Look up deity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A deity (ⁱ/ˈdiː.ɨti/ or ⁱ/ˈdeɪ.ɨti/)  is a speculative being, whether natural, supernatural or preternatural, having superhuman powers or qualities, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, whose myths are held to be true, and who can speak to and communuicate with his believers.

Deities are depicted in a variety of forms, but are also frequently expressed as having human form. Some faiths and traditions consider it blasphemous to imagine or depict the deity as having any concrete form. They are usually depicted as immortal, and are commonly assumed to have personalities and to possess consciousness, intellects, desires, and emotions similar to those of humans. Such natural phenomena as lightning, floods, storms, and miracles are sometimes attributed to them, and they may be thought to be the authorities or controllers of various aspects of human life (such as birth or the afterlife). Some deities are asserted to be the directors of time and fate itself, to be the givers of human law and morality, to be the ultimate judges of human worth and behavior, and to be the designers and creators of the Earth or the universe.

Etymology[link]

The word "deity" derives from the Latin "dea", ("goddess"), and "deus", ("god"), and other Indo-European roots such as from the Sanskrit "deva", ("god"), "devi", ("goddess"), "divya", ("transcendental", "spiritual"). Related are words for "sky": the Latin "dies" ("day") and "divum" ("open sky"), and the Sanskrit "div," "diu" ("sky," "day," "shine"). Also related are "divine" and "divinity," from the Latin "divinus," from "divus." Khoda (Persian: خدا ) translates to God from Persian.

The English word "God" comes from Anglo-Saxon, and similar words are found in many Germanic languages (e.g. the German "Gott" — "god").

Relation with humanity[link]

Theories and myths about, and modes of worship of, deities are largely a matter of religion. At present, the majority of humans are adherents of some religion, and this has been true throughout recorded human history. Human burials from between 50,000 and 30,000 B.C. provide evidence of human belief in an afterlife and possibly in deities, although it is not clear when human belief in deities became the dominant view.

Some deities are thought to be invisible or inaccessible to humans, dwelling mainly in otherworldly, remote or secluded and holy places, such as the concepts of Heaven, and Hell, the sky, the under-world, under the sea, in the high mountains or deep forests, or in a supernatural plane or celestial sphere. Typically, they rarely reveal or manifest themselves to humans, and make themselves known mainly through their effects. Monotheistic deities are often thought of as being omnipresent, though invisible.

Often people feel an obligation to their deity, although some view their deity as something that serves them.

Folk religions usually contain active and worldly deities.

In polytheism, deities are conceived of as a counterpart to humans: humans are defined by their station subject to the deities, nourishing them with sacrifices, and deities are defined by their sovereignty over humans, punishing and rewarding them, but also dependent on their worship.^{[citation needed]}

The boundary between human and divine in most cultures is by no means absolute. Demigods are the offspring from a union of a human with a deity, and most royal houses in Antiquity claimed divine ancestors.

Beginning with Djedefra (26th century BC), the Egyptian pharaohs called themselves "Son of Ra" as well as "Bull (son) of his Mother" among their many titles. One, Hatshepsut, who ruled from 1479 BC to 1458 BC, traced her heritage not only to her father, Thutmose I, who would have become deified upon his death—but also to the deity, Mut, as a direct ancestor.

Some human rulers, such as the Kings of Egypt, the Japanese Tennos, and some Roman Emperors have been worshipped by their subjects as deities while still alive. The earliest ruler known to have claimed divinity is Naram-Sin of Akkad (22nd century BC). In many cultures, rulers and other prominent or holy persons may be thought to become deities upon death (see Osiris, ancestor worship, canonization).

Forms of theism[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2009)

Some religions are monotheistic and assert the existence of a unique deity. In the English language, the common noun god is equivalent to deity, while the proper noun God (capitalized) references the unique deity of monotheism. Pantheism considers the universe itself to be a deity. Dualism is the view that there are two deities: a deity of good who is opposed and thwarted by a deity of evil, of equal power. Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, and Gnostic sects of Christianity are, or were, dualist. Polytheism asserts the existence of several deities, who together form a pantheon. Monolatry is a type of polytheism in which deities are believed to exert power only on those who worship them. Henotheism is a form of polytheism in which only one deity is worshipped. Animism is the belief that spirits inhabit every existing thing, including plants, minerals, animals, and, including all the elements, air, water, earth, and fire. The anthropologist E. B. Tylor argued that religion originally took an animist form. Theism is the view that at least one deity exists.

