Tenzin Nyima Bhutia
M.Phill Scholar, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India
Abstract
A tulku is a reincarnate guardian of a specific lineage of Tibetan Buddhist teachings. The procedure for determining the next custodian is based on extensive search and prophecy speculations made by the previous one. As such, the Karmapa of the Kagyu Sect, one of Tibetan Buddhism’s four major schools, comes from a long line of consciously reborn lamas. The 16th Karmapa attained parinirvana on November 5, 1981. Since then, there has been a controversy over who the 17th Karmapa is, with three potential candidates and their supporters vying for the vacant throne at Rumthek Monastery. While supporters of each candidate attempted to match the 16th Karmapa’s prophecy of the next Karmapa with their chosen spiritual heads, the assistant/attendant monk of one of the three candidates, Karmapa Dawa Sangpo Dorjee, not only confirmed the prophecy to have occurred hand-in-hand with the life of his Lord but also offered the possibility of time travel that occurred during the reign of the 5th Karmapa. This paper ventures into the possibilities of time travel and reincarnation to investigate supernatural tech-advancement concepts in Buddhism. The goal of this paper is to investigate and to relate Buddhism’s inexplicable policies to fiction. It also highlights the Karmapa Controversy, based largely on interviews with Karmapa Dawa Sangpo himself, his attendant, Pemba Sherpa, and Damthang residents in Sikkim.
Keywords: Tulku, Karmapa, time travel, reincarnation, Buddhism, sci-fi.
Introduction
Buddhism evolved in two directions, represented by two different groups, centuries after the death of the Buddha. The Hinayana was a more conservative group that included the Theravada community or the way of the elders, with compiled versions of the Buddha’s teachings that had been preserved in collections called the Sutta Pitaka and the Vinaya Pitaka and retained them as normative. With more sophisticated teachings stated in sutras that the Buddha had made available solely to his more learned disciples, the Mahayana recognised the authority of other teachings and opened up salvation to a wider audience. It was inevitable to avoid interactions with new currents of thinking and religion as Buddhism flourished. The rigid law of karma was altered in some Mahayana cultures to reflect the increasing emphasis on the effectiveness of ritual deeds and devotional practices.
The Vajrayana or Diamond Vehicle, a third significant Buddhist movement that tended more toward tantrism or esotericism in the second half of the first century CE, eventually emerged in India, aiming at obtaining spiritual purity and liberty. Following this, Tibetan Buddhism developed as a variety of Mahayana Buddhism that derived from the most recent iterations of Indian Buddhism and included many Vajrayana elements as well. This form of Buddhism preserved many tantric practices from the post-Gupta Early Medieval period (500–1200 CE), as well as numerous indigenous Tibetan developments. This variety of Buddhism is practised in Tibet and Bhutan, where it dominates religious life. It is more prevalent in Central Asia and the Southern Siberian regions, including Ladakh and the Indian states of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
The four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism are Nyingma (c. 8th century) roots back to Padmasambhava, Kagyu (11th century) established by Milarepa, Sakya (1073) founded by Saakya Kunga Nyingpo, and Gelug (1409), created by Tsongkhapa and headed by the Dalai Lama. Ngagyur, which can be translated as “early” and “to convert”, is what Nyingma alludes to. Based on the first Tibetan-to-Sanskrit translations of Buddhist texts in the ninth century, it literally means “old”. Most of the Nyingma lineage today is concentrated in Kham, in eastern Tibet. Additionally, in their lineage, there is an ordination called ngagpa, which contains a lengthy list of tantric vows and specialises in meditation and performing rituals for the lay population.
The Maha Siddha Naropa, Maitripa, and yogini Niguma of 11th-century India are the ancestors of the Kagyu lineage. Marpa Lotawa first took their teachings to Tibet, and then Milarepa, one of his pupils, did the same. Kagyu, which means “sound” and “gyu” which means “transformed”, refers to oral transmission. The name Sakya, which means “pale earth”, comes from the distinctively grey Ponpori Hills in southern Tibet, close to Shigatse, where the first Sakya monastery was established. This custom originated during the second phase of the Tibetan translation of Buddhist texts from Sanskrit in the late 11th century. It is permitted for the monks of this school of Buddhism to marry because it is passed down through an inherited system among the male Sakya branch members.
