A Few Accounts about the Wondrous Activities
of His Holiness the XVIth Gyalwa Karmapa,
Rangjung
Rigpe Dorje
by
Zhanag Dzogpa Tenzin Namgyal
Until 1981 I was the personal secretary of His
Holiness the XVIth Gyalwa Karmapa. For the last thirty years of my
life, I
was next to the Karmapa most of the time and wrote down almost every
word
that he said, teaching that he gave, and letter that he wrote,
including the
recognition letters of the various tulkus.
I have wanted to
write an
official biography of the Gyalwa Karmapa and to speak about another
side of
the Karmapa, which I will do now.
The subject of my talk is
about the
activities of the Buddha Karmapa, the ocean of unlimited activities
of the Karmapa’s three secrets of body, speech, and mind. It is
something
really indescribable.
No one would really be ale to describe it, but
the Karmapa
appeared in this world as a human being, and I had the good fortune
of being
his attendant for thirty years. So, what I will describe is what I
witnessed.
In fact, it is impossible to convey everything, so all I can do is
share the
main things I experienced with you by presenting a brief account.
One of the main activities of the Karmapa is to
wear the Black Crown in order to benefit many beings. I will give a
brief
history of the Black Crown.
The Black Crown
Many eons ago, during the time of the Buddha called
Driamkyi Gyalpo, there was a king called Yulpo Kyong (“Protector of
the Surrounding
Land”). The king
had a younger son called
Chökyi Lodro (“Wisdom of Dharma”).
Chökyi Lodro went into the
mountains and
meditated vipassana (“insight meditation”). He remained in samadhi
for hundreds of thousands of years and became known as Rishi
Gompa-kye (“Sage
Who Gave Rise to Realization”).
The dakinis had great faith
in him
and assembled before him; each dakini
pulled a strand
of hair from their head and offered it to him. He accepted their
present and
made a crown out of their hair.
They all had black hair, so the
crown became
known as “The Black Crown.” It is a manifestation of self-arisen
wisdom, because
all dakinis who offered their hair were wisdom dakinis; therefore
this crown
is a manifestation of ultimate wisdom.
They crowned the Sage and
Saint with
this very crown of empowerment that is adorned with symbols of the
sun and
moon.
The Origin of the Inner and Outer Crown
In his next life, Rishi Gompa-kye was known as
Pö Senge; in his next life he was Drupon Sinam (“Overcoming all Maras”). In his
next life
he was Drimed Karpo (“Stainless White One”). His next life was Pema
Namdol
(“The Play of Lotuses”).
His next life was Lu-yang Ningpo
(“Essence Melody of the Nagas”). Then he was Karma Wanu (“Cow”).
Then he was
the great Brahmin Saraha. After his life as the great tantric master
Saraha,
he was reborn in Tibet
as Düsum Khyenpa, the First Glorious Karmapa.
The Black Crown was worn
throughout
all their lifetimes by the Karmapas; it was ever-present as the
spontaneous
manifestation of ultimate wisdom and was not something that could be
obtained.
The Karmapas have had the Black Crown
from the First
Karmapa and through all successive lives. Having realization of
ultimate wisdom,
this crown is naturally present. Therefore, all Karmapas have had
the crown
continuously, up to the XVIth Gyalwa Karmapa.
If someone has clear
awareness
and very pure karma, they can see it, which is the spontaneous
manifestation
of wisdom. I have heard accounts of people having seen it.
The Vth Karmapa Deshin Shegpa was invited to China.
The Emperor
of the Ming Dynasty during those times was an emanation of
Manjushri, so he
had very pure karma.
He saw the crown on the Karmapa’s head and said
to him,
“You are wearing a wonderful and excellent crown. If it were
possible to have
people see it, if I could have one made that looks the same, you
could wear
it so that others could see it. Would that bring great benefit to
beings?”
Karmapa Deshin Shegpa replied, “It is all right for you to make one.
It will
be of great benefit to beings.”