Adherents of polytheistic religions, such as certain schools of Hinduism, may regard all deities in the pantheon as manifestations, aspects, or multiple personalities of the single supreme deity, and the religions may be more akin to pantheism, monotheism, or henotheism than is initially apparent to an observer.

The many religions do not generally agree on which deities exist, although sometimes the pantheons may overlap, or be similar except for the names of the deities. It is frequently argued that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all worship the same monotheistic deity, although they differ in many important details. Comparative religion studies the similarities and contrasts in the views and practices of various religions. Philosophy of religion discusses philosophical issues related to theories about deities. Anthropology of religion studies religious institutions in relation to other social institutions, the comparison of religious beliefs and practices across cultures, and describes each religion as a cultural product, created by the human community that worships it. Narratives about deities and their deeds are referred to as myths, the study of which is mythology. The word "myth" has an overtone of fiction, so religious people commonly (although not invariably) refrain from using this term in relation to the stories about deities which they themselves believe in.

Islamic view[link]

Muslims have faith and believing that God is one and incomparable and the purpose of existence is to love and serve God.^[1] In the Muslims concept and believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed at many times and places before, including through Abraham, Moses and Jesus, who are considered prophets.^[2] Muslims maintain that previous messages and revelations have been partially changed or corrupted over time,^[3] but consider the Qur'an to be both the unaltered and the final revelation of God.^[4]

Hinduism[link]

Ganesha at Morgaon, aṣṭavināyaka complex

The worship of Shiva is a pan-Hindu tradition, practiced widely across all of India, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Shaivism has many different schools showing both regional variations and differences in philosophy. Shaivism has a vast literature that includes texts representing multiple philosophical schools, including non-dualist (abheda), dualist (bheda), and non-dual-with-dualism (bhedābheda) perspectives. Some people believe that artifacts from Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and other archaeological sites of northwestern India and Pakistan indicate that some early form of Shiva worship was practiced in the Indus Valley. These artifacts include lingams and the "Pashupati seal" that has been the subject of much study. The Indus Valley civilization reached its peak around 2500-2000 BC, when trade links with Mesopotamia are known to have existed, was in decline by 1800 BC, and faded away by 1500 BC.^[5]

Buddhism[link]

In Buddhism mythology, devas are beings inhabiting certain happily placed worlds of Buddhist cosmology. These beings are mortal (being part of saṃsāra), numerous, and are respected but not worshiped; it is also common for Yidams to be called deities, although the nature of Yidams are distinct from what is normally meant by the term.

The Buddhist Madhyamaka argue strongly against the existence of a reificating creator or essential being (such as Brahman). Some Prasangikas hold that even the conventional existence of an essential being is a non-existent, whereas others consider that the conventional existence of such a being is an existent.

Some modern Buddhists, especially in the west, believe that deities exist in the same manner that elves or unicorns do - as an archetypal consensual entity that serves a symbolic purpose in the popular imagination.

Though this may seem a rather weak basis of existence for some, as many Buddhists (such as the Yogacara) deny any objective existence (of e.g. a chair), and many more deny any sort of essential existence of phenomena at all, the distinction between the existence and non-existence of consensual entities is important to Buddhist philosophy.

Polytheism[link]

A pantheon, (from Greek Πάνθειον, from πᾶν, all + θεός, god), is a set of all the deities of a particular polytheistic religion or mythology, such as the Egyptian pantheon, or Greek pantheon. A pantheon may include deities of vastly differing importance and scope.

Max Weber's 1922 opus, Economy and Society discusses the link between a pantheon of deities and the development of monotheism.

Monotheism[link]

In some cases, especially the monotheistic Abrahamic god or the supreme deity of henotheistic religions, the divine is not thought of by many believers in the same terms as deities - as a powerful, anthropomorphic supernatural being - but rather becomes esoteric, and ineffable - the Ultimate, the Absolute Infinite, the Transcendent, the One, the All, Existence, becoming or Being itself, the ground of being, the nondualistic, etc.

In this view, God (Allah, Brahman, Elohim, Jesus Christ, Waheguru, etc.) is not a deity, and the anthropomorphic myths and iconography associated with him are regarded as symbolism, allowing worshippers to speak and think about something which otherwise would be beyond human comprehension.

There also are many such views from ancient times, such as in Egypt, Greece, and Rome who were "the" local or regional deity, and who became lost in our view of these cultures only as a whole. According to Plutarch, who lived from c. 46 - 120 A.D., the Egyptian temple of Neith bore the inscription: I am All That Has Been, That Is, and That Will Be. No mortal has yet been able to lift the veil that covers Me. This is a creator deity who was worshipped by devotees in the western delta region of Egypt for over three thousand years. That worship assigned many roles to the deity and took many forms—even including one of earliest known oracle traditions and a resurrection cult—and that worship spread to other regions of Egypt and, some suspect, to other ancient cultures that arose during the beginning of recorded human history. Herodotus describes the annual festival of lights associated with this deity in late December—thousands of years after the earliest records attest an already-established worship of the deity. Not many of these endured so long, but records of such deities exist from the beginning of human records of their beliefs.

