Shamarpa

The current Shamarpa teaching

Shamarpa (Tibetan: ཞྭ་དམར་པ་, Wylie: zhwa dmar pa ; literally, "Person (i.e. Holder) of the Red Crown"),^[1] also known as Shamar Rinpoche, or more formally Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche, is a lineage holder of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism and claims to be the mind manifestation of Amitābha. He is traditionally associated with Yangpachen Monastery near Lhasa.

The first Shamarpa, Khedrup Drakpa Senge (1283–1349), was the principal disciple of Rangjung Dorje, 3rd Karmapa Lama. Rangjung Dorje gave this disciple a ruby-red crown and the title "Shamarpa", establishing the second line of reincarnate lamas in Tibetan Buddhism, Karmapa being the first. The Shamarpa is often referred to as the "Red Hat Karmapa", especially in early Kagyu texts.^[2] Even Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje whom Shamarpa doesn't recognize as Karmapa, affirms: "The Second Karmapa, Karma Pakshi, predicted that about one hundred years later, he would have two reincarnations with the equivalent level of abandonment and realization, even though they would be described as teacher and student. One of them would wear the Black Hat and the other a Red Hat." ^[3] The Fifth Dalai Lama saw the Shamarpa equal to the Karmapa: "Since Je Chen-nga Thamchad Khyenpa Chokyi Dragpa (the Fourth Shamarpa) ascended the throne of the Phagdru dynasty, there was no longer any difference between the Red Hat and the Black Hat Karmapas. This was the reason why I afforded them both equal status.".^[4] Until the times when the inthronisation of the Shamarpas was forbidden by the government of Central-Tibet (see below), as number two of the lineage he was the principal person in charge to find and intronize the successive Karmapas.

The Shamarpa lineage

Shamarpa considered to be successive reincarnations are listed in "The Garland of Moon Water Crystal" by the 8th Tai Situpa Chökyi Jungne and Belo Tsewang Künkhyab.^[5]

Chodag Yeshe Palzang, the 4th Shamar Rinpoche, 16th-century painting from the Rubin Museum of Art

Mipam Chokyi Wangchug, (1584-1630) the 6th Shamar Rinpoche, 16th-century painting from the Rubin Museum of Art

1. Khedrup Drakpa Senge (1284–1349) was the principal disciple of the 3rd Karmapa.
2. Shamar Khachö Wangpo (1350–1405) was recognized by the 4th Karmapa.^[6]
3. Shamar Chöpal Yeshe (1406–1452). Chöpal Yeshe is renowned for having constructed several monasteries and retreat-centers. He was also able to abolish the practice of animal sacrifice in the regions of Tibet where that custom had continued.^[7]
4. Shamar Chokyi Drakpa Yeshe Pal Zangpo (1453–1526) was recognized by the 7th Karmapa, who became his Lama. The famous Tibetan monastery Ga Mamo Tashi Rabten was founded by him. He also established many smaller monasteries. During his travels outside Tibet, Chökyi Tragpa built many monasteries, among others there are four monasteries in Bhutan and he was the first of the Shamar reincarnates to visit Nepal where he built a small monastery in Swayambhunath, one of the country's most sacred places. Upon returning to his home-land, he acted as the king of Tibet for a period of twelve years and he ruled the country on the basis of strict adherence to Buddhist principles.
5. Shamar Köncho Yenlak (1526–1583) was identified by the 8th Karmapa. He also recognized and became the Lama of the 9th Karmapa.
6. Shamar Mipan Chökyi Wangchuk (1584–1629) was recognized by the 9th Karmapa who was his main Lama.
7. Shamar Yeshe Nyinpo (1631–1694) was recognized by the 10th Karmapa, and he became the Karmapa's disciple.
8. Palchen Chökyi Döndrup (1695–1732) was born in Yilmo, Nepal and was taken to Tibet at age 7. He received teachings and instructions from the 11th Karmapa before his death. The Shamarpa in turn, recognized and enthroned 12th Karmapa as the 12th Karmapa and acted as his Root-guru.^[8]
9. Könchog Geway Jungnay (1733–1741) was born in Paro in Bhutan, and was discovered by the 13th Karmapa, but lived only until age nine
10. Mipam Chödrup Gyamtso (1742–1793) was the stepbrother of the 6th Panchen Lama, Lobsang Palden Yeshe (1738–1780). A dispute over his claim to his stepbrother's material inheritance led to an armed conflict in which the Shamarpa conspired with the Nepalese Gurkha army in 1788.^[9][10] This, and other disputes between the Gelug and Kagyu schools led to the exile from Tibet of the Shamarpa and a legal ban by the Tibetan government on further Shamarpa incarnations^[8] This ban remained in place until after the Dalai Lama lost power in Tibet during the 1950s, although it was later revealed that the Karmapa had recognized reincarnations of the Shamarpa secretly during the intervening period.^[11]
11. Unknown, presumed forced into hiding by the Tibetan government.
12. Tugsay Jamyang (1895–1947) was the son of the 15th Karmapa. However, it is recorded that he taught and practiced Buddhism as a layman.^[8]
13. Tinlay Kunchap (1948–1950), an infant who survived only a little over a year
14. Mipham Chokyi Lodro (1952–2014) was born in Derge, Tibet and at the age of four he was recognized by the 16th Karmapa. He died on 11 June 2014 in Germany.

