Karmapa controversy

There are currently two supported candidates—Ogyen Trinley Dorje and Trinley Thaye Dorje—for the title of the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the 900-year-old Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. The controversy initially caused a divisive lineage split in the early 1990s that was mired in public accusations of impropriety from both sides for several years thereafter.[1][2][3] As the discord settled, both candidates began fulfilling the spiritual roles of the Karmapa with two separate sets of organizations and highly recognized teachers (lamas) supporting each of their activity.

Ogyen Trinley Dorje
Trinley Thaye Dorje

In 2018, Ogyen Trinley Dorje and Trinley Thaye Dorje met for the first time to begin creating a personal relationship with one another and to encourage their spiritual communities to heal the divisions and join in efforts to help preserve the Karma Kagyu tradition.[4][5][6][7][8][9] In 2020, they jointly announced they would work together to find the next incarnation of the Shamar Rinpoche, historically considered as central to the Karma Kagyu lineage as the Karmapa.[10][11][12]

The Karmapas have historically held an outsized spiritual influence on Tibetan Buddhism on par with the political authority that 14th Dalai Lama holds today.[13] That was not lost on the Chinese government, which sought to control the 17th Karmapa as it successfully did with the 11th Panchen Lama of the Dalai Lama's Gelugkpa lineage. The previous Karmapa, the widely-renowned 16th Gyalwa Karmapa who guided the lineage out of Tibet and into the western world, also needed to escape amid creeping Chinese governmental control and faced controversy during his childhood recognition.

Many essential facts still remain under dispute and are the subject of several books, which typically support a particular candidate. One central piece of evidence in the recognition of the 17th Karmapa is a prediction letter left by the 16th Karmapa that indicated the location and circumstances of his rebirth. The letter supports the case for Ogyen Trinley Dorje, but supporters of Trinley Thaye Dorje doubt its authenticity.

Background

Controversies with previous Karmapa recognitions

The recognition of the Karmapa incarnations are of central importance in the Karma Kagyu lineage. The 8th, 10th, and 12th incarnations, as well as the widely-renowned 16th Karmapa, each faced controversy during their recognition, which was ultimately resolved.[14]

Current Karmapa controversy history and objections from both sides

The history of the current Karmapa controversy has primarily revolved around the 14th Shamar Rinpoche, who eventually found and backed Trinley Thaye Dorje, and the 12th Tai Situpa and the 12th Goshir Gyaltsab Rinpoche, who supported the initial Karmapa candidate, Ogyen Trinley Dorje.

Passing of 16th Karmapa and initial search committee
14th Kunzig Shamarpa
3rd Jamgon Kongtrul
12th Tai Situpa

Following the death of the 16th Karmapa in 1981 a regency of the four highest remaining members of the Karma Kagyu lineage at that time was formed[15][16]:

This regency was dissolved by 1984, however, the four rinpoches still referred to themselves as "regents" for years to come, which planted seeds for later confusion over who had the authority to recognize the next Karmapa.[17][18][19] As years went by, the pressure to find the next incarnation of the Karmapa mounted.[20][21][22]

Discovery of each candidate

Discovery and recognition of Ogyen Trinley Dorje

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. 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:[23]

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 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.[24] 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.[25]

Discovery and recognition of Trinley Thaye Dorje

In October 1986 Chobgye Tri Rinpoche, senior Sakya master and head of one of the three Sakya lineages, contacted the Shamarpa 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 traveled 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.

Case for each candidate: points of contention

Prediction letter left by the 16th Karmapa

Case for Ogyen Trinley Dorje

The final prediction letter discovered by Tai Situpa accurate described where to find Ogyen Trinley Dorje website and reads in part,[26] :

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 one of the predictions letters 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."[27]

Case for Trinley Thaye Dorje

The authenticity was the prediction letters was question by Shamar Rinpoche and those supporting Trinley Thaye Dorje, who requested that forensic handwriting analysis be done on the letter to confirm that it was indeed the 16th Karmapa who authored the document.[28]

Authority to recognize Karmapa

Case for Ogyen Trinley Dorje

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 16th 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.

