Visiting a Trulku (a reincarnate being) Our Dzongkha teacher's son is a trulku, a reincarnate being. When he was three years old, he recalled memories from his past life as a terton, a treasure finder. He had to undergo a series of tests to prove himself, and when he passed he was admitted to the monastic school Paro Sanga Choekhor Shedra . He's 13 years old now, and we got the opportunity to visit and speak with him. He was accompanied by his best friend, who is a potential trulku. (In the pictures, the trulku is on the left, his friend is on the right.) For such a small child, he sure had a big presence, and seemed to fill the room even while he was very soft-spoken. He has a large responsibility to be a religious leader, but he's also a normal kid. He likes the movie "The Karate Kid" and had soccer memorabilia on his walls. We had all brought this ceremonial white scarf (called a kada) with us to offer to him. It's supposed to be bunched up in the right hand like an accordion and thrown over your left forearm with this elaborate flourish as you present it. Then he takesit, blesses you, and puts the kada back over your neck. We had limited time to practice, and were all a little scared to mess up...but we pulled it off, for the most part. With one exception. One of the guys flourished his kada so forcefully, he knocked off the ceremonial bell on the trulku's table. Later we learned that it was the same bell belonging to his past life, which he had correctly identified as his possession when he was a child! Oops.
