Karmapa controversy
Encyclopedia
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:
Both have already been enthroned as 17th Karmapa, and both independently have been performing ceremonial duties in the role of a Karmapa. They have not met, though both have expressed a willingness and desire to meet. The situation has led to deep division among Kagyu
followers all over the world. As one academic expert in the field testified in court, while the recognition of Ogyen Trinley "appears to have been accepted by a majority of Karma Kagyu monasteries and lamas, there remains a substantial minority of monasteries and lamas who have not accepted Ogyen Trinley as Karmapa. In particular, these include the Shamar Rinpoche, who historically has been the person most directly involved in the process of recognition." It is difficult to produce an objective description of the events because the most important developments are known only from conflicting accounts by those involved.
The Karmapa lineage
is the most ancient tulku
lineage in Tibetan Buddhism, predating the Dalai Lama
lineage by more than two centuries. The lineage is an important one as the Karmapa is traditionally the head of the Karma Kagyu school.
Karmapa
s have often been self-recognizing. That means that many incarnations (at least seven out of sixteen) claimed very early in life to be Karmapa, recognizing associates and colleagues of the previous incarnation. Also, each Karmapa has left indications leading to his next rebirth, often in the form of a letter. In such letters, indications regarding the location and parentage of the next incarnation were included, though usually in a poetic form that is difficult to decipher. However, the closest associates of the previous incarnation play a crucial role in the process of recognizing the next Karmapa. After all, it is they who have been closely associated with the previous incarnation and will have to raise and teach the new one.
The process of recognition has involved several different lamas since the first recognition in the early 13th century. Geoffrey Samuel writes that, "From the late 14th century onwards until the 1790s, the primary responsibility for recognising and enthroning the Karmapa normally belong to the Shamarpa." The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Karmapas were recognised by individual followers of the early Karmapas, rather than by any tulku. The Shamarpa
recognised the 5th, 6th, 9th (together with Tai Situ), 10th, 11th, and (via a search party) 12th Karmapas. Tai Situ recognised the 8th, 9th (together with the Shamarpa), 14th, and (together with Jamgon Kongtrul
) 16th Karmapas. Gyaltsab
Rinpoche recognised the 7th and 13th Karmapas, and the 15th Karmapa was recognised by the 9th Drukchen of the Drukpa Kagyu.
In the 1790s, shortly before the recognition of the 14th Karmapa, the Tibetan government in Lhasa banned the Shamarpa from reincarnating as a result of alleged political intrigues. The Karmapa continued to recognize reincarnations of the Shamarpa, but they of necessity lived in secret and were not available to recognise the Karmapas. This ban became irrelevant when the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa both fled Tibet in the late 1950s. The ban was formally lifted in 1963.
Samuel points out that, in the cases of the 7th and 13th Karmapas, the Shamarpa of that time had died at around the same time as the previous Karmapa, meaning that there was no adult Shamarpa available to take part in the recognition. Thus, Samuel argues that "the only real exception" to the Shamarpa's preeminent role, prior to his banning, was in the recognition of the 8th Karmapa in 1506. Tai Situ has been the next most actively involved in recognising Karmapas, including two of the three recognised between 1790 and 1963.
The head of the Sakya school, Sakya Trizin
, as well as the future head of the Nyingma school, Mindroling Trichen Rinpoche, also recognised Ogyen Trinley Dorje as the reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa and composed long-life prayers for him. The government of the People's Republic of China
has also accepted him.
The first born Karmapa, Trinley Thaye Dorje, has been recognized by Shamar Rinpoche
- regarded by some as the senior lama in the Karma Kagyu hierarchy just below the Karmapa.
Beru Khentse Rinpoche holds a distinct minority view, saying he believes both Karmapas are legitimate. He states "it is possible that there can be two Karmapas in order to benefit sentient beings because the Karmapa can manifest in many different forms" and writes that the 14th Karmapa highlighted that "in many universes a hundred million Karmapas have manifested. The Karmapa is also the Buddha's emanation, thus until all the thousand Buddhas have come and their doctrine is not diminishing, my activity of the Karmapa emanations will not end."
Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche
said that "as far as my father [i.e., Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
] was concerned, they were both to be respected and perceived with pure appreciation."
For followers on both sides of this controversy, the issue is painful. Both sides pray that the rightful Karmapa may be able to do his dharmic duties and teachings. Karma Kagyu
teachers such as Ole Nydahl
have said that the spiritual realization of the Karmapas and their worthiness as reincarnations will be shown clearly by their future actions.
. At age seven, he was formally enthroned at Tsurphu Monastery
, the traditional seat of the Karmapas in Tibet. In late December 1999, he eluded his communist Chinese minders, who prevented him from undertaking most of his traditional studies and teaching activities, and escaped over the Himalaya mountains to exile in India
. He celebrated his twenty-first birthday on June 26, 2006. He has since 2002 hosted and lectured in the Kagyu Monlam Chemno, a major prayer activities gathering held in Bodhgaya every year end in which major Kagyu masters and lamas participate.
