Mipham Chödrub Gyamtso, the 10th Shamarpa, was born into the family of the Panchen Lama, who is the most important spiritual teacher of the Gelugpa lineage next to the Dalai Lama and was recognized by the great Kagyü masters, the 8th Situpa and 13th Karmapa (who became his root lama).

However, his relationship to the Panchen Lama did not bring peace with the rival Gelugpa sect. On the contrary, he was eventually banished from Tibet and his influence was severely damaged from slander. In exile in Nepal, he was used as a negotiator between the Nepalese and Tibetans because Nepal’s king wanted to use Shamarpa’s high standing among the Tibetan people in his favor. When this did not work out and war broke out, Shamarpa was made a scapegoat by both sides.

None of this changed the important role of the 10th Shamarpa for the Karma Kagyü lineage. He received the lineage transmission, traveled extensively, taught tirelessly and was known for his unwavering patience and generosity even in the most difficult times.

The 10th Situpa, Pema Künzang (around 1854-1885) was recognized and enthroned by the 14th Karmapa and the 1st Jamgön Kongtrul. He started from an early age on to show many miracles.

Situpta was well-known and often criticized for his wild character, wearing masks and costumes, drinking alcohol, competing in horse races and so on. But in the same time he was a holder of pure monastic discipline and put a lot of effort in perfecting the Kagyü teachings he got from his teachers.

However, he passed away in the young age of 32.

One event made Situpa ‘famous’ – he, probably the first time of a high ranking lama in the Karma Kagyü lineage – went against his root lama Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye because he didn’t allow him and his group of students to do a retreat at his Monastery in Palpung. Thus, Situpa commited a breach of his Diamond Way promises (Vajrayana samayas). In Tibetan this is called a dam log.

The 10th Trungpa Tulku, Chökyi Nyinje (1879–1939) preferred a live as a yogi instead of taking his traditional role as head of Surmang Monastery. He meditated a lot and at a certain point left his monastery to study with the 1st Jamgön Kongtrul. It took many years before he returned to Surmang.

After his time with the Jamgön Kongtrul he was a realized master and became the teacher of Dilgo Khyentse and the 2nd Jamgön Kongtrul, who in return became the teachers of his 11th reincarnation.

The 11th Gyaltsab, Trakpa Gyamtso, (1902-1953) was recognized and enthroned in Tsurphu Monastery.

There’s not much known about his life. He had received all the main Kagyü transmissions by Karmapa, meditated al lot and had many disciples. He died in miserable circumstances.

For his 11th rebirth as Yeshe Dorje, Karmapa chose, as in his first, seventh, and ninth incarnations, the wild Eastern Tibetan region known as Golog. The miraculous child was quickly found by his previous disciple, the 7th Shamarpa, who brought him to Tsurphu to give him the full Kagyü lineage transmissions.

Although the 11th Karmapa had the shortest lifespan of all the Karmapas (he lived only 26 years), in addition to the Kagyü teachings, he also received terma teachings in the Nyingma tradition of Guru Rinpoche, who had prophesied this centuries earlier.

From his childhood on, Yeshe Dorje oversaw the restoration of the Tsurphu Monastery, which had been badly damaged several times by the Mongols, and at the same time taught his disciples in his unique way in order to open their minds.

Not much is known about Pema Wangchok Gyalpo, but the 15th Karmapa is said to have drawn a map describing the place of rebirth of his future disciple and lineage holder successor.

The 11th Situpa – according to his role – received all lineage transmissions from the Karmapa and Jamgön Kongtrul in Palpung. Later, he took care of the expansion of the printing press in Derge as well as his more than 108 small monasteries in Tibet. He also designed robes for the lama dances.

He was known and feared for his strict discipline, which he also demanded of his disciples.

The 11th Surmang Garwang was born in Riwochi. His father was a minister in this region and his mother an accomplished practitioner. The eight-year-old 16th Gyalwa Karmapa identified him as the reincarnation of the 10th Surmang Garwang on request of the 11th Surmang Tenga Tulku.

Surmang Garwang became a close student of the 2nd Jamgön Kongtrul Rinpoche. His main practice became that of the four-armed Manjushri and Yamantaka.

When he felt that Tibet would face dramatic changes through the invasion
of the Chinese, he tirelessly gave empowerments to benefit the people of Tibet. To
protect his mother, it is said that he entrusted a Zambala statue to her, which was a tertön
treasure. He himself left his body when he felt that he could no longer fulfil his aspiration
to reincarnate under better circumstances.

When the 12th Karmapa was born, the 8th Shamarpa, then the current lineage holder, was only eight years old. The 8th Situpa, who was to become his successor due to the special circumstances surrounding the early death of the Karmapa and Shamarpa, was three years and the 7th Gyaltsab Rinpoche was four. Together with them, Karmapa Changchub Dorje later traveled to many countries, including Bhutan, Nepal, Sikkim, India, and China, giving transmissions and teachings to the people, they met.

