Karmapa

The Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. The office is held by a lineage of reincarnate lamas, whose recognition has sometimes been contested.

Düsum Khyenpa: A Tibetan Buddhist master (1110–1193), regarded as the first Karmapa and founder of the Karma Kagyu lineage. His recognition as the first Karmapa establishes the lineage’s historical starting point.
Tulku: A Tibetan Buddhist teacher recognized as the reincarnation of a predecessor and trained to continue that predecessor’s religious role. The Karmapa is understood within the Tibetan tulku institution.
Karmapa Thaye Dorje: One of two men recognized by different Karma Kagyu authorities as the 17th Karmapa. His recognition is one side of the contemporary succession dispute.
Karmapa controversy: The dispute over competing recognitions of the 17th Karmapa and their institutional consequences. It shows how succession disagreements can divide a lineage’s communities.
Karma Kagyu: A major school of Tibetan Buddhism belonging to the Kagyu tradition and led by the Karmapa. The Karmapa’s office is the leadership of this school.
Karmapa recognition process: The procedures and religious judgments through which candidates are identified and recognized as Karmapa incarnations. These procedures establish a successor and have become contested.
Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje: One of two men recognized by different Karma Kagyu authorities as the 17th Karmapa. His recognition is the other side of the contemporary succession dispute.
Tibetan diaspora: Communities of Tibetans living outside Tibet, especially those formed after the Chinese occupation and exile of 1959. Karmapa institutions became influential within communities rebuilding religious life in exile.
Kagyu: One of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, emphasizing meditation and transmission through teacher lineages. Karma Kagyu, the Karmapa’s school, belongs to this broader tradition.
Karmapa prediction letter: A letter attributed to a Karmapa that gives clues intended to identify his future reincarnation. Such letters have been invoked as evidence in succession disputes.

Linked from 8 pages