Wangchug Dorje

The 9th Karmapa

Tibetan name
Tibetan script : དབང་ ཕྱུག་ རྡོ་ རྗེ་
Wylie transliteration : dbang phyug rdo rje

Wangchug Dorje ( Tib .: dbang phyug rdo rje ; * 1556 in Treshö ; † 1603 ) was the 9th Karmapa of the Karma Kagyü School of Tibetan Buddhism .

Life

Wangchug Dorje was born in Treshö in accordance with the prediction of his predecessor, Mikyö Dorje . He was recognized by the 4th Tai Situpa Chökyi Gocha (1542–1585) and the 5th Shamarpa Könchog Yenlag (1526–1583) as the 9th Karmapa. Like his predecessor, he declared soon after his birth that he was the Karmapa. At the age of six he was enthroned by Könchog Yenlag.

After receiving the full teachings of the Karma Kagyu School, he began teaching all over Tibet . His stays were organized in monastic camps, but he strictly maintained his meditation practice . Wangchug Dorje did not travel to China , but to Mongolia and Bhutan . He often gave teachings and had monasteries and temples restored wherever he was. The ninth Karmapa also received an invitation to Sikkim , where he founded the Rumtek , Phodong and Ralang monasteries . Like his predecessor, Wangchug Dorje was a diligent writer who wrote commentaries on sutra and tantra and also wrote three mahamudra scriptures: "The ocean of true sense" (Tib .: nges don rgya mtsho ), "Driving away the darkness of ignorance" (tib .: ma rig mun sel ) and “emphasis on the Dharmakaya ” (tib .: chos sku mdzub tshugs ). These texts play a major role in the teaching and transmission of mahamudra.

Wangchug Dorje died at the age of 48, leaving the 6th Shamarpa Chökyi Wangchug with a prediction of his coming rebirth . Chökyi Wangchug (1584–1630) was the next main lineage holder of the Karma Kagyu. Another well-known student of Wangchug Dorje was Jonang Taranatha .

Works

• Henrik Havlat (translator): Mahamudra - The ocean of true sense . 2nd revised edition. Monsenstein and Vannerdat publishing house , Münster 2009, ISBN 978-3-86582-882-8

Web links

• Literature by and about Wangchug Dorje in the catalog of the German National Library
• Kagyuoffice via Wangchuk Dorje (English)
• Kagyu-Asia via Wangchuk Dorje (English)
• himalayanart.org: Teacher (Lama) - Karmapa 9, Wangchug Dorje
• dbang phyug rdo rje