Scientific positions on deities[link]

Pascal Boyer argues that while there is a wide array of supernatural concepts found around the world, in general, supernatural beings tend to behave much like people. The construction of gods and spirits like persons (anthropomorphism) is one of the oldest characteristics of religion. He cites examples from Greek Mythology which is, in his opinion, more like a modern soap opera than other religious systems. Anthropologist Stewart Guthrie, contends that people project human features onto non-human aspects of the world because it makes those aspects more familiar.^[6] Sigmund Freud also suggested that god concepts are projections of one's father.^[7]. Likewise, Émile Durkheim was one of the earliest to suggest that gods represent an extension of human social life to include supernatural beings. In line with this reasoning, psychologist Matt Rossano contends that when humans began living in larger groups, they may have created gods as a means of enforcing morality. In small groups, morality can be enforced by social forces such as gossip or reputation. However it is much harder to enforce morality using social forces in much larger groups. He indicates that by including ever watchful gods and spirits, humans discovered an effective strategy for restraining selfishness and building more cooperative groups.^[8]

More recently, neurotheology, which was originally introduced by Aldous Huxley, studies religious experience of god and spirituality in terms of cognitive neuroscience. Closely related, evolutionary psychology hypothesizes on the reason for the existence of these cognitive processes by examining the survival and reproductive functions they might serve.

See also[link]

References[link]

v t e Theism List of philosophies Deity (Divinity · Numen · Male · Female · List) · Singular God (Existence · Gender) · Binitarianism · Deism · Dystheism · Henotheism · Kathenotheism · Monolatrism · Monotheism · Mysticism · Nontheism · Pandeism · Panentheism · Pantheism · Polydeism · Polytheism · Spiritualism · Theopanism Religion portal

v t e Theological thought Abrahamism · Acosmism · Agnosticism · Animism · Antireligion · Atheism · Deism · Dharmism · Discordianism - Dualism · Esotericism · Feminist theology · Gnosticism · Henotheism · Immanence · Monism · Monotheism · Mysticism · New Age · New Thought · Nondualism · Pandeism · Pantheism · Polytheism · Process theology · Rastafari movement - Religious naturalism · Shamanism · Shramanism · Taoic · Theism · Thelema - Transcendence · more Religion portal

This article is written like a personal reflection or essay rather than an encyclopedic description of the subject. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (August 2010)

This article may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. You can help. The discussion page may contain suggestions. (August 2010)

Part of a series on Tibetan Buddhism
History
Timeline · Related-topics
Schools
Nyingma · Kagyu · Sakya · Gelug · Bön · Jonang
Key concepts
Three marks of existence · Skandha · Cosmology · Saṃsāra · Rebirth · Bodhisattva · Dharma · Dependent origination · Karma
Major figures
Gautama Buddha · Padmasambhava · Je Tsongkhapa · Dalai Lama · Panchen Lama · Lama · Karmapa Lama · Rinpoche · Geshe · Terton · Tulku
Practices and attainment
Buddhahood · Avalokiteśvara · Four stages of enlightenment · Tantric yoga · Paramitas · Meditation · Laity
Major monasteries
Changzhug · Drepung · Dzogchen · Ganden · Jokhang · Kumbum  · Labrang · Mindroling · Namgyal · Narthang · Nechung · Pabonka · Palcho · Ralung · Ramoche · Sakya · Sanga · Sera · Shalu · Tashilhunpo · Tsurphu · Yerpa
Major festivals
Chotrul Duchen · Dajyur · Losar · Monlam · Sho Dun
Texts
Kangyur · Tengyur · Tibetan canon · Mahayana sutras · Nyingma Gyubum
Art
Sand mandala · Thangka · Ashtamangala · Tree of physiology
Outline  · Comparative studies  · Culture  · List of topics  · Portal
view talk edit

Tsem Tulku Rinpoche (born October 24, 1965) is a tulku, a reincarnate lama of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, and the founder and spiritual guide of the Kechara House Buddhist Association in Malaysia.