So the emperor had a replica of the
crown
made, which is the outer crown that the Karmapa puts on during a
grand ceremony
for people to see - they see the outer crown, which is a replica of
the inner
wisdom crown.
That was a description of the origin of the inner and
outer
Black Crown, which is a manifestation of wisdom and is always
inseparably
present with all Karmapas.
Question: Did anyone
see the inner crown during the life
of the XVIth Karmapa?
Tenzin Namgyal: Yes,
there were people who saw it. I will describe
this.
The tradition says that it is necessary for the
Karmapa to visit and pay respect to the Dalai Lama. All Karmapas
would go
to see him; they would take off their hat and prostrate to him. When
the XVIth
Karmapa was in his 8th year, together with his father, he went to
the Dalai
Lama, the XIIIth at that time.
The Dalai Lama and his minister
entered the
audience room and the Karmapa performed the prostrations. The Dalai
Lama and
his minister noticed that the Karmapa was wearing a hat, so the
minister said,
“Why are you prostrating with your hat on? That will not do!”
He
asked the
father, “Where do you come from, a remote valley? Don’t you know
that it is
not allowed to wear a hat when you prostrate? That is a big
mistake.” The
father responded, “He is not wearing a hat. He hasn’t even brought a
hat along.
The Karmapas always have a wisdom hat on, so probably this is the
hat that
you see him wearing.” Having heard this, the Dalai Lama and his
minister were
amazed and felt great faith in the Karmapa.
Then the Dalai Lama
wrote a long-life
prayer for him. This was the first occasion on which the secret hat
was seen
in the life of the XVIth Karmapa, so it is a quite extraordinary
incident.
Later, when the Karmapa was staying at Palpung
Monastery to receive teachings from the previous Tai Situ Rinpoche,
he travelled
to a monastery in Litang.
On the way he and his escorts passed
Dsongsar Monastery,
the monastery of Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. The first and previous
Jamyang
Khyentse Rinpoche was there.
At that time, Jamyang Khyentse saw the
Karmapa
as Düsum Khyenpa, the First Karmapa, and saw the Black Crown
floating in space
above his head while he was prostrating to him. So, he saw this and
they heard
Jamyang Khyentse describe what he had seen.
In 1944, when the Karmapa
was going
on pilgrimage through the south of Tibet,
the IInd King of Bhutan,
Jigme Wangchug, invited him to Bhutan.
When the king met the Karmapa, he saw the Karmapa’s crown and felt
very great
devotion for him from the depths of his heart.
When the Karmapa
left, the king cried like a little child – he cried because of his
great devotion
and perfect faith after having met the Gyalwa Karmapa.
In 1967, the Karmapa was invited to Ladakh. At
that time a girl from Kashmir
without any
faith came to see him. As the Karmapa performed the Black Crown
Ceremony,
the girl saw the inner wisdom hat inseparably on his head; when he
placed
the fabricated outer crown on his head, she saw the inner one inside
the outer
crown. This happened in Ladakh at that time.
Tashi Lada, who was responsible for looking after
the college in Rumtek, once lived near Tsurphu. When he was 11 years
old,
he escorted his father to pay respects to the Karmapa. Next to the
Karmapa’s
seat in his room was a statue of the Karmapa.
When Tashi Lada
entered the
room he saw two statues and saw one moving about. He told his
father, “There
are two statues of the Karmapa. One is motionless and the other one
is moving
about. Which is the real one?”
He had seen the statue with the Black
Crown
and he could see the real Karmapa with the inner crown; they were
identical,
while one was moving about.
He was very young when this happened and
did not
know anything about the Black Crown at that time. There are many
other accounts
about people actually seeing the inner Black Crown.
Wonders so True
When the Karmapa was 12 years old and travelling
from Tsurphu to Kham in East Tibet,
he came
to a village called Drome that is situated in an area called Tsumbu.
At that
time the river was frozen and he went to play on the ice.
Later when
the ice
melted his footprints could be seen on the water and they remained
there.
