Diamond-like Resolve Pamela Gayle White interviews the 17th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje hen I entered my first three-year retreat in France, in trotted up to him and showed him the photo of Ogyen Trinley. 1991, the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe His reaction took me by surprise. He looked at it long and hard WDorje, had been gone for ten years already, and spec- before stating, “That’s not the Karmapa. He’s surely a high- ulation about how the next Karmapa would manifest and why ranking tulku with great spiritual potential, but he’s not the the recognition process was taking so long was a common topic Karmapa.” He then handed me back the photo and continued within our lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. The Karmapas are the walking. supreme heads of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Bud- In the following weeks and months we learned that there dhism, and indeed the tradition of Buddhist lineages headed by were two main contenders for the Karmapa title, seat, respon- reincarnate bodhisattvas formally began in the 13th century sibilities, and the black hat or crown that symbolizes his spiri- with the Karmapa line. tual reach and connection to enlightenment on every plane of Eventually, the official recognition of new emanations of de- existence. Important Kagyu masters disagreed on which one parted masters would be adopted and codified by all schools of was authentic. I had received transmission from all the 16th Tibetan Buddhism. The recognized incarnates are called Karmapa’s dharma regents; my main retreat sponsors, some of “tulkus,” from the Tibetan sprul pa’i sku, a term that actually my favorite teachers, and many dharma friends were connected designates the material manifestation of an enlightened being. to the “other” Karmapa, and we still didn’t know who “our” The most famous example alive today is, of course, His Holiness Karmapa was supposed to be. The situation was confusing the 14th Dalai Lama of the Gelug line. Over the centuries there and, frankly, irritating. These guys were meant to be realized have been many tulkus, among them men and, rarely, women, bodhisattvas, after all. How could they be quarreling? of great wisdom, power, and extraordinary kindness; tulkus who Gendun Rinpoche repeatedly told us to focus on our practice have been prolific, unorthodox, clairvoyant, exacting, adven- and assured us that the transmission we were receiving was un- turesome, artistic—or simply forgettable. sullied and authentic. These situations happened, he said, when Traditionally, tulkus inherit qualities, responsibilities, disci- motivations and actions became polluted by veils, greed, and ples, and property according to their spiritual power and rank. politics, but they were not our immediate concern. He also told They receive a special education, usually in a monastic setting. us that once he himself had left this world behind, we would be High-ranking tulkus have often formed allegiances with mighty well advised to follow the lead of Karma Kagyu lineage holder leaders, notably in Mongolia and China, and tulkudom has also Shamar Rinpoche and trust his judgment. been subject to the intrigues and dealings that inevitably go Of course, we did learn who “our” Karmapa was: Trinley hand in hand with temporal power. Thaye Dorje, a Tibetan boy whose parents were the third I didn’t know much about the subject when I entered retreat. Mipham Rinpoche, a prominent master of the Nyingma school, So some months later, when friends sent me a letter saying that and Dechen Wangmo, said to be a direct descendent of Tibet’s the Karmapa had finally been identified, and included a photo legendary King Gesar of Ling. He had been formally recog- of a handsome boy with ruddy cheeks, I was delighted. After all, nized by Shamar Rinpoche. His carefully orchestrated (and this was the long-awaited return of the bodhisattva whose line very hush-hush) escape from Tibet to India in 1994 received no we addressed our prayers to during our daily practices; the man media attention, and his low profile made it possible for him to whose predecessors had penned the Mahamudra Aspiration continue receiving the education, transmissions, and practice Prayer, the Ocean of Definitive Meaning, and countless other time necessary to develop the spiritual qualities required for his spiritual gems. calling. My heart teacher and retreat master, the late Gendun I first laid eyes on His Holiness the 17th Karmapa Trinley Rinpoche, was very close to the 16th Karmapa, who had en- Thaye Dorje, in late 2000 during his initial visit to Europe, PHOTOGRAPH © SALVA MAGAZ | WWW.MAGAZ.COM MAGAZ © SALVA PHOTOGRAPH trusted him with establishing the