Supporters of Ogyen Trinley Dorje claim that his birth and parentage are consistent with the prediction by Chogyur Lingpa, who, it is claimed, had prophetic visions of various events in the lives of the 14th through the 21st Karmapas. Many believe that Lingpa's statement that the minds of Tai Situpa and Karmapa "are inseparably joined as one" refers to the 17th Karmapa and the current Tai Situ Rinpoche. "The description ... is meant to show there is disagreement in this reincarnation and the mind of the 17th Karmapa and the mind of Tai Situ Rinpoche are inseparable from each other," explains the Kagyu Lama Thrangu Rinpoche
, who is one of Ogyen Trinley Dorje's tutors. Although according to Thrangu Rinpoche the 16th Karmapa left two letters specifying a rebirth in Tibet, it is yet another prediction document, hidden in a locket and given to Tai Situpa, that has prompted criticism from the rival claimant's camp. Supporters of Thaye Dorje have contended that Tai Situ Rinpoche fabricated this letter; to date he has refused requests to have it scientifically analyzed, claiming this would be a violation of a sacred object.
It has been argued, however, that this prediction was already fulfilled with the 16th Karmapa who, in a sense, was the 17th. This is supported by Chogyur Lingpa's life story, where he explains that one Karmapa died too early to be enthroned, and that as to Chogyur Lingpa's view, he needs to be included when enumerating the Karmapas. As Chogyur Lingpa is also the source of the prediction, the argument has, according to supporters of Thaye Dorje, persuasive force and means that the described event of the prediction took place between the then Karmapa and Situpa during the life of the 16th Karmapa. The counter-argument is that, if the prophecy refers to the relationship between Karmapa Ranjung Rigpe Dorje (commonly called the 16th Karmapa) and the 12th Tai Situ Rinpoche, then that would make the 12th Tai Situpa the principal disciple (or Heart Son) of the previous Karmapa, the 42nd member of the Kagyu Golden Rosary, and the final authority on the recognition of the next Karmapa.
In January 1981, nine months before his death, the 12th Tai Situpa claims that the 16th Karmapa gave him an amulet with a yellow brocade cover, telling him, "This is your protection amulet. In the future, it will confer great benefit." Although Tai Situpa wore the locket on a gold chain for about a year after the Karmapa's death, he moved it to a side pocket, not realizing its significance or that it contained a message. Tai Situpa claims that he followed an intuition to open the amulet in 1989 and found the third prediction letter, inside an envelope marked "Open in the Metal Horse Year." This letter said that the Karmapa was to be reborn "to the north, in the east of the land of snow," and when interpreted at the March 1992 meeting of the council of the four regents, was taken to mean that he would be reborn in a specific valley in eastern Tibet. The letter is reproduced on the Kagyu Office website, and reads in part:
Ogyen Trinley Dorje's mother's name is Loga; his father's name is Karma Döndrub Tashi, a name given to him by the 16th Karmapa. Both of Ogyen Trinley Dorje's parents' names were similar to the names in the letter produced by Tai Situpa. According to Michele Martin, the letter was interpreted to mean he would be "born ... in the area of Lhathok, which translates as 'divine (lha) thunder (thog).' The name of the remote nomadic community where Ogyen Trinley Dorje was born is Bagor, of which ba means 'cow.' The next line indicates his parents, where the masculine principle method refers to his father Döndrub, and the feminine principle wisdom refers to his mother Lolaga. The one used for the earth points to an animal that plows, and Ogyen Trinley Dorje was born in the year of the Wood Ox (1985). The far-reaching sound of the white one indicates the sound of the conch shell that is said to have miraculously resounded in the sky for hours after Ogyen Trinley's birth."
On May 22, 1992, one month before his seventh birthday, Ogyen Trinley Dorje was discovered near Bagor, Lhathok, in Eastern Tibet. According to the Kagyu official website:
On September 27, 1992, Ogyen Trinley Dorje was formally enthroned at Tsurphu Monastery
in Tibet, the traditional seat of the Karmapas, in a ceremony attended by 20,000 people. He lived in Tsurphu another seven years. In late 1999, 14-year-old Ogyen Trinley Dorje decided that the restrictions placed on him by the PRC government at Tsurphu limited his ability to teach his disciples and receive teachings from lineage masters. He made a daring escape over the Himalayas in the middle of winter, evading Chinese authorities and making his way through Nepal and on to Dharamsala
, India, arriving on January 5, 2000.
Analysts have speculated that this retreat to India was predicted by the 16th Karmapa in his 1940 work entitled "A Song":
According to interpretation, the "spring...cuckoo" is equated to the cuckoo that landed on the tent where Ogyen Trinley Dorje was born - one of the miraculous signs said to have accompanied his birth. The "fall...harvest" is interpreted as Ogyen Trinley Dorje's adult travel "east" to "India." Above all, the supplication to Tai Situ Rinpoche and the prayer to "meet again and again" strongly suggests to his supporters that he is indeed the legitimate tulku, should the letter be authentic.
Thaye Dorje
was born on 6 May 1983 in Lhasa
, Tibet. His father is Mipham Rinpoche, the reincarnation of a very important lama
of the Nyingma
school.
At age eleven, he was formally enthroned at the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute in New Delhi.
and informed him about a dream he had had and about a relative of his from Lhasa who brought a picture of a child who reportedly and repeatedly announced that he was the Karmapa. In 1988 Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche was sent to obtain more information about the child.