The newest branch of Tibetan Buddhism is called Gelug. A Tibetan philosopher and tantric yogi named Je Tsongkhapa, a lama, founded it. It also goes by the name Ganden School, after Tsongkhapa’s initial monastery. The most influential person in it is the Dalai Lama. Gelug advocates a thorough understanding of Buddhist philosophy and practice that incorporates sutra and yantras, critical thinking, and yogic meditation. There are many things these four schools have in common. Each of them combines ritual and meditation with the study of sutra and tantra and they all follow the tulku system of reincarnate lamas.
One of the three aspects of the Buddha that are mentioned in the Sutra Vehicle is the one that is referred to by the term “tulku”. A person who is completely constrained by negative emotions and karma has the ability to attain the Truth Body, which is made up of the Wisdom Truth Body and Nature Truth Body, according to this explanation of these qualities of the Buddha. The former alludes to a Buddha’s enlightened intellect, which perceives everything instantly, accurately, and as it is. Through the accumulation of virtue and wisdom over a lengthy period of time, it has been purified of all negative emotions, as well as their imprints.
The latter, the Nature Truth Body, alludes to that all-knowing enlightened mind’s emptiness. These two taken combined are the Buddhas’ own attributes. It is crucial that the Buddhas emerge in tangible ways so sentient creatures can reach them because they are not immediately accessible to anybody else but the Buddhas themselves. Thus, it is crucial that the Buddhas emerge in tangible ways so sentient creatures can reach them because they are not immediately accessible to anybody else but the Buddhas themselves and the primary goal of reincarnation of a tulku is to carry on the predecessor’s unfinished task to further the Dharma and benefit beings.
Even when Shakyamuni Buddha himself was alive, the custom of identifying a person’s prior existence to determine who they are, existed. The four Agama Sections of the Vinaya Pitaka, the Jataka Stories, the Sutra of the Wise and Foolish, the Sutra of One Hundred Karmas, and other texts in which the Tathagata revealed the workings of karma contain numerous accounts of how certain karmas committed in a previous life have an impact on a person’s present life. The biographies of numerous Indian sages who lived after the Buddha also provide details on their places of birth. There are several similar tales, but India is not where the method of identifying and counting their reincarnations originated.
The Tulku System: Recognition of a Reincarnate
The Buddha and later commentaries provide a variety of logical justifications for the reality of past and future lives. They boil down to four main ideas: the logic that something is preceded by something else of a like kind, the logic that something is preceded by a cause, the logic that something is familiar to the mind because it has encountered it before, and the logic that something is familiar to the mind because it has encountered it before or as a result of unrelated causes. Even if we can see that the mind cannot be created in a lab, we can equally deduce that nothing can stop the persistence of subtle clarity and awareness.
Some people have the ability to recall their most recent past life or perhaps several previous lifetimes, as well as to recognise familiar locations and loved ones. No modern psychologist, physicist, or neuroscientist has, as far as I’m aware, been able to observe or foretell the formation of cognition from matter or without reason. Based on people’s memories of their past lives, the Tibetan system of reincarnation recognition is a reliable method of inquiry. When Karmapa Pagshi was recognised as the reincarnation of Karmapa Dusum Khyenpa, the first Karmapa, early in the 13th century, in accordance with his prophecy, the current tradition of formally recognising master reincarnations was first established and over the subsequent nine hundred years, there have been seventeen Karmapa reincarnations.
After the Tulkus recognition system was established, numerous methods of doing so started to emerge and expand. The reincarnation’s ability to accurately recall and discuss his previous life, as well as his ability to recognise objects that belonged to the predecessor and those who were close to him, are some of these indicators. Other measures that are significant include the predecessor’s predictive letter and other instructions and indications that may occur. In addition to these, other techniques include consulting trustworthy spiritual masters for their advice, seeking the counsel of common oracles who manifest through mediums in trance and observing the manifestation of visions in holy lakes of protectors like Lhamoi Latso, a holy lake south of Lhasa. There is a technique of making the ultimate selection by divination using the dough-ball method (zen tak) before a sacred image while calling upon the power of truth when there are multiple potential candidates for recognition as a Tulku and it becomes difficult to decide.
