2. On the Visions of Chokgyur Lingpa - Geshe Dawa Gyaltsen / The following is an edited ttanslation78 of an article written in Tibetan by Geshe71 Dawa Gyaltsen, in which he presents his analysis of one segment of the Visions of Chokgyur Lingpa contained in Lingpa's 19th century biography. In it, the 17th Karmapa is seen sitting together with Kenting Tai Situ at the side of trees and a rocky mountain. The supporters of Situ Rinpoche have interpreted the figure in this vision to be the current Situ Rinpoche, and claim the vision is a prophetic sign that the current Situ should be the one to recognize the 17th Karmapa. However, Geshe Dawa Gyaltsen's research on the subject yields a different interpretation. In the following article, Geshe offers his findings, and reveals that the original Tibetan text may have been tampered with during a reprinting commissioned in the 1980s. Chokgyur Lingpa (1829-1870) was one of the most recent Nyingma tenons. He was closely associated with the 14th Karmapa Thegchog Dorje, Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, andJamyang Khyentse Wangpo. One day, while Chokgyur Lingpa was staying at the Karma monastery, he had visions of the 21 emanations of Karmapa. The biography of Chokgyur Lingpan contains a description of these visions, one of which depicted the 17th Karmapa and Situ Rinpoche together. The current Situ Rinpoche and his supporters have used this vision to substantiate Situ Rinpoche's recognition of Ogyen Trinley as the 17rh Karmapa. 70 Editor's footnote: Witb permission, I bave edited tbe translation of tbe original orrick of Gesbe DauJo Gyaltsen in order to make tbe argummts as clear as possibk. 71 Editor's footnote: Gesbe literai!J means "spiritual friend." In sonu Tibetan scbools of Buddbism, sucb as tbe Gelug S cbool, it is tbe bigbest academic degm acbievabk. 72 Editor's footnote: Tbe Tibetan nome of H e Biogrqpla of 01ok,our Li'ljj!a is N o111 Uor Tasbi Yang Kri Yon .l.i!&, meaning "Branc!J of A uspicious Song." N om Tbor means "biogropfry. " (From bert on, tbis Biogroplry is rifemd toas{.J..J. 51 52 0 PRO PHECIES AN D VISIONS Chokgyur Lingpa commissioned a thangka painting to illustrate his visions. Situ Rinpoche's supporters use this thangka to claim that the figure shown beside the black-crowned figure is the current Situ Rinpoche. / I have seen a copy of this thangka. It shows a lama wearing a black crown sitting high up on a flat-surfaced rock. Five lamas are seated below him at his feet, and a lama wearing a red crown is seen at the right of this group. Certainly, we can accept that the figure with a black crown is likely Karmapa, who is the subject of the visions. But we cannot tell which Karmapa is pictured. The same applies to the figure depicted with a red crown; we cannot identify him definitively based on the drawing alone. I checked with the written description of this vision in the written biography. My copy of the biography is a relatively modern one, reprinted in New Delhi in the early 1980s.n I found the descriptions of the visions disappointingly brief. There were hardly any details about the 1•• to the 14'h Karmapas; possibly because those Karmapas lived before Chokgyur Lingpa's time, so their lives were already known. Nevertheless, this extreme conciseness struck me as odd. The latter seven Karmapas were described in more detail, but even those descriptions were scanty. My research connected me to a learned Karma Kagyu lama74 who had read a different copy of the biography: an old woodblock print that had belonged to Sal jed Rinpoche before his death in 1987.75 The learned lama explained that the old copy had actually belonged to the 16•h Karmapa. It was given to Karmapa in 1963 by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche of Kathmandu, Nepal, via Karmapa's representative in Nepal, Zimgag Chokyab. It had been kept in the library at Rumtek until Saljed Rinpoche borrowed it. Later, he asked the 16•h Karmapa if he could keep it, and Karmapa apparently consented without much thought. The learned lama described the appearance of the old copy: its old Tibetan paper had yellowed considerably, and it was bound between two pieces of black wood tied together by a piece of leather string. The learned lama had been given access to the old copy during his time working in the library alongside his teacher, who was the librarian at Rumtek. What this learned lama told me about the old copy was very curious, and I felt compelled to record the details. I will begin by introducing an excerpt from the biography of Chokgyur Lingpa. I will first show how Chokgyur Lingpa was related to the 14th and 15 th Karmapas to demonstrate that he knew and understood the two ways of counting the Karmapas (by birth order and then by the order of throne holders). This is relevant to our discussion because we are trying to identify a specific Karmapa in his visions - the one whom he referred to as the 17th Karmapa. 