Later an unnamed lama was sent to meet with the family and the boy without revealing the real purpose of his visit. Upon meeting with the emissary the boy promptly said "You were sent here for me." This along with other evidence convinced the Shamarpa that the boy was indeed the reincarnation of the late 16th Karmapa.
In March 1994, Thaye Dorje escaped with his family from Tibet and travelled to New Delhi
where he was formally recognized during a welcoming ceremony. He took monastic ordination from Chobgye Tri Rinpoche and is at present undergoing a very intensive education under the guidance of Shamar Rinpoche, also studying under teachers such as Prof. Sempa Dorje, Khenpo Chödrak Rinpoche and others. Fluent in English, he also travels extensively in the East and the West to give lectures.
Thaye Dorje's supporters claim that the Shamarpa is fully authorised to recognise the Karmapa, and therefore no additional recognition is required or even valid.
Karma Pakshi, the 2nd Karmapa, predicted "future Karmapas shall manifest in two Nirmanakaya forms." The 3rd Karmapa recognized the 1st Shamarpa as the fulfillment of this prophecy, giving the Shamar incarnates a special relationship with the Karmapas. This is supported among others by old Kagyu literature where one frequently finds the expression of the 2 Karmapas, black and red hat. Also, when referring to former reincarnation of the Shamarpa, these are often called Karmapa and can only differentiated from former Karmapa reincarnations by their name.
Supporters of Thaye Dorje accuse Tai Situpa of forging
the letter ostensibly written by the 16th Karmapa and hidden in a locket, containing clues about his new incarnation. They have requested that the letter be verified by independent experts including forensic document examiners
. Tai Situ has thus far refused to allow this claiming it would be a violation of a sacred object.
Well aware of Chogyur Lingpa's predictions about the 17th Karmapas, supporters of Thaye Dorje suggest the prediction was already fulfilled with the 16th Karmapa, who actually was the 17th, even though only 16 had been officially enthroned. This claim may sound odd, but is supported by Chogyur Lingpa's life story, where he explains that one Karmapa died too early to be enthroned, and that as to Chogyur Lingpa's view, he needs to be included when listing the Karmapas.
Although followers of Ogyen Trinley Dorje point out that he was the only candidate enthroned in Tibet, both claimants were born in Tibet and so the prediction about the return to Tibet within these two letters is fulfilled by both claimants.
As has been verified in the context of a law case in New Zealand by Prof. Geoffrey Samuel, the Dalai Lama’s recognition is not necessary for the Karmapas. At the same time, Tomek Lehnert's book claims the Dalai Lama was tricked into recognizing Ogyen Trinley by Tai Situpa who told him that all four Kagyu regents agreed he was the right candidate.
in 1977 (before the death of the 16th Karmapa) and subsequently resided in Damthang in South Sikkim. As recently as December 2003 he requested the opportunity to prove his "supernatural power" to the Dalai Lama.
Control of Rumtek Monastery
, which was the seat of the 16th Karmapa in exile, has been the subject of a legal contest. In 1961 the 16th Karmapa established the Karmapa Charitable Trust. Ogyen Trinley's followers claimed that the trust was solely established for the sake of seeing to the welfare of the Karmapa's followers, providing funds for the maintenance of the monastery, and for the monks' medical fees, but that administration of the monastery was the responsibility of the Tsurphu Labrang. The Indian Supreme Court is currently considering a related case.
According to both the official Shamarpa website and an official Ogyen Trinley Dorje website, Ogyen Trinley Dorje met with the Shamarpa in the Oberoi International Hotel in New Delhi
on 9 January 2007. Ogyen Trinley Dorje had mentioned his desire to meet the Shamarpa, and requested Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche
arrange a personal meeting with him. The Shamarpa had declined the first invitation in 2005, which was received by telephone call from Drikung Chetsang Rinpoche, because to have accepted it "at that time would invite unwarranted suspicions from the India government upon himself." According to Dawa Tsering, spokesperson for the administration of Shamar Rinpoche, "He (Urgyen Trinley Dorje) was confident that this meeting would bring peace in the Kagyu School in general and thus help in flourishing Buddha Dharma. This meeting has created a basis to re-unite all in the Dharma Sangha. Therefore, such an initiative should be appreciated by all."
In 2008 there were numerous speculations that Ogyen Trinley Dorje may become the successor of the Dalai Lama (but not as Dalai Lama), as the spiritual leader of the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.
According to the message of International Karma Kagyu Buddhist Organization published on www.karmapa-issue.org: "To underscore his willingness to be supportive, Shamar Rinpoche even provided the necessary help for Ugyen Trinlay Dorje to obtain Indian government’s approval for his recent visit to the U.S., though at the same time maintaining the stance that Thrinlay Thaye Dorje is the traditional Karmapa."
The Dalai Lama and Shamar Rinpoche met on the 13th of August, 2010 at the Dalai Lama's residence to discuss ways of ending the controversy. Shamarpa wrote, "Although this matter is not easily resolved, since it is connected to the politics of China and India as well, with His Holiness Dalai Lama’s blessing and support I am confident that there will be an amicable solution, which will be beneficial for the Karma Kagyü lineage, as well as for Tibetan Buddhism in general."
