Karma Thinley, circa 1970's |
When
he was two years old, Rinpoche was recognized by Sakya Trinzin
Dakshul Thinley Rinchen as the incarnation of Beru Sharyak Lama
Kunrig Rinpoche. The present His Holiness Sakya Trinzin Sampal Wang
Gi Gyalpo also gave a letter authorizing this title of a Sakya tulku.
Subsequently, His Holiness the Sixteenth Gyalwang Karmapa authorized
him with the title of the Fourth Karma Thinleypa. Lama Karma Thinley
Rinpoche studied with many dharma masters.
Rinpoche
left Tibet in 1959 with the party of the Karmapa, who was leaving for
Bhutan. The King of Sikkim, Tashi Namgyal, and his prime minister,
Banya Sahib, invited Gyalwang Karmapa and his followers to settle in
Sikkim and offered him seventy acres of land at Rumtek, where Karmapa
built a large monastery, The Dharma Chakra Centre.
In
1961, the Gyalwang Karmapa and Zöd Dhamchö Yongdu both asked Karma
Thinley Rinpoche to go to New Delhi to help Mrs. Freda Bedi as one of
the abbots of the Young Lamas' Home School for Tibetan tulkus. This
school was founded by Freda Bedi and had recently opened. She later
took bhikkuni ordination in Hongkong and became known as Sister
Palmo. Sister Palmo and Rinpoche together established a nunnery in very beautiful place on the mountain in Dalhousie. Rinpoche gave it
the name Karma Drubgyud Thargye Ling Nunnery, named after his
monastery in Nangchen. The young Lamas' Home School was also moved to
Dalhousie, and Karmapa appointed Karma Thinley Rinpoche as abbot of
the nunnery as well. Rinpoche and Sister Palmo also helped Kyabje
Kalu Rinpoche establish a combined Karma Kagyu and Shangpa Kagyu
three year retreat centre in Dalhousie. After eight years the nunnery
was moved to Tilokpur, where Naropa had first met Tilopa.
The
Gyalwang Karmapa and Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche asked Lama Karma
Thinley Rinpoche to be the Kagyupa teacher among the lamas of the
four sects who came to Canada with some Tibetans at that time (the other lamas being Geshe Khyenrab Rinpoche for the Gelugpa, Gyatrül Rinpoche for the Nyingmapa and Geshe Tashi Namgyal for the Sakyapa). Karma Thinley Rinpoche arrived in Toronto on March 31, 1971 and
obtained landed immigrant status in Canada.
A
more extensive biography can be found at www.karmathinleyrinpoche.com