7J I sba/1 bereafter refer to it as tbe "ne1v copy." 74 Tbt lama in question bas asked to remain anony111ous. He is willing-to reveal bis name on!J if it becomes absolute!J necessary. I sba/1 refer to bim bere as ''tbe learned lama. " 75 I sba/1 refer to Ibis as ''!be old copy "from now 011. ON THE VISIONS OF C HOKGYU R LINGPA 53 I will then present the learned lama's verbal accounts regarding the old copy of the biography, the differences between the old and the new wording, and what he knew about the circumstances surrounding the printing of the new copy. I will also share some of my own observations, questions and analysis. / Translation of New Copy ｾ＠ 439, last line: ... When the 14th Kannapa Thegchog Dorje was about to pass away, Chokgyur Lingpa hurried to Tsurphu to see him. He managed to get there in time. At Tsurphu, Chokgyur Lingpa entered the big room on the upper floor of the monastery. He saw the 14•h Kannapa looking very comfortable and powerful seated on the throne. He prostrated himself, and was about to sit down when Kannapa's elder brother Jewon Lama asked him to go into the inner room. There was Kannapa on the bed looking very sick. Chokgyur Lingpa was taken aback and he blurted out, ''Who was it I saw out there just now? You were there!" "That must be like that!" Kannapa replied. Chokgyur Lingpa then understood it to be a sign76• Kannapa also told Chokgyur Lingpa something special and profound. In the inner room, there was also Drukchen Thamchad Khyenpa (head of Drugpa Kagyu) as well as the abbot from his monastery, and others who were all there. Drukchen Thamchad Khyenpa earnestly requested Kannapa to please return to them as soon as possible after his parinirvana77 • Kannapa, who was one with the freedom to choose his rebirth to his own liking, then produced a letter. In it, he had written that his next rebirth would take place within his own family called Danang Yah Zhi. Then he passed away ....7 B 79 ••• Later, when Chokgyur Lingpa was traveling in Merzhung, he received a message that Kannapa had been reborn. He composed a long-life prayer especially for the newborn Kannapa. The biography of Chokgyur Lingpa indicates that he was closely connected to both the 14th Karmapa and the 15th Karmapa when the latter was a baby. He was one of the witnesses present when the 14th Karmapa gave a letter to Drukchen Rinpoche indicating that he would be reborn into his own family. Just after the 14th Karmapa produced this letter, Lingpa witnessed his passing away. He was also notified when Karmapa's reincarnation was born. Just as the 14th Karmapa had 76 It means he realized that be had sem a vision. 77 Parinirvana is the attainment of complete enligbtenment upon pi!Jsical deatb. 78 CL: 440, 1sf line. 79 t:;L: 475476 54 ON PROPHECIES AND VISI O NS predicted, the baby was born into the same family, the Danang Yab Zhi. That is why the account of the death and rebirth of the 14th Karmapa was recorded in the biography of Chokgyur Lingpa. However, the 15th Karmapa passed away when he was just three years old. When Karmapa Khakhyab Dorje was born, Drukchen Rinpoche recognized him as Karmapa without a prediction letter. Because the previous Karmapa had never been officially enthroned, Karmapa Khakhyab Dorje became the 15•h throne holder in the Karmapa reincarnation line. Bodhisattvas choose to be reborn in order to help sentient beings. Enthronement is therefore insignificant for a bodhisattva, since it is simply a matter of protocol. The numbered title of the throne holder is also relatively unimportant; a bodhisattva's lifespan, whether short or long, does not carry any particular meaning because there are many ways to help sentient beings that are beyond the understanding of ordinary people. If we are keeping count of the successive Karmapas, it makes sense to count the baby Karmapa even though he was not enthroned. The child was the 15•h reincarnation in the line of Karmapas, and Karmapa Khakhyab Dorje was the 16th by birth. This means that Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje was the 17th Karmapa by birth, even though he was the 16th throne holder. That said, as I read Chokgyur Lingpa's vision, I was naturally mindful of the two ways of numbering.