In February 2011, Ogyen Trinley Dorje was accused of being a Chinese spy by elements of the government of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, due in part to the fact that $1 million cash was found in his monastery, part of it in Chinese yuan. (The Chinese government had recognized Ogyen Trinley Dorje as "the first reincarnated Living Buddha confirmed and approved by the Central Government of the People's Republic of China after the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951," which is in itself unusual since the Chinese government is secular, Communist and has previously denied reincarnation.) However, in March 2011, the Indian central government stated that the funds found in Karmapa's possession were legitimate donations, and released some of the travel restrictions on Ogyen Trinley Dorje, allowing him to travel out of Dharamsala
.
Centres and monasteries
Statements, interviews, documentaries, background material
Media coverage
Kagyu lineage
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 head of the Karma Kagyu
Karma Kagyu
Karma Kagyu , or Kamtsang Kagyu, is probably the largest and certainly the most widely practiced lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, Mongolia, India, Nepal, and Bhutan, and current...
sect 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...
, has been the subject of controversy. Since the death of the sixteenth Karmapa
Rangjung Rigpe Dorje
The sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje was spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism...
, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, in 1981, two candidates have been put forward:
- Ogyen Trinley Dorje (also spelled Urgyen Trinley Dorje)
- Trinley Thaye Dorje
Both have already been enthroned as 17th Karmapa, and both independently have been performing ceremonial duties in the role of a Karmapa. They have not met, though both have expressed a willingness and desire to meet. The situation has led to deep division among 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...
followers all over the world. As one academic expert in the field testified in court, while the recognition of Ogyen Trinley "appears to have been accepted by a majority of Karma Kagyu monasteries and lamas, there remains a substantial minority of monasteries and lamas who have not accepted Ogyen Trinley as Karmapa. In particular, these include the Shamar Rinpoche, who historically has been the person most directly involved in the process of recognition." It is difficult to produce an objective description of the events because the most important developments are known only from conflicting accounts by those involved.
The Karmapa lineage
Lineage
Lineage may refer to:- Science :* Lineage or kinship, descent group that can demonstrate their common descent from an apical ancestor or a direct line of decent from an ancestor....
is the most ancient tulku
Tulku
In Tibetan Buddhism, a tulku is a particular high-ranking lama, of whom the Dalai Lama is one, who can choose the manner of his rebirth. Normally the lama would be reincarnated as a human, and of the same sex as his predecessor. In contrast to a tulku, all other sentient beings including other...
lineage in Tibetan Buddhism, predating the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
lineage by more than two centuries. The lineage is an important one as the Karmapa is traditionally the head of the Karma Kagyu school.
Recognition of the Karmapa
As with any other lineage of tulkus, the question of recognizing the new incarnation is crucial. Sometimes, all concerned parties are sure that a particular child is indeed the new incarnation of that particular master. Such agreement was not the case with the 8th, 10th, and 12th Karmapas (each of which was resolved). A dispute has happened again in the case of the 17th Karmapa.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....
s have often been self-recognizing. That means that many incarnations (at least seven out of sixteen) claimed very early in life to be Karmapa, recognizing associates and colleagues of the previous incarnation. Also, each Karmapa has left indications leading to his next rebirth, often in the form of a letter. In such letters, indications regarding the location and parentage of the next incarnation were included, though usually in a poetic form that is difficult to decipher. However, the closest associates of the previous incarnation play a crucial role in the process of recognizing the next Karmapa. After all, it is they who have been closely associated with the previous incarnation and will have to raise and teach the new one.
The process of recognition has involved several different lamas since the first recognition in the early 13th century. Geoffrey Samuel writes that, "From the late 14th century onwards until the 1790s, the primary responsibility for recognising and enthroning the Karmapa normally belong to the Shamarpa." The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Karmapas were recognised by individual followers of the early Karmapas, rather than by any tulku. 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...
recognised the 5th, 6th, 9th (together with Tai Situ), 10th, 11th, and (via a search party) 12th Karmapas. Tai Situ recognised the 8th, 9th (together with the Shamarpa), 14th, and (together with Jamgon Kongtrul
Jamgon Kongtrul
Jamgön Kongtrül is a name of a prominent line of Tibetan Buddhist teachers , primarily identified with the first Jamgon Kongtrul, but also the name shared by members of a lineage held by tradition to be his subsequent reincarnations , to date....
) 16th Karmapas. Gyaltsab
Gyaltsab
Gyaltsab is a Tibetan word meaning "regent". The title specifically refers to the following religious figures:*Gyaltsab Je , the first Ganden Tripa;*Goshir Gyaltsab, a lineage of Karma Kagyu tulkus, the most recent of whom was born in 1954....
Rinpoche recognised the 7th and 13th Karmapas, and the 15th Karmapa was recognised by the 9th Drukchen of the Drukpa Kagyu.
In the 1790s, shortly before the recognition of the 14th Karmapa, the Tibetan government in Lhasa banned the Shamarpa from reincarnating as a result of alleged political intrigues. The Karmapa continued to recognize reincarnations of the Shamarpa, but they of necessity lived in secret and were not available to recognise the Karmapas. This ban became irrelevant when the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa both fled Tibet in the late 1950s. The ban was formally lifted in 1963.