Controversy

In 1792 the Tibetan government found the 10th Shamarpa guilty of inciting a war between Tibet and Nepal. He was exiled from Tibet and a ban placed on his future incarnations, thereby abolishing the Shamarpa line.^[12] Modern Tibetologist prove this interpretation of history to be wrong and show. that Shamarpa mediated in this conflict.^[13] The comment of H. H. The Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa on this period was: "Merit was becoming smaller and smaller. There was much political interference. Black was becoming white. The real was becoming unreal. At that time it was not practicable to have any Shamarpa recognised or enthroned. Everything was kept secret. The incarnations appeared, but were not revealed."^[14] In 1963, following a request from the 16th Karmapa, the Tibetan Government in Exile lifted the ban.^[15]

14th Shamarpa

The most 14th Shamarpa was Mipham Chokyi Lodro, born in Derge, Tibet in 1952. At age four he was recognized by his uncle as the 16th Karmapa.^[16] He remained with the 16th Karmapa until his death in 1981. He received the entire cycle of Kagyu teachings from H.H. 16th Karmapa. After the death of the 16th Karmapa, Shamarpa recognized Thaye Dorje as the 17th Karmapa in 1994. His choice was backed by great masters as Chobkye Tri Rinpoche, Lopön Chechu Rinpoche, Lama Gendün Rinpoche, the 16th Karmapa's European representative Jigme Rinpoche and many others. Ogyen Trinley Dorje is held to be the 17th Karmapa by a majority of other major teachers of the Karma Kagyu lineage (including the 12th Situ Rinpoche, the 12th Gyaltsab Rinpoche, the 7th Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, the 9th Thrangu Rinpoche, the 7th Mingyur Rinpoche) along with Sakya Trizin (head of the Sakya Lineage), who acknowledges Karmapa Thaye Dorje as well and the 14th Dalai Lama. (see Karmapa controversy). The 14th Shamarpa died in Germany on 11 Jun 2014 of a heart attack.^[17]

Birth and early life

The 14th Shamarpa was born on 27 October 1952 in the Kingdom of Derge, Eastern Tibet. In 1956 he travelled with his brother, Jigme Rinpoche, to Tsurphu Monastery, the main seat of the Karmapas, where they stayed for two years. In the summer of 1956, at four years old, he revealed his identity as the Shamarpa by recognizing old monks from Yangpochen monastery, the ancestral seat of the Shamarpas. Later that year, the 16th Karmapa and his entourage, including Shamar Rinpoche and Jigme Rinpoche, travelled to Bodh Gaya, India where they had been invited to participate in the 2,500th Buddha Jayanthi celebrations. Having travelled for several months in India and Nepal, they returned to Tibet, visiting Yangpochen monastery on the way. It was the first time in this incarnation that Shamar Rinpoche had set foot there. The monastery had been converted to the Gelugpa sect during the time of the Tibetan Government's ban on the institution of the Shamarpas. The statues of the former Shamarpa incarnations remained, however it is said that their red hats had been replaced with yellow ones. Pointing to the statues, the young Shamar Rinpoche exclaimed, "This is me", and placed on his head a red hat that had rested in the lap of one of the statues. Much later in his life, Shamar Rinpoche re-established Yangpochen as a Karma Kagyu monastery.

The institution of the Shamarpas

At the 16th Karmapa's request, the 14th Dalai Lama informally agreed to reinstitute the Shamarpa, and in 1958 in Tsurphu, the 16th Karmapa privately enthroned him. Known at that time only as "Dorje Rinpoche", his identity still had to be concealed. After the Communist Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959, Shamar Rinpoche joined the Karmapa on his flight into exile, first crossing into Bhutan and then settling in the Kingdom of Sikkim at the invitation of the Chogyal. From the beginning of the 1960s, Shamar Rinpoche started his education and training at the old Rumtek Monastery established in the time of the 9th Karmapa. In the following years he received the complete teachings and transmissions of the Karma Kagyu school from the 16th Karmapa. 1964 marked the official lifting of the ban on the Shamarpa institution by the Tibetan Government in Exile. Shamar Rinpoche was officially enthroned and placed by the 16th Karmapa as a lineage holder on the highest position after himself. The 16th Karmapa considered the reinstatement of the Shamarpas after a ban of 170 years to be one of his main achievements. In the same way, following the death of the 16th Karmapa in 1981, Shamar Rinpoche stood as a single figure – for truth and against the overwhelming political might of great nations, to find the genuine incarnation of the 16th Karmapa and preserve the authentic Karma Kagyu lineage. In the same way, in conformity with the spiritual traditions of the lineage, he formally recognized Trinley Thaye Dorje as the 17th Karmapa, enthroning him in the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute (KIBI) in New Delhi in 1994. In the following years he returned to Karmapa the entirety of the lineage transmission, fully training and empowering him.