As the degenerative epoch worsens and more reincarnations of high Lamas are acknowledged, some of them for political reasons, an increasing number have been acknowledged via improper and dubious methods, which have done significant harm to the Dharma. The Tibetan government had to enlist Manchu military assistance during the conflict between Tibet and the Gurkhas (1791–183). Following the expulsion of the Gurkha soldiers from Tibet, Manchu officials issued a 29-point plan under the premise of improving the administration of the Tibetan Government. In this idea, it was suggested that the recognition of the Dalai Lamas, Panchen Lamas, and Hutuktus – a Mongolian term for senior Lamas—as reincarnations be decided by drawing lots from a Golden Urn.
In order to recognise some reincarnations of the Dalai Lama, Panchen Lama, and other high Lamas, this protocol was followed. The Eighth Dalai Lama Jampel Gyatso wrote the ritual that was to be performed. The Eighth Dalai Lama Jampel Gyatso wrote the ritual that was to be performed. For the Ninth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Dalai Lama, this procedure was disregarded. According to the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, even in the instance of the Tenth Dalai Lama, genuine reincarnation had already been discovered, therefore in reality, this method was not followed; instead, it was just declared to have been done in order to delight the Manchus. The Tibetans had little faith in the Manchu-imposed system since it lacked any spirituality.
There have been instances of careless Lama-estates administrators who engaged in inappropriate reincarnation recognition techniques recently, undermining the Dharma, our civilization and the monastic community. In addition, since the Manchu era, Chinese government authorities have often used Buddhism, Buddhist masters, and Tulkus as tools to further their political objectives as they engaged in Tibetan and Mongolian affairs. In a special issue of a Buddhist religious journal on the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, it is written: “We have to understand why Mahayana Buddhism is recently branded as Tibetan Buddhism. This is done in order to maintain power centralization in the hand of a single person i.e. the Dalai Lama. As per the study and analyses of a literary person, it has come to know that Tibetan Buddhism is deeply rooted in fascism, feudalism, communalism and casteism having orthodox nature. Such an anti-Buddhist Ideology is misleading all the Buddhist followers towards superstitions and darkness of ignorance” (Dharmachakra Parivarttan).
The Seventeenth Karmapa: Eliminating False Candidates
The Karmapa heads the 900 years old Karma Kagyu sect, popularly called the Black Hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism. He has a significant following in India, particularly in Sikkim, as also in Bhutan, China and the West. He is the only high-ranking Tibetan Lama formally recognised both by Dalai Lama and the Chinese. The article outlines the importance of Karmapa in the current political and spiritual hierarchy of Tibetans, the recent controversies surrounding him, and the causes for his reluctance to return to India.
A popular vote or a discussion among factions cannot be used to determine the identity of a Karmapa. Only the preceding Karmapa’s forecast can determine the outcome. According to tradition, the Karmapa is recognised by comparing the candidate’s birth information to prophecies made by his forerunner. However, the institution of Karmapa has suffered from controversy. There was a dispute about his successor following the death of the 16th Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, who had sought sanctuary in Sikkim following the 1959 Tibetan rebellion.
The ancient Karma Kagyu school of Buddhism’s head, the Karmapa, is currently the subject of increased political manoeuvring. Two lamas have asserted their status as the 17th Karmapa since the early 1990s which are widely known to the world. Beijing, the 14th Dalai Lama, and the majority of followers of the Kagyu sect recognise Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the so-called “Chinese Karmapa”, as the rightful leader of the Tibetan Buddhist order. He fled to India in 2000 when he was 14 years old, alleging he was forbidden from continuing his education and performing his religious duties in Tibet. He has made the Gyuto Monastery, close to Dharamsala, his base of operations. Trinley Thaye Dorje, the alleged “Delhi Karmapa”, is his adversary.
Thaye Dorje emigrated from Tibet to India in March 1994 via Nepal. Here, the Shamar Rinpoche, one of the four regents authorised to recognise a reborn Karmapa, formally recognised him as the 17th Karmapa. Ogyen Trinley Dorje, who was born in Tibet, was recognised by two regents, Situ Rinpoche and Gyaltsab Rinpoche, but the fourth regent, Shamar Rinpoche, disagreed and chose his separate reincarnation, Thaye Trinley Dorje. A Karmapa, however, who was born in 1977 in Mangan, a small village situated in the north of Sikkim, to impoverished Sherpa parents, is not officially recognised by either the Indian or Chinese governments. Being a Sherpa by birth, he was unable to win over the Tibetans, who are among the most ardent Buddhist adherents.