Samuel points out that, in the cases of the 7th and 13th Karmapas, the Shamarpa of that time had died at around the same time as the previous Karmapa, meaning that there was no adult Shamarpa available to take part in the recognition. Thus, Samuel argues that "the only real exception" to the Shamarpa's preeminent role, prior to his banning, was in the recognition of the 8th Karmapa in 1506. Tai Situ has been the next most actively involved in recognising Karmapas, including two of the three recognised between 1790 and 1963.
Split recognition of the current Karmapa
Of the two 17th Karmapas, Ogyen Trinley Dorje has been recognized by Situ Rinpoche and Gyaltsab Rinpoche. In July 1992, both asked the Office of the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala to confirm their recognition. The 14th Dalai Lama confirmed the recognition of Ogyen Trinley Dorje. According to tradition the Dalai Lama does not have any role in the recognition of the Karmapa or the Karma Kagyu school in general. In February 1997, Shamar Rinpoche stated:- This amounts to a medieval dictatorial command and I understand that this is the approach that you desire. But it is completely unacceptable to me … Therefore, my final request to the Private Office of the Dalai Lama is that [it] does not involve His Holiness's name in this problematic issue … with respect to our lineage it is up to us, who are part of that lineage, to achieve its aims … you ought to be cautious in your undertakings!
The head of the Sakya school, Sakya Trizin
Sakya Trizin
Sakya Trizin or Sa'gya Gongma Rinboqê is the traditional title of the head of the Sakya Order of Tibetan Buddhism.The Sakya Order of Tibetan Buddhism was founded in 1073, when Khon Konchog Gyalpo , a member of Tibet’s noble Khön family, established a monastery in the region of Sakya, Tibet,...
, as well as the future head of the Nyingma school, Mindroling Trichen Rinpoche, also recognised Ogyen Trinley Dorje as the reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa and composed long-life prayers for him. The government of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
has also accepted him.
The first born Karmapa, Trinley Thaye Dorje, has been recognized by Shamar Rinpoche
Mipham Chokyi Lodro
Mipham Chokyi Lodro is the 14th and current Shamarpa. He is also known as Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche. He is the second most important teacher of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism after the Karmapa...
- regarded by some as the senior lama in the Karma Kagyu hierarchy just below the Karmapa.
Beru Khentse Rinpoche holds a distinct minority view, saying he believes both Karmapas are legitimate. He states "it is possible that there can be two Karmapas in order to benefit sentient beings because the Karmapa can manifest in many different forms" and writes that the 14th Karmapa highlighted that "in many universes a hundred million Karmapas have manifested. The Karmapa is also the Buddha's emanation, thus until all the thousand Buddhas have come and their doctrine is not diminishing, my activity of the Karmapa emanations will not end."
Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche
Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche
Tulku Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche is a Tibetan Buddhist lama.-Life:Born in 1951, in Nakchukha Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche is the son of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche who is considered one of the greatest Dzogchen masters of our time. When he was only eighteen months of age, Rinpoche was recognized as the seventh...
said that "as far as my father [i.e., Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche . A contemporary Buddhist master of the Kagyü and Nyingma lineages, who lived at Nagi Gompa hermitage in Nepal, Urgyen Rinpoche was considered one of the greatest Dzogchen masters of our time.-Life:...
] was concerned, they were both to be respected and perceived with pure appreciation."
For followers on both sides of this controversy, the issue is painful. Both sides pray that the rightful Karmapa may be able to do his dharmic duties and teachings. Karma 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...
teachers such as Ole Nydahl
Ole Nydahl
Ole Nydahl is a lama in the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism under guidance of Trinley Thaye Dorje. Since the early 1970s, Nydahl has toured the world giving lectures and meditation courses. With his wife, Hannah Nydahl, he founded Diamond Way Buddhism, a worldwide lay organization of Karma...
have said that the spiritual realization of the Karmapas and their worthiness as reincarnations will be shown clearly by their future actions.
Ogyen Trinley Dorje
Ogyen Trinley Dorje was born in 1985 to a nomadic family in eastern TibetTibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
. At age seven, he was formally enthroned at Tsurphu Monastery
Tsurphu Monastery
Tsurphu Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery which served as the traditional seat of the Karmapa. It is located in Gurum town of Doilungdêqên County in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, 70 km from Lhasa. The monastery is about 14,000 feet above sea level...
, the traditional seat of the Karmapas in Tibet. In late December 1999, he eluded his communist Chinese minders, who prevented him from undertaking most of his traditional studies and teaching activities, and escaped over the Himalaya mountains to exile in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He celebrated his twenty-first birthday on June 26, 2006. He has since 2002 hosted and lectured in the Kagyu Monlam Chemno, a major prayer activities gathering held in Bodhgaya every year end in which major Kagyu masters and lamas participate.
