Damchoe Yongdu

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Dhamchoe Yongdu Arnae
དམ་ཆོས་ཡོངས་འདུ། ཨ་ངེས་ཚང་།
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Boulder, Colorado. 1980.
Bornc.1920
Kharnak Spring, Tsurphu, Tibet
DiedDecember 11, 1982
Thimphu, Bhutan
NationalityTibetan
OccupationGeneral Secretary to the 16th Karmapa
Years active36

Damchoe Yongdu also called Dhamchoe Yongdu, Arnae (c. 1920 – Dec 11, 1982) is the General Secretary[1] to the 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje.

Yongdu served the 16th Karmapa for 46 years from the age of 17 up until his death at the age of 62. He received complete trust from the Karmapa and was instrumental in executing the many activities of the 16th Karmapa in Tibet, Sikkim, India, Southeast Asia, and the Western world.

Early Life

Dhamchoe Yongdu Arnae was born in 1920, the Iron Monkey year of Tibetan astrology, at Kharnak Spring (Tibetan: མཁར་ནག་ཆུ་འགོ།) in Tsurphu, Tibet, to his father Arnae Dagyal (Tibetan: ཨ་ངེས་ཟླ་རྒྱལ། a.k.a. Dawa Gyalpo) and mother Chukor Ama (Tibetan: ཆུ་སྐོར་ཨ་མ།). He was the eldest of two sons. He lost his mother as well as his younger brother at a young age and was brought up mostly by his father, Arnae Dagyal. The Arnae family is part of the Drukjé Monastery in Dabpa, Kham, close to Lithang (Tibetan: འདའ་པ། ཁམས་ལི་ཐང་ཕྱོགས།, Wylie: 'da' pa, khams;). His father, Arnae Dagyal was from Dabpa. He became a monk at the Chögar-gong[2] in Tsurphu. Later, he gave up his robes and became a trader and traveled mostly around central, west, and northern Tibet. Yongdu's mother was also likely from Kham and later settled in Tsurphu.

When he was around seven,[3] Dhamchoe Yongdu was ordained and entered the monastic life at Tölung Tsurphu Monastery and became trained in tantric arts, music, and dance.

Service to the 16th Karmapa

Becoming Karmapa's Personal Attendant[4]

1937—1946

In 1937, at the age of 17, Yongdu became the 16th Karmapa's attendant[5]and served as Zimgak[6] for about two years. He was then appointed as the Karmapa's chief of shrine,[5] or Chöpon position.[7] During this time, he accompanied the 16th Karmapa to the northern region of Tibet.

Appointment as the General Secretary

1947—1949

In the Fire Pig year, at age 27,[8] Dhamchoe Yongdu was appointed as the Deputy General Secretary[9] to the 16th Karmapa to oversee all the business of the Tsurphu Labrang[10] under the General Secretary, Chakdzö Ngedön Gyamtso, who was in his old age.

When Yongdu was 29,[11] his name was chosen to be one of the three candidates for the next General Secretary by the Tsurphu Labrang leadership council. When the three candidates' names were examined by the 16th Karmapa through "tak-dril"[12] a traditional spiritual way of confirmation, Yongdu's name was chosen.[13] He was then appointed and confirmed to the position of the General Secretary[14] of the 16th Karmapa and assumed his duties.

Yongdu gave up his monastic vow in the early 1950's and this in turn helped him to carry out the secular responsibilities of his job.

Service to the Activities in Tsurphu, Tibet

Pilgrimage to Mont Kailash and India

In 1947 as a Deputy General Secretary, one of Yongdu's first assignments was to organize, execute, and accompany the 16th Karmapa on his pilgrimage to western Tibet, Mount Kailash, and India.[15] During the seven-month pilgrimage tour, the 16th Karmapa paid respect and made offerings to Mont Kailash in western Tibet, Lumbini and sacred stupas and sites in Nepal, Bodhgaya, Varanasi and other sacred places in India. The 16th Karmapa also visited Sikkim at the invitation of Chögyal Tashi Namgyal, the 11th Chogyal of Sikkim.

Secretary of External Affairs

Sometime after that, Yongdu was given an additional duty to serve as the Secretary of External Affairs in the Tibetan Capital of Lhasa. Yongdu moved to Lhasa and started his mission by making connections with the Tibetan Government, the Office of the Dalai Lama, and the embassies of neighboring countries to achieve the goals of the Labrang's interests. During this time, Yongdu expanded and improved upon the Labrang's office in Lhasa, building the shrine and the statues of the Tseringma sisters.[15]

Secretary Of Treasury

During this tenure, Yongdu was also given the work of the Secretary of Treasury,[16] and he established the financial infrastructure and a bank in Tsurphu at the guidance of the 16th Karmapa and in discussion with Tsurphu Labrang leadership.[17] Yongdu received the "how-tos" and the capital for this establishment from Jigme Dorji Wangchuk, the Third King of Bhutan. This establishment became the main source for establishing new and supporting existing spiritual practices for over 500 monks at Tsurphu Monastery.[18][15]

Rebuilding the Lower Par

In 1949 (Earth Ox year), Yongdu completed the rebuilding of Karmapa's Summer Palace, Dargyé Chöling, (Tibetan: སྐྱེད་ཚལ་དར་རྒྱས་ཆོས་གླིང་། dar rgyas chos gling),[15] known as "the Lower Park", which was originally founded during the time of 13th—14th Karmapa.[19]

Settling Land Disputes

Yongdu inherited a number of land disputes in court, and he settled or won all the cases at the central Tibetan court in Lhasa and obtained officially sealed documents from both the Dalai Lama's Office as well as the Tibetan government. In this way, he rejuvenated and strengthened the Tsurphu Labrang administration.[15]

