“In brief, the various incarnations of the Situ Rinpoche are one of the earliest lines of tulkus in Tibetan history. Among the Karmapas’ heart sons, after the Zhamarpa, the next one is Tai Situpa.”
“In general , when we talk about the Karmapa and their heart sons, they are very important it is not necessary to say. However, if I briefly say something about this, the 13th Karmapa, Dudul Dorje (1733–1797) and Situ Chokyi Jungne both had a direct disciple who was called Karma Zhenphen Gyatso, who wrote a history of the six great masters of the Karma Kamtsang (Karma Logyu Yab-se Drug). In this he said: “all of the Karmapas and their heart sons were like the activity of the Karmapa himself”. Therefore, saying: “my precious lama, and his precious lama” one should not make a distinction between the monasteries and teachers, saying our monasteries are good and those monasteries are not, and so on.”
“In the 9th Karmapa, Wangchug Dorje’s collected works there is a Supplication to the Five Sons/Disciples (Yab-se Nga Soldeb). Likewise, in the 13th Karmapa, Dudul Dorje’s Collected Works, there is a supplication prayer to the six masters of the Karma Kamtsang. So for each one of these six, has a supplication. The 13th Karmapa, Dudul Dorje wrote this of his own accord, no one asked him to do it, and he wrote it so that the teachings of the heart sons would flourish. So I added to this supplication by the 13th Karmapa, some supplication verses to Jamgon Rinpoche by the 15th Karmapa, and we have included it in the Kagyu Monlam in the Prayer for the Long Lives of the Seven Masters and Disciples.”
—17th Karmapa (closing speech to 38th Kagyu Monlam, 25th January 2024)
Today, on the full moon final day of the 38th Kagyu Monlam the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje gave a closing speech online, in which he spoke about the history and importance of the Tai Situpa lineage and the Karmapa and the main heart-sons and why they are called that, in terms of their activities being inseparable from the Karmapa himself. The Karmapa spoke about the history of Tai Situpa in particular, how the 8th Tai Situpa came to set up Palpung Monastery in Derge, which became a major Karma Kagyu centre in Derge, Kham.
The 17th Karmapa also cited some supplications that had been composed by one of the 12th Karmapa’s students, to the Six Great Disciples [of Karmapa]: Tai Situpa, Zhamarpa, Gyaltsab, Jamgon, Pawo and Trewo. Also, a supplication written by the 13th Karmapa, Dudul Dorje about his great disciples. The 17th Karmapa himself explained that he had since added to this supplication some verses by the 15th Karmapa about Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche (for more on the seven masters of Karma Kagyu, see here). The Karmapa concluded with some interesting numbers as to how many people attended and organised the Monlam, saying:
“58 Kagyu monasteries sent monks and nuns. there have been 95 Khenpos and so on and tulkus. There have been 692 bikhshus, 3916 novices and nuns, 150 international monks and nuns. There have also been many monks and nuns from other lineages. So in total during this Kagyu Monlam there were 4058 sangha members (monastics).”
And the Karmapa went on to speak about the thousands of laypeople attending there too. Clearly showing without any doubt that there is only one Karmapa whom the vast majority of Karma Kagyu in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and exile all follow.
As they played the melodies of the Marme Monlam composed by the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, I felt transported back in time years ago when I used to listen to these beautiful melodies in 2007, and into the beautiful mind of the Karmapa himself, simultaneously bringing forth tears of joy and sadness, mixed with deep bliss. Also, tears of respect and sadness at how much slander, defamation, wrongdoing and restrictions on the 12th Tai Situpa’s travel and activities occurred but how finally (and thankfully) they came to nothing at all. How Tai Situpa never once tried to defend his name publicly, despite the many horrendous false accusations about himself and the 16th Karmapa’s precious handwritten letter he gave to Tai Situpa before he passed away. Tai Situpa ‘stood his ground’ and protected that sacred letter with his life and oath (refusing to let forensics handle it), thus maintaining his vajra samaya to the 16th Karmapa and the Karma Kagyu as a whole.
In addition, that night when doing Guru Yoga, I had strong visions of myself in union with the Karmapa surrounded by the six heart-sons, like Guru Rinpoche in union with Yeshe Tsogyel surrounded by his eight manifestations. Was this a mind-terma of the 15th Karmapa perhaps (whom the 17th Karmapa mentioned briefly in his talk)? The 15th Karmapa was a layperson who had a wife and many consorts and who also was very closely connected to the treasure-revealer tradition.
in any case, as my humble ‘light’ and body, speech and mind offering to the 17th Karmapa and the Karma Kamtsang heart-sons inseparable from him, the sangha and followers, here is a full transcript of the closing speech (based on the English translation and Tibetan original).
Music? Joyful Aspiration, an album composed and chanted by the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa (one of which was chanted at the end of the Monlam), a reminder of the beautiful musical melodies the Karmapa has composed, and My Beautiful Friend by The Charlatans. Vajra Samaya, Samaya, Samaya!