Circumstances leading to candidacy
After the death of the 16th Karmapa, Shamar Rinpoche, Tai Situ Rinpoche, Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, and Goshir Gyaltsab Rinpoche agreed to form a council of regents to take joint responsibility for the spiritual affairs of the Karma Kagyu lineage, alternating as the regent for the Karmapa every three years. This regency was, however, dissolved by mutual consent in 1984 having only functioned for three years after the 16th Karmapa's death.Supporters of Ogyen Trinley Dorje claim that his birth and parentage are consistent with the prediction by Chogyur Lingpa, who, it is claimed, had prophetic visions of various events in the lives of the 14th through the 21st Karmapas. Many believe that Lingpa's statement that the minds of Tai Situpa and Karmapa "are inseparably joined as one" refers to the 17th Karmapa and the current Tai Situ Rinpoche. "The description ... is meant to show there is disagreement in this reincarnation and the mind of the 17th Karmapa and the mind of Tai Situ Rinpoche are inseparable from each other," explains the Kagyu Lama Thrangu Rinpoche
Thrangu Rinpoche
Thrangu Rinpoche was born in 1933 in Kham, Tibet. He is a prominent tulku in the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, the ninth reincarnation in his particular line. His full name and title is the Very Venerable Ninth Khenchen Thrangu Tulku, Karma Lodrö Lungrik Mahamadarchod Maway Senge...
, who is one of Ogyen Trinley Dorje's tutors. Although according to Thrangu Rinpoche the 16th Karmapa left two letters specifying a rebirth in Tibet, it is yet another prediction document, hidden in a locket and given to Tai Situpa, that has prompted criticism from the rival claimant's camp. Supporters of Thaye Dorje have contended that Tai Situ Rinpoche fabricated this letter; to date he has refused requests to have it scientifically analyzed, claiming this would be a violation of a sacred object.
It has been argued, however, that this prediction was already fulfilled with the 16th Karmapa who, in a sense, was the 17th. This is supported by Chogyur Lingpa's life story, where he explains that one Karmapa died too early to be enthroned, and that as to Chogyur Lingpa's view, he needs to be included when enumerating the Karmapas. As Chogyur Lingpa is also the source of the prediction, the argument has, according to supporters of Thaye Dorje, persuasive force and means that the described event of the prediction took place between the then Karmapa and Situpa during the life of the 16th Karmapa. The counter-argument is that, if the prophecy refers to the relationship between Karmapa Ranjung Rigpe Dorje (commonly called the 16th Karmapa) and the 12th Tai Situ Rinpoche, then that would make the 12th Tai Situpa the principal disciple (or Heart Son) of the previous Karmapa, the 42nd member of the Kagyu Golden Rosary, and the final authority on the recognition of the next Karmapa.
In January 1981, nine months before his death, the 12th Tai Situpa claims that the 16th Karmapa gave him an amulet with a yellow brocade cover, telling him, "This is your protection amulet. In the future, it will confer great benefit." Although Tai Situpa wore the locket on a gold chain for about a year after the Karmapa's death, he moved it to a side pocket, not realizing its significance or that it contained a message. Tai Situpa claims that he followed an intuition to open the amulet in 1989 and found the third prediction letter, inside an envelope marked "Open in the Metal Horse Year." This letter said that the Karmapa was to be reborn "to the north, in the east of the land of snow," and when interpreted at the March 1992 meeting of the council of the four regents, was taken to mean that he would be reborn in a specific valley in eastern Tibet. The letter is reproduced on the Kagyu Office website, and reads in part:
- From here to the north [in] the east of [the Land of] Snow
- Is a country where divine thunder spontaneously blazes.
- [In] a beautiful nomad's place with the sign of a cow,
- The method is Döndrub and the wisdom is Lolaga.
- [Born in] the year of the one used for the earth
- [With] the miraculous, far-reaching sound of the white one:
- [This] is the one known as Karmapa.
Ogyen Trinley Dorje's mother's name is Loga; his father's name is Karma Döndrub Tashi, a name given to him by the 16th Karmapa. Both of Ogyen Trinley Dorje's parents' names were similar to the names in the letter produced by Tai Situpa. According to Michele Martin, the letter was interpreted to mean he would be "born ... in the area of Lhathok, which translates as 'divine (lha) thunder (thog).' The name of the remote nomadic community where Ogyen Trinley Dorje was born is Bagor, of which ba means 'cow.' The next line indicates his parents, where the masculine principle method refers to his father Döndrub, and the feminine principle wisdom refers to his mother Lolaga. The one used for the earth points to an animal that plows, and Ogyen Trinley Dorje was born in the year of the Wood Ox (1985). The far-reaching sound of the white one indicates the sound of the conch shell that is said to have miraculously resounded in the sky for hours after Ogyen Trinley's birth."
On May 22, 1992, one month before his seventh birthday, Ogyen Trinley Dorje was discovered near Bagor, Lhathok, in Eastern Tibet. According to the Kagyu official website:
- After consideration of the evidence and additional meetings with Their Eminences Tai Situ Rinpoche, Tsurphu Gyaltsab Rinpoche and Shamar Rinpoche, His Holiness the Dalai Lama granted the Buktham Rinpoche, the official notification of the Dalai Lama's approval of the identity of His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa.