He worked hard for peace in the world by performing ceremonies in Amdo and at Lake Kokon. He also managed, together with Kalzang Gyamtso, the 7th Dalai Lama, to persuade the Mongolian army to withdraw from Tibet and, by connecting with Loving Eyes, to stop an influenza epidemic.

His special connection to the Kalachakra Tantra manifested itself in an extraordinary way through dreams in which he visited the realm of Shambala and received the complete transmission from King Rigden himself.

The 12th Shamarpa, Jamyang Rinpoche, (1895-1947) was the son of the 15th Karmapa and got the full lineage transmission from him.

He decided to stay in the background, buttaught and guided those with the good karma to know him. It is said that he left footprints on a rock as sign of his full realization.

During the period when Düdül Dorje, the 13th Karmapa, was born, sectarian politics in Tibet escalated, leading the 7th Dalai Lama, Kalzang Gyatso, together with Polhane Sonam Tobgye, to pass a law that all government officials had to be Gelugpas. As a result, for the first time in Karma Kagyü history, the official approval of the Dalai Lama was required to recognize the new Karmapa incarnation.

By Düdül Dorje's overwhelming compassion, not only for his human disciples, but also for the animals and even his adversaries, whom he was able to pacify in later years solely through his special spiritual abilities, thus making a rapprochement between the Gelugpas and Kagyüpas possible.

The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso was born in 1935 in the region of Amdo in Tibet at the border to China, recognized in 1937 and enthroned in Lhasa as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Gelugpas in 1940.

Ten years later he became officially the worldly and also spiritual ruler of all Tibetans – and head of the Tibetan government until he escaped from Tibet in 1959 to India and settled in Dharamsala, his
residence until today.

2011 the Dalai Lama asked the Tibetan parliament-in-exile to relieve him of his political duties.

Thegchok Dorje, the 14th Karmapa, enjoyed a multifaceted and extensive education. After several years in Karma Guen under the guidance of the 9th Situpa, he studied the complete Karma Kagyü and Nyingma transmission at Ogmin Ling Monastery and deepened his skills in Tsurphu, where, in addition to Situpa, who was his root lama, Drugchen Künzig Chökyi Nangwa, head of the Drukpa Kaygüs, played an important role as one of his main teacher.

His interest in learning worldly knowledge and skills, such as art and poetry, medicine and science, dialectics and rhetoric, reflected his openness to expanding his trove of Buddhist transmissions even at an advanced age. He received rare hidden teachings (termas) from his disciple Jamgön Lodrö Thaye, a treasure that had arisen from the mutual appreciation of the transmission lineages through the influence of the Rimé movement.

The 14th Karmapa was a strict ascetic and paid great attention to the observance of his disciples’ monastic vows.

Shamar Rinpoche was recognized at the age of six by the 16th Karmapa and enthroned in Tsurphu Monastery, the seat of the Karmapa in Tibet – initially, informally for political reasons. Later, in the old Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim, Karmapa's main seat in exile, the ceremony could take place officially after approval by the Dalai Lama. Shamarpa was 11 years old at the time.

The young 14th Shamarpa remained under the care of the 16th Karmapa in Rumtek, and through the guidance of the meditation masters of his time, acquired an extensive treasury of transmissions there. Shortly before the 16th Karmapa died, he gave his disciple and successor the special oral instructions of the Lineage of Absolute Realization, which was transmitted through Tilopa in an unbroken lineage from Buddha Vajradhara.

After the 16th Karmapa passed away, Shamarpa, as the new lineage holder of the Karma Kagyü school, naturally took up the activities of his teacher in addition to his own responsibilities, and continued them in the unique way of his root lama. These included (among countless projects), the establishment of the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute in New Delhi, India.

Shamar Rinpoche founded the Bodhi Path organization in 1996 with the aim of providing access (free of sectarianism) to people interested in Buddhism worldwide.

He traveled and taught tirelessly. He was also in close contact with Karmapa’s students, Ole and Hannah Nydahl. He was often invited by Lama Ole to give teachings and empowerments to Diamond Way students, and Hannah was his translator and close confidante. Together they made sure that the 17th Karmapa, Thaye Dorje could be found, escape from Tibet and be officially recognized.

At his birth, Khakyab Dorje declared that he was the Karmapa. He was recognized and enthroned by the 9th Kyabgön Drukchen, the head of the Drugpa lineage, Mingyur Wanggi Gyalpo along with Jamgön Kongtrul, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, Terchen Chokgyur Lingpa, and Pawo Tsuklak Nyinchey, at the age of six.

He studied in Palpung, where he met his root lama, Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye. The latter instructed him in the teachings of the Karma Kagyü lineage and the Five Treasures, familiarizing the young Karmapa with the view of the Rimé movement from the very beginning. The 15th Karmapa also sought out Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche and traveled throughout Tibet to collect teachings and transmissions wherever he could to protect them from disappearing.

Through his connections with consorts, he was able to reveal important hidden treasure teachings, protect the lineage by becoming root lama to his own sons, the 12th Shamarpa and the 2nd Jamgön Kongtrul, as well as resolve an inner energy imbalance. Among the transmissions that go directly back to him is the Clear Light Meditation, which Lama Ole has passed on to many of his students.

Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, the 16th Karmapa, was one of the most powerful Karmapas in the lineage. Already when he was a child, he naturally performed miracles until his teachers, (of whom the 11th Situpa and the 2nd Jamgön Kongtrul were, as he said himself, his root lamas), asked him to stop.

The 16th Karmapa was ordained at Palpung Monastery and began to study and practice under the guidance of Situ Rinpoche. His teachers included the greatest Karma Kagyü masters of his time.

At the age of 20, the Karmapa prepared himself and his disciples for the coming events of their escape from Tibet, well before the invasion by the Chinese. The nature of his preparations demonstrated once again that powerful quality, which changed everyone he met for the better, beyond all human understanding. He protected the teachings from the occupiers and safeguarded his activity by rebuilding Rumtek Monastery.

The Karmapa went on to entrust his closest disciples, of whom Hannah and Ole Nydahl were to become the most important, to bring Diamond Way to the West; in this way, a prophecy of Guru Rinpoche was fulfilled. Karmapa was the first of the lineage to circumnavigate the world and therefore was able to bring his blessings directly to the countries where the practicing Diamond Way world found their new homes. Lama Ole and his wife Hannah experienced themselves as the 16th Karmapa’s activities and continued to manifest the Diamond Way throughout free countries around the world.

Trinley Thaye Dorje spent his childhood in the care of his parents in Tibet until the 14th Shamarpa found, recognized, enthroned, and finally helped him (with the support of Lama Ole and Hannah Nydahl and their close students) to escape in 1994.

The 17th Karmapa received a modern Western education alongside his traditional Buddhist training. His teachers included the greatest meditation masters of our time as well as English and Australian tutors.

Karmapa travels extensively throughout the world to give teachings to his disciples, often focusing on young people. He also meets with politicians, leading scientists, and those who influence world affairs. He addresses issues of peace, conflict resolution and education. Karmapa makes videos and writes articles to promote peace and prosperity in our world. At the same time, he has the spiritual responsibility for 900 monasteries and meditation centers around the world.

Unlike most lineage holders of the Karma Kagyü school before him, the 17th Karmapa has a family. In 2017, he married Sangyumla and in 2018 became the father of their son, Thugsey, who is presumed to be the reincarnation of the 14th Shamarpa.

The 1st Beru Khyentse Lodrö Mizay Jampey Gocha (1896-1945) was born in Kham as the son of the King Beru. It is said that he was the speech incarnation of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. His rebirth was already predicted to his father before.

Beru Rinpoche was recognized by the 1st Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye and later enthroned in Palpung Monastery, where he stayed.

Paljor Döndrub , the 1st Gyaltsab Rinpoche, received a comprehensive Buddhist education as a child under the guidance of great meditation masters, particularly the 6th Karmapa, his root teacher, and then took over the leadership of Tsurphu Monastery at the age of 14 at his (Karmapa’s) request.

He received the title ‘Goshir’ from the Chinese emperor, meaning ‘state teacher’.

The Gyaltsab Rinpoches are part of the activity of the Bodhisattva Vajrapani. In the past, Rinpoche had incarnated as Ananda, the disciple of Buddha Shakyamuni who had perfect memory and was responsible for reciting all of the teachings of Buddha to the practitioners. Often their names were additionally termed with the Chinese title, Goshir or Gushri (lit.: state teacher).

Prophecies dating back up to Buddha Shakyamuni predicted the birth and deeds of the 1st Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye the Great. This was to affect all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism as well as the Bön religion and united them in the Rimé movement, of which he was a cofounder.

Growing up in an environment of Bön practitioners, which he left after a difficult childhood and youth, the young adult Jamgön Kongtrul quickly came into contact with Buddhist teachings and became a disciple of the 9th Situpa and the 14th Karmapa, who transmitted the complete teachings of the Kagyü school to him.

His more than 60 teachers also included important representatives of the Nyingmapas and Sakya school, such as Tertön Chögyur Lingpa and Khyentse Rinpoche. Jamgön Kongtrul united a huge variety of qualities in his mind – he was a prolific writer, a unique yogi, teacher, master, physician, tertön, peacemaker, and so more. With unending diligence, he showed all different kinds and levels of dharma activity. He treated everyone equally and all ranks of people, including poor farmers benefited from his advice.

Düsum Khyenpa, known as the 1st Karmapa, studied and practiced the Dharma of various Buddhist traditions from an early age until, at the age of 30, he met Gampopa, his root lama. From him he received the complete Kagyü transmission.

This was the beginning of the Karma Kagyü lineage.

The 1st Karmapa is said to have practiced tirelessly, e.g., he spent nine months in Shinay meditation and devoted three years of his life to the study and practice of Mahamudra and the aspect of Vajrayogini. Additionally, he built several monasteries, from which Tsurphu became the main seat (until 1959). He also built the well-known Kama Gön Monastery.