Apart from Padmasambhava, the Karmapa is the only great master known
to have
left his footprints on water.
When the Karmapa was
travelling in
Kham, he reached a place called Chang Tang, the location of the
monastery
of Dechen Rinpoche. The Karmapa had a young antelope that had been
given to
him and also had his tiny pet puppy, called Yidrug, along with him.
When
they arrived at the monastery with his dog and antelope, both
animals left
footprints on a stone, which can still be seen.
When the Karmapa went to a nunnery to bless the
site, he threw kernels of grain into the room; they usually do not
roll under
objects.
But when the Karmapa threw the grains there, they rolled
underneath
all the objects in the room – they rolled under the feet of the
statues and
many lay in the hands of the statues.
Half of some and the whole of
other
kernels transformed into ringsel (“precious white relics”).
Some have
been preserved from that consecration and are now in Rumtek.
One time the Karmapa went to Phayul Monastery.
The abbot there was a famous and great siddha. When the
Karmapa arrived,
he tied the sword he had into a knot. He gave it to the siddha and
told him,
“I am a siddha, too.”
When the Karmapa went to a
Bonpo Monastery
in Nitang with Tai Situ Rinpoche, they both left footprints in the
stone;
their horses did too.
How the XVIth Karmapa Recognized
Reincarnations
The Karmapa recognized the XIIth Tai Situ Rinpoche
after he returned from a visit to China. He did not perform a
divination
with a mala or throw dice, as is sometimes the case. The same
morning
the child was born, the Karmapa chanted, rested in meditation, and
immediately
described where the Tai Situpa could be found.
I was the secretary
and had
to write it all down - where he was born, what his name was, his
father’s
name, his mother’s name, what direction his house faced, and how far
away
they were, what year, whether the family was noble, poor, or
wealthy.
He described
everything in meditation, and I wrote it all down. He saw everything
very
clearly, like looking into a mirror.
It is quite marvellous how the Karmapa recognized
the Rinpoches Tai Situ, Jamgon Kongtrul, and the Sharmapa. For
example, after
recognizing Tai Situ Rinpoche and Shamarpa, the Karmapa found Jamgon
Kongtrul
in the same way. He specified all the details of where he was born.
He said
that there were seven people in the family of Jamgon Kongtrul, so a
search
team was sent to find the family according to these instructions.
However,
they found the family, but there were only six members.
The search
party returned
to the Karmapa and told him that everything accorded with his
description,
the position of the house in relation to the Jobo
Temple in Lhasa, and so on.
They told him that there were
only six instead of seven family members, though. The Karmapa
answered, “One
is inside the mother.” He was Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche’s younger
brother.
Then there was the recognition of Gyaltsab Rinpoche.
In his letter, the Karmapa described everything, even told the name
of his
father, Tutob Lodro. The search party found the house and the mother
living
with the baby, but the father’s name was Tenzin Chögyä.
They found
out that
Tenzin Chögyä was Tutob Lodro’s brother. Tutob Lodro had left to
live somewhere
else, so people assumed that Tenzin Chögyä was the father of
Gyaltsab Rinpoche.
The Karmapa identified the real father. Not only was he able to
recognize
the birth of a tulku, he also recognized the father.
When seeing the rebirth of Sangyä Nyenpa Rinpoche,
in his letter the Karmapa said that his father’s name was Sangyä
Legpa, the
Tibetan name for the Buddha.
The party with the letter in their hand
went
to Bhutan;
they looked all around the area for someone with that name, but they
could
not find him.
In fact, the father was the steward of the Guru Rinpoche
Temple, and
everyone
called him Kungnyo (“Steward”); nobody called him by his real name.
The search
party gave up and reported back that they could not find anybody
with the
name Sangyä Legpa; only a steward looking after the Guru Rinpoche
Temple lived
there.
The
Karmapa replied, “It is the steward. Go
back and ask him his
name.” They did and found out that his name was Sangyä Legpa.