In "A Song":[29] the 16th Karmapa writes in 1940:

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.

Case for Trinley Thaye Dorje

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.

Although followers of Ogyen Trinley Dorje point out that he was the only candidate enthroned in Tibet, both claimants were born in Tibet[according to whom?] and so the prediction about the return to Tibet within these two letters is fulfilled by both claimants.

The 16th Karmapa clearly denominated Shamarpa as "sovereign" of the lineage when he wrote in 1964:

"The most exalted, the lord of the lands of snow is Avalokiteśvara.
The coalescence of his essence is the glorious Karmapa.
Inseparable from his three mysteries, in the manner of the three lords,
Is his manifestation, the great emanation; the majestic sun,
Whom I invest now sovereign of the practice lineage's order.
By the power of scattering auspicious flowers of excellent virtue
Combined with the true words of the ṛiṣhi's truthfulness
May he successfully and everlastingly be the sovereign of the order." [30]

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."[31] 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 Gyalwang Drukpa of the Drukpa Kagyu.[31]

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.[31] 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

Geoffrey Samuel, an 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."[32] 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.

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. His recognition of Ogyen Trinley Dorje as the Karmapa is, in part, attributed to a dream he had of Ogyen Trinley Dorje's birthplace. As stated by the Dalai Lama, in this dream he saw a valley at a higher latitude with multiple streams and other features. Then, in the dream, a voice with no form or body said that this was the place the Karmapa was born.[33]

Other major teachers of the Karma Kagyu lineage (e.g. the 7th Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, the 9th Thrangu Rinpoche, the 7th Mingyur Rinpoche, and the 9th Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche) also hold Ogyen Trinley Dorje to be the 17th Karmapa.

For the government of the People's Republic of China, Ogyen Trinley Dorje is the 17th Karmapa.[34][35]

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), Lama Jigme Rinpoche,[36] Topga Yulgyal Rinpoche, Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche, Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche, the Venerable Khenchen Rinpoche Drupon Trinley Paljor, and the Fourth Trungram Gyaltrul Rinpoche.

Beru Khyentse Rinpoche holds a distinct minority view, saying he believes both Karmapas are legitimate.[37] 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."[38]

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."[39]

Recent developments

Court battle over Rumtek Monestary
Rumtek Monastery

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.[40][41]

Ogyen Trinley Dorje meeting with Shamar Rinpoche in 2007

According to both the official Shamarpa website[42] and an official Ogyen Trinley Dorje website,[43] 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 as Tibetan Buddhism's representative (but not as Dalai Lama).[44][45][46]

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."[47]

Dalai Lama and Shamar Rinpoche meet in 2010

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." [48]

India calls Ogyen Trinley Dorje a Chinese spy in 2011

In February 2011, Ogyen Trinley Dorje was accused of being a Chinese spy by officials of the government of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh,[49] 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,"[50] 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.[51]

Ogyen Trinley Dorje announces break from dharma activities in 2018

In March 2018 Ogyen Trinley Dorje published a video on his official Youtube channel. It was translated by official translator David Karma Choephel. In the video he sets the course for a temporary break from his activities. He proclaims his personal doubt of being as skilled as the previous Karmapas[52] and asks the community to reconcile the division of the Karma Kagyu Lineage [53]

Two Karmapas meet in 2018

In early October of 2018, Ogyen Trinley Dorje and Trinley Thaye Dorje met for a few days at a rural location in France. On October 11, they issued a joint statement:

We are both very pleased to have had this opportunity to meet and get to know each other in a peaceful and relaxed environment. We both had this wish for many years, and we are gratified that this wish has now been fulfilled.

