16th Karmapa: Vajra Crown Ceremony (#Buddhism)

The ceremony of the Vajra Crown or Black Crown was an event that the 16th Karmapa (and previous Karmapas) would conduct. The Black Crown itself was a gift to the Fifth Karmapa from the Chinese emperor. This particular ceremony was held in the Cathedral in the Woods in New Hampshire (United States) in September 1980, 14 months before Karmapa passed. It was shot by John Karol, who would later win the Oscar for best documentary short (on a different project). Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche makes introductory remarks which are translated by Ngodrup T. Burkhar. ==================== You can support this channel. We appreciate it! — Click Like, the Subscribe button and ’🔔’ to get notifications for new releases. — Share on social media. Or donate: — Send us a “coffee” via — Patreon (help the editing and release of other teaching videos from about 30 teachers and scholars,) go to: ==================== In addition to leading the escape of over 100 monks across the Himalayas to flee the Chinese invasion, Karmapa: -- Had the monks bring complete sets of the Kangyur and Tengyur canonical texts that are essential to have for the sanctification of new monasteries. In terms of sheer volume and weight, they’re a literal carload and this was done with horses and mules. Of course, they had to also take supplies to sustain a large expedition. -- Oversaw the construction of Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim, India to serve as the seat of the Kagyu lineage -- Kept lineage masters together to rebuild the lineage for approximately ten years. They would have otherwise resided across Tibet. The sheer number of people who resided in Rumtek that we now consider great teachers is impressive to consider. -- Raised a generation of teachers from children who now lead their own networks of meditation centers and teach internationally -- Collaborated with the United States Library of Congress to make copies of the Kangyur and Tengyur, which were then provided to monasteries across India, Nepal and Bhutan. -- Gave extensive teachings across North America, Europe and Asia on yours in 1974, 1976 and 1980 -- Established and maintained relationships with leaders across the world to promote peaceful cooperation. -- Encouraged young lamas to learn English and these lamas would go on to teach Tibetan Buddhism to the West, most prominently Chogyam Trungpa who would publish many books as well as become the teacher of Pema Chodron. Another example of Karmapa’s ripple out effect was Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche who would subsequently influence Western students that became the scientists who did the foundational scientific research on the effects of meditation. For more information on the 16th Karmapa’s teachings, see this catalogue of translations from Dakini Translations: #trusttheheart #kind=strong #nomudnolotus #namaste