The Karmapa

Tulku A ''tulku'' (, also ''tülku'', ''trulku'') is an individual recognized as the reincarnation of a previous spiritual master (lama), and expected to be reincarnated, in turn, after death. The tulku is a distinctive and significant aspect of Tibet ...

lineage of the Gyalwa Karmapa is the oldest among the major incarnating lineages of Tibetan Buddhism,The Karmapa, "The Karmapas Lineage", Kagyu Office established in 1110 CE by the 1st Karmapa, Düsum Khyenpa. Karmapa means "the one who carries out buddha-activity", or "the embodiment of all the activities of the buddhas". A total of 17 Karmapa manifestations have incarnated after their predecessors predict their own rebirths in detailed letters. Their honorific titles include ''His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa'' (, and more formally as ''Gyalwang'' () The Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the Kagyu school (), itself one of the four major schools of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

. The main seat of the four Tibetan seats of the Karmapas is the Tsurphu Monastery in U-Tsang, along the Tolung valley of central

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

. The Karmapa's seat built during the Tibetan diaspora is the Dharma Chakra Centre at Rumtek Monastery in

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. The international monastic seats are Karma Triyana Dharmachakra in New York and Dhagpo Kagyu Ling in Dordogne,

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, and in

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. Born in 1985, it was a few years after the 17th Karmapa, Orgyen Trinley Dorje was located and then recognized in 1992 by the Dalai Lama, and by the Chinese Central Government, that another Karmapa was recognized by Shamar Rinpoche, Trinley Thaye Dorje. The identity of the current 17th Karmapa was resolved by the Karmapas themselves, Orgyen Trinley Dorje and Trinley Thaye Dorje, both of whom issued a joint statement on 4 December 2023.

Origin of the lineage

Düsum Khyenpa, 1st Karmapa Lama (, 1110–1193), was a disciple of the Tibetan master Gampopa. A talented child who studied Buddhism with his father from an early age and who sought out great teachers in his twenties and thirties, he is said to have attained enlightenment at the age of fifty while practicing dream yoga. He was henceforth regarded by the contemporary highly respected masters Shakya Śri and Lama Shang as the Karmapa, a manifestation of Avalokiteśvara, whose coming was predicted in the '' Samadhiraja Sutra'' and the '' Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra''. The source of the oral lineage, traditionally traced back to the Buddha Vajradhara, was transmitted to the Indian master of mahamudra and

tantra Tantra (; ) is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the India, Indian subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 1st millennium CE, first within Shaivism and later in Buddhism. The term ''tantra'', in the Greater India, Indian tr ...

called Tilopa (989–1069), through Naropa (1016–1100) to Marpa Lotsawa and Milarepa. These forefathers of the Kagyu (Bka' brGyud) lineage are collectively called the "Golden Rosary".

Recognition of the Karmapa

The Karmapa is a long line of consciously reborn lamas, and the second Karmapa, Karma Pakshi (1204–1283), is the first recognized

tulku A ''tulku'' (, also ''tülku'', ''trulku'') is an individual recognized as the reincarnation of a previous spiritual master (lama), and expected to be reincarnated, in turn, after death. The tulku is a distinctive and significant aspect of Tibet ...

() in

who predicted the circumstances of his rebirth. A Karmapa's identity is confirmed through a combination realized lineage teachers supernatural insight, prediction letters left by the previous Karmapa, and the young child's own self-proclamation and ability to identify objects and people known to its previous incarnation.

Conflicts in recognitions

The 8th, 10th, and 12th incarnations, as well as the widely renowned 16th Karmapa, each faced conflicts during their recognition, which were ultimately resolved. There is currently a

controversy Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin '' controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an op ...

over the enthronement of two 17th Karmapas.

Black Crown

The Karmapas are the holders of the Black Crown () and are thus sometimes known as "the Black Hat Lamas". This crown ( "self-arisen crown"), is traditionally said to have been woven by the dakinis from their hair and given to the Karmapa in recognition of his spiritual realization. The physical crown displayed by the Karmapas was offered to Deshin Shekpa, 5th Karmapa Lama by the Yongle Emperor of China as a material representation of the spiritual one. The crown was last known to be located at Rumtek Monastery in

, the last home of the 16th Karmapa, although that location has been subject to some upheaval since 1993 causing some to worry as to whether or not it is still there. An inventory of items remaining at Rumtek is purported to be something the Indian government is going to undertake in the near future.

List of previous Karmapas

# Düsum Khyenpa () (1110–1193) # Karma Pakshi () (1204–1283) # Rangjung Dorje () (1284–1339) # Rolpe Dorje () (1340–1383) # Deshin Shekpa ()(1384–1415) # Thongwa Dönden () (1416–1453) # Chödrak Gyatso () (1454–1506) # Mikyö Dorje () (1507–1554) # Wangchuk Dorje () (1556–1603) # Chöying Dorje () (1604–1674) # Yeshe Dorje () (1676–1702) # Changchub Dorje () (1703–1732) # Dudul Dorje () (1733–1797) # Thekchok Dorje () (1798–1868) # Khakyab Dorje () (1871–1922) #

Rangjung Rigpe Dorje The 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje (; August 14, 1924 – November 5, 1981) is the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa and the spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He is of the oldest line of Tulku, reincarnate lamas in Vajrayana ...

() (1924–1981) # Ogyen Trinley Dorje () (b. 1985) or Trinley Thaye Dorje () (b. 1983)

Notes

References

* Official websites of His Holiness Karmap
www.karmapa.org
o
www.kagyuoffice.org
* Thinley, Karma: ''The History of the Sixteen Karmapas of Tibet'', Boulder, Prajna Press 1980. * Douglas, Nick; White, Meryl: ''Karmapa, the Black Hat Lama of Tibet'', Milano 1975. * Ken Holmes, ''Karmapa'', Altea Publishing 1995,
Author's website
(While the book and web site favours one candidate for the 17th the information on 1st-16th is useful and was the original source for this article)