Joining the Tibetan Delegation to China

In 1954, the 14th Dalai Lama lead the official Tibetan delegation which included The Panchen Lama, Sakya Trizin, the 16th Karmapa and many other masters and officials, to China at the request of Mao Zedong. During this tour, the Karmapa took a major role of leadership at the request of the 14th Dalai Lama and supported the Dalai Lama's vision to bring peace and wellbeing to Tibet and the Tibetan people. Yongdu traveled with and served the Karmapa during this trip.[15]

Renovation and Building New Phodrang[20]

After arriving back in Tsurphu, in the autumn of 1955, under the direction of the Karmapa, Yongdu started the renovation of Rapten Phodrang (Tibetan: རབ་བརྟན་ཕོ་བྲང་། rap brtan pho brang), a reliquary stupa building where the 13th Dalai Lama was hosted when he visited Tsurphu. At the same time, above Rapten Phodrang, Yongdu started the construction of Phuntsok Khyilpa (Tibetan: ཕུན་ཚོགས་འཁྱིལ་པ། phun tshog 'khyil pa),[21] a new annex building, as part of the preparation for the upcoming visit of the 14th Dalai Lama.

Yongdu had great interest in architecture and learned details in symbolism and structural knowledge of building traditional Tibetan temples and monasteries. He became well versed in Tibetan designs and architecture.

Hosting Dalai Lama's Visit To Tsurphu

In the summer of 1955,[22] the 14th Dalai Lama made his first visit to Tsurphu Monastery, and was hosted at the newly built Phuntsok Khyilpa palace. The Dalai Lama performed the empowerment of Chenrezik, and gave teachings and advice to the gatherings of thousands of lay and monastic people. The Dalai Lama spent one week with the Karmapa in Tsurphu. Yongdu organized and accomplished this historic visit with his team of Tsurphu Labrang officials.

Escape from Tibet

1956

Preparation for the Departure

In the late autumn of 1956,[23] the 16thKarmapa summoned the Yongdu and expressed his vision of signs of unrest coming soon to Tibet, and commanded him to prepare for the journey to India,[24] where there was freedom and independence. This was the first time the Karmapa talked with Yongdu about leaving Tibet.[25]

Soon after, the Karmapa sent some of the lineage's precious religious objects to Bhutan[26] and Yongdu summoned the key officials of Tsurphu Labrang and others to the main office, giving a talk on the tough journey ahead of them; stressing the importance of full preparation in order to succeed in the dangerous mission of safely guarding and guiding the Karmapa to India. He then distributed horses, weapons, provisions, etc,[27] and secretly started to collect, record, and pack all the religious objects of the Karmapa lineage.[28]

1957-1958

In the meantime, at the command of the Dalai Lama, the 16th Karmapa traveled to Chamdo in eastern Tibet to attend meetings between Tibet and China. The Karmapa engaged in dialogue to bring peace and harmony which solved some problems for a short time.[29]

1959

Leaving Tibet

In the winter of 1959,[30] after consultation with the Dalai Lama, the 16th Karmapa[31] departed Tsurphu along with 200 followers, including Rinpoches, monks, and lay persons. Yongdu planned, prepared, and led the entourage.[32] After sixteen days of journey[33] through the Himalayan mountains, the Karmapa and his followers safely arrived in Tsham, at the border of Tibet and Bhutan. Yongdu successfully executed the escape without losing anyone when Annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China|communist China took over Tibet.[34]

Welcomed by the King of Bhutan

Upon arriving at the Bhutan border,[35] Yongdu and the Karmapa's followers were confronted by some initial challenges. Soon after, princess Ashi Wangmo, a longtime student of the Karmapa, arrived with a letter from Jigme Dorji Wangchuk, the Third King of Bhutan, welcoming the Karmapa to Bhutan. The Karmapa, who has generations of spiritual relationship with the Kings of Bhutan and their subjects, was welcomed to live and travel anywhere in Bhutan and was offered support from the Royal Government of Bhutan. This permission was also commanded by the King to be upheld by all the governors of Bhutan.[36]

While the Karmapa was staying in Bumthang, he received a message from the Government of India, offering a settlement place for him and his followers near the Indian state of Punjab. In discussion with The King of Bhutan and the Indian government,[37] the Karmapa decided to head towards India.[38] Yongdu made the travel plans and arrangements accordingly with the support of the government of Bhutan.

Journey to India and Sikkim

In the spring of 1959, Yongdu accompanied the 16th Karmapa as they travelled to the Indian border town of Buxar in West Bengal, where tens of thousands of Tibetan refugees had arrived, starting a non-sectarian educational institution. The Karmapa met with the fellow Tibetan refugees and gave blessings and teachings. At that time, Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche and his students were in Buxar and the Karmapa told Khenpo Rinpoche to move to Bhutan after his completion of Geshe Lharampa debate.

While in Buxar, the 16th Karmapa received Densapa Tashi Dadul,[39] representative of Tashi Namgyal, the Chögyal of Sikkim and Mr. Atuk Babu,[37] representative of the Government of India. In discussion with the Indian government, Tashi Namgyal, the King of Sikkim, requested the Karmapa, who had generations of prior relationship to the Sikkimese Kings and subjects,[40] to settle in Sikkim. The Karmapa accepted their request and commanded Yongdu to prepare for the move.

Establishment of the Exile Seat of the Karmapa

Arrival in Sikkim

In the summer of 1959, the Karmapa, Yongdu and a small entourage arrived at the palace of Tashi Namgyal, in Gangtok, Sikkim. The Karmapa met with the Sikkimese King there, who offered the Karmapa settlement anywhere within the Kingdom of Sikkim.[41]

Settling in Rumtek

Seeing a special connection with Rumtek, where the Ninth Karmapa had established Samten Chöling monastery,[42][43] the 16th Karmapa decided to settle and gradually move there.