Ogyen Trinley, who was born in Tibet with the support of two regents, was enthroned in Tsurphu, the principal Karma Kagyu monastery in Tibet, in September 1992 by Ren Wuzhi, the head of the State Council of China’s Religious Affairs Bureau. The Rumtek monastery in Sikkim, the principal Karma Kagyu monastery in India remains vacant till date.The 16th Karmapa resided there while in exile. The counterclaim has stopped the Karmapa from being installed in the Rumtek monastery. For once, Ogyen Trinley was even left the uncontested Karmapa, when, Thaye Trinley Dorje, wed in March 2017 and lost popularity among the Tibetans as Dawa Sangpo still remained unattended.
One of the claimants to the position of Karmapa, Trinley Thaye Dorje gave up his monastic life and married his childhood sweetheart, Rinchen Yangzom, escalating the conflict over the title, in a private ceremony in Delhi. However, he has not renounced his assertion that he is the reincarnation of Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, the 16th Karmapa. He stated that he handed over the task to another Buddhist lama of the Kagyu lineage of leading ordinations;
“My role and activities as Karmapa will continue as before with the single exception of conducting ordinations. As Karmapa, I will continue to protect and preserve our beloved lineage, and strengthen the monastic sangha through Initiatives such as the new Karmapa Center of Education” (Who is the True 17th Karmapa?).
Nonetheless, Ogyen Trinley’s spectacular escape from Tibet, the Karmapa was involved in another dispute with the Himachal government in February 2011 over the discovery of approximately $1 million, some of it in Chinese Yuan, in his monastery. Later, this matter was resolved as legitimate donations. His relatively extended stay outside of India is the subject of the third controversy. He wasn’t permitted to travel overseas until 2015, 15 years after he escaped to India in 2000, primarily because it was thought that his escape was too simple and suggested a broader Chinese scheme.
Karmapa is currently in the US, in the Wharton State Forest region of New Jersey, after travelling across Europe in May 2017 based on his Indian Identity-Certificate, which allowed him to obtain a three-month visa (IC) that served as the Indian passport and travel document for all Tibetan refugees, including the Dalai Lama, who travels the world on a similar Indian IC. Since then, the Karmapa has acquired a passport from the tiny Caribbean island of the Commonwealth of Dominica, which has not been warmly received in India. According to those close to the Karmapa, he was dissatisfied with being constantly monitored by security services and had to request permission whenever he wished to leave Dharamshala.
The Karmapa was also dissatisfied in the Gyuto monastery, a Gelugpa sect monastery where he was unable to conduct his religious rites to the customs of his Karma Kagyu sect. Despite his trip to India, the Chinese have been careful not to criticise him in the interim. The Chinese, who were unaffected by his flight, asserted that he had just travelled to India to retrieve Rumtek’s “holy black hat”, which had been left behind by his predecessor. However, what was revealed next led to the worst controversy to date, attached to the title of the Karmapa. Vikki Hui Xin Han asserts in a B.C. Supreme Court decision that she was in a marriage-like relationship with Ogyen Trinley Dorje even though they had only ever met four times in person.
Han, who aspired to become a Buddhist nun, claims that Dorje sexually assaulted her in 2017 at a monastery in New York, causing her to become pregnant. However, Han claims that what “began as a non-consensual sexual encounter evolved into a loving and affectionate relationship” (Proctor), which took place over text messages and involved Dorje giving her hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Karmapa Lama maintains any financial and emotional support he gave to Han “was for the benefit of the child [she] told him was his daughter” (Proctor) and he denies having a personal relationship with her. Han sought the court for permission to alter her complaint to include spousal support and not only child support as she had filed initially.
Vikki Han is one of three women who have come forward publicly to claim that the Karmapa had illicit relationships with them and/or sexually assaulted them. Jane Huang and Wu Hang-Yee comprise the other two females. The court granted her request to submit an extra alimony claim in May 2021. He had provided his DNA for the paternity test in London in January 2022 and the DNA test findings verified Han’s claim that the Karmapa is the father of her little daughter. With this, only the unsupervised custodian is left who passes all in the checklist ethically.