The purpose of our meeting was primarily to spend time together so that we could establish a personal relationship. We were able to talk together freely and to learn about each other for the first time. We were thus able to begin what we expect will develop into a strong connection.

While we were together we also talked about ways that we could work to heal the divisions that have unfortunately developed within our precious Karma Kagyu lineage in recent years. We view it as our duty and responsibility to do whatever we can to bring the lineage together.

This undertaking is critically important for the future of the Karma Kagyu lineage as well as for the future of Tibetan Buddhism and the benefit of all sentient beings. We therefore ask everyone within the Karma Kagyu community to join us in our efforts to strengthen and preserve our lineage. We view it as our collective responsibility to restore harmony to our tradition which is a lineage of wisdom and compassion.[54]

Notes
  1. Rinpoche, Thrangu (24 May 2000). "THE KARMAPA CONTROVERSY". Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  2. Lehnert, Tomek (1998). Rogues in Robes: An Inside Chronicle of a Recent Chinese-Tibetan Intrigue in the Karma Kagyu Lineage of Diamond Way Buddhism. Blue Dolphin Publishing. p. 42. ISBN 9781577330264.
  3. Nydahl, Lama Ole (2011). Riding the Tiger, Twenty Years on the Road: The Risks and Joys of Bringing Tibetan Buddhism to the West (3rd ed.). Blue Dolphin Publishing. p. 135-137. ISBN 0931892678.
  4. Kagyu Office France, "Communiqué conjoint de Sa Sainteté Ogyèn Trinlé Dorjé et Sa Sainteté Trinlé Thayé Dorjé", 11 October 2018 [posted 12 Octobre 2018], http://www.kagyuoffice-fr.org/17e_karmapa/
  5. Joint Statement of HH Thaye Dorje and HH Ogyen Trinley Dorje, 11 October 2018, https://www.karmapa.org/joint-statement-of-his-holiness-trinley-thaye-dorje-and-his-holiness-ogyen-trinley-dorje/
  6. Atwood, Haleigh (11 October 2018). "Two claimants to "Karmapa" title release joint statement calling for unity". Lion's Roar. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  7. Lefferts, Gabriel (11 October 2018). "Karmapas Unite". Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  8. editor, T. J. (12 October 2018). "Two Karmapas Meet for the First Time in France, Issues Joint Statement". Tibetan Journal. Retrieved 24 July 2020.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  9. 12 Oct, TNN | Updated; 2018; Ist, 2:34. "In a first, two claimants to Karmapa title meet for talks | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 July 2020.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. Emily Dimao Newton, "Karmapas Work Together to Identify Reincarnated Lama", Tricycle, 18 February 2020, https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/karmapas-work-together/
  11. The Kunzig Shamarpas of Tibet. Yeshe Dronma Narrates. 1992. p. 11. ASIN B0000CP1YA.
  12. "Shamar Rinpoche". Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  13. Levine, Norma (2013). The Miraculous 16th Karmapa, Incredible Encounters with the Black Crown Buddha. Shang Shung Publications. p. 62. ISBN 978-88-7834-133-3. In East Tibet they have independent small kingdoms; they accept the Dalai Lama as just a Lama. They don’t accept him as king for all of Tibet because they have many separate kingdoms. For example my parents are not Karma Kagyu followers but belong to another lineage, the Drigung Kagyu, but I remember when I was a child they were always praying to the Karmapa. Similarly, all over Tibet, Karmapa is like the Buddha. -Ayang Rinpoche
  14. Rinpoche, Thrangu. "THE KARMAPA CONTROVERSY". Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  15. Martin, Michele (2003). Music in the Sky: The Life, Art, and Teachings of the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje. Snow Lion Publications. p. 293. ISBN 1-55939-195-2.
  16. Curren, Erik (2006). Buddha's Not Smiling: Uncovering Corruption at the Heart of Tibetan Buddhism Today. Motilal Banarsidass. p. xi-xii,119. ISBN 978-81-208-3331-9.
  17. Curren, Erik (2006). Buddha's Not Smiling: Uncovering Corruption at the Heart of Tibetan Buddhism Today. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 119. ISBN 978-81-208-3331-9.
  18. Lehnert, Tomek (1998). Rogues in Robes: An Inside Chronicle of a Recent Chinese-Tibetan Intrigue in the Karma Kagyu Lineage of Diamond Way Buddhism. Blue Dolphin Publishing. pp. 36–37. ISBN 9781577330264.
  19. Wong, Sylvia (2010). "The Karmapa Prophecies". Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 161, 194–195. ISBN 978-81-208-3480-4.
  20. Terhune, Lea. Karmapa: The Politics of Reincarnation. Wisdom Publications. p. 173. ISBN 9780861711802. Pressure was mounting from people impatient for the new Karmapa to be identified. It had been ten years since the Sixteenth Karmapa had died. Letters began to arrive at Rumtek from various Tibetan organizations in different parts of India, Nepal and Bhutan asking pointed questions.
