16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje
16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje | |
|---|---|
| Title | 16th Gyalwa Karmapa |
| Personal life | |
| Born | August 14, 1924 |
| Died | November 5, 1981 (aged 57) Zion, Illinois, United States |
| Other names | His Holiness Rangjung Rigpei Dorje |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Tibetan Buddhism |
| School | Karma Kagyu |
| Senior posting | |
| Predecessor | Khakyab Dorje |
| Successor | Orgyen Trinley Dorje |
| Reincarnation | Gyalwa Karmapa |
The 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje (Tibetan: རང་འབྱུང་རིག་པའི་རྡོ་རྗེ་, Wylie: Rang 'byung rig pa'i rdo rje; August 14, 1924 – November 5, 1981) is the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa and the spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He is of the oldest line of reincarnate lamas in Vajrayana Buddhism, known as the Karmapas whose coming was predicted by the Buddha in the Samadhiraja Sutra. The 16th Karmapa was considered to be a "living Buddha" and was deeply involved in the transmission of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism to Europe and North America following the Chinese invasion of Tibet. He was known as the "King of the Yogis", and is the subject of numerous books and films.