The 14th Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche, Mipam Chokyi Lodro
The 14th Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche Mipam Chokyi Lodro lived between 1952 and 2014. In the spiritual hierarchy of the Karma Kagyu school, the Shamarpa is second only to the Karmapa. He is the emanation of Amitabha, the Buddha of Limitless Light: a living example of the appearance of Amitabha in our world in the form of a great Boddhisattva.
The Tibetan title of Shamar means “the lama of the ruby-red crown”, named after the replica of the Karmapa’s own crown which he bestowed on the Shamarpa. The successive incarnations of the Shamarpas are also known as the “Red Hat Karmapas”. The 4th Karmapa affirmed to the 2nd Shamarpa: “You are the one manifestation, while I am the other. Therefore, the responsibility to maintain the continuity of the teachings of the Kagyu lineage rests equally on you as it does on me.”