The Karmapa recognized Sönam Garwang when his
father visited him. He told his father that the baby his wife was
carrying
in her body was Tulku Sönam Garwang.
In this way, he recognized Pawo
Rinpoche
and many other tulkus, too. There isn’t a tradition of sorting out
the children
to recognize who is who. The Karmapa recognizes them directly
through his
clairvoyance. This is truly amazing.
The monasteries of the Karmapa and Traleg Kyabgon
Rinpoche in Tibet
are very far apart. One time someone came to the Karmapa to find the
incarnation
of Traleg Rinpoche.
At that time, the Chinese were always in the
country,
so the search party asked the Karmapa to please give them a direct
answer
due to all the difficult circumstances in those times.
The Karmapa
did this;
he wrote that Traleg Rinpoche was still in the body of his mother
and that
they may only open the letter on the 12th day of the 1st
month of the following year.
They did as told and on that particular
day they
opened the letter stating where he had been born. In fact, Traleg
Rinpoche
was born on the 8th day of that month, exactly 4 days
before they
opened the letter.
There are many
Throne-Holders and great
masters of the teachings, but the Karmapa is the most significant
when it
comes to recognizing tulkus. When Düsum Khyenpa, the First Karmapa,
lived,
there was no tradition or institution of tulkus.
When the First
Karmapa was
born as the IInd Karmapa, this marks the beginning of the
institution of tulkus,
reincarnate lamas. Recognition of rebirths and enthronements have
developed
and spread in Tibet
since the succession of the Glorious Karmapas.
I don’t want to bore anybody, so you are welcome
to ask any questions you may have.
Questions
Question: What do
the footprints in the water look like?
Are they made of ice or something?
Tenzin Namgyal: At
the time the Karmapa was 12. I wasn’t there,
but people witnessed this and described them as whole footprints on
the water.
First they were ice.
They were made on the ice and when it melted
the footprints
remained on the water. For as long as he was in Tibet,
the footprints
remained in Drome, which is situated in
the area
of Tsumbu. However, I don’t know whether they are still there now.
Question: Would you
say something about the birth of the
Karmapa himself?
Tenzin Namgyal:
About the XVIth Karmapa and the XVIIth? I
can tell you about what has happened in the past
but not about what is going to happen in the future. Regarding the
Karmapa’s
prophecy letter, a letter for the birth of the XVIIth Karmapa, as
seen by
the tulkus, has to be written by himself.
If someone else wrote it,
people
might doubt that it is genuine.
The Karmapa recognizes
and identifies
his own rebirth. It should be interesting for scientists to discover
evidence
for a future and past life and to explain how the Karmapa identifies
his next
birth. Wouldn’t that astound scientists?
I have a copy of the letter written by the XVth
Karmapa to identify the XVIth, so I know what was written. In the
letter,
the XVth Karmapa stated that he would be born east of Tsurphu, near
the shore
of the Golden River (the shore at which he was born), at the
Glorious Mountain
(the mountain behind which he was born), Atup (the family name), the
ox (the
astrological month in which he was born), the mouse (the year he was
born).
The XVth Karmapa wrote the letter like that and this accorded with
his next
birth. The XVIth Karmapa also wrote and
left a letter
to identify the XVIIth Karmapa.
Question: Did the
First Karmapa see how many incarnations
of Karmapas there would be?
Tenzin Namgyal: This
is an important subject, which you find
in the Buddha’s teachings, who spoke of the Karmapa’s coming. Guru
Rinpoche
also prophesied the coming of the Karmapa in hidden texts; in the termas
it is stated that there will be 21 Karmapas in all.
Question: I heard
that the XVIIth Karmapa is going to be
the most powerful of all. Is that true?
Tenzin Namgyal: It
is said that the sacred power of the Karmapa
will depend upon living beings and disciples. There is no difference
in the
power and blessings of the Karmapas, but it just depends upon the
followers.
