of us. But still they can go astray and can go wrong.

What does everybody think?

[Big Uncle]

Well Jessica,

There are two factors that determines this fact as far as I know. Factor number one is depending on the level of attainment of the original emanator and if his attainment is very high, the level of his emanations will instinctively know they are different and will not need guidance and no matter how difficult the situation, they will never stray and will always practice the Dharma. Factor number two is the role and purpose of the emanation, if the role of the emanation is to benefit others on a lowly level, they may not need to know they are emanations. Prostitutes, thieves etc don't need to know they are emanations.

Anyway, even if they knew they will not talk about it. Perhaps Emperor Kangxi knew his previous lives, perhaps he didn't. It is not important. I believe he emanated to pave the way for Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings to enter China. Why China? Because in the 21st Century, China would become a world superpower and be of tremendous influence to the world. Since Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings is part of Chinese culture, it will be promoted as part of its culture and will automatically be promoted and bring millions to the Dharma. Check out Dorje Shugden's foresight and planning! It is incredible!

[kurava]

Thank you Vajraprotector for the clear and interesting explanation on how highly attained practitioners continuously train their minds from lives after lives.

Imagine if these high beings have to work so hard to ensure they do not degenerate in their spiritual practice, what about gross mortals like us !

Until we are enlightened ,we can't know who is buddha or who is not. The only thing we certainly know is we, ourselves are not buddha

Whether Emperor Kangxi is emanation of DS or not is not important. The important thing is he had benefited the people and contributed to the spread of Lama Tsongkhapa's precious lineage .....just like what Duldzin had vowed to do.

[WisdomBeing]

Well Jessica,

There are two factors that determines this fact as far as I know. Factor number one is depending on the level of attainment of the original emanator and if his attainment is very high, the level of his emanations will instinctively know they are different and will not need guidance and no matter how difficult the situation, they will never stray and will always practice the Dharma. Factor number two is the role and purpose of the emanation, if the role of the emanation is to benefit others on a lowly level, they may not need to know they are emanations. Prostitutes, thieves etc don't need to know they are emanations.

Anyway, even if they knew they will not talk about it. Perhaps Emperor Kangxi knew his previous lives, perhaps he didn't. It is not important. I believe he emanated to pave the way for Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings to enter China. Why China? Because in the 21st Century, China would become a world superpower and be of tremendous influence to the world. Since Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings is part of Chinese culture, it will be promoted as part of its culture and will automatically be promoted and bring millions to the Dharma. Check out Dorje Shugden's foresight and planning! It is incredible!

I think that Kangxi's achievement in his lifetime reflects who he was - which is an attained being. Whether he knew that he was an emanation of Manjushri or not is irrelevant, though i do believe that he would have known.

In our degenerate age, where spirituality is declining due to the focus on materialism, we all need to find our own spiritual nature. Countries like China, who are economically advancing so fast, need spirituality the most as they will eventually find that materialism does not bring happiness but creates suffering.

As Big Uncle says, if Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings, protected by our supreme Dharmapala Dorje Shugden, spreads in China, it will help the huge number of people there. If we ourselves have benefited anything from the Dharma, we should do our best to share it with the world in whatever ways we can, through positive messages and actions because there are so many negative messages around in the world already, we really don't need to add to it!

[thor]

Well Jessica,

There are two factors that determines this fact as far as I know. Factor number one is depending on the level of attainment of the original emanator and if his attainment is very high, the level of his emanations will instinctively know they are different and will not need guidance and no matter how difficult the situation, they will never stray and will always practice the Dharma. Factor number two is the role and purpose of the emanation, if the role of the emanation is to benefit others on a lowly level, they may not need to know they are emanations. Prostitutes, thieves etc don't need to know they are emanations.

Anyway, even if they knew they will not talk about it. Perhaps Emperor Kangxi knew his previous lives, perhaps he didn't. It is not important. I believe he emanated to pave the way for Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings to enter China. Why China? Because in the 21st Century, China would become a world superpower and be of tremendous influence to the world. Since Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings is part of Chinese culture, it will be promoted as part of its culture and will automatically be promoted and bring millions to the Dharma. Check out Dorje Shugden's foresight and planning! It is incredible!

I think that Kangxi's achievement in his lifetime reflects who he was - which is an attained being. Whether he knew that he was an emanation of Manjushri or not is irrelevant, though i do believe that he would have known.

In our degenerate age, where spirituality is declining due to the focus on materialism, we all need to find our own spiritual nature. Countries like China, who are economically advancing so fast, need spirituality the most as they will eventually find that materialism does not bring happiness but creates suffering.

As Big Uncle says, if Lama Tsongkhapa's teachings, protected by our supreme Dharmapala Dorje Shugden, spreads in China, it will help the huge number of people there. If we ourselves have benefited anything from the Dharma, we should do our best to share it with the world in whatever ways we can, through positive messages and actions because there are so many negative messages around in the world already, we really don't need to add to it!

Agreed - for the highly attained, it does not matter whatever conditions they are born in. They will automatically find their way to dharma, to good deeds, to benefit others as those are the imprints they carry with them from previous lives. Lineage and history is important but at the same time, i personally feel it is less important compared to what a person does with their life. Being a tulku is very nice but if one does not benefit others, then 'tulku' just becomes a word. Likewise, if one is not a tulku but is of great benefit to others (for example Mother Teresa) then that is much more important. Ultimately, if one is recognised as a tulku and uses that title to benefit others tremendously, that not only brings respect and honour to the title of Tulku but accomplishes what a Tulku is meant to do.

[LosangKhyentse]

Such nice information here. I thank everyone for your posts. They are educational and very informational. TK

[Mana]

It is our true hope by understanding Dorje Shugden better, it removes the 'faults' of the lineage lamas. By the lineage lamas having no faults as wrongly described by the TGIE, people will gain faith in them and congregate to them for teachings. This is our hope. What prevents people from going to these lineage lamas is that they practice/teach Dorje Shugden. So if Dorje Shugden's practice is made clear, it will exonerate the holy lineage lamas. Then people will not criticize the lineage lamas. The lineage lamas alive today will not be seen as deviant, hence many will flock to recieve teachings from them. Far from being deviant, the lineage lamas are perfect vessels of BuddhaDharma. This website definitely promotes BuddhaDharma via Dorje Shugden.

We are very happy you can make Dorje Shugden well known in the world as it will definitely help the Lineage of Tsongkapa expand in this degenerate age.

Mana

[Carpenter]

thank you all for the explanation.

but i am confused by all these 'emanation' thing.

Prostitutes, thieves etc don't need to know they are emanations.

if a buddha emanated a thief, isn't he collecting negative karma by stealing? and
will he be going to reborn in Samsara again after so much negative karma generated? or he will reform back as a buddha after their life end?

If so, then why are buddha emanate as them?? does it not fit the purpose??

hope I'm not asking stupid question...