Yongdu then returned to Bhutan and eventually moved all of the Karmapa's followers to Rumtek, including the Karmapa's younger brother, the Sixth Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. Unfortunately, the Karmapa's elder sister, Ashi Yangchen passed away in Bhutan.

The Karmapa resumed educating young lamas and the monastic sangha and ensured the Kagyu practices of the Vajrayana lineage be established in exile.

Building Rumtek Monastery: The Exile Seat

When the 16th Karmapa's vision was shared with Chögyal Tashi Namgyal, he offered the 74.86 acre parcel of land and its documents with the royal seal for the building of Karmapa's seat in exile. Chögyal also made monetary offerings and provided for tax-free usage of lumber, etc.[44]

In 1961, the 16th Karmapa traveled to New Delhi where he met Jawaharlal Nehru, the Indian Prime Minister, and expressed his vision of establishing his seat in Rumtek to propagate the Dharma as taught by the Buddha. Nehru agreed and offered his support to accomplish the vision of the Karmapa. Soon after, the Indian government offered over three hundred thousand rupees and other provisions for the sangha establishment.

In that year, the Karmapa and the sangha masters performed the ritual practice of ground breaking and blessed the new site for construction. Yongdu and the followers in Rumtek then began to clear and level the ground on the mountain slope of Rumtek, which was steep jungle terrain.

On November 22, 1962[45] the 16th Karmapa and Palden Thondrup Namgyal, the new King of Sikkim, laid the foundation stone and began the actual construction of the new monastery. With Yongdu leading the project, hundreds of volunteers continued to work on building the main temple and the monks' quarters. They completed the construction work at the end of 1965. On 21 February 1966, the lunar new year day of the Fire Horse Year, the newly completed seat of the Kagyu lineage, "Dharma Chakra Center" (Tibetan: དཔལ་ཀརྨའི་གདན་ས་བཤད་སྒྲུབ་ཆོས་འཁོར་གླིང་།),[46] was inaugurated.

Since then, thousands of monks and many incarnate lamas have been trained in the study and practices of the Karma Kagyu lineage at Rumtek.Some of the key figures trained in Rumtek include: Shamar Rinpoche, Tai Situ Rinpoche, Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, Goshir Gyaltsab Rinpoche, Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche, and many other teachers and scholars.

Rumtek was the earliest Tibetan monastery built after the exile in 1959. Its main structures, designs, and paintings followed the precise architectural guidelines of traditional Tibetan monasteries, for which Yongdu later received an architectural award from the Sikkim government for the beauty, precision and authenticity of the traditional architecture. Rumtek Monastery became the example for many of the monasteries built later in India, Nepal and the West, following its designs.[47]

Official Registration of Trusts

Between 1960 and 1966, under the guidance of the 16th Karmapa, Yongdu established and registered the Dharma Chakra Trust[48] and later, Karmapa Charitable Trust[49] in August 1961, both registered at the central government of India, New Delhi.

1967-1969

Dharma Palace in Bhutan

In 1967, (Fire Sheep year), Jigme Dorji Wangchuk, the third King of Bhutan, and the Royal Queen Mother, Phuntsok Chödron offered the Tashi Chöling palace, including its contents inside and the estate to the 16th Karmapa.[50] To manage the palace and the estate, Nyerpa Taga Radha and assistant Nyerpa Gyawo were appointed as the resident officers.

In the summer of 1968, Yongdu started to prepare the materials for building a new Shedra in Tashi Chöling in accordance with the Karmapa's instruction.

In 1969, (Earth Rooster year), the Karmapa, along with hundreds of monks, conducted the summer retreat at Tashi Chöling. During that time, Yongdu and the Labrang officials started the construction of a new Shedra, monastic college.[51] The Karmapa planned the curricula for the new Shedra in 1974.[52] The construction was completed sometime later in the '70's.

Entrepreneurial Activities

In order to support the monastics, under the guidance of the 16th Karmapa and the great generosity of the Third King of Bhutan, Yongdu established commercial businesses in Bhutan in the 1970's: Garchen General Store (GGT) in Thimphu led by Dechang Lodrö, GGT in Phuntsokling led by Kancha and Lungten Tsering, GGT in Gelephu led by Traleg Yapgen; a Losal Theater[53] in Gelephu led by Dechang Jokar; as well as a trucking company in Samdupjonkha, and two small stores in eastern Bhutan. These establishments supported and stabilized the education, practices, and monastic activities of the sangha, including food, clothing, and utilities.

1970-1979

Summer Garden

In May, 1971,[54] Yongdu with the assistance of Nyerpa Yeshe Chöphel, undertook and completed the building project of Tsering Jong (སྐྱེད་ཚལ་ཚེ་རིང་ལྗོང་།),[15] Karmapa's summer residence, with a large aviary and annex building for the Karmapa's private office, and a garden for the Karmapa. The Karmapa later used the annex building for the Karme Jamyang Khang,[55] (ཀརྨའི་འཇམ་དབྱངས་ཁང་། Karma Manjushri House); a school for the young reincarnate Lamas.

Mid 1970's

Preserving The Tibetan Scriptures

In 1974, with the intention to preserve and propagate the Tibetan language scriptures of Buddha-Dharma which had been endangered by the Chinese invasion of Tibet, the 16th Karmapa began the project of printing the scriptures by making a list of the Indian and Tibetan treatises.[52]

With the guidance of the Karmapa and through the generous support of Dr. C.T. Shen,[56] in 1976 Yongdu established a center for restoration and publication, the Delhi Karmapae Chödé: Sungrap Nyamso Partunkhang (Tibetan: ལྡིལ་ལི་ཀརྨ་པའི་ཆོས་སྡེ་གསུང་རབ་ཉམས་གསོ་པར་བསྐྲུན་ཁང་།), at Ladhak Buddha Vihar, located on Yamuna river in Old Delhi.

Dechang Konchok (as the project manager) and Karlek Tulku (as the chief editor) led 50 monks in the work to print the Buddhist Canon Kagyur (Tibetan: བཀའ་འགྱུར།) and its Indian commentaries, Tengyur (Tibetan: བསྟན་འགྱུར།), as well as the scriptures of the Kagyu lineage. During the life of the 16th Karmapa, they completed the printing of Kagyur and most of the Karma Kagyu lineage scriptures. The Karmapa offered the newly printed Buddhist Canon to all Tibetan and Himalayan monasteries for free and Yongdu and the project manager distributed them. This became the first Canon to be enshrined in most of the exile Tibetan monasteries. Yongdu oversaw this project from 1975/6 through 1981.[56]

Three Year Retreat Center: Yiwong Samten Ling

In 1977, the 16th Karmapa commanded Yongdu to build a three-year retreat center in order to establish the proper conditions for the practice of the kagyu meditation instructions. Yongdu, along with Nyerpa Yeshe Chöphel, led the construction of the retreat center, high up on the mountain behind Rumtek Monastery. The Bhutanese princess, Ashi Chökyi offered financial support for the project.

After completion of the building, Yiwong Samten Ling (Tibetan: ཡིད་འོང་བསམ་གཏན་གླིང་།) was inaugurated in 1978.[57] The 16th Karmapa appointed Bokar Rinpoche as the retreat master.[58] Since its start in early 80's, many lamas have received transmissions and trainings and practiced the Kagyu tantric practices there, such as the Six Yogas of Naropa and Mahamudra meditations. Bokar Rinpoche led the Yiwong Samten Ling retreatants for more than 12 years.

1979-1980

A Dharma Center in the Indian Capital

The 16th Karmapa met with Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, in 1972 and expressed his wish to establish an international center for study and meditation in the Indian capital. Prime Minister Gandhi agreed to offer land in New Delhi. It took some years for the Indian government departments to finalize this.

In 1979, the Home Ministry informed the Karmapa's office that the Indian government had offered a parcel of land in an institutional area, near Qutob Minar, in New Delhi. Soon after, in November 1979, the Karmapa and eminent lamas performed the traditional groundbreaking rituals on the site for three days.

On November 28, 1979, at the groundbreaking ceremony, the President of India, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy along with the 16th Karmapa, laid the foundation stone for the new international center, "Dharma Chakra Center, Karmaé Chökhor Ü" (Tibetan: དཔལ་ཀརྨའི་ཆོས་འཁོར་དབུས།). The President of India and the Karmapa addressed the audience which included: the Vice President of India (Mohammad Hidayatullah), the Governor of Sikkim B.B. Lal,[59] Chief Minister of Sikkim, (Nar Bahadur Bhandari), dignitaries from the central government of India, Ambassadors of Bhutan, Nepal etc., the Dalai Lama's Representative, heads of Tibetan Associations, and a couple thousand devotees from all directions of the world.[60]

Reviving The Kagyu Scholastic Tradition

The tradition of the scriptural explanation of the Kagyu lineage had been in a dire situation due to political issues in Tibet since the time of the 10th Karmapa. Since his youth,[61] the 16th Karmapa held the vision to revive the shedra scholastic tradition of the Kagyu lineage.[62] In late 1979, the Karmapa commanded Yongdu to build a new Shedra in Rumtek but due to the financial constraints, it took a year to begin the actual work. In 1980, Yongdu aksed Nyerpa Tashi Namgyal to lead the building project and the construction of the Shedra started, while the Karmapa and Yongdu were in the United States.

On October 25, 1981, the Dalai Lama visited the Shedra building and granted pre-inaugural blessings at the gathering of Karma Jamyang Khang's students and teachers. Here, the Dalai Lama gave transmission of Nāgārjuna's treatises of the Middle Way and Maitreya's Five Treatises, while the upper floors of the Shedra were still under construction. During that time, the 16th Karmapa also conducted a small ceremony, offering a blessing from a Hong Kong hospital, where he was receiving medical treatment. (See below, the section of Karma Shri Nalanda Institute)

Yongdu's First Visit to the West and Asia Pacific

In 1980, Yongdu accompanied the 16th Karmapa on his final teaching tour and devoted himself to the Karmapa's health and personal care. He traveled with the Karmapa to the United States, with stopovers in Athens, Greece, and London, UK. He also visited Canada and Southeast Asian countries, at which time the Karmapa founded the Karma Kagyu Associations (centers) in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The 16th Karmapa appointed Goshir Gyaltsap Rinpoche as his regent and Tenzin Namgyal[63] as the Deputy General Secretary in the absence of the Karmapa and General Secretary when they left for North America.

1981

International Kagyu Headquarters

On February 27, 1981, the 16th Karmapa established the International Kagyu Headquarters. The Karmapa appointed Yongdu to the position of Managing Director to lead and Tenzin Namgyal as the General Secretary of the newly found headquarters.[64]

Medical treatment travels

In September, 1981 due to concerns and requests of many disciples regarding the 16th Karmapa's health condition,[65] the Karmapa agreed to go to Hong Kong for medical treatment.[66] Yongdu accompanied the Karmapa along with attendants (Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche, Umdze Thupten Zangpo, and Trinley Lhundrup) and remained there to care for and serve the Karmapa. Later in October,[67] the Karmapa and his students arrived in Zion, Illinois, USA for further treatment.

The Dalai Lama's Visit

When the 14th Dalai Lama's visit to Rumtek was confirmed, General Secretary Yongdu had to return to Rumtek to oversee and organize the visit on behalf of the 16th Karmapa and the Tsurphu Labrang. On October 25, 1981, the 14th Dalai Lama arrived in Rumtek,[68] and Yongdu along with Goshir Gyaltsap Rinpoche hosted this first visit of the Dalai Lama to the Karmapa's seat in exile.