Just like the moon in the sky, its reflection depends upon the water
on which
it is reflected. If you have pure and undisturbed water, the
reflection is
perfect, otherwise not, but the moon stays the same.
This is the
same with
the Karmapas - their blessings and sacred power are the same, but it
all depends
upon the recipients.
Question: What will
happen when the XXIst Karmapa dies?
What is the reason?
Tenzin Namgyal: We
see only one Karmapa – that is our way of
seeing things. In fact, there are hundreds of millions of Karmapas
emanating
wherever help is needed.
We hear that the XXIst Karmapa will pass
away and
that there will not be any more. The reason for this is that he
works to help
all beings in this world. When this world is finished, he will have
finished,
too, and will then move to another realm.
Question: What was
the main practice of the Karmapa?
Tenzin Namgyal: The
main practice of the XVIth Karmapa was Tara,
a practice he always did. Every morning of every day,
he would do the Vajradhara, Manjushri, and Tara Sadhana, and in the
evenings
he always did the Mahakala Sadhana, the Protector Practice.
However,
you could
say that his main practice was the great non-meditation practice.
There are
different levels in Mahamudra practice: lesser, middle, and great
one-taste,
the last level being non-meditation, which also consists of lesser,
middle,
and great.
The Karmapa’s practice was great non-meditation. We know
this,
because once he was talking to the IInd Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche,
Khyentse
Öser, and they discussed this practice.
Khyentse Öser told him,
“Your realization
is right at the state of great non-meditation. That is your
practice.” He
wrote that down in the account of his life, so it is definitely
true. So,
his real practice was great non-meditation.
Question: Why did
only one Karmapa marry?
Tenzin Namgyal: The
reason why only one Karmapa married, while
the others hadn’t, was that he was practicing Nyingma teachings as
well as
Kagyu teachings; following the Nyingma Tradition he married.
However, it really
makes no difference whether he married or not; it is not the same as
thinking,
“It’s better to be married” or “It’s
worth being
married” – it really makes no difference.
Question: There’s a
photo of the XVIth Karmapa - he is
sitting on his throne and his body is translucent. Can you explain
this?
Tenzin Namgyal: Yes,
I have seen the picture. If one has faith
and devotion in the Karmapa, then seeing this picture will really
increase
one’s conviction in him. The photograph was taken while he was in
meditative
shunyata – then his body became translucent and you can see
through
it.
Question: Do beings
such as the Karmapa always appear
as lamas? Do they appear as other beings, perhaps even as women?
Tenzin Namgyal: Many
beings become manifestations of lamas –
high people, low people, and animals. Buddhas also take birth as
animals,
or as parks, bridges, and so on.
They manifest in all sorts of ways.
The dakinis
who offered their hair for the Black Crown were also emanations, so
there
are lots of female beings.
In the Tibetan tradition, there are great female
masters, such as Machig Labdrön and the consort of the XVth Karmapa;
her name
was Khandro Chenmo (“Great Dakini”).
If you look at the history of India,
there was
Gelongma Palmo, who benefited beings immensely. In terms of
emanations, there
is no distinction between male and female – whatever benefits
beings.
Wondrous Activities
The Karmapa left Palpung Monastery for Tsurmang
Monastery of Garwang Rinpoche in 1940. Since it was very cold, he
stayed there
that winter. During that time there was a special day for Jetsun
Milarepa.
On this day the Karmapa did Milarepa Guru Yoga and had a vision of
him in
a great sphere of light. The Karmapa wrote a prayer to Milarepa that
reads:
“Milarepa appeared in the midst of all this light, like the bright
sunlight.”
This prayer still exists in his own
handwriting,
and we can see it.
Many miracles happened while the Karmapa was staying
at Tsurmang.
When the Karmapa was in his own room and looking out
the window
onto the courtyard, he saw two horses, one called Zhutrul
(“Miracle”), which
belonged to Situ Rinpoche, and the other called Tamug (“Brown
Horse”), which
belonged to Beru Rinpoche.