Rinpoche's passing

Upon the news of His master's death, Karmapa Thaye Dorje, writing from KIBI, evoked the Buddha's core teaching on impermanence, but also proclaimed that while Shamar Rinpoche's physical manifestation had left this world, his role as a teacher continued. In the immediate aftermath of his death, messages of condolence for Shamar Rinpoche's students and family, particularly for his brother Jigme Rinpoche, were sent by many eminent Buddhist figures. From Nepal, the lamas of Ka Nying Shedrup Ling monastery, led by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, said "It is as though the blackness of night has suddenly swallowed up our world." On the direction of Karmapa Thaye Dorje, hundreds of Karma Kagyu centres and monasteries worldwide commenced the practice of Amitabha, the Buddha of Limitless Light. Lama Ole Nydahl addressed his students and friends in Diamond Way Buddhist Centres worldwide: "We just had the deep loss of HH Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche from this world. However, as a Bodhisattva of unique qualities—both during and between his incarnations—he offers indestructible opportunities for many to absorb aspects of his immense blessing and insight. Therefore: till we have the chance of meeting him in an incarnate situation again, let us remember him while invoking the Buddha of Limitless Light: OM AMI DEWA HRIH. He was truly a unique teacher and great example." Rinpoche had shortly before been visiting Europe to teach in numerous Buddhist centres in the Karma Kagyu Dharma family, including Dhagpo Kagyu Ling in Dordogne, France (the main European seat of the Karmapa), Kagyu Ling in Manchester, UK (the main centre of the Dechen Community), the Beaufoy Institute in London, which would become the final Diamond Way Buddhist Centre he would visit in this incarnation, and finally Renchen Ulm, the European Headquarters of his own network of Bodhi Path centres, which he had worked to establish since the mid-1990s.

Projects and teachings

Shamar Rinpoche took over the spiritual responsibility for the project to build the largest stupa in Europe. Incepted by Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche and constructed in cooperation with the Spanish local government, it stands at 33 meters tall in Benalmadena on the southern Spanish coast. After Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche's death, Shamar Rinpoche saw the project to its completion, inaugurating the stupa in 2003 together with Lama Ole Nydahl, representatives of the Bhutanese Royal Family and government, and Spanish local authorities.

His teachings were most often associated with Mahamudra, which he expounded with unsurpassed mastery. He practiced in the way he taught, setting an example of not simply believing, but analysing and testing the validity of teachings.

Connection to Hannah and Lama_Ole_Nydahl

Shamar Rinpoche's bond with Hannah and Lama Ole Nydahl was deep and abiding from the time he transmitted the Bodhisattva Promise to them in 1970. In a public teaching in Kassel in 2006, Shamar Rinpoche said of them: "In 1973 the 16th Karmapa ordered Ole Nydahl and Hannah to teach, and predicted that they would be very successful in spreading the Buddha's teachings in the West... They kept their samaya without any doubt, following and fulfilling Karmapa's wish." Over the following years, Hannah in particular through her work as a translator and bridge between the East and West, became one of Rinpoche's closest and most trusted disciples. In the darkest times of the Kagyu Crisis in 1994, it was the unbreakable bond of trust between Shamar Rinpoche, Hannah and Lama Ole, and their effective cooperation that led to the 17th Karmapa Thaye Dorje and his family being brought out of Chinese-occupied Tibet, surmounting perilous obstacles to arrive safely in the free world. In 2007, in the last days of Hannah's life when she had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, Shamar Rinpoche flew to Copenhagen specifically to say his last farewell to Hannah and give her his final teachings before she died.

Last teaching

Shamar Rinpoche spent much time in the surroundings of his Bodhi Path centre in Virginia, USA, and especially the picturesque and peaceful environment of Renchen Ulm, Germany. He stayed there at the end of his life; Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje, Lama Ole Nydahl, many high Rinpoches and lamas of the Karma Kagyu school, and Shamar Rinpoche's students from all over the world came to pay their last respects and make wishes for his swift return. In the final teaching before his death he said: "You don't have to be afraid of death if you know how to practice in death." When it is said that Shamarpa is an emanation of Amitabha, it should not be taken to mean that he is a meditator who, life after life, performs great achievements on the way to enlightenment. It is said to be by the Shamarpa's own choice that he appeared, and by his own nature that he is reabsorbed into his own pure land of Dewachen, which he himself created.^[18]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shamarpas.

• The Shamarpa Official web site