  21. Curren, Erik (2006). Buddha's Not Smiling: Uncovering Corruption at the Heart of Tibetan Buddhism Today. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 120. ISBN 978-81-208-3331-9. In exile, the Karmapa search would become more democratic and open, but also more chaotic. From the death of the sixteenth Karmapa in 1981, pressure mounted on Rumtek to find his successor. By the mideighties, it seemed to the lamas at Rumtek that everybody had an opinion about how to find the Karmapa, and everybody had a right to voice their opinion. People from all over the Himalayas proposed their infants or unborn children as candidates. The committee began by researching the merits of these claims, some of which were implausible to the point of ridicule. One Sikkimese boy was born three years before the sixteenth Karmapa's death, an obvious disqualification.
  22. Hannah: Buddhism’s Untold Journey (Motion picture). Connected Pictures. 2014. Event occurs at 53:43.
  23. Table of Contents: Biographical Materials at the Kagyu Office Website Archived 2004-10-13 at the Wayback Machine
  24. "Press Statement from His Holiness the Seventeenth Gyalwa Karmapa Orgyen Trinley Dorje". Retrieved 2011-02-03.
  25. Biographical Information on the 17th Karmapa - the Karmapa website Archived 2004-10-18 at the Wayback Machine
  26. "The Sacred Letter of Prediction of HH the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa - Biographical Background Information - the Karmapa website". Archived from the original on 2004-10-11. Retrieved 2004-09-20.
  27. Music in the Sky: The Life, Art, and Teaching of the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, Michele Martin. Snow Lion Publications 2003, ISBN 1-55939-195-2
  28. Nesterenko, Michel (1992). The Karmapa Papers (Report). p. 71. Fortunately, we had more than 30 letters handwritten by H.H. the 16th Karmapa dating from the 1970's to the 1981, shortly before he passed away. We asked several Tibetans for comparison who confirmed that the letter, at first sight, looked as if written by His Holiness. But this impression seemed to vanish the more they went into the details, especially for people very familiar with H.H. the 16th Karmapa's handwriting.
  29. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2008-02-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  30. Longlife prayer for Shamarpa, included in the collected writings of the 16th Karmapa (sung bum), cit. in: "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-01-09. Retrieved 2016-01-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  31. Affirmation of Geoffrey Brian Samuel in Reply Archived 2005-10-22 at the Wayback Machine, Affirmed 11 November 2004. pp. 17-18. Statement of Professor Geoffrey Samuel, submitted as part of a court case in Australia. Samuel cites his source as Douglas and White, The Black Hat Lama of Tibet, 1976: 31-110, which summarises information primarily from the Tibetan text zla wa chu shel gyi phreng ba
  32. https://karmapaissue.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/affirm-geoffrey-samuel.pdf
  33. "Dalai Lama's Prophetic Dream About the Karmapa's Rebirth"
  34. KARMAPA LAMA Archived 2010-12-15 at the Wayback Machine - China Facts and Details
  35. "The Reincarnation of the Living Buddhas". Archived from the original on 2019-05-03. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  36. "Lama Jigme Rinpoche". Dhagpo Kagyu Ling. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  37. Letter to International Dharma Community Nov 03 - Kagyu Rime Dharjay Choling Archived 2007-02-23 at the Wayback Machine
  38. "Letter to International Dharma Community from His Eminence Beru Khyentse Rinpoche. November, 2003". Archived from the original on 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  39. "The speech given at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche on the third day of the Tibetan New Year, 2006". Rangjung Yeshe Publications. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  40. Indian Supreme Court decision on Rumtek
  41. Rebuttal to 2004 Rumtek ownership claim
  42. Letters and Statements Archived 2007-02-06 at the Wayback Machine
  43. Dharma Chakra Centre-Welcome
  44. Article: International Herald Tribune: Tibetan Buddhism's next leader? by Barbara Crossette, April 7, 2008
  45. Article: International Herald Tribune: Tibetans in exile debate independence by Edward Wong, November 21, 2008
  46. Article: Deseret News 17th Karmapa may succeed Dalai Lama by Tim Johnson, Nov. 29, 2008
  47. Message of IKKBO by K. Wangchuk, May 23, 2008
  48. Official website of HH The 17th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje
  51. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-04-15. Retrieved 2011-03-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  52. Karmapa (2018-03-09), Special Message from His Holiness the Karmapa, retrieved 2018-03-16
  53. Greenblatt, Lilly (2018-03-15). "Karmapa shares personal struggles, calls for reconciliation in his community". Lion's Roar. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
  54. https://kagyuoffice.org/joint-statement-of-his-holiness-ogyen-trinley-dorje-and-his-holiness-trinley-thaye-dorje/