In fact, the miracles I mentioned about
the horses
leaving footprints on stones were by these horses. This time they
were being
groomed and fed to become even more beautiful so that they could be
presented
as a gift.
These horses were very renowned for having left their
footprints
in many places. In a text, Chökyi Dekyi Lingpa Rinpoche wrote about
what these
horses with great power would become and this happened.
Not only one
or two
people witnessed the footprints these horses left in stone, but also
everybody
saw them.
At that time the Karmapa told the previous Tsurmang
Garwang Tulku that he was going to give him a very big present.
Tsurmang Tulku
pondered, “Oh, I wonder what that is.” The Karmapa brought a crystal
about
the size of a hand, and Tsurmang Garwang wondered, “Why is he giving
me a
crystal that’s not very valuable?
But he gave it to me, so it’s an
important
present.” He then went to the window and threw the crystal onto the
stone
pavement of the courtyard. The crystal cut into the stone and stuck
there,
not broken or split.
Garwang ran downstairs and thought, “He is a
great siddha,
and he gave me such a fabulous present.” He called everyone to come
and see
how the crystal stuck in the stone. He kept this crystal as a great
blessing,
and this was something everyone could witness.
I wasn’t there at the
time,
but all of the Karmapa’s attendants told me about this event. I have
seen
the crystal, because Tsurmang Garwang Rinpoche kept it.
A new temple was being built next to the older
temple at Tsurphu, so there were lots of monks as well as older
people working
there. One night when the Karmapa was there in 1944, he told one of
the treasurers
at Tsurphu to go and check that area. He told him that there would
be a sign
there.
The treasurer went at night with the secretary of Tsurphu and
someone
called Norbu. They searched for a sign, but the only thing they saw
was a
stone that looked like the surface of water – it had the colour of
water and
the designs on it were like ripples on water – it was the only
interesting
thing they could see.
They returned to the Karmapa and told him. He
replied
to them, “Yes, that is it, so everything is fine. The signs are
there, so
tomorrow something will happen.” The next day the workers dug about 5
ft.
under the stone and found a treasure of gold, the amount a coolie
could carry
in a bag.
They laid a khatag on the stone and told the
Karmapa what
had happened. He reacted in a way that showed that he already knew
and told
them, “So, you have found the gold.” He asked them, “How did you
find it?”
They told him the story, and he remained as calm as someone who
knows. Then
he told them, “You must look after this gold very well and not let
anyone
else get their hands on it, because it is a gift from Karma Dorje
Gyalpo,
one of the guardian deities of the Karmapas, also one of the water
deities.
He continued, “Nobody else should use it, because it is a gift for
the monastery.”
So they used the gold for the Tara
statues, for the gyanjara on the top of the
roof of the temple, and for all the sacred things in the temple.
Everybody
saw the gold that was found.
After the 21 Tara
statues at Tsurphu were completed and the mantras and all the things
necessary
to fill the inside of the statues had been done by Yeunzin
Rinpoche, the Karmapa performed the ceremony of blessing the
statues.
When
he did this and threw the grains, everyone saw that the main Tara
not only moved but also grew in size.
The Tara statues had been
placed in
boxes designed specifically for them, but the main Tara
was now 5-finger widths too big for the box after the blessing
ceremony, because
the wisdom deity who had been invited merged into her.
When the
XVIth Karmapa
blessed this statue, the Great Buddha Statue at Tsurphu moved. This
also happened
when the IInd Karmapa blessed a statue there.
One time when the Karmapa and his escorts were
travelling from Tsurmang to Tsurphu, they were going through the
area of Ani
Öd. Ani Pen-kye is the local deity of that area, who had made
offerings to
previous Karmapas.
The deity had offered
a huge
phurba to the XIVth Karmapa, Tegchog Dorje, for the practice
of Dorje
Phurba, Vajrakilaya. This deity gave the XVth Karmapa a sword. When
the XVIth
Karmapa was travelling through the area, the deity came to greet
him.
