About the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, Thaye Dorje

The 17th Karmapa Thaye Dorje was born in Tibet in 1983. He was the first born son of the 3d Mipam Rinpoche, a great Nyngma Lama, and Dechen Wangmo, the daughter of a noble family descended from King Gesar of Ling. At the age of 1 1&Mac218;2 the boy started telling people that he was the Karmapa. In March 1994, he and his family managed to escape from Tibet to Nepal and then to India. The same month he came to New Delhi, where during a welcoming ceremony Shamar Rinpoche formally recognized him as the 17th Karmapa. In November 1996 he joined the monkhood by receiving refuge vows from Buddha in a large ceremony at the Buddha Gaya Temple. He then was given the name Thinley (meaning Buddha activity) Thaye (limitless) Dorje (unchanging).

In 1997, Karmapa Thaye Dorje was officially invited to Bhutan for the cremation ceremony of Topga Rinpoche and was received with full honors. A three-hour tour from the Bhutanese border to the capital Thimpu took seven hours as thousands awaited him along the road. On October 17th, 1997 three thousand came for his blessing and the whole royal family including the king and his four queens received him as the 17th Karmapa.

Currently, Thaye Dorje lives in Kalimpong, India where, under the guidance of teachers such as Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche, Khenpo Chodrak Rinpoche and Professor Sempa Dorje, he continues an intensive Buddhist education. He studies philosophical texts, the Tibetan language, and English. He is also skilled in science and the modern aspects of the Western 'information society' - computers, email, Internet etc. While in Kalimpong, he spends several hours a day with meditation practice and under guidance does various retreats.

In October 1999, Karmapa Thaye Dorje made his first trip abroad to Singapore and Taiwan, where he gave Chenrezig and Amitayus (Long Life Buddha) initiations to few thousand people. The beginning of the new millenium was marked by his first historic visit to the West. In Dusseldorf, Germany, Karmapa was enthusiastically received by 6,000 students from over 30 countries. In two-day ceremonies, he gave Buddhist Refuge, the Bodhisattva promise, and initiations to Amitayus and Karma Pakshi (the 2nd Karmapa).