The 8th, 10th, and 12th incarnations, as well as the widely renowned 16th Karmapa, each faced conflicts during their recognition, which were ultimately resolved. Ī Karmapa's identity is confirmed through a combination realized lineage teachers supernatural insight, prediction letters left by the previous Karmapa, and the young child's own self-proclamation and ability to identify objects and people known to its previous incarnation. The Karmapa is a long line of consciously reborn lamas, and the second Karmapa, Karma Pakshi (1204–1283), is the first recognized tulku ( Wylie: sprul sku) in Tibetan Buddhism that predicted the circumstances of his rebirth.

These forefathers of the Kagyu (Bka' brGyud) lineage are collectively called the 'Golden Rosary'. The source of the oral lineage, traditionally traced back to the Buddha Vajradhara, was transmitted to the Indian master of mahamudra and tantra called Tilopa (989-1069), through Naropa (1016–1100) to Marpa Lotsawa and Milarepa. He was henceforth regarded by the contemporary highly respected masters Shakya Śri and Lama Shang as the Karmapa, a manifestation of Avalokiteśvara, whose coming was predicted in the Samadhiraja Sutra and the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. A talented child who studied Buddhism with his father from an early age and who sought out great teachers in his twenties and thirties, he is said to have attained enlightenment at the age of fifty while practicing dream yoga. See Karmapa controversy for details.ĭüsum Khyenpa, 1st Karmapa Lama ( Wylie: Dus gsum Mkhyen pa, 1110–1193), was a disciple of the Tibetan master Gampopa. His regional monastic seats are Karma Triyana Dharmachakra in New York and Dhagpo Kagyu Ling in Dordogne, France.ĭue to a controversy within the Karma Kagyu school over the recognition process, the identity of the current 17th Karmapa is disputed by some. The Karmapa's principal seat in exile is the Dharma Chakra Centre at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim, India.

The historical seat of the Karmapas is Tsurphu Monastery in the Tolung valley of Tibet. Karmapa was Tibet's first consciously incarnating lama. The Karmapa ( honorific title: His Holiness the Gyalwa ( རྒྱལ་བ་, 'Victorious One') Karmapa, more formally as Gyalwang ( རྒྱལ་དབང་ཀརྨ་པ་, 'King of Victorious Ones') Karmapa, and informally as the Karmapa Lama) is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the Kagyu ( Tibetan: བཀའ་བརྒྱུད, Wylie: bka' brgyud), itself one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

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