The
Karmapa was sitting at the table with his escorts and they saw a big
zhee
(a black and white onyx stone) on the table. Nobody saw where it had
come
from. The monks looked around but didn’t see anybody, just the
precious stone,
which was called Ma-me (“Precious Stone without a Cord”).
As they
continued
along their journey and reached a mountain, the Karmapa blessed and
offered
a white yak to Ninchen Tangla, the local mountain deity; then they
set the
yak free. The yak went straightforward as though it was being led,
but it
was on its own.
The Karmapa explained that Ninchen Tangla had
actually arrived
to greet him and that the deity was there to accept the yak and lead
it away.
It is said that Ninchen Tangla is a Bodhisattva on the 8th
bhumi,
and the Karmapa told us, “Having met him, this is true, and he
looked very
majestic. These deities are on the side of goodness, on the white
side, and
he is one of the most powerful ones.”
In 1947 the Karmapa was 24 years old and went
to West Tibet. At one point the
group had
to cross the Upper
Tsangpo River,
which isn’t deep in the morning but becomes a torrent when the snow
melts
during the course of the day.
The group told the Karmapa, “We have
to leave
very early in order to cross the river, otherwise we can’t.” The
Karmapa seemed
annoyed about leaving so early. A few in the group left on their own
at dawn,
but the Karmapa didn’t leave until 10 or 11 a.m., and by then the
river was
very deep. Those who stayed behind with him thought, “Now it is too
deep.”
The Karmapa was travelling in a palanquin given to the Vth Karmapa
by the
Ming Emperor; it was attached to two strong poles, and eight people
who had
specific uniforms and wore special hats had to carry it.
The Karmapa insisted that they cross the river and that two
mules pull
the palanquin.
The mules could not reach the ground when they were
in the
middle of the river, so they swam while the palanquin rose higher
and higher.
The carriers held it firmly, hoping it would not tip over.
Two
carriers, Chig
Tarche and Rinchen Puntsok were shorter than the other six and held
on for
their lives when they both lost their
grip, fell
into the river, and were swept away by the current.
Thousands of
people who
lined the shores to see the Karmapa saw Chig Tarche and Rinchen
Puntsok sitting
on the bank of the other side of the river with their clothes and
hats on,
as though they had stepped off a boat.
Everyone was astounded about
their
ease; this is another miracle witnessed by many people. Actually,
they had
assembled along the shores to witness the Karmapa and now they saw
that even
his carriers have miraculous powers. But it wasn’t their doing,
rather that
of the Karmapa.
The Karmapa continued the pilgrimage to Bodhgaya,
India,
from West Tibet. There is a
mountain near
Bodhgaya, which is the base of the 6-armed Mahakala, and this is the
location
of the Jetavana Charnel Ground. When there, he
actually
saw the 6-armed Mahakala, who told him that he would protect his
teachings.
Ever since then, this has been true.
The Karmapa loved birds and had many that he fed
every day. Birds usually fall over when they die, but when the
Karmapa’s birds
died, they sat upright for 3 or 4 days, like advanced meditators.
The Karmapa’s dog, called Yidruk, who left footprints
in rocks, always sat on the Karmapa’s lap. While in West Tibet, many worms crawled around a wound that
Yidruk
had; the wound became bigger and bigger and more worms crawled over
the dog’s
entire body as a result.
People who saw this felt so sorry for
Yidruk and
asked the Karmapa to please do something about it. He didn’t seem to
respond,
though, and the people begged, “We must use medicine against these
worms.”
The Karmapa told them, “No, there is no need, because this dog is
Bodhisattva
Maitreya.” You know the story about Maitreya appearing to Asanga as a
dog?
Therefore the Karmapa told them, “This is Maitreya.”
There is a
cemetery called
“The Cemetery of the 500 Arhats” in West Tibet.
When Yidruk died, the Karmapa took his remains there personally.
Question: I heard
that when the XVIth Karmapa was cremated,
his heart came out.
Tenzin Namgyal: When
he passed away in 1981, he was cremated.
There are 4 portals in the stupa, one in each cardinal
direction, and
Tai Situ Rinpoche was standing at the side from which it came out.
This is
something that happens when exceptional teachers like Gampopa and
the XVIth
Karmapa are cremated: their eyes, tongue, and heart gather into a
lump.
This
exceptional relic of the XVIth Karmapa is inside the Great Stupa in
his room
at Rumtek Monastery. One must see it when one goes to Rumtek and do
wishing-prayers
there. Whatever you wish for there will come true.
When we fled Tibet in1959, I was asked to
be one
of the Karmapa’s attendants. I was all alone, without my family, and
the Karmapa’s
driver could not take the car, because the Chinese had destroyed it.
They
fled on horseback and reached Drongsa in Bhutan; I
was young, so I walked.
I was very tired when we reached the refugee camp and ate the joints
of animals
that the Bhutanese generously cooked for us. Exhausted from all the
duties
that needed to be done, one day I leaned against a tent while
chewing on a
cooked bone. I accidentally breathed in the bone when I slipped and
fell and
woke up choking. I tried everything to get it out, coughed and drank
so that
it would come out, but the bone was stuck in my lungs; blood and
puss came
gushing out of my mouth when I coughed for 6 whole months. When I
arrived
at Rumtek, everyone thought I had tuberculosis. People always
received medicine
from the Karmapa when they were sick and they recovered quickly -
not me.
He told me, “It looks like your illness is due to past karma. The
best treatment
is to drink my urine. Maybe this will help.” I did so every day from
them
on.
A few weeks later we were climbing up and down the steep gorge
that separates
Rumtek from Gangtok. When we arrived at Gangtok, I spat out a
glass-full of
puss every time I coughed every night.
The Karmapa told me that he
could smell
the puss on my breath when I opened the door to his room. The
Karmapa and
his escorts then returned to Rumtek on horseback; he told me to stay
behind
another day.
I was very upset and thought, “I have been working for
the Karmapa
all these years and this is how he treats me.” That night I thought,
“The
Karmapa is behaving very badly towards me. All the others are
healthy and
may ride on horses, but poor me, I have to walk.”
I was very annoyed
all night,
because I couldn’t say anything to the Karmapa but simply had to
wait.
The next day I had to scramble down the slope
to return to Rumtek and didn’t cough. When I climbed the steep slope
to reach
the Monastery, I could only take 10 steps and then had to sit down
and rest.
I coughed puss and blood again and again. Then I felt a huge lump in
my throat
and thought a neck bone had broken from coughing so much.
Frightened
terribly,
something came out of my mouth and it looked like my whole neck.
Then I recognized
that I was holding the bone that I had swallowed months earlier in
my hand
and was very happy – I felt the same joy it is said that
practitioners experience
when they attain the first Bodhisattva bhumi.
Now I know what that
joy is
like and felt inconceivable conviction in the Gyalwa Karmapa. Had I
left a
day earlier and gone by horseback, the bone would never have come
out and
I would have died.
I was already as thin as Milarepa probably was -
just skin
and bones. People were already whispering to each other, “He will
die soon.”
Having spit out the bone, I was able to reach the top of the hill in
one go.
Ever since then, I have total certainty and pure devotion in the
Karmapa,
not just faith, but changeless and unshakeable conviction,
and I do whatever he says. The Karmapa saw what was taking place and
saved
my life. This is truly amazing.
Thank you very much.
May virtue increase!
Zhanag Dzogpa Tenzin
Namgyal (1933-2005)
was also the General Secretary of His Holiness the XVIIth Karmapa.
Tenzin
Namgyal, Thrangu Rinpoche's brother-in-law, narrated this account at
Thrangu
Tashi Chöling in Bodnath,
Nepal,
in 1989. Peter Roberts was
so kind and translated from Tibetan.
Transcribed and edited by Gaby Hollmann (1992/2007), responsible for all errors
in this account.
cybershamans (karmapolice) / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