Transcribed and compiled by Adele Tomlin, 25th January 2024.
Closing Speech to the 38th Kagyu Monlam by the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa
English Transcript
The 17th Karmapa first greeted all the Kagyu Rinpoches who were in attendance at the Monlam:
“Today, is the last day of the 38th Kagyu Monlam. First I would like to say a big thank you to Jamgon Vajradhara, Tai Situpa. In terms of Tibetan history, Jamgon Tai Situpa is an important lama in Tibet, There is a supplication to the Jamgon Situpa that speaks about how he was a subject of the King Bimbisara Nirmabala, then how he took many rebirths in India and then from Marpa Chokyi Lodro onwards, he had many rebirths in Tibet. And he had many lifetimes as a great master in the practice lineage of the Karma Kamtsang lineage. Among these different lifetimes, he often displayed the way of being a great master and having great accomplishments.
In particular, when we say the title of Tai Situpa, it is a title that was first given to the 1st Situ Goshri Chokyi Gyaltsen. Among all the incarnations of the Situ incarnations, there were two named Chokyi Gyaltsen and he is the earlier of these two, (1377-1448) . He was a student of the 5th Karmapa, Dezhin Shegpa, and was given the title by the Minglo Emperor Yongle, “Kenting Naya Tang Nyontse Geshetse Tai Situpa” in 1407. [The title, in shorter form “Kenting Tai Situpa”; or “Tai Situ”, means “far reaching, unshakable, great master, holder of the command”]. So, from that time onwards, he had this name Kenting. and it is said that the 5th Karmapa, Dezhin Shegpa gave him the title of Situ.
The 1st Tai Situpa’s next incarnation was Situ Tashi Paljor, a student of the 6th Karmapa Thongwa Donden. In brief, the various incarnations of the Situ Rinpoche are one of the earliest lines of tulkus in Tibetan history. Among the Karmapas’ heart sons, after the Zhamarpa, the next one is Tai Situpa.
From the time of the 1st until the 7th Tai Situpa, they spent their time overseeing the monastery of Karma Gon and performed vast activity while they did so. Among them, the 8th Tai Situpa was the Mahapandita, Chokyi Jungne, who was not only important in the Karma Kamtsang but also one of the most influential figures in Tibetan studies after Zhongpang and his heart son-disciples. Particularly at that time, when there was lot of political problems in Tibet with the Karma father and sons (yab-se).
The 12th Karmapa, Jangchub Chonyi and the 8th Zhamarpa were invited to China by the Ching Emperor. But on the way, both of them passed away. So then it was like the Karma Kamtsang were like a headless body and in a very difficult situation. So then Tai Situpa took upon the great responsibility and oversaw the Karma Kamtsang teachings decreasing and at that time, they founded the monastery in Palpung in Dege in Kham. Because of this, from the 17th century onwards for the Karma Kamtsang in the Kham region, the main Karma Kagyu monastery was Palpung. Within Palpung there was lot of study of grammar, poetry, healing, astrology, grammar and so on. They spread these five areas of knowledge very widely. So in terms of the Tibetan sciences and knowledge in general Palpung became very important monastery.
In particular, our current Jamgon Vajradhara whose name is Donyo Drupa in terms of his listening, contemplation, learnedness, venerability and virtue, no matter what one speaks of he is a guru with all the qualities, there is no need to say. In India, he founded the Palpung Sherab Ling monastery and he also has been overseeing the Palpung monastery along with the branch monasteries in Tibet. He has also recognised many tulkus of all the many different Dharma lineages and praised them. So he has also given the vows of Pratimoksha, and Tantric vows to many monks and nuns of the Karma Kamtsang lineage. He also provided many opportunities for everyone to learn the different areas of knowledge. So, he has had an incredible influence and shown incredible kindness to the teachings in general. He is like the life-force and a great pillar of our teachings.
In any case, among the four heart sons, the main ones who are living are Jamgon Tai Situpa and Vajrapani’s emanation, Gyaltsab Rinpoche and both of them, whether we speak about them in worldly or Dharma terms, are extremely influential and kind to our lineage. In particular, the Tai Situpa Vajradhara has now come to the preside over the 38th Kagyu Monlam, historically it is very important and meaningful. Not only has he come to preside over the Monlam but also bestowed the red crown ceremony, gave a teaching on Maitreya’s Aspiration and the empowerment of Maitreya. Even though there were many people who came there, Rinpoche went down and gave the empowerment blessings to everyone, which is incredibly kind to all.
In particular, for this Monlam, Rinpoche had his own particular vision of what we should do and said we should recite the Noble Aspiration of Excellent Conduct and the Vajra Samaya one hundred million times and gave us a great opportunity to enable us to gather vast amounts of merit. Due to this, I want to take this opportunity from my own part, to express my rejoicing in all Rinpoche’s work and kindness, and express my deep thanks.
