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Karma Thinley Rinpoche ཀརྨ་འཕྲིན་ལས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་ (born 1931),[1][2] is an important master of the Kagyu[2] Mahamudra, Sakya Lamdré[2] and Chod traditions of Tibetan Buddhism active in the west and Nepal. He is also well regarded by Tibetans as a scholar, poet and artist.
Karma Thinley Rinpoche | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Title | Karma Thinleypa IV |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 1931 |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Education | Riwoche |
| Other names | Lama Wangchen (bla ma dbang chen) |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Tibetan Buddhism |
| School | Kagyu, Sakya |
| Lineage | Mahamudra, Lamdré |
| Senior posting | |
| Teacher | XVIth Gyalwa Karmapa, Dilgo Khyentse, Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen, Ling Rinpoche |
| Based in | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Reincarnation | Beru Kunrik, Palkhang Lotsawa |
Karma Thinley Rinpoche was born in Nangchen, Kham, in Qinghai[1] in 1931.[1][2] At age two, he was recognized as a reincarnation of Beru Shaiyak Lama Kunrik.[1][2]
Throughout the 1950s, Rinpoche made pilgrimages to Radeng, Samye, Sakya and Lhasa.[2] Eventually, he settled for a period at Tsurphu Monastery,[2] traditional seat of the Karmapa. The 16th Karmapa recognized Rinpoche as a tulku of Karma Thinleypa.[2]
Karma Thinley Rinpoche left Tibet for India in 1959[1] and during the 1960s was abbot of the Young Lamas Home School[1] and Karma Drubgyu Thargay Ling nunnery[2] both founded by Freda Bedi in Dalhousie, HP. There he was one of the first Tibetan refugee Lamas to teach western students. In 1971 he accompanied a group of Tibetan refugees resettled in Ontario, Canada as their Lama[2] and in 1973 established a Buddhist center, Kampo Gangra Drubgyud Ling meditation centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[2]
In 1982, Karma Tinley Rinpoche was able to visit his homeland Nangchen for the first time since leaving a quarter of a century earlier.[1] Returning several times since then he has established a temple in Shorda, capital of Nangchen District and a school for nomad children in the Sangshung valley.
In 1988, he also established a nunnery, Tekchen Lekshay Ling, at Boudhanath Nepal and subsequently a small meditation retreat center at Pharping.
His students include Lama Jampa Thaye, a British Buddhist teacher who is Karma Thinley Rinpoche's dharma-regent and founded the Dechen sangha,[3] and the Nepalese Lama, Acharya Mahayogi Sridhar Rana
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- Karma Thinley. History of 16 Karmapas. Shambhala (2001) ISBN 1-57062-644-8
- Karma Thinley Rinpoche. The Telescope of Wisdom. Ganesha Press (2009) ISBN 978-0-9509119-6-0
- Karma Thinley Rinpoche, 2018. The Lamp that Dispels Darkness: A Commentary on Karmapa Rangjung Dorje's Distinguishing Consciousness and Primordial Wisdom ISBN 978-0998750781
- Dispelling the Darkness of Suffering: A Concise Word Commentary on the Seven Points of Mind Training of the Mahayana,, Rabsel Publications (2023) ISBN 978-2360170531
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