The Black Crown is an important symbol of the Karmapa

Karmapa

The Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the Kagyupa , itself one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism....

, the Lama

Lama

Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...

 that heads the Kagyu

Kagyu

The Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today regarded as one of six main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other five being the Nyingma, Sakya, Jonang, Bon and Gelug...

 school of Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...

. The crown signifies his power to benefit all sentient beings. A corresponding crown

Crown (headgear)

A crown is the traditional symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power, legitimacy, immortality, righteousness, victory, triumph, resurrection, honour and glory of life after death. In art, the crown may be shown being offered to...

, the Red Crown, is worn by the Shamarpa

Shamarpa

Shamarpa of the Red Crown"), also known as Shamar Rinpoche or more formally Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche is a lineage holder of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism and the mind manifestation of Amitabha Buddha, He is traditionally associated with Yangpachen monastery near Lhasa.The first...

. The Tai Situpa

Tai Situpa

In Tibetan Buddhism the Tai Situpa is one of the oldest lineages of tulkus in the Kagyu school. According to tradition, the Tai Situpa is an emanation of the bodhisattva Maitreya, who will become the next Buddha, and who has been incarnated as numerous Indian and Tibetan yogins since the time of...

 and the Goshir Gyaltsab

Goshir Gyaltsab

Goshir Gyaltsab Rinpoche is a leading incarnate lama in the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He is believed by his followers to embody the activity of Vajrapani....

 also wear red crowns.

Legend tells that in a previous eon, in a former life as an accomplished yogi

Yogi

A Yogi is a practitioner of Yoga. The word is also used to refer to ascetic practitioners of meditation in a number of South Asian Religions including Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.-Etymology:...

, the Karmapa attained the eighth level or bhumi

Bhumi

Bhumi can mean:* Bhūmi, Hindu goddess of the earth**also, earth as a classical element in Hindu tradition* Bhumi , the ten stages a Bodhisattva advances through in the path to become a Buddha...

of the bodhisattva

Bodhisattva

In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...

s. At this time, 100,000 dakini

Dakini

A dakini is a tantric deity described as a female embodiment of enlightened energy. In the Tibetan language, dakini is rendered khandroma which means 'she who traverses the sky' or 'she who moves in space'. Sometimes the term is translated poetically as 'sky dancer' or 'sky walker'. The dakini, in...

s (female buddhas) manifested their hair as a crown, and offered it to the Karmapa as a symbol of his accomplishment.

Dusum Khyenpa

Düsum Khyenpa

Düsum Khyenpa was the 1st Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.Düsum Khyenpa literally means "Knower of the Three times"...

, the 1st Karmapa, was regarded as an emanation of that yogi and his appearance was predicted by the historical Buddha Shakyamuni in the Samadhiraja Sutra:

A bodhisattva with the lion's roar will appear. He will use the power he achieved in deep meditation to benefit countless beings. By seeing, hearing, touching or thinking of him, they will be led to happiness

Origin

The Karmapas were traditionally the teachers of the successive Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

 Emperors of China

Emperor of China

The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven , a title that predates the Qin unification, the...

. When the 5th Karmapa, Dezhin Shegpa, met the Chinese Emperor Yung Lo

Yongle Emperor

The Yongle Emperor , born Zhu Di , was the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China from 1402 to 1424. His Chinese era name Yongle means "Perpetual Happiness".He was the Prince of Yan , possessing a heavy military base in Beiping...

, the Emperor, through his devotion and spiritual realization, was able to perceive Karmapa in the Sambhogakaya

Sambhogakaya

The Sambhogakāya is the second mode or aspect of the Trikaya. Sambhogakaya has also been translated as the "deity dimension", "body of bliss" or "astral body". Sambhogakaya refers to the luminous form of clear light the Buddhist practitioner attains upon the reaching the highest dimensions of...

 form of Vajradhara

Vajradhara

Vajradhara is the ultimate primordial Buddha, or Adi Buddha, according to the Gelug and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism.In the evolution of Indian Buddhism, Vajradhara gradually displaced Samantabhadra, who remains the...

 (Tib. Dorje Chang), wearing a black crown on his head. The Karmapa explained to the Emperor that he could see the 'Vajra

Vajra

Vajra is a Sanskrit word meaning both thunderbolt and diamond...

 Crown', the power-field of wisdom-energy that always stays above the Karmapa's head. The emperor offered to have a physical replica made so that others could receive its blessing.

A crown encrusted with precious stones and topped by a huge ruby

Ruby

A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum . The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires...

 was commissioned, and using this, the 5th Karmapa started the tradition of the Black Crown Ceremony which was performed by successive Karmapa incarnations up to the time of the 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje

Rangjung Rigpe Dorje

The sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje was spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism...

.

Ceremony

In preparation for the ceremony the Karmapa meditates to become inseparable with Chenrezig, the Buddha of Compassion. A mandala

Mandala

Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...

 offering is made, followed by the seven branch prayer. This is to accumulate good impressions for the ceremony that ensues. The Karmapa then places the crown on his head while reciting the mantra

Mantra

A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...

 'Om Mani Peme Hung

Om mani padme hum

is the six syllabled mantra particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteshvara , the bodhisattva of compassion...

', transmitting blessings to each participant in the ceremony to the extent that they are capable of receiving them. It is said that by merely seeing of the Black Crown during the ceremony, one will become the first bhumi bodhisattva within three lifespans. This is one of the key reasons why the Black Crown is so important to Kagyu lineage.

Recent developments

In the early 1960s, the 16th Karmapa brought the Black Crown and other valuable relics of the Kagyu

Kagyu

The Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today regarded as one of six main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other five being the Nyingma, Sakya, Jonang, Bon and Gelug...

 lineage to Rumtek monastery in Sikkim

Sikkim

Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...

. They remained there in safekeeping until 1993 following the 16th Karmapa’s death. The ensuing split in his lineage

Karmapa controversy

The recognition of the Seventeenth Karmapa, the head of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism, has been the subject of controversy. Since the death of the sixteenth Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, in 1981, two candidates have been put forward:...

 caused a conflict at the monastery between supporters of the two rival claimants for the title of Karmapa. Since that time, it is said that many valuable items have disappeared from the cloister. On July 5, 2004, the Indian Supreme Court delivered a final judgement to grant Rumtek monastery to the Karmapa Charitable Trust, principal supporters of Thaye Dorje

Thaye Dorje

Trinley Thaye Dorje is a claimant to the title of 17th Karmapa.The Karmapa is head of the Karma Kagyu school, one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism...

, one of the rival candidates for the title of 17th Karmapa. Since then an inventory of valuables is being prepared. The location and integrity of the Black Crown is currently unknown.

External links

• Black crown ceremony on Kagyu Asia website
• The Origin of the Vajra Crown By Lama Karma Wangchuk
• The Black Crown of the Karmapas Explanation of some of the most significant aspects of the Vajra Crown