Eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje

From Tsadra Commons
Karmapa, 8th

Himalayan Art Resources
PersonType Category:Classical Tibetan Authors
Category:Tulkus
MainNamePhon Eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje
MainNameTib མི་བསྐྱོད་རྡོ་རྗེ་
MainNameWylie mi bskyod rdo rje
MainNameChi 噶玛·弥觉多杰
MainNamePin gá mǎ mí jiào duō jié
SortName Karmapa, 8th
AltNamesTib ཀརྨ་པ་བརྒྱད་པ་  ·  ཆོས་ཀྱི་གྲགས་པ་དཔལ་བཟང་པོ་
AltNamesWylie karma pa brgyad pa  ·  chos kyi grags pa dpal bzang po
AltNamesOther Karmapa, 8th
bio The eighth member of the incarnation lineage of the Karmapas, Mikyö Dorje, was a prolific scholar and an acclaimed artist, often credited with the development of the Karma Gadri style of painting. Though he only lived into his mid-40's his contributions to the Karma Kagyu and Tibetan tradition, in general, were immense. His collected works are said to have originally filled thirty volumes and he is widely held to be one of the most significant of the Karmapa incarnations.

For a detailed discussion of The Eighth Karmapa's life, with interesting reference to source texts, see the 17th Karmapa's teachings from February 2021.

From the book, Karmapa: 900 Years (KTD Publications, 2016, revised 3rd edition):

Mikyö Dorje is among the greatest scholars Tibet has ever produced. He was an active participant in the rigorous intellectual debates of his day, making major contributions in virtually all areas of textual study. He was an accomplished Sanskritist, and wrote Sanskrit grammars alongside works ranging from poetry to art to tantra. The Eighth Karmapa’s voluminous writings include substantial commentaries on all the principal Sanskrit texts, clarifying points of confusion and deeply engaging with their inner meaning. The act of composing philosophical texts within the Karma Kagyu—a lineage so fully devoted to attaining realization through practice—is wholly unlike the act of producing philosophical texts in a modern academic or scholastic setting. Rather, the philosophical works of Mikyö Dorje point out the way to view reality in order to be liberated from the cycles of samsaric suffering. As such, his compositions are a supreme act of kindness. It is said that Mikyö Dorje’s deeds in recording his insight and understanding in his commentaries had the effect of doubling or tripling the lifespan of the Karma Kagyu lineage.(Source: Page 73, Karmapa: 900 Years (KTD Publications, 2016, revised 3rd edition). E-Book available online here: http://www.ktdpublications.com/karmapa-900-third-edition-e-book/ .

Mikyö Dorje left numerous Buddhist writings on all major and minor topics, including a biography of Bodong Chogle Namgyal (1376–1451), entitled Ocean of Miracles (ngo mtshar gyi rgya mtsho), a Gongchik commentary, and he introduced a special guru yoga in four sessions, which is the basis for contemporary Karma Kagyu practice. See a list of Tibetan works by the 8th Karmapa available as free ePubs on Tsadra Foundation's DharmaCloud website.

For more biographical information see the following sources:

BiographicalInfo See the Karmapa Lineage page.
YearBirth 1507
YearDeath 1554
BornIn ngom chu g.yas lung (nang chen)
TibDateGender Female
TibDateElement Fire
TibDateAnimal Rabbit
TibDateRabjung 9
associatedwebsite Official Karmapa Office Page on the 8th Karmapa

Tsurphu Monastery Page on the 8th Karmapa

ReligiousAffiliation Karma Kagyu
EmanationOf Seventh Karmapa Chödrak Gyatso
Has emanations Ninth Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje
StudentOf Second Tai Situ Tashi Namgyal  ·  Sangye Nyenpa, 1st  ·  Third Tai Situ Tashi Paljor  ·  byams chen chos rje sna tshogs rang grol  ·  karma phrin las pa
TeacherOf The Second Pawo Tsuklak Trengwa  ·  Fifth Shamarpa Könchok Yenlak  ·  Fourth Tai Situ Mitruk Chokyi Gocha
BDRC https://library.bdrc.io/show/bdr:P385
Treasury of Lives https://treasuryoflives.org/en/biographies/view/biography/6230
Himalayan Art Resources https://www.himalayanart.org/items/560
IsInGyatsa No
BnwShortPersonBio The eighth member of the incarnation lineage of the Karmapas, Mikyö Dorje, was a prolific scholar and an acