The
2nd Shamarpa Shamar Khachö Wangpo 1350-1405 The
2nd Shamarpa, with a retentive power to his previous learnings,
taught at the age of three. Self-declared, the acknowledged Shamarpa
Incarnate was enthroned by Rolpe Dorje the 4th Karmapa, at the
age of six. In due course, he took monastic ordination, rigorously
observing his Pratikmoksha Vows and the Bodhdisattva Vow, as he
had done in his previous incarnation, also as he shall continue
to do in all the incarnations to come. The Karmapa gave him the
Authentic Vajrayana Empowerment, whereby one penetrates into the
true nature of all phenomena. From the Karmapa he also received
the Mahamudra, The Six Teachings of Naropa as well as the treasured
"Whispered Transmission'' - the intimate and direct passing on,
from guru to disciple, of the most profound of instructions of
the Kagyu Lineage. The Shamarpa also studied the sutras and the
tantras with numerous great lamas and siddhas. He made every demand
on himself in practice, setting a difficult pace for the fervent
to follow, while spurring the sluggish minds of the more indolent
to greater diligence. As for the Shamarpa himself, having reached
the ultimate in realization many kalpas ago, what more was there
for him to attain?
In
an age of spiritual decline, the Shamarpa had grave misgivings
that future generations of faltering faith and diminishing capacity
in practice, may not be able to preserve in tact, the Whispered
Transmission, orally, for posterity. He supplicated all the Lineage
Gurus through the ages, and all Dakinis custodial to the Transmission,
to grant him the permission to record some of the vital instructions
in writing. In a clear vision, all the Lineage Gurus and all guardian
Dakinis gave their unanimous consent to his urgent request. It
was to be on the strictest condition that these instructions may
never be in the hands of those whose interests in life are mainly
for worldly gains. Thus were these instructions put into writing
by the Shamarpa. They formed one of eight volumes -- the written
legacy of the 2nd Shamarpa.
The
Karmapa after having ceremoniously returned to the 2nd Shamarpa,
the Ruby-Red Crown, mentioned the prediction made by the 2nd Karmapa,
Karma Pakshi, in which future Karmapas were foreseen to manifest
in two separate Nirmanakaya forms. "You are the one manifestation".
The Karmapa affirmed, "While I am the other. The responsibility
therefore, rests equally on me as it is on you, in up-holding
the line of continuity in the Kagyü Teachings." The Karmapa
formally made him his deputy, both temporally and ecclesiastically.
When
the 4th Karmapa passed away, The Shamarpa held the honorary title
of the Holder of the Kagyü Teachings, which he truly was,
enthroning the 5th Karmapa and transmitting all the profound instructions
to him, in the fullness of time.
For
the Shamarpa, there were many worthy disciples. One, in particular,
Sokwön Rigpe Raldri, was to become a guru of the 6th Karmapa.
The 3rd
Shamarpa Shamar Chöpal Yeshe 1406 -1452
The S h a m a r p a