lineage transmission in France. which began in France. The Karmapa “situation” was in full The next time Rinpoche came to our retreat center, I joyfully swing back then, and Thaye Dorje’s supporters had had to deal 38 TRICYCLE WINTER 2012 TRICYCLE WINTER 2012 39 with heavy political pressure, corrupt officials, misinformation, confusion is clarity, and the absence of karmic debts is that we and worse; most likely those aligned with Ogyen Trinley had have full control; we are not driven by karma. Actually, we can grievances as well. I’d learned a bit about Tibetan politics since influence karma instead of karma influencing us. coming out of retreat in 1997 and was fed up with it all. I was The conditioned world also becomes conditioned in a gradu- feeling disgruntled and cranky when our van rolled into a chic al way—we don’t have sadness or crises or anything [snaps his Parisian quarter for the welcoming ceremony. The pomp, the fingers] just like that. They happen as a process. One misunder- protocol—it really wasn’t the sort of dharma that inspired me. standing after another, and on top of it, first a little bit of confu- And then I saw the Karmapa, stood in line, felt his touch, re- sion, then judgment, and somehow in our pursuit of clearing the ceived his blessing, and was instantly connected to something confusion or disturbing emotions we develop false ideas, and so vast, so open, so energized and pregnant with potential that again more layers of confusion, and all of this becomes a habit, I was very unexpectedly and thoroughly blown away. becomes natural to us. And we think that this is who we are, Now 29 years old, Thaye Dorje has just wrapped up a that this is human nature. As a result, we finally have a crisis. 12-country tour. Unlike Ogyen Trinley, he has not yet taught The gradual path is a way to reverse that. in the United States or Canada, where it is not widely known Mahamudra is the absolute view of what enlightenment is. that there is such a thing as a “Karmapa controversy.” At pres- Basically, Mahamudra is the goal, and the gradual path helps us ent, there is no formal resolution to the drama that has been reach it in a very peaceful and nonviolent way. No one wants unfolding since the early 90s, but communication between the confusion; everyone wants clarity, transparency, peace. But the two sides does appear to be more cordial than it has been in the absolute truth can’t be shown or handed to you like that [gestures past. quickly]. Mahamudra is a means, a unique process of examples I still don’t like the politics, pomp, and protocol, and I have and metaphors that teach that one can experience clarity of plenty of misgivings about the tulku system, which I’ve seen up mind and full control of one’s life. close and personal enough to be awed and dismayed by turns. I Also, seeing that others who are just like us, with similar can’t state with objective certainty that I know who the Karmapa wants and needs, don’t have that clarity or those means leads to is, or that the whole idea is anything more than a fantasy. But I am an inexpressible, unconditioned experience of compassion. It’s deeply inspired by the universal message of Karmapa Thaye Dorje, not our usual idea of compassion; it’s naturally there. a soft-spoken young man with an ingenious sense of humor and a diamond-like resolve. I sat down with him for a conversation at According to the classic biographies and texts, there’s a Karma Migyur Ling in the Vercors, France, in August. magical, superhuman side to the great realized bodhisatt- —Pamela Gayle White vas. Many of the Karmapas are said to have great powers, such as the power of omniscience. Do you have special pow- | WWW.MAGAZ.COM MAGAZ © SALVA PHOTOGRAPH ers? Are you omniscient? When one trains in the illusory nature The 17th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje speaks with Pamela Gayle White at Karma Migyur Ling in Montchardon, France. Your Holiness, what is a Karmapa? Karma is a Sanskrit word of phenomena, there’s a point where one gains certainty [about that means action or activity. Pa is a Tibetan word; it means that nature], and then it’s possible to sort of transform any kind “THERE ARE ALWAYS CONTROVERSIES. THERE IS NO LIFE WITHOUT OBSTACLES, someone who embraces or holds that action or activity. In this of environment into a favorable one. But it’s quite different from case, the hidden meaning is a bodhisattva, meaning a person magic, I think. In terms of realized bodhisattvas, what look like THERE’S NO LIFE WITHOUT PROBLEMS. IT’S UNAVOIDABLE. AS PRACTITIONERS, AS with a very kind heart and great wisdom, who holds and carries supernatural powers are not exactly magic; they’re just the real- on the activities of the Buddhas.