References

SUPPORTING OGYEN TRINLEY DORJE CANDIDACY:

  • The Dance of 17 Lives: The Incredible True Story of Tibet's 17th Karmapa, Mick Brown, Bloomsbury 2004, ISBN 0-7475-7161-9.
  • His Holiness The 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje: A Biography, Ken Holmes, Altea Publishing 1995, ISBN 0-9524555-4-4.
  • Karmapa: The Politics of Reincarnation, Lea Terhune, Wisdom Publications 2004, ISBN 0-86171-180-7.
  • Music in the Sky: The Life, Art, and Teaching of the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, Michele Martin. Snow Lion Publications 2003, ISBN 1-55939-195-2.

SUPPORTING TRINLEY THAYE DORJE CANDIDACY:

  • Buddha's Not Smiling: Uncovering Corruption at the Heart of Tibetan Buddhism Today, Erik Curren, Motilal Banarsidass 2006, ISBN 9781577330264.
  • Hannah: Buddhism's Untold Journey, (Motion Picture), Connected Pictures 2014.
  • The Karmapa Prophecies, Sylvia Wong, Motilal Banarsidass 2010, ISBN 978-81-208-3480-4.
  • Riding the Tiger, Twenty Years on the Road: The Risks and Joys of Bringing Tibetan Buddhism to the West, Lama Ole Nydahl, Blue Dolphin Publishing 2011, ISBN 0931892678.
  • Rogues in Robes: An Inside Chronicle of a Recent Chinese-Tibetan Intrigue in the Karma Kagyu Lineage of Diamond Way Buddhism, Tomek Lehnert, Blue Dolphin Publishing 2000, ISBN 1-57733-026-9.

Further reading
  • Karmapa, the Black Hat Lama of Tibet by Nik Douglas and Meryl White (1975) ISBN 0-7189-0187-8
  • The History of the Sixteen Karmapas of Tibet by Karma Thinley (1980) ISBN 1-57062-644-8

Personal homepages

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Media coverage

Kagyu lineage

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