Carrying out the final activities and wishes of the 16th Karmapa

Parinirvana

On November 5, 1981 at 8:00 pm,[69] the Sixteenth Karmapa passed into parinirvana in Zion, Illinois, United States. The 16th Karmapa remained in meditation for the next three days in Zion.

On behalf of the President and the Prime Minister of India, Hon. Governor Homi J.H. Taleyarkhan[70] traveled to Rumtek and offered condolences to General Secretary Yongdu and the Sangha in person. Yongdu also received condolences and supportive messages from The Chief Minister of Sikkim, the Royal Government of Bhutan, the Dalai Lama's office, the Tibetan Government in exile, various monasteries, eminent lamas and Dharma centers throughout the world.

General Secretary Yongdu made arrangements for the return of the 16th Karmapa's kudung (སྐུ་གདུང་། remains) to Rumtek with respective governments. The Karmapa's kudung arrived in Rumtek on November 9th and was received by tens of thousands of devotees, beginning with the official mourning and respect from the Sikkim division of the Indian National Guards, a procession of the monastics, and followed by a reception from eminent lamas and dignitaries. The kudung was enshrined in the Lineage Shrine Room above the main shrine room of Rumtek monastery. Yongdu exerted himself in guiding the Tsurphu Labrang throughout the next seven weeks in making extensive offerings.

In the course of the intensive seven week period of dungchö (observance of the Parinirvana) several major events took place:

Meeting with the Governor of Sikkim

On November 10th, during the first week of the Parinirvana offering of pujas, Homi J.H. Taleyarkhan, the Governor of Sikkim summoned a meeting to honor the 16th Karmapa at "Raj Bhavan" (the Governor's home and office) in Gangtok, with the Hon. Chief Minister, the cabinet, key members of the Legislative Assembly of Sikkim State, and General Secretary Yongdu. Presiding over the meeting on behalf of the President and Prime Minister, the Governor offered condolences saying that even though the Karmapa is not present with us in physical form, he will still guide us and his visions will be supported. Following that, Chief Minister Bandari offered an emotional speech of condolence followed by the other members of the State Assembly. The General Secretary introduced the Three Final Wishes of the Karmapa and asked for their support to fully accomplish them.

Establishing Karma Shri Nalanda Institute

On the 13th day of the Parinirvana, November 18, 1981[71] and in accordance with the wishes of the 16th Karmapa,[72] Yongdu executed the inauguration of "Karma Shri Nalanda Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies" (Tibetan: དཔལ་ཀརྨ་ཤྲཱི་ནཱ་ལནྡཱ་ཆེས་མཐོའི་བཤད་གྲྭ་ཆེན་མོ།). The ceremony was led by the four eminences and senior Kagyu masters among a gathering of hundreds of lay people and monastics, during the 49 days of Parinirvana offerings and practice of the 16th Karmapa.

The first teaching session or class at Nalanda Institute began on December 29, 1981, the anniversary of the passing into Parinirvana of the 1st Karmapa, Düsum Khyenpa.[73] The class was taught by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, the Chief Abbot of the Kagyu lineage.

As instructed by the 16th Karmapa in his writings on Nalanda Institutes's vision[74] and under the principalship of Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche (two main abbots of the lineage) led and established the Nalanda Institute's core curriculum trainings. The abbots revived the Kagyu tradition of scholarship by establishing the Kagyu Lineage's own textual tradition through explanation, debate, and composition.

Many scholars of the Kagyu lineage have emerged from this institute and hundreds of monks continue to receive education there to the present day.

Offer of Resignation

At the request of Yongdu, Tsurphu Labrang's leadership members of the lay and monastic communities met on December 12, 1981. Yongdu offered his resignation from the post of General Secretary saying:

"I have served His Holiness for 34 years fully up until now and have carried out the outer and inner affairs of Tsurphu Labrang with faultless genuine intention. At this point, due to my old age I cannot fully perform all the duties and therefore, I am asking you to relieve me from the duty of General Secretary."[75]

He also told some that he wanted to offer the opportunity for others to serve in that position. However, the Tsurphu Labrang leadership did not accept his resignation, but instead requested him to stay as the General Secretary at least until the next Karmapa was enthroned. They later sent him a letter, as well, signed by all the leadership members.

Cremation Ceremony

The cremation ceremony took place on December 20, 1981, led by the four eminences and many great masters and sanghas of the Tibetan buddhist lineages. The great lamas who attended included Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Drikung Kyabgon Rinpoche, Drukpa Thukse Rinpoche, Drukpa Yongzin Rinpoche, and many others. It was attended by devotees from all around the world, including dignitaries and royal families representing the governments of India, Sikkim State, Bhutan, Nepal, and others.

Formation of the Council of Regents

On December 21, 1981, General Secretary Yongdu requested through official letter to the masters: 1. Shamar Rinpoche, 2. Situ Rinpoche, 3. Jamgon Rinpoche, and 4. Goshir Gyaltsab Rinpoche to form a "council of regents," (གདན་འཛིན་ལྷན་ཚོགས།). He requested them to take responsibility and act as Karmapa's Regent until the enthronement and coming to age of the next Karmapa. Furthermore, he requested them to locate Karmapa's Dakhae Shalchem (འདའ་ཁའི་ཞལ་འཆེམས།), the testament of the 16th Karmapa concerning his next incarnation, and to fulfill the duties of recognizing, enthroning, and educating the next Karmapa. The four masters accepted his request and agreed to take full responsibility and expressed their desire to fulfill the wishes of their guru, the 16th Karmapa. On December 29, 1981, they wrote a joint letter of confirmation, signed and sealed by all four, to Yongdu, which also included the details of how they would rotate every three years through the position of Dénzin Tripa (གདན་འཛིན་ཁྲི་པ།), or "Main Head of the Council of Regents".