The time travelling custodian and his prophecy
Düsum Khverpa, the first Karmapa (1110–1193), made several prophecies about his successors. He left instructions for the discovery of his future incarnation, or tulku, in a letter that he penned before he passed away. Then, one of the ways to identify the Karmapas became writing a letter, which was occasionally conveyed verbally to a reliable student. Later, it would commonly occur for masters from various lineages to request the Karmapa’s assistance in finding tulkus. Whereas for the fifteenth Karmapa Khakyap Dorje,clairvoyance was hindered often, who was occasionally unable to exert full control over it.
On the one hand, he would occasionally be aware of a lama’s impending death and place of rebirth without anyone explicitly asking him. He would have noted the specifics of the tulku’s demise and rebirth so that they might be recorded for the disciples who were in charge of discovering the tulku when they arrived to ask about the lama. On the other hand, when a particular request was made and certain auspicious conditions were made by any of a number of means, he could only view the circumstances of rebirth in other cases. Even when individuals asked for his assistance in a few instances, he was unable to see anything. Although he would attempt, the oracle would be shrouded in mist. He claimed that this was a sign of some sort of issue involving the deceased lama’s disciples. He said that discord between the tulku and his students, is the biggest barrier to accurately identifying tulkus. In such cases, there is nothing that can be done, and the details of the subsequent reincarnation will remain a mystery.
According to legend and popular belief, the Karmapa represents Shakyamuni Buddha and the Bodhisattvas in all of their spiritual endeavours and achievements. However, the Lord Buddha foresaw that there would be an incarnation whose actions may undermine the Buddha’s legacy and the Dharma in later times. The fifth Karmapa, Deshin Shegpa foretold the trials and temptations of the Dharma in his prophecies, particularly in relation to the Karma Kagyu lineage during the time between the 16th and 17th Karmapa’s search and identification. From the Karmapa documents, which Tulku Jamyang retrieved and interpreted, the 5th Karmapa’s prophecy is briefly highlighted as follows –
“During the period of the 16 Karmapa and before the 17 Karmapa, there will be a lama who is the personification of the devil. His name will possess (Nath) Gonpo short in Tibetan and will appear during this period. Because of his negative prayers, Kagyu Tradition will decline and when it nearly comes to an end, there will be a saviour who will be manifested from the heart of Guru Padmasambhava. He will come from the west direction. He will have a birthmark like a ‘Mala’(rosary) and very wrathful in nature and will speak harshly and his complexion dark with bulging eyes. That particular saviour will subdue the evil incarnate. He will save Tibet and be a little sunshine in this Tibet. Without him, none can save the Dharma, especially the Kagyu tradition from declining because of the evil power of negative prayers” (Dharmachakra Parivarttan)
Thus, it is clear that the fulfilment of the aforementioned prophecy in the current climate of controversies surrounding the 17th Karmapa issues is still pending, which has caused the impoverished faith of the devotees to run after whatever is fashionable rather than separating reality from glitz and glamour. It may be pertinent to mention that Dawa Sangpo Dorjee was born in the Mangan District of North Sikkim, which borders Tibet on the west. The scriptures say that the reincarnation if he is born before the death of the predecessor, is a Madhey Tulku or Madhey Sanghey.
Due to all the plots and attempts on his life, the 16th Karmapa took a choice that led to the “Madhey Tulku” controversy, involving the 17th Karmapa Dawa Sangpo Dorjee. The idea is that before suffering, the 16th Karmapa relinquished his soul for rebirth. Although his rebirth occurred, the 16th Karmapa continued to exist physically for a few more years. The General Secretary was killed on March 13, 1977, and His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Dawa Sangpo Dorjee, was born on May 30, 1977. A Madhey Tulku reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa, the 17th Karmapa Dawa Sangpo Dorjee is a result. Physically, the 17th Karmapa and the 16th Karmapa bear an eerie similarity, with some characteristics being so close that they cannot be distinguished. His explanation for the birthmark of a rosary (mala) on his right thigh is that it was there that he placed his “Thosal” (the transparent glass rosary) while he as the 16th Karmapa placed the “Ushya Thondol” (the Black Crown) on his head.
