Tenth Karmapa, Choying Dorje (1604-1674)

10th Karmapa, Choying Dorje (1604–1674). ༡༠་ཀརྨ་པ་ཆོས་དབྱིངས་རྡོ་རྗེ། Statue said to have been created by the 10th Karmapa.
On the Road to Shangri-la pilgrimage series: Following in the footsteps of the 10th Karmapa in Lijiang, Shangri-la and Dechen Tibetan Region

New E-book Publication:The Gyalwang Karmapa and Karma Kagyu in Lijiang and Yunnan: A Pilgrim-scholar’s Research trip and Observations (2024, free download)

ON THE ROAD TO SHANGRI-LA: Following in the footsteps of the 10th Karmapa and Karma Kagyu in Ljiang, Shangri-la, Dechen Tibetan region and seeing the great Kawa Karpo Tibetan mountain (Part 1: Highlights and research review))

THE NAXI MU KINGS OF JANG, TIBETAN BUDDHISM AND THE KARMAPAS: Lijiang, the Naxi Mu Kings and the Karmapas, Mu’s Mansion, a 500 year old tree, the original Lijiang Kangyur and Black Dragon Lake park (Part 2)

VISITING TASHI CHOPHEL LING MONASTERY (Yufeng Si 玉峰寺) AS A LONE FEMALE PILGRIM: One of the five main Karma Kagyu monasteries in Lijiang. Original artworks by 10th Karmapa, Choying Dorje and a 500 year-old tree said to have been planted by 8th Karmapa (On the Road to Shangri-la (Part 3))

THE STATE OF “SHANGRI-LA” AND “LITTLE POTALA” (GANDEN SUMTSEN LING): A Visit to Shangri-La, Dechen, Tibet, the 5th Dalai Lama’s ‘Little Potala”, Big Buddha monastery, Cultural Museum and Huge Prayer Wheel (Shangri-La pilgrimage, Part 4)

‘SEEING’ THE WHITE PEAK OF KHAWA KARPO (ཁ་བ་དཀར་པོ་) MOUNTAIN: Visiting Khawa Karpo the highest mountain range in Dechen, Tibetan region, overview of the ‘opening’ of the Tibetan pilgrimage site by the Karmapas, the 3rd Karmapa’s Praises to it as a Chakrasamvara mandala and observations on my trip there (Part 5)

General articles

THE ARTWORK “NATURALLY-ARISING QUEEN” (RANGJUNG GYALMO) BY TIBET’S GREATEST ARTIST, 10TH KARMAPA: presentation at international conference in Chengdu, China, brief conversation on Gelugpa sectarianism with Jeff Watt (HAR), and observations (September 2025)

NEW ARTWORK REVIEW: SIX-ARMED MĀRĪCĪ (OZER CHENMA) BY 17TH KARMAPA

MARVELLOUS MURALS AND MAHAKALA MELODIES: EARLY AND LATER KARMA ‘GAR-DRI’ STYLE TIBETAN ART (as presented by 17th Karmapa)

‘Mental Comrade of the Eight Worldly Distractions’ by 10th Karmapa

The Black Hat Eccentric: Tenth Karmapa, Choying Dorje, Supreme Artist and Visionary

Actual self-portrait of painted thangka between 1648 and 1671 by the 10th Karmapa himself, while in Gyalthang, Tibet. On the Karmapa’s right is Kunto Zangpo (the Karmapa’s faithful attendant) and on the left is the Sixth Gyaltsab Norbu Zangpo. Chenrezig is at the top.