Tulku lineage[link]

Tsem Tulku is the third in the line of tulkus associated with Ganden Monastery's Shartse college and the Gyuto tantric college. His predecessors were Gedun Nyedrak,^{[2][unreliable source?]} a Khampa who served as Ganden Shartse's 72nd abbot; and Kentrul Thubten Lamsang,^[3] from Drikung, who died in Phari during the 1950s. Since the former came from a family which owed ties of fealty to Tsem Monastery, which housed a tooth of Tsongkhapa as a holy relic (tsem being the honorific Tibetan word for "tooth"), the name "Tsem" came to be applied to the tulku lineage; hence Tsem Tulku's appellation.^[4] ("Rinpoche" is an honorific meaning "precious," which is customarily affixed to the names of lamas.)

Biography[link]

This section relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (August 2010)

Tsem Tulku was born in Taipei, Taiwan to Dewa Nimbo, an Old Torghut Mongolian woman whom Tsem Tulku describes as a "princess" (she was the grand-daughter of Prince Palta, a Xinjiang government official during the Qing and Nationalist periods; and the daughter of Mingyur Wang, briefly a member of the ROC National Assembly); and Lobsang Gyatso, a Tibetan from Ngawa with ties to the Tibetan exile government who, after fleeing to Taiwan, ran a school for Tibetan refugee children. According to Tsem Tulku's website,

Rinpoche’s father and mother became romantically involved, however, his mother was unaware that his father already had a wife and children in Tibet. Rinpoche’s parents separated even before he was born and the shame of having an illegitimate child was too great for his mother, who gave Rinpoche away immediately after his birth.^[5]

The future Tsem Tulku spent his first seven years in Taipei, living under the care of a foster family.^[6] His Chinese (and presumably original) name was 葛宜山 (Gě Yíshān).

Note: Rinpoche gives his Mongolian name as Iska Minh, affecting the title of "prince." In the United States, he was known as Burcha Bugayeff, while his ordination name is Tenzin Sopa.

In 1972 his mother's family arranged for him to be adopted by a Kalmyk family in Howell, New Jersey, where the U.S. government had resettled a number of Kalmyk refugees. His adoptive parents (whom he was led to believe were his birth parents) were Dana and Boris Bugayeff.^[7] Tsem Tulku remembers the couple as controlling and abusive,^[8][9] and reports that he attempted several times to commit suicide, and several times to run away from home.

Tsem Tulku recalls having been attracted to Buddhist deities from an early age. He drew amulets featuring them and at one point, imagined "a red lady" (Vajrayogini) with the power to "take us from this world fast!" Despite his adoptive family's disapproval of his involvement in religion, he gravitated towards Rashi Gempil Ling, a nearby Mongolian Buddhist temple where Khensur Lobsang Tarchin resided. He received his first tantric empowerments (into the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum and the "Eight Verses of Mind Transformation") during a 1979 visit of the Dalai Lama.^[10]

In 1981, at the age of 16, he ran away from home for the final time after an argument with his father. His website reports:

With just US$50 in his pocket, Rinpoche left New Jersey for good, walking out to the highway and hitchhiking all the way across America to L.A., California. The journey was long and difficult; he lived on the streets and had to deal with being beaten, guns, physical abuse and offers of porn and prostitution.^[11]

In Los Angeles, he worked several jobs (including McDonalds and Fotomat);^[12] earned a GED while attending Mark Keppel High School in 1983;^[11] and lived in Thubten Dargye Ling, a Gelugpa dharma center. For six months he served as a personal assistant to visiting lama Zong Rinpoche, who became his Root Guru.^[13] At this time he received the Yamantaka initiation, which he describes as "critical" for other teachings he would later receive.^[14] At the same time he attempted to find work as an actor. He was an extra in the 1983 Stephen King / John Carpenter film Christine, and was apparently sought for a role in the 1986 Eddie Murphy vehicle, The Golden Child.^[15]

Zong Rinpoche urged him to become a monk, come to India, and stay with him at Zong Ladrang (in Ganden Monastery).^[13] The future Tsem Tulku promised to do so. Although Zong Rinpoche died soon after, in 1984,^[16] he kept his promise, and in 1987 received monastic vows from the Dalai Lama. For the next nine years (1988–1997) he studied at Ganden Shartse (in Mundgod, Karnataka), under Kensur Jampa Yeshe Rinpoche and Lati Rinpoche, while living in a small room in Zong Ladrang. Tsem Tulku remembers this as a time of poor health and financial hardship.^[17][18]

In 1992, on the instructions of his gurus, Tsem Tulku embarked upon a fund-raising tour to Malaysia.^[19] The trip was a success, and a number of Malaysian Chinese Buddhists requested his return. Accordingly, Tsem Tulku Rinpoche left India and settled in Kuala Lumpur.

