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The 17th Karmapa and the Future of TibetNot even the death of His Holiness the fourteenth Dalai Lama is as fraught with the tension of Tibet's future as the re-birth of the Karmapa and the succession of His Holiness the seventeenth Karmapa to the Kagyu throne. The struggle with the Chinese on behalf of Tibetan autonomy and religious freedom, has taken a toll on HH14DL. He was recently hospitalized, following his acknowledgement of failure last November, in the 50-year 'Middle Way' effort to relieve Tibetan suffering.
Among the enlightened beings guiding the people of Tibet, Karmapa has traditionally shared responsibility with the Panchen Lama and the Dalai Lama for preserving the stability of Tibetan culture through recognized re-birth. The Chinese have been locked in a bitter struggle with HH14DL to rid themselves of the influence of the high lamas in Tibet by controlling the procession of succession through reincarnation. The success of the Chinese in the last decade to eliminate the Panchen Lama from this equation by kidnapping the candidate recognized by the Dalai Lama and replacing him with one selected by China. Now enthroned, the state-controlled Panchen Lama is rarely seen in public for fear of adverse reaction among Tibetans, by whom he is distained.
By contrast, the Karmapa, who has been officially recognized by both the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama, is in a unique position to influence future events in Tibet. Following his re-birth and enthronment, in which Chinese government officials participated, the Karmapa was regarded as the best hope for China in controlling Tibet in the coming decades. The best hope that is until at the age of 14, reacting to Chinese attempts to control his spiritual education, the seventeenth escaped from Tibet, crossing the Himalayas to refuge in India, where he was welcomed by HH14DL.
Now in his early twenties, the Karmapa is gaining world-wide acceptance as the probable successor to the Dalai Lama, during the regency period which will preceed the birth and recognition of the fifteenth Dalai Lama, which HH14DL has declared will occur outside Tibet.
With the stage thus set, this post offers two sets of YuTube videos; the first documenting the life and death of the 16th Karmapa, and the second documenting the discovery of the 17th Karmapa, living in a nomadic family in eastern Tibet.
the 16th Karmapa (on left) and 17th Karmapa at about the same age.
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama confering with the 16th Karmapa.
Buddhist monks demonstrating against Chinese government attempts to control selection process of reincarnated Lamas
His Holiness with the 17th Karmapa soon after his escape from Tibet
His Holiness, the 17th. KarmapaFilm Biography of the 16th Karmapa - The Lion’s Roar
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