Kinnaur (Himachal Pradesh) [India], December 1 (HBTV): A four-year-old boy from Pooh village in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district has been formally recognised as the ninth incarnation of the revered Buddhist master Yulgial Tulku Rinpoche, drawing thousands of devotees to the region for the traditional Mundan Sanskar ceremony.
The young reincarnate, identified after a rigorous religious process, arrived at the Shada Vai Buddhist gompa in Kullu district, where monks performed the customary head-shaving ritual marking his formal entry into monastic life.
A large number of devotees from across Kinnaur and neighbouring regions gathered to seek blessings from the new incarnation, whom they believe will continue the spiritual legacy of the centuries-old lineage.
Speaking to ANI, Acharya Roshan Lal of Dechen Choi Khor Mahavihara said the first incarnation of Yulgial Tulku Rinpoche appeared in 1730 in the royal family of Ladakh before undertaking monastic training in Tibet.
‘The first religious guru, Yugel Rinpoche, took his first incarnation in 1730 in the royal family of Ladakh and after that received training in the Buddhist Mahavihara of Tibet. The religious leader then preached Buddhism and guided people to live a peaceful life,’ he said.
He added that over successive births, the revered spiritual teacher preached Buddhism across Kinnaur, Lahaul-Spiti, Tibet and Ladakh, and during his eighth incarnation lived and taught extensively at the gompa in Kinnaur.
Ramesh Kumar said that the religious leader continued his reincarnations and, during his eighth birth, stayed in the gompa of Kinnaur. He added that the ninth incarnation has now been formally inducted at Dechen Choi Khor Mahavihara.
Roshan Lal said the spiritual master studied Buddhism in Kinnaur, Lahaul, Spiti, Tibet and Leh in Ladakh in his first birth and preached it widely among the people. He noted that the leader also spent a long period at the Buddhist Mahavihara in Tashi Gang, Kinnaur, and at Hemis gompa in Ladakh, and that Buddhist teachings continue at the Buddhist Mahavihara in Kinnaur today.
Chief Lama Devi Lal of Jangi Math, Kinnaur, told ANI that the eighth incarnation of the revered monk had occurred in Jangi village and expressed joy that the new rebirth had also taken place in Kinnaur.
‘Today, his Mundan Sanskar utsav was held. His formal initiation will follow at Shada Vai Buddhist Bihar Math. For Kinnaur, it is a matter of great happiness that the new avatar has taken birth here,’ he said.
(ANI)