On September 27, 1992, Ogyen Trinley Dorje was formally enthroned at Tsurphu Monastery
Tsurphu Monastery
Tsurphu Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery which served as the traditional seat of the Karmapa. It is located in Gurum town of Doilungdêqên County in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, 70 km from Lhasa. The monastery is about 14,000 feet above sea level...
in Tibet, the traditional seat of the Karmapas, in a ceremony attended by 20,000 people. He lived in Tsurphu another seven years. In late 1999, 14-year-old Ogyen Trinley Dorje decided that the restrictions placed on him by the PRC government at Tsurphu limited his ability to teach his disciples and receive teachings from lineage masters. He made a daring escape over the Himalayas in the middle of winter, evading Chinese authorities and making his way through Nepal and on to Dharamsala
Dharamsala
Dharamshala or Dharamsala is a city in northern India. It was formerly known as Bhagsu; it is the winter seat of government of the state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of the Kangra district....
, India, arriving on January 5, 2000.
Analysts have speculated that this retreat to India was predicted by the 16th Karmapa in his 1940 work entitled "A Song":
- In the springtime, a cuckoo comes as a guest.
- In the fall when the harvest ripens,
- it knows where to go:
- Its only thought is travel to the east of India.
- In the lofty land of Tibet, the inhabitants, high and low,
- And in particular, you, Tai Situ, the Lord and
- Protector Maitreya,
- Who remains above the crown of our head,
- May your activities, like the sun and moon set in space,
- Be continuous, stable, and without hindrance.
- I pray that we meet again and again.
According to interpretation, the "spring...cuckoo" is equated to the cuckoo that landed on the tent where Ogyen Trinley Dorje was born - one of the miraculous signs said to have accompanied his birth. The "fall...harvest" is interpreted as Ogyen Trinley Dorje's adult travel "east" to "India." Above all, the supplication to Tai Situ Rinpoche and the prayer to "meet again and again" strongly suggests to his supporters that he is indeed the legitimate tulku, should the letter be authentic.
Trinley 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...
was born on 6 May 1983 in Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
, Tibet. His father is Mipham Rinpoche, the reincarnation of a very important 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...
of the Nyingma
Nyingma
The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...
school.
At age eleven, he was formally enthroned at the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute in New Delhi.
Circumstances leading to candidacy
In October 1986 Chobgye Tri Rinpoche, senior Sakya master and head of one of the three Sakya lineages, contacted the ShamarpaShamarpa
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...
and informed him about a dream he had had and about a relative of his from Lhasa who brought a picture of a child who reportedly and repeatedly announced that he was the Karmapa. In 1988 Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche was sent to obtain more information about the child.
Later an unnamed lama was sent to meet with the family and the boy without revealing the real purpose of his visit. Upon meeting with the emissary the boy promptly said "You were sent here for me." This along with other evidence convinced the Shamarpa that the boy was indeed the reincarnation of the late 16th Karmapa.
In March 1994, Thaye Dorje escaped with his family from Tibet and travelled to New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
where he was formally recognized during a welcoming ceremony. He took monastic ordination from Chobgye Tri Rinpoche and is at present undergoing a very intensive education under the guidance of Shamar Rinpoche, also studying under teachers such as Prof. Sempa Dorje, Khenpo Chödrak Rinpoche and others. Fluent in English, he also travels extensively in the East and the West to give lectures.
Thaye Dorje's supporters claim that the Shamarpa is fully authorised to recognise the Karmapa, and therefore no additional recognition is required or even valid.
Karma Pakshi, the 2nd Karmapa, predicted "future Karmapas shall manifest in two Nirmanakaya forms." The 3rd Karmapa recognized the 1st Shamarpa as the fulfillment of this prophecy, giving the Shamar incarnates a special relationship with the Karmapas. This is supported among others by old Kagyu literature where one frequently finds the expression of the 2 Karmapas, black and red hat. Also, when referring to former reincarnation of the Shamarpa, these are often called Karmapa and can only differentiated from former Karmapa reincarnations by their name.
Supporters of Thaye Dorje accuse Tai Situpa of forging
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
the letter ostensibly written by the 16th Karmapa and hidden in a locket, containing clues about his new incarnation. They have requested that the letter be verified by independent experts including forensic document examiners
Questioned document examination
Questioned document examination is the forensic science discipline pertaining to documents that are in dispute in a court of law...
. Tai Situ has thus far refused to allow this claiming it would be a violation of a sacred object.
Well aware of Chogyur Lingpa's predictions about the 17th Karmapas, supporters of Thaye Dorje suggest the prediction was already fulfilled with the 16th Karmapa, who actually was the 17th, even though only 16 had been officially enthroned. This claim may sound odd, but is supported by Chogyur Lingpa's life story, where he explains that one Karmapa died too early to be enthroned, and that as to Chogyur Lingpa's view, he needs to be included when listing the Karmapas.
Although followers of Ogyen Trinley Dorje point out that he was the only candidate enthroned in Tibet, both claimants were born in Tibet and so the prediction about the return to Tibet within these two letters is fulfilled by both claimants.
As has been verified in the context of a law case in New Zealand by Prof. Geoffrey Samuel, the Dalai Lama’s recognition is not necessary for the Karmapas. At the same time, Tomek Lehnert's book claims the Dalai Lama was tricked into recognizing Ogyen Trinley by Tai Situpa who told him that all four Kagyu regents agreed he was the right candidate.
