Karmapa the Sacred Prophecy Book

While visiting Karma Monastery in Nangchen, Eastern Tibet, the great nineteenth century master Chogyur Dechen Lingpa was granted a prophetic vision of twenty-one incarnations of Karmapa, the supreme head of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Chogyur Lingpa described his vision in detail to Karmai Khenchen Rinchen Tarjay, Supreme Abbot of Karma Monastery, who painted a representation of the prophecy on silk. Disciples of Chogyur Lingpa committed his oral description of the vision to writing, in a text later printed in woodblock at the renowned monastery of Mindroling. Translated into English for the first time in this book, the prophecy of Chogyur Lingpa is cherished by the Kagyu lineage as a sacred document indicating the qualities and activities of the future Karmapas. Photographs of the nineteenth century woodblock text, as well as the silk painting by Karmai Khenchen, accompany the translation.

This beautifully bound book contains 60 full color photos of extremely rare Tibetan religious paintings, as well as a number of previously unpublished candid photos of contemporary Tibetan masters.

About the Authors:

The Kagyu Thubten Choling Publications Committee is comprised of senior students of Lama Norlha who have completed the traditional Tibetan Buddhist three-year retreat program and professional writers.