In 1999 he and a local sponsor, Dato' Eric Tan, opened "Kechara Paradise," a store (now a small chain) selling dharma items. ("Kechara" is the name of the Pure Land of Vajrayogini.) Rinpoche would give teachings there, or in people's homes. By 2002 his disciples were meeting on rented premises ("Tara House" in Kelana Jaya). In 2004 the first permanent dharma center, "Kechara House," opened. In 2006 Tsem Tulku created a "Liaisons Council" to head what was becoming a network of centers, shops, and activities, all with "Kechara" as part of their names. (See below for a description of these.) ^[20][21]

Kechara House Buddhist Association[link]

Kechara House Buddhist Association (KHBA), formally registered in 2001, is led by a "Liaisons Council" consisting of (presently) 21 Liaisons, 6 of whom double as the KHBA's Board of Directors.^[22] New Liaisons are voted in by existing Liaisons. The structure was apparently modeled after that of Ganden Monastery.^[23][24] The Liaisons Council supervises thirteen departments,^[25][26] whose heads may or may not simultaneously serve as Liaisons.^[27]

As of 2010, some 95 people work for the organization in some capacity (often on a volunteer basis).^[28] The Kechara group seems to have several hundred active members, and a less-committed following of perhaps a thousand or so. Except for a few Westerners, nearly all participants are Malaysian Chinese. (To proselytize Muslim Malays would be illegal under Malaysian law; see Religious freedom in Malaysia.)

Spiritual practice[link]

Tsem Tulku particularly emphasizes the practices of guru devotion to Tsongkhapa (traditionally credited with having founded the Gelugpa order);^[29] propitiation of Setrap Chen (the dharma protector associated with Ganden Shartse);^[30] and the highest yoga tantra of Vajrayogini (which he considers the most suitable highest yoga tantra for modern laypeople for its relative simplicity and erotic imagery, modern society being highly sexualized). He often recommends the study, recitation, and practice of Lojong texts such as the "Eight Verses of Thought Transformation", the Wheel of Sharp Weapons, ^[31] and Tsongkhapa's "Twenty-Seven Verses on Mind Training." ^[32]

Tsem Tulku is a strong supporter of vegetarianism and Animal Rescue (or release). (He owns a number of pets, who are often mentioned on his blog.)

Teaching style[link]

Tsem Tulku's personal style is difficult to describe objectively, yet is crucial to any understanding of his influence. He cuts a flamboyant figure, calling himself "the Neon Lama."^[33] He is an active blogger and user of Facebook and Twitter. His numerous YouTube postings include, for example, his imitation of "a Baptist evangelist" (in which the expressions "Halle-Buddha-Jah" and "matchy-matchy-poo" come up)^[34] and a running commentary on the 1962 film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?.^[35] He reports a deep interest in UFO's ^[36] and other "unsolved mysteries." Despite being a monk, he does not normally wear robes outside of religious settings (on the advice of his gurus).

He does not give any initiations, not even as blessings to normal laity.^[37]

Writings[link]

Tsem Tulku is the author of Gurus for Hire: Enlightenment for Sale (Kuala Lumpur: Kechara, 2007), which combines autobiography with spiritual commentary. It discusses "the precarious, often tricky Guru-disciple relationship" and "all the political games that are played behind closed temple doors." He also wrote Compassion Conquers All: Teachings on the Eight Verses of Mind Transformation (Kechara, 2007), a textual commentary.

Several books have been compiled from Tsem Tulku's teachings. These include Why I Make Myself Unhappy (Kechara, 2005), Faces of Enlightenment (Kechara, 2006), and Peace: A Compilation of Short Teachings (Kechara, 2009). If Not Now, When? (Kechara, 2008) is a coffee-table book of quotations.

A number of Tsem Tulku's dharma talks are available for sale as DVDs, or free through various forms of electronic media (see links elsewhere in this article).

Several of Tsem Tulku's disciples have published spiritual memoirs. These include Jamie Khoo's Call Me Paris (Kechara, 2010) and David Lai's There's No Way But Up (Kechara, 2010).

See also[link]

• List of Rinpoches

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tsem Tulku official website - includes link to blog
  • Tsem Tulku at Facebook and Facebook group
  • Tsem Tulku at Twitter
  • Tsem Tulku videos on YouTube
• Kechara House website
• Lama’s brand new approach - article in The Star newspaper
• Finding his own peace - article in The Star newspaper
• Painted with a prayer Buddhist Channel interview with Tsem Tulku about thangka paintings
• Look at bigger picture to tackle homelessness, says Rosmah - article in Bernama