Prophetic Signs for a Flight to IndiaIn addition, the Karmapa reportedly pondered an image in a thangka painted in the 19th century, based on a vision by the terton Chogyur Dechen Lingpa. It is said that Guru Rinpoche appeared to the 19th century adept Chogyur Dechen Lingpa in a vision and prophesied the names and circumstances for Twenty-one Karmapa incarnations. Dechen Lingpa was a great nonsectarian master and lineage holder in the Nyingma school, who explicitly described his
vision of the prophecy to Karmai Khenchen Rinchen Tarjay, Abbot of Karma Monastery. Artists rendered the vision in a painting. In the painting, the Seventeenth Karmapa, named Pal Khyabdak Ugyen Gyalway Nyugu Drodul Trinley Dorje Tsal Chokle Nampar Gyalway De by Padmasambhava, is depicted under a pine tree in discussion with someone who can be identified by his clothing as an incarnation of Tai Situ Rinpoche. The Karmapa is reported to have remarked when still in Tibet that the scenery
in the thangka illustration, amidst which the Karmapa figure and the Tai Situ figure were placed, did not look like the arid Tsurphu monastery region, but rather resembled the more lush vegetation of India. The XIIth Tai Situ Rinpoche is currently the Karmapa's primary teacher, and Situ Rinpoche's monastery, as well as the Karmapa's Rumtek monastery, are in India. Guru Rinpoche's prophecy indicated that the Karmapa would receive transmissions from H.E. Situ Rinpoche in India.
Although it seemed prophesied that the Karmapa receive lineage transmissions in India, Chinese officials refused to grant him permission to visit there. The Karmapa made many requests for a visa. Though government representatives had promised to issue a visa many years ago, they continued to renege. Years went by; no visa was granted. His main teachers continued to be barred from teaching him in Tibet. In 1998, a different type of sign manifested. The Karmapa one day refused to
return to his main residence, and instead directed some of his monks to get him something from the library, which was attached by a passageway to his main residence. The monks went to the library and could not easily find what the Karmapa had asked for, so they began to search for the Karmapa's requested item. They never found it; rather, they discovered two apparent assassins hiding there, armed with knives and possibly explosives. The men
were captured and turned over to the authorities, but apparently were never prosecuted. <<Previous | 1
| 2 | 3 | 4 | Next>> |
