H. H. K A R M A P A 1 6
His Holiness the 16th Karmapa was born in 1924 in Eastern Tibet. He was recognized as the Karmapa Tulku at a very young age, and was taken to Palpung monastery where he was given ordination and transmission for the Black Crown Ceremony, which he performed for the first time at the age of 7.
The Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-sect of the Kagyu lineage, which is one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He is best known for his exuberant joyfulness, his love of birds and animals, and for his generosity in offering the Black Crown Ceremony to thousands of people.
In the early 1960’s, he escaped from Tibet on foot with 160 monks into Bhutan, and later moved to Sikkim, where he built Rumtek Monastery. In 1975, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche invited the Karmapa to come to the United States where he was greatly welcomed by his Western students. He traveled to all of the Kagyu centers, where he gave empowerments and teachings.