Dawa Sangpo Dorje
There have been other claimants to the title who are less well known or widely supported. One such person is Dawa Sangpo Dorje, who was born in Mangan in north SikkimSikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
in 1977 (before the death of the 16th Karmapa) and subsequently resided in Damthang in South Sikkim. As recently as December 2003 he requested the opportunity to prove his "supernatural power" to the Dalai Lama.
Recent developments
Rumtek Monastery
Rumtek , also called the Dharmachakra Centre, is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located in the Indian state of Sikkim near the capital Gangtok...
, which was the seat of the 16th Karmapa in exile, has been the subject of a legal contest. In 1961 the 16th Karmapa established the Karmapa Charitable Trust. Ogyen Trinley's followers claimed that the trust was solely established for the sake of seeing to the welfare of the Karmapa's followers, providing funds for the maintenance of the monastery, and for the monks' medical fees, but that administration of the monastery was the responsibility of the Tsurphu Labrang. The Indian Supreme Court is currently considering a related case.
According to both the official Shamarpa website and an official Ogyen Trinley Dorje website, Ogyen Trinley Dorje met with the Shamarpa in the Oberoi International Hotel in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
on 9 January 2007. Ogyen Trinley Dorje had mentioned his desire to meet the Shamarpa, and requested Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche
Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche
Tulku Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche is a Tibetan Buddhist lama.-Life:Born in 1951, in Nakchukha Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche is the son of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche who is considered one of the greatest Dzogchen masters of our time. When he was only eighteen months of age, Rinpoche was recognized as the seventh...
arrange a personal meeting with him. The Shamarpa had declined the first invitation in 2005, which was received by telephone call from Drikung Chetsang Rinpoche, because to have accepted it "at that time would invite unwarranted suspicions from the India government upon himself." According to Dawa Tsering, spokesperson for the administration of Shamar Rinpoche, "He (Urgyen Trinley Dorje) was confident that this meeting would bring peace in the Kagyu School in general and thus help in flourishing Buddha Dharma. This meeting has created a basis to re-unite all in the Dharma Sangha. Therefore, such an initiative should be appreciated by all."
In 2008 there were numerous speculations that Ogyen Trinley Dorje may become the successor of the Dalai Lama (but not as Dalai Lama), as the spiritual leader of the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.
According to the message of International Karma Kagyu Buddhist Organization published on www.karmapa-issue.org: "To underscore his willingness to be supportive, Shamar Rinpoche even provided the necessary help for Ugyen Trinlay Dorje to obtain Indian government’s approval for his recent visit to the U.S., though at the same time maintaining the stance that Thrinlay Thaye Dorje is the traditional Karmapa."
The Dalai Lama and Shamar Rinpoche met on the 13th of August, 2010 at the Dalai Lama's residence to discuss ways of ending the controversy. Shamarpa wrote, "Although this matter is not easily resolved, since it is connected to the politics of China and India as well, with His Holiness Dalai Lama’s blessing and support I am confident that there will be an amicable solution, which will be beneficial for the Karma Kagyü lineage, as well as for Tibetan Buddhism in general."
In February 2011, Ogyen Trinley Dorje was accused of being a Chinese spy by elements of the government of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, due in part to the fact that $1 million cash was found in his monastery, part of it in Chinese yuan. (The Chinese government had recognized Ogyen Trinley Dorje as "the first reincarnated Living Buddha confirmed and approved by the Central Government of the People's Republic of China after the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951," which is in itself unusual since the Chinese government is secular, Communist and has previously denied reincarnation.) However, in March 2011, the Indian central government stated that the funds found in Karmapa's possession were legitimate donations, and released some of the travel restrictions on Ogyen Trinley Dorje, allowing him to travel out of Dharamsala
Dharamsala
Dharamshala or Dharamsala is a city in northern India. It was formerly known as Bhagsu; it is the winter seat of government of the state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of the Kangra district....
.
External links
Personal homepages- Kagyu Office website and page about Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje
- The site of the Tai Situpa
- Site of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
- Home Page of Karmapa Thaye Dorje
- Home Page of Shamarpa
Centres and monasteries
- The website of Rumtek Monastery
- Office of Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje's center and branches in the United States, Karma Triyana Dharmachakra
- List of centers associated with Thaye Dorje
Statements, interviews, documentaries, background material
- Interview with Thrangu RinpocheThrangu RinpocheThrangu Rinpoche was born in 1933 in Kham, Tibet. He is a prominent tulku in the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, the ninth reincarnation in his particular line. His full name and title is the Very Venerable Ninth Khenchen Thrangu Tulku, Karma Lodrö Lungrik Mahamadarchod Maway Senge...
on the 17th Karmapa recognitions - Reference Materials about the Seventeenth Karmapa
- Home Page of the Karmapa Documentary Project
- The Karmapa Issue website - information on the 17th Karmapa recognitions
- "The Truth About the Karmapa Controversy", by Shamar Rinpoche
- HH Karmapa Thaye Dorje meets HH Sakya Trizin
- Answers to Questions about the new Karmapa
- August 13th, 2010: Shamar Rinpoche met with His Holiness Dalai Lama
- additional background material, press articles, statements, book reviews...
Media coverage
- Asia Times: India, Sikkim, China and a vexing Tibetan lama
- BBC News story: Who is the Karmapa Lama?
- New York Times:China Creates Specter of Dueling Dalai Lamas
Kagyu lineage