That evening of the same day the general meeting of the International Kagyu Sangha was held in Rumtek, where General Secretary Yongdu made the announcement of the formation of the Council Of Regents. He also shared his plans to build the reliquary stupas and shrine, to accomplish the 16th Karmapa's three last wishes, and spoke about the importance of upholding the vision of the lineage into the future. The Regents also gave guidance and supported the General Secretary's plans to carry out the wishes of the Karmapa.

In the morning of December 31, 1981, led by General Secretary Yongdu, all the lay and monastic officials of the Labrang presented the traditional body, speech, and mind offering to the four eminent Regents of the Karmapa in an appreciation ceremony for forming the Council of Regents as they accepted their responsibilities.[76]

Three Last Wishes of the Karmapa

At this point, Yongdu dedicated all his time and resources to accomplishing the "three last wishes" of the 16th Karmapa, which was of the utmost importance to him besides the building of the reliquary stupa shrine.

  1. As mentioned above, Yongdu fulfilled the first wish of the Karmapa which was establishing Karma Shri Nalanda Institute. (See above for details)
  2. He then started to work on the Karmapa's second wish, which was to complete the Tengyur printing. This was accomplished soon after Karma Shri Nalanda Institute was established and Yongdu arranged to offer the printing to all the monasteries at half the cost of printing. This fulfilled the second wish of the Karmapa.
  3. At the same time, Yongdu started working on the Karmapa's third wish and made the plans to build the new international center, Dharma Chakra Center, in New Delhi. Even though the land had been offered to the Karmapa in 1972 and the foundation had been laid in 1979, the official documentation had not been finalized. So, Yongdu along with Tenzin Namgyal and Gompo Tsering moved to New Delhi and worked tirelessly to obtain the land document registered under Karmapa and the Dharma Chakra Trust's name. He accomplished this mission and received the registration on March 18, 1982.[77] Yongdu, together with Tenzin Namgyal and staff, started the actual construction of the center[78] in May/June of 1982 and completed all the foundational work on the main shrine room and the living quarters. Thus he accomplished the third wish of the Karmapa, at which time, the funding to build the center was at a very low point. Yongdu then decided to go to Bhutan in order to obtain loans. He had to return to Rumtek first to complete the Stupas and the reliquary shine before pursuing the Bhutan mission. In early autumn, he returned to Rumtek for the stupa consecration ceremony.
The Reliquary Stupas

Yongdu decided to build the Kudung Lhakhang (སྐུ་གདུང་ལྷ་ཁང་།/གསེར་གདུང་ལྷ་ཁང་།) on the top floor of the Karma Shri Nalanda Institute, since the 16th Karmapa had strong affinity for establishing the shedra during his life and especially in the last few months before his passing. With advice from and in close consultation with Tenga Rinpoche, Yongdu worked with Nepalese goldsmiths and the Tibetan goldsmiths: Sopa Tsang, Norbu Tashi, and Lama Topgyé to build the two reliquary gold stupas. He then invited Lama Tsulden to make the statues of the Kagyu lineage masters.[79]

After completing all the work in the autumn of 1982, with the lead of the Four Regents, the relics of the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ranjung Khyapdak Rigpe Dorje (རང་བྱུང་ཁྱབ་བདག་རིག་པའི་རྡོ་རྗེ།) were enshrined in the two gold stupas. The Four Regents, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Drukpa Yongzin Rinpoche, Dilyak Dabzang Rinpoche, Tulku Ugyen Rinpoche, and many other senior masters of the lineages engaged in the Dharani puja for a week.

On November 7, 1982, on the occasion of Lhabap Düchen, Festival of Buddha's Descent from Heaven, the lineage masters blessed and consecrated the reliquary stupas and the shrine. The opening ceremony was attended by many other great masters, monastics, devoted students from around the world, and dignitaries led by the Hon Governor and Chief Minister of Sikkim. Later on that day, the Regents distributed the relics (that are kept aside) to the representatives of all the monasteries, centers, and individual devotees from around the world who had gathered in Rumtek for this occasion.[79]

The 13 foot high Golden Stupa of Lhabap Chöten (ལྷ་བབ་མཆོད་རྟེན།) was enshrined in the Kudung Lhakhang on the top floor of the Institute, surrounded by the statues of the Kagyu lineage. The 2.3 foot high solid gold Heart Stupa of Changchup Chöten (བྱང་ཆུབ་མཆོད་རྟེན། enlightenment stupa) was enshrined in the main monastery's treasure room[80] with the garchen tengam, the precious sacred objects of the Karmapa lineage.

Death

Yongdu's Final Trip

After completion of the stupa project, Yongdu headed to Bhutan to secure a loan[81] from the Bhutanese government to complete the construction in New Delhi.[82]

While on his mission in Thimphu, on December 11, 1982, around noon, after returning from a breakfast hosted by Topga Yugyal at his home, Dhamchoe Yongdu suddenly passed away at Garchen Tsonglé Khang in Thimphu, Bhutan.[83][84] It is mentioned that there was a medical report by Topga's personal physician stating that Yongdu had suffered a heart attack.

The General Secretary Dhamchoe Yongdu was 62. He was survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters.

Cremation and Memorial Services

Soon after, under the guidance of the Home Minister of the Royal Government of Bhutan, Yongdu's body was brought back to Rumtek in an official motorcade (provided by the Government of Bhutan) lead by police cars from both the governments of Bhutan and Sikkim and escorted by the Royal Bhutanese Police.

Yongdu's cremation took place on a mountain slope behind the Rumtek monastery, led by the Karmapa's Regents, Rinpoches, and lamas from the lineage. His cremation and memorial service was attended by Rinpoches, lamas, Yongdu's family members, monastic sanghas, a number of representatives from the international Kagyu organizations, dignitaries from the governments of India, the state of Sikkim, and Royal Bhutan, along with the lay and monastic officials and members of the Rumtek community.

On December 15, 1982, Vidhyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and the members of American Buddhist sangha gathered at Karma Dzong[85] in Boulder, Colorado to remember Yongdu. At this gathering, Trungpa and the sangha performed the traditional Buddhist practice of Sukhavati for Karma Dhamchoe Yongdu, the General Secretary of the 16th Karmapa.

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche made the following remarks at the gathering:

"Tonight we are performing a Sukhavati or Buddhist funeral ceremony for Karma Dhamchoe Yongdu, The General Secretary of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa. He was loved by many people because he fulfilled His Holiness' vision." […] He was one of His Holiness' most trusted people and in fact, his death so soon after His Holiness' departure shows their mutual understanding and communication. [...] We hoped that after His Holiness' departure, the General Secretary could stay a bit longer, so that he could complete some of the projects started by His Holiness. There are many plans to expand the Kagyu teachings throughout the world." [...] It is a great loss for the Kagyu tradition that the General Secretary has passed away."[86]

