The History Of The Sixteen Karmapas Of Tibet

by Karma Thinley

The Karmapa is the spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The present Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, is the sixteenth of the line which began with Dusum Khyenpa, the first Karmapa, in the twelfth century. Karma Thinley presents the biographies of all the Karmapas, based on his translations from numerous Tibetan sources. These biographies are not only histories of the training and teaching of these great teachers; they are also inspirational texts used to cultivate devotion in the practitioner. Accompanying the text are sixteen line drawings, based on the thangka paintings of the Karmapas at Rumtek monastery, the seat of the present Karmapa.

Genres: Buddhism, History, Biography

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2001

Reviews

[Kitap Yakıcı · Rating 4 out of 5]

These succinct hagiographies of the first sixteen Karmapas, published a year or so before the 16th Karmapa passed away in Zion, Illinois, aroused my interest in learning more extensively about the life and teachings of the 16th Karma, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje. I am also interested in learning more about the "controversy" around the two claimants to the role of the 17th Karmapa.

The introductory essay by Reggie Ray is alone worth the price of the book. He challenges the contemporary consensus on the impossibility of the miracles in the lives of the Karmapas without ever appealing to what some might call the "irrational." (In fact, one could say that he calls out the superstitious qualities about that very same "rational" consensus.) His comments on reality according to tantra, though, are what I want to quote and share here:

What happens in one's life is very much in tune with who one is and what one is doing, from a spiritual viewpoint. On a general level, the more one resists insight, clarity and the insecurity of openness, the more one finds in one's world hellish claustrophobia. Conversely, accepting one's perceptions and intuitions leads to spaciousness and harmony. From the Tibetan viewpoint, reality presents itself as an accurate, apt and timely mirror, and as a challenge, encouragement and critic. One has the opportunity to learn about one's blindness and rigidity from everything that happens.

There are corollaries to this viewpoint. First, the rigid separation that we make in the West between inner and outer, between self and external world, does not hold in the Tibetan view. In fact, self and external reality are two poles of a constant and ongoing dialogue. Second, we are entirely responsible for our world. Everything that arises in our world has to do with us, and we must assume responsibility for it. this holds whether from the conventional moral viewpoint we are held responsible or not. Whatever enters our "life stream," as the Buddhists put it, becomes a manifestation of our life, and we are bound to communicate with it. We cannot reject it as someone else's fault or as an accidental or irrelevant occurence. Third, we actually affect and bring about our world by who we are and what we do. The more we sink into darkness, ignorance and neurosis, the more we provoke confusion and suffering in our lives. Equally, we can take the opposite tack, and provoke clarity, ease and sanity. (p.15)

[Mer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably not a good read for someone not connected with the people being profiled but for those who are it's filled with alot of information that'll pop up in various readings and conversations. I find this helpful and fascinating when and where the references occur.