Pemba Sherpa, the attendant to Karmapa Dawa Sangpo while explaining these instances also went on to explain the incident that happened on April 28, 2009, at 10:10 PM. “five thugs hired by some unidentified organisers to harm His Holiness launched a vicious attack on me first (pointing at the door where he was attacked and then the scar on his head) and then Karmapa Dawa Sangpo” (Sherpa). They were masked and carried solid iron rods. Frequently, sick persons are often taken to the Karmapa’s residence at night. The assistant was about to open the latch on the main door when he was suddenly overpowered by three of those hoodlums who attacked him and ran to Dawa Sangpo’s bedroom where all five of them attacked him from all angles with the heavy solid iron rods, but they eventually had to withdraw because he could not be overpowered, let alone annihilated. An ordinary person would not have been able to withstand the surprise and heavily armed onslaught like that; all they managed to do was give him a deep gash on the back of his neck with the rod.
Similar to this, the fifth Karmapa Desing Segpa’s translation of the Tibetan holy book “Karmapa Yigtha” states that Dharma would descend as a result of the demon’s negative aspirations, making it harder for bliss to arise. While comparing such a holy prediction to the current world’s terrible circumstances, which include unanticipated natural disasters like global warming, floods, road accidents, wildfires, thunderstorms, cyclones, droughts, earthquakes, landslides, and serious issues like terrorism and communal riots, among others, causing unimaginable loss of human lives and property. It is known that all of the terrible circumstances in the modern world are caused by negative emotions and their disruptive vibrations.
No matter how religious the world becomes, or ignorant perhaps, there have always been academicians who enjoy interconnections between seemingly incompatible ideas like science and religion. Religion relies on trust, while science requires evidence. However, science is the only thing that can ever prove anything in the area of religion. Pemba Sherpa, the attendant, revealed that he wanted to be a space scientist before he came to help the Karmapa. He said that he would greet guests all day long and then watch YouTube videos on rockets, NASA, and other topics at night and it was he who had brought up the idea of time travel in relation to the prophecy of the Karmapas. It appears that all that occurred during the 17th Karmapa Dawa Sangpo’s lifetime was documented by the fifth Karmapa in the 13th century.
He claimed that the 5th Karmapa had personally journeyed ahead in time to the era of the 17th Karmapa and recorded all of these events for future reference. Along with the predictions concerning the 17th Karmapa’s facial traits and the location of his birth, the episode involving the attacks in his 17th life, the murder attempts, and the end of his 16th life were all documented. Karmapa Dawa Sangpo nodded in agreement when his attendant linked prophecy to spiritual time travel.
Conclusion
Additionally, there has always been a debate about sci-fi occurrences, particularly those involving time dilation in every religion. Spiritual time travel is also demonstrated in the Puranas. When Sati asked Shiv who he was concentrating on, Shiv replied simply that he was worshipping Lord Ram in the Tretha yuga, which is still to come as per Sati’s timeline. They both journey to Threthayug in the future as Sati wishes to put Ram to the test to prove his magnificence because only then she would’ve been able to believe him. While Ram was about to begin the fight against Ravana to bring Sita back when they arrived in his time, Sati assumed the identity of the deity Sita to trick and test him. Ram smiled and addressed her as the “Mother of the World, Sati devi” and said “I’m very delighted to meet both Shiv and Shakti on this occasion” (Shukla).
The Bible has instances where men are granted future visions (Revelation 1:9–11; Daniel 7:13–14). One could argue that John, for instance, had the chance to “time travel” into the future in the book of Revelation in order to witness the apocalyptic events. The narrative of the cave sleepers (Ashab al Kahf) is one of the Quran’s most often-told tales and intrigues people of all ages. This incident is frequently referred to as the “tale of the seven sleepers” in Judaic tradition. It tells the story of how some religious youth escaped the persecution they were facing because of their beliefs. They sought safety inside a cave with their dog and fall asleep in the cave. When they awoke, they dispatched one of them to bring food. When that guy arrived in town, he noticed the significant changes that had taken place. His coin was hundreds of years old and the Quran points out that they had woken up in a time 309 years ahead of when they fell asleep. The “wormhole theory” is a modern invention that is enlarging our horizons and enabling us to consider the potential of interstellar travel. If we have an open mind, we will discover that modern science helps us prove rather than refute religious marvels. With the discovery of antimatter, our ability to understand the universe around us would be constrained by thinking only in terms of matter.
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Tenzin Nyima Bhutia is a Research Scholar pursuing M.Phil in Comparative Literature at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. She received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in English from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. She is currently engaged in a research of Buddhist rites and rituals, religious texts and their translations and Buddhist folktales for her thesis. She is interested in mythology, translations, religious studies and transnational communities.
[Volume 5, Number 1, 2023]
