The 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, well known for his visions and
prophesies, designed this flag from a vision that came to him in a dream.
He called it Namkhyen Gyaldar (Victorious Flag of Buddha’s Wisdom). He
proclaimed, "Wherever this banner is flown the Dharma will flourish."
According to the outer meaning the blue represents the
sky or heaven. The yellow symbolizes the earth. The wave symbolizes the
Buddhadharma penetrating heaven and earth.
According to the inner meaning the blue represents vision
and spiritual insight and the yellow symbolizes our experience of the everyday
world. The symmetry of the wave pattern shows the interdependence of the
absolute and relative levels of reality.
According to the secret meaning, the blue symbolizes emptiness-wisdom
and the yellow represents compassionate action. The wave is Mahamudra:
the union of compassion and wisdom- the ultimate realization of one’s true
nature.
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His Holiness the 16th Karmapa
His Holiness the 17th Karmapa Legacy
The simple presence of Karmapa would create a profound
and lasting blessing on all people coming into contact with him. He himself
said that a Buddha should be known by his laugh and it was said that when
Karmapa laughed, which he did all the time, one would hear him several
houses away.
He also demonstrated a complete ability to communicate
with animals, e.g., at a course in Europe, a large raven tapped on
the window where Karmapa was teaching. When let in, the bird flew
directly to Karmapa, after which he instructed two people to go to a barn
a few miles down the road where two other birds were trapped and starving.
Of course the birds were discovered and rescued. [11] Rangjung Rigpe Dorje
had a special fondness for birds and he considered a visit to the local
petshop in every city in the world an essential part of his travels.
Rangjung Rigpe Dorje was considered by many to be a living
Buddha. Like his predecessors, he was primarily a spiritual figure and
therefore not involved in politics. He, instead, made efforts to keep the
spiritual traditions of Tibet intact and in this way helped to preserve
the identity of Tibet as a unique and individual culture. Spiritually,
he is an inspiration to hundreds of thousands of people across the world
who meditate on him daily.
Shin bone relic attributed to the late 16th Gyalwa
Karmapa, given to Drupon Dechen Rinpoche of Tsurphu Monastery in Tibet
by Shamar Rinpoche. A Form of the Buddha Miraculously Appeared on the Bone.
Early picture of Kaygu Lamas with the 16th Karmapa
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