“Then during the time of the 10th Karmapa, there was the Mongolian invasion and when the Mongolians came, there was a lot of destruction of not just the Kagyu but also the Jonang, the Bonpos and different lineages. The ‘worst hit’ was the Kagyu and among them the Karma Kamtsang and the Drugpa Kagyu. Especially the Karma Kagyu experienced the biggest destruction. In the past, in Karma Kagyu there was a well-developed and strong community of study which was destroyed entirely. For example, many of the monasteries founded by the 7th and 8th Karmapas are nothing more than ruins, and it is difficult to even identify what several of them are. So, for several hundred years within the Karma Kagyu there were no fully-fledged shedras at that time. This is because of external conditions and being unable to establish shedras.” —17th Karmapa (Kagyu Guncho teaching, 11 January 2024)
One of the things I have always admired about the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa is how he has not only revived old traditions within Karma Kagyu, but also pioneered new ones with his focus on contemporary concerns such as female empowerment and education of the nuns (with the institution of the Arya Kshema event), the environment, vegetarianism, art, poetry, theatre and more. I have not seen anything like that level of innovation or creativity in other lineages.
Another example of this can be seen in his ‘hands-on’ and financial support of the Kagyu Guncho winter event annually held in Bodh Gaya, where Karma Kagyu monks from Bhutan, India and Nepal come to engage in a month of intensive study and vigorous debate competitions. This annual event is called the Guncho, a Tibetan word which means ‘winter dharma’. In this article, I explore the origins and purpose of the Karma Kagyu Winter event, the 17th Karmapa’s teaching on the crucial time and importance for Karma Kagyu to preserve and revive their excellent study communities after widespread destruction and suppression of them for centuries within Tibet, and the forthcoming Kagyu Monlam presided over for the first time by the 12th Tai Situpa who will give a Maitreya empowerment and perform the ‘red crown’ ceremony on the 16th January (see more details below).
The Marmey (light offering) Monlam is done on the final day of the Kagyu Monlam, and for a reminder of how it used to be when the 17th Karmapa was presiding, here is a 2 hour smorgasbord of music from many different Asian cultures and countries, with songs, dances and Monlam praises galore in 2017 (the last Monlam the 17th Karmapa attended the Monlam in person). Maybe it was all a little too much for the other lineages to ‘stomach’ and ‘pride comes before a fall’ as they say! Not sure what the Shakyamuni Buddha would also make of all the musical entertainment (like a pop concert at times) for monastics in terms of Vinaya rules regarding music and dance (just like eating slaughtered animals, it would not have been considered permissible). Nonetheless, as an example of how the 17th Karmapa’s activities are excellent and incomparable with other lineages in making the Buddha Dharma accessible, relevant and interesting in the 21st century, it is a supreme one indeed.
Dedicated to the amazing Karma Kagyu tradition and to the long-life, wishes and fulfilment of all the activities of the incomparable 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, a tiger bowed but not broken/defeated. Music? Prayer to the Glorious Kagyu Lineage Holders and Milarepa’s Song Beyond Comparison chanted by 17th Karmapa, ‘Eye of the Tiger’ by Survivor and Fix You by Coldplay.
The Kagyu Guncho (Dharma Winter event)reviving the Karma Kagyu’s excellence in studies
The first Kagyu Guncho occurred in 1997, initiated by the Venerable Choje Lama Phuntsok, founder of Karma Lekshey Ling Shedra, based in Swayambhu, Kathmandu, Nepal. The different shedras were geographically remote from each other, and he envisioned an annual gathering as a means to facilitate exchanges between them and raise standards in Dharma study and debate. The Guncho began with just a few participants but has grown to become a major event in the Kagyu monastic year.
This year was the 24th Kagyu Guncho and the 17th Karmapa gave a three day teaching at the end of it (for Day One summary, see here). The Guncho is being funded by the Gyalwang Karmapa’s Kun Kyong Charitable Trust. All previous Gunchos were funded by the Office of the Gyalwang Karmapa. For the duration of the Guncho, participants live in tents, replicating the life of the Garchen in Tibet, and eat from a communal kitchen. Class, group debates, and rounds of the debate competition are all held at the host monastery/shedra. The Gyalwang Karmapa’s vision is that all Karma Kagyu shedras, for both nuns and monks, should attain the highest standards of rigorous study of Buddhist philosophy. Each day from 5.30am in the morning until 10.30pm at night, they follow a demanding schedule which includes private study sessions, group debates, class debates, teachings, and morning and evening prayers.
The annual teaching event for the nuns, the Arya Kshema (also established by the 17th Karmapa) follows the Kagyu Guncho and will start on the 28th January in Bodh Gaya. The 17th Karmapa has announced he will teach on the renowned and iconic Vajrayana text ‘The Fifty Verses on the Guru’, a real treat indeed! More on that in future posts.
17th Karmapa’s teaching on the importance of study, debate and research for the ‘yellow hat’ Karma Kagyu’s preservation and revival
On Day One of the teaching, the 17th Karmapa emphasised the importance of deep study, research and debate in meditation for the Kagyu, to that of an international academic standard and the different methods of gaining deep understanding of Buddhist texts and philosophy such as in the Kangyur, Tengyur and other and so on:
“During the Kagyu Guncho we have continued with the competitive debates, following the same way we did it last year. So last year, many of the monks who participated thought it was good to continue in that way and so we are continuing like that and the competition has gone well and it has been very good. In any case, as I said on the first day of the Guncho, to improve our studies and teaching, there are many different methods, there is using debate, teaching, writing and explaining. These days in the big universities people do research as a way to improve study and to gain greater understanding of the texts and write papers. And that is another method and that is an important point.
The main point of the winter event (Guncho) is to improve our study and knowledge. Studying and researching texts in universities is very important and the Buddhist texts and teachings should be researched in fine and accurate detail and not just in an ordinary way and not just from one’s own tradition. By doing detailed research on all the texts, one will get the accomplishment and result of understanding the texts. One can get to the point of having gained real understanding.”
The 17th Karmapa then ended by giving the example of the style and way monastics debate and if it is really to uncover faults in reasonings or views then it is beneficial. But if it is not and more a rote memory type competition, then it is just ‘ka-kha’ speaking mere words, and just finding a fault so that the other person cannot speak, and shouting to get one’s point across and not really listening to the other view, then it is not that beneficial and that debaters need to think about that. If the debate is really just about words, and then it is difficult to get deeply into the meaning of the texts. The Karmapa requested that these methods be discussed at the conference by not just Khenpos but all the monastics.
The wide-scale destruction, suppression and ruin of Kagyu shedras and monasteries by the Gelugpas/Mongolians for centuries
On the final day 3 teaching, the 17th Karmapa ended by explaining how due to the violent Mongolian invasion and domination of Tibet [which although the 17th Karmapa did not say, was done with the Dalai Lamas/Gelugpas as the Mongolian’s ‘spiritual’ leaders] learning and excellence in Karma Kagyu experienced serious setbacks, suppression and destruction from the 10th Karmapa onwards, and that the Kagyupas in particular were ‘worst hit’ by this brute treatment:
“Then during the time of the 10th Karmapa, there was the Mongolian invasion and when the Mongolians came, there was a lot of destruction of not just the Kagyu but also the Jonang, the Bonpos and different lineages. The ‘worst hit’ was the Kagyu and among them the Karma Kamtsang and the Drugpa Kagyu. In particular, the Karma Kagyu experienced the worst destruction. In the past, in Karma Kagyu there was a well-developed and strong community of study which was destroyed entirely. For example, many of the monasteries founded by the 7th and 8th Karmapas are nothing more than ruins, and it is difficult to even identify what several of them are. So, for several hundred years within the Karma Kagyu there were no fully-fledged shedras at that time. This is because of external conditions and being unable to establish shedras.
If we can manage to do to re-establish these shedras, there is no longer any external circumstance of someone saying we cannot do it anymore. So, on a day like this, for us to restore the Kagyu community of study and to uphold the transmission of the teachings, is a wonderful opportunity for us to do that. “
[Author’s note: It is said by historians, that when Gushi Khan and the Mongolian army invaded Central Tibet and defeated the indigenous Tsangpa Dynasty, he was proclaimed (chogyal), i.e. the King of Dharma, or Teaching, by the Fifth Dalai Lama. Gushi khan granted to the Dalai Lama authority over Tibet from Dartsedo to Ladakh. The title “Dalai Lama” itself had previously been bestowed upon the third lama of the Gelug tulku lineage by Altan Khan (not to be confused with the Altan Khans of the Khalkha), and means, in Mongolian, “Ocean of Wisdom.”for more on the Mongolian/Dalai Lama invasion and attacks on Ladakh, see here.]
In that respect, it is even more astounding that such Karma Kagyu activities, under the guidance of the 17th Karmapa (who for the past twenty years or more has also had to ‘contend’ with a candidate for the Karmapa title put forward by the 14th Zhamarpa only, and who was never officially chosen and enthroned by the majority of Karma Kagyu in Tibet or exile) even more amazing and notable. A testament to the power, intelligence and wisdom of the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, and the Karma Kagyu’s tradition of ‘brilliance’ in terms of practice and scholarship without a doubt.
It was good to see the responders in the Kagyu Guncho debate wearing the yellow-crested hats (often incorrectly associated as Gelugpa traditional hats). As the 17th Karmapa explained last year (see here), such yellow hats were worn within the Karma Kagyu long before they became the tradition in the later tradition of the Gelugpas. The Karmapa explained how he wanted to revive the tradition, despite some monks suggesting that it would be inappropriate etc.
Kagyu conference on the key dates of the Kagyu forefathers, Marpa, Milarepa, Gampopa and 1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa (January 2024)
This year demonstrating the influence of the 17th Karmapa’s particular interest and attention to (and respect for) detailed and fine research on the life-stories and events of important Tibetan Buddhist masters, the Karma Kagyu Khenpos and scholars participated in a conference to discuss the important dates in the lives of Kagyu forefathers such as Marpa, Milarepa, Gampopa and 1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa. This kind of research, normally only done in academic departments, is giving not only academics a ‘run for their money’ as we say, but certainly the other lineages who don’t seem to show much interest at all in preserving or doing original research into the texts or life-stories of their important lineage masters. However, the importance of reliable histories and biographies from the original textual sources is important not only for public knowledge, but also as part of a literary and spiritual heritage.
Sadly, the 17th Karmapa was unable to attend the winter event in India (for reasons unknown!) but he explained how he had personally signed all the certificates for the Karma Guncho participants this year, rather than just have them printed with a copy of the signature. Here is a joyful video of the 17th Karmapa handing out prizes and gifts to monastics at the Guncho event in 2015.
12th Tai Situpa at the Kagyu Guncho for the first time and the forthcoming ‘red crown’ ceremony
This year Mingyur Rinpoche awarded the monks the prizes, see here and 12th Tai Situpa presided over the final day of the debate and will preside over the 38th Kagyu Monlam from 14th-26th March in Bodh Gaya (for the first time ever due to reasons connected with him being falsely accused of being a Chinese spy by the 14th Zhamarpa and his followers who began a court case for control of Rumtek Monastery, as well as falsely accusing him of having fraudulently created the 16th Karmapa’s handwritten prediction letter).
The 17th Karmapa mentioned in his teaching that he was very happy indeed that Tai Situpa was finally able to come to the Monlam and Bodh Gaya, and that this had been his hope for a long time. For the 38th Kagyu Monlam, the 12th Tai Situpa will first give a teaching on Maitreya’s Aspiration (14th-15th January) and then on 16th January, he will give a Maitreya empowerment and the Red Vajra Crown ceremony for the first time in Bodh Gaya, more on that in another post! The 9th Karmapa bestowed the 5th Kenting Tai Situpa a Red Vajra Crown of Radiant Gold, which mirrored the Karmapa’s own Black Vajra Crown. The Red Crown symbolizes the inseparability of the Karmapa and Kenting Tai Situpa. It is said that through seeing the Red Crown, which is presented in a ceremony even today by the Kenting Tai Situpa, one is instantly and irreversibly set onto the path of enlightenment and receives the blessing of the Bodhisattva Maitreya.
HE 12th Tai Situpa will be performing the red-crown ceremony for the first time in Bodh Gaya on 16th January 2024. More on that in another post perhaps!In sum, it is the same style and type of crown as the black hat Karmapa, and gives great blessings for those with faith who see it. Protecting them from re-birth in the lower realms. Here is an article I wrote about the black and red crowns of the Karma Kagyu though for starters.
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