In general , when we talk about the Karmapa and their heart-sons, they are very important, it is not necessary to say this. However, if I briefly say something, the 13th Karmapa, Dudul Dorje (1733–1797) and Situ Chokyi Jungne both had a direct disciple who was called Karma Zhenphen Gyatso, who wrote a history of the six great masters of the Karma Kamtsang (Karma Logyu Yab-se Drug). In this he said: “all of the Karmapas and their heart sons were like the activity of the Karmapa himself”. Therefore, saying: “my precious lama, and his precious lama” one should not make a distinction between the monasteries and teachers, saying our monasteries are good and those monasteries are not, and so on.
Similarly, the Gyalwang Karmapa himself, did not show any different in respect to all the heart sons without any distinction. Showing respect in this way, is not just a worldly or political aim. It is very important in terms of the Dharma.If one asks the reason for that? The heart-sons in some lifetimes are students, and in other lifetimes they are gurus. They perform their mutual activity in terms of being inseparable as master and student. For that reason, there is a particular need for this. In this way, when we talk about the master and disciple, we speak about this great connection between them. Sometimes they appear as gurus sometimes as disciples, but in any case, they are always inseparable from each other as guru and student.
In particular, in the 9th Karmapa, Wangchug Dorje’s collected works there is a Supplication Prayer to the Five Sons/Disciples (Yab-se Nga Soldeb). Likewise, in the 13th Karmapa’s Dudul Dorje’s Collected Works, there is another supplication prayer to the six masters of the Karma Kamtsang. So for each one of these six, has his supplication. 13th Karmapa, Dudul Dorje wrote this of his own accord, no one asked him to do it. So he wrote this prayer so that the teachings of the heart sons would flourish. So I added to this supplication by the 13th Karmapa, supplication verses to Jamgon Rinpoche by the 15th Karmapa, and in that way we have included it in the Prayer in the Kagyu Monlam in the Prayer for the Long Lives of the Seven Masters and Disciples.
One big family : The importance of not having bias towards our own monasteries and teachers
In any case, the practice under the Karma Kamtsang was founded by the 1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa and from then on, the successive Karmapas have been the masters of the teachings. It is not necessary to say, but this lineage of the Karmapas not just for Tibetan Buddhism, but especially for the Karma Kagyu, these masters and students have been like the crown jewels of the Karma Kamtsang teachings. All of them the Zharma, Situ, Jamgon, Gyaltsab, Pawo and Treo. Those are all the main students whom the Karmapa installed as people to perform their own activities. He showed he had confidence and trust in them in this way. Therefore, we should have no bias towards our own monasteries and labrangs. I think it is important that we should have indistinguishable faith and devotion in all of them.
Similarly, if we think about the attendants of the Karmapa and his heart sons we should also think that our guru is not only the teacher of the Karma Kamtsang as a whole but also as someone who is accomplishing activity of the Karmapa himself. It is very important for people to think that they are supporting the teachings of the Karma Kamtsang and it is important to serve our gurus in this way. The reason they have the special titles of Karmapa’s heart sons is because they are the people who uphold the teachings and master their teachings and because they are different and unique from other lamas and tulkus and that is why they were given these titles. We should have this confidence and trust in them. For the teacher’s activity to happen, all the attendants and all the people who serve them need to think about that and have the same attitude as if they all serve the Karma Kagyu.
Numbers in attendance at the 38th Kagyu Monlam
Here in this 38th Monlam, there are some 58 Kagyu monasteries that have sent monks and nuns. there have been 95 Khenpos and so on and tulkus. There have been 692 bikhshus, 3916 novices and nuns, 150 international monks and nuns. There have also been many monks and nuns from other lineages. So in total during this Kagyu Monlam there were 4058 sangha members (monastics). Likewise, within the organising committee of the Kagyu Monlam, we have 88 primary workers the most important ones. In addition, there are 102 volunteers, 541 helpers as well as 79 local Indian helpers and cleaners and so forth. In this way, over 819 people are actually organising these teachings. In addition, there are many people who have come from India and Nepal who are over 1948 on our list. Many people have also come from other countries, 351 from other international countries and many other people have come, that are not included in our count here. As you can all see, many people have come to it. For example, as I said it was a question of people not fitting in the Monlam pavilion tent and having to sit outside on the lawn.
In brief, in this sacred Buddhist site, the virtue in the beginning, in the middle and the end, we should dedicate all the virtues to sentient beings through out space so they can achieve the omniscient state of Buddhahood, so they can be free of illness, famine and war, and this world may be pacified. In particular, that the teachings of Buddhism may spread throughout the world without declining. Also that the Dalai Lama and all the great masters of all the lineages, live long and engage in activities that spread throughout space. That the teachings of the Dagpo Kagyu may spread like a great parasol that spreads over the throne. So that all followers may be harmonious and have good discipline and engage in activities of teaching and practice. Also, may all of our parents and sentient beings with whom we have a connection, good or bad, quickly receive the blessings of the three jewels and quickly achieve Buddhahood. That is my dedication so please support me in this.
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