References

  1. ↑ The chakdzö (Tib. ཕྱག་མཛོད། Wyl. phyag mdzod) "is a lama's general secretary, sometimes called a bursar, or treasurer, who can either be a layman or a lama or a monk." — Rigpawiki Note: The Karmapa's General Secretary (gs) is also known as: General Secretary of the Black Hat [Lama of Tibet], GS of the Karmapa, Guyi-gungpa, GS of Tsurphu Labrang, GS of Rumtek, Managing Director, and etc.
  2. ↑ Tibetan: ཆོས་སྒར་གོང་། chos sgar gong; the main seat of the Gyaltsab Rinpoche's line of incarnations
  3. ↑ Terhune 2004, p. 132 "Damchoe Yongdu became a monk at Tsurphu when he was eleven years old."
  4. ↑ Dates and the positions Yongdu held are based on to the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa's Letter of Recognition of Service given to General Secretary Yongdu in 1973.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Terhune 2004, p. 132 "when he was nineteen, he became Sixteenth Karmapa's attendant and was appointed chopon, or shrine master, the monk who looks after the altars and ritual implements."
  6. ↑ (Tibetan: གཟིམ་འགག། gzim 'gag). An official position who has the responsibilities for: Personal Security, keeping peace, and seating arrangements for dignitaries and religious masters.
  7. ↑ (Tibetan: མཆོད་དཔོན།, Wylie: mchod dpon). An official position who is responsible for: mandala and shrine set up, shrine offerings, and master of ceremonies. The Tantric term is Karma-vajra "las kyi rdor rje," vajra helper. The Dalai Lama's chief of shrine is also called "Chöpon Khenpo."
  8. ↑ Terhune 2004, p. 132 "At twenty-seven, he [Yongdu] assumed the duties of chandzo [General Secretary], although not the official appointment."
  9. ↑ (Tibetan: ཕྱག་མཛོད་གཞོན་པ། phyag mdzod gzhon pa). This position is also referred to as Representative (Tibetan: ཕྱག་ཚབ། phyag tshab)
  10. ↑ "Tsurphu Labrang" (Tibetan: མཚུར་ཕུ་བླ་བྲང་།, Wylie: mtshur phu bla brang), The Karmapa's Office of Administration, which is the main branch of office that oversees all the affairs of the Karmapa and Karma Kagyu lineage
  11. ↑ Terhune 2004, p. 132 "He [Yongdu] was finally confirmed in the office at the age of twenty-nine..."
  12. ↑ (Tibetan: བརྟག་སྒྲིལ།/ཟན་སྒྲིལ།, Wylie: brag sgril/zan sgril)
  13. ↑ Terhune 2004, p. 132 "He [Yongdu] was finally confirmed in the [General Secretary's] office at the age of twenty-nine by what might be called democratic divination. The Labrang voted the four candidates. The names were wadded into balls. The Karmapa then chose the paper ball with Damchoe Yongdu's name on it."
  14. ↑ (Brown 2004, p. xiii)
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 The 16th Gyalwang Karmapa's Letter of Recognition of Service, given to General Secretary Yongdu in 1973.
  16. ↑ Terhune 2004, p. 132 "At the age of twenty five, he [Yongdu] became the monastery treasurer, an assistant to the Tsurphu chandzo."
  17. ↑ Rin-chen-dpal-bzaṅ (1995). Mtshur-phu-dgon gyi dkar chag kun gsal me long zhes bya ba bzhugs so (Par thengs 1 ed.). Pe-cin: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang. p. 540. ISBN 7-105-02387-2. OCLC 37806737. According to Palzang, Dechö Yongzin Rinpoche, who was serving Karmapa and the Labrang, first suggested to reorganize the finance and brought up the idea of establishing a banking system.
  18. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 98, Vol I)
  19. ↑ Rin-chen-dpal-bzaṅ (1995). Mtshur-phu-dgon gyi dkar chag kun gsal me long zhes bya ba bzhugs so (Par thengs 1 ed.). Pe-cin: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang. pp. 156–157. ISBN 7-105-02387-2. OCLC 37806737.According to Palzang, Dargye Chöling was built during the time of the 13th Karmapa.
  20. ↑ Phodrang (ཕོ་བྲང) means palace, hall, or dwelling
  21. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 106, Vol I)
  22. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 107,283, Vol I)
  23. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 185, Vol I)
  24. ↑ (Brown 2004, p. 45)
  25. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 147, Vol I)
  26. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 186, Vol I)
  27. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 148, Vol I)
  28. ↑ Brown 2004, p. 49 "It was to Damchoe that the onerous task of preparing to abandon Tsurphu and make the long journey into exile now fell. The sacred treasures of Tsurphu were gathered together and sealed in strong boxes. …"
  29. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 107, Vol I)
  30. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 283, Vol I)
  31. ↑ Ancient artifacts such as — The vajra crown (the black hat), statues, texts, etc. that have been with the Karmapas' shrine of Tsurphu throughout the succession of sixteen Karmapas.
  32. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 152, Vol I)
  33. ↑ The day to day details of the journey are recorded in: Tsering 2016, p. 145-153, Vol I
  34. ↑ (Brown 2004, p. 45–46)
  35. ↑ Earth Pig year, on the 17th or 26th of the 2nd month (1959), there are conflicting dates in: Tsering 2016, p. Vol I
  36. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 154, Vol I)
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 (Acharya 2005, p. 57)
  38. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 157-158, 186, Vol I)
  39. ↑ Densapa Tashi Dadul, Sikkim Chogyal's Minister and trusted Advisor (1902—1989)
  40. ↑ Connection with the Sikkim King is generally accepted to have started with the 9th Karmapa, Wangchuk Dorje. However, Acharya Tsultem Gyatso says it started during the time of the 12th Karmapa. Acharya 2005, p. 57.
  41. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 112, Vol I)
  42. ↑ Tsering 2016, p. 64: བསམ་གཏན་ཆོས་གླིང་། a.k.a. old Rumtek monastery རུམ་བཏེག་དགོན་པ་རྙིང་པ།
  43. ↑ Mansingka, Shubham. "Rumtek Monastery". The Times of India. Retrieved 2022-02-03. "…the older Rumtek Monastery was founded in 1740 by the 4th Chögyal of Sikkim"
  44. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 115)
  45. ↑ Acharya 2005, p. 58 This date needs confirmation.
  46. ↑ Tsering 2016, p. 190-191, 285, Vol. I: "The dimensions of the main temple are 77' wide x 99' long x 65' in height. The outside perimeter of the monks quarters surrounding the main temple measure 245' long x 169' wide [and approximately 10' in height]."
  47. ↑ (Leethong 2015, p. 12)
  48. ↑ (Drung yig 2017, p. 115)
  49. ↑ (Drung yig 2017, p. 40)
  50. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 122, 155)
  51. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 123)
  52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 (Tsering 2016, p. 127)
  53. ↑ 1971—2017 (built in 1971 and demolished in 2019)
  54. ↑ Date according to the record in Library Of Congress picture of its construction contributed by Alice Kandell. The actual construction may have started couple of months earlier. Kandell, A. S., photographer. (1971) . India Sikkim, 1971. May. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2011646460/.
  55. ↑ Founded in 1978 in Rumtek by the 16th Karmapa
  56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 (Tsering 2016, p. 65)
  57. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 222)
  58. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 286)
  59. ↑ 1st Governor of Sikkim, India 1975—1981 (after the Indian annexation of Sikkim)
  60. ↑ "Sheja Magazine". Sheja Magazine (in Tibetan): 8–10. December 1979.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  61. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 146)
  62. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 123)
  63. ↑ "Until 1981 I was the personal secretary of His Holiness 16th Gyalwang Karmapa. For the last thirty years of my life, I was next to Karmapa most of the time and wrote down almost every word that he said, teachings that he gave, and letters he wrote, including the recognition letters of the various tulkus." The miraculous 16th Karmapa : incredible encounters with the Black Crown Buddha. Norma Levine. Arcidosso, Italy. 2013. p. 29. ISBN 978-88-7834-133-3. OCLC 873082102.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  64. ↑ The Nectar Of Dharma, Vol. I, Issue Number 1 (the official bulletin published by the International Kagyu Headquarters)
  65. ↑ The Karmapa's health condition deteriorated starting August 9, 1981
  66. ↑ The Karmapa had surgery on September 29, 1981. (?)
  67. ↑ October 19, 1981 (?) arrived at American International Hospital, Zion, Illinois
  68. ↑ (Leethong 2015, p. 34)
  69. ↑ US Central Time (Nov 5, 1981 falls was the 8th day of the 9th Tibetan month, in Asia)
  70. ↑ Governor of Sikkim, India 1981—1984
  71. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 66)
  72. ↑ In his book, it is clearly recorded that the Karmapa had earlier written a personal letter to all the Kagyu monasteries to invite monks to join the Shedra which would be inaugurated on Labab Düchen, the day of the Buddha's decent from heaven. Leethong 2015, p. 35
  73. ↑ (Leethong 2015, p. 36)
  74. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 286-287)
  75. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 254)
  76. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 254-257)
  77. ↑ (Tsering 2016, p. 20-24, 26)
  78. ↑ The name of this Institute was changed later by Shamar Rinpoche to Karmapa International Buddhist Institute (KIBI).
  79. ↑ 79.0 79.1 (Tsering 2016, p. 258-261, 288)
  80. ↑ (Terhune 2004, p. 131)
  81. ↑ Tsering 2016, p. 315: According to the General Secretary's letter: "I'm hoping to complete this project in two years. However, the funding condition is not favorable and there, we may have to scale back a bit."
  82. ↑ (Drung yig 2017, p. 25)
  83. ↑ Tsering Namgyal Khortsa (2013). His Holiness the 17th Karmapa : Ogyen Trinley Dorje : a biography. New Delhi. ISBN 978-93-81431-87-0. OCLC 858135790.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  84. ↑ (Brown 2004, p. 115)
  85. ↑ Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's main seat and it was the headquarter of Vajradhatu, American Buddhist organization. Ani Pema Chödron served as the director of Karma Dzong in the early '80's.
  86. ↑ Trungpa, Chogyam (February 1983). "General Secretary Dies in Bhutan". Vajradhatu Sun. 5: 1.

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