Therefore Shegpa

The 5th Karmapa

Tibetan name
Tibetan script : དེ་ བཞིན་ གཤེགས་ པ་
Wylie transliteration : de bzhin gshegs pa

Deshin Shegpa ( Tib .: de bzhin gshegs pa ; * 1384 in Kongpo ; † 1415 ) was the 5th Karmapa of the Karma Kagyü School of Tibetan Buddhism . In older literature, his name is also given as Halima.

Life

Deshin Shegpa was recognized by the 2nd Shamarpa Khachö Wangpo , in Kongpo as the Trülku of the 4th Karmapa . From him he received the traditional black hat and other items from his deceased predecessor. He taught him in all aspects of the Kagyu lineage . At the age of 22 or 23 (1406/1407) Deshin Shegpa made a trip to Nanjing , the capital of the Ming Dynasty at the time, to visit Emperor Yongle , who is said to have had a vision of him as Avalokiteshvara . Yongle, who in some Buddhist sources is even considered an emanation of Manjushri , also became a student of the 5th Karmapa. Due to another vision of Yongle, a black vajra crown was made to be worn at a special "black vajra crown ceremony" in order to free those striving for liberation from samsara . The emperor presented this crown to him in 1407. Yongle also gave him the title of “Great, Valuable Dharma King ”.

Then, in 1408, Deshin Shegpa made a pilgrimage to the Wutai Shan Mountains. In 1410 he returned to Tshurphu Monastery to oversee its reconstruction, as it was destroyed after an earthquake. He recognized Chöpel Yeshe as the 3rd Shamarpa, the 1st Tai Situpa Chökyi Gyeltshen (1377–1448) he appointed the highest Lama in Karma Gön . Before his death he did a three year retreat . The next main lineage holder of the Karma Kagyu was his disciple Ratnabhadra . Deshin Shegpa died at the age of 31.

Web links

• Literature by and about Deshin Shegpa in the catalog of the German National Library
• Kagyuoffice about Deshin Shekpa (English)
• de bzhin gshegs pa
• StudyBuddhism.com Article: A Brief History of Tsurpu Monastery
• Karmapa-Europe on Ratnabhadra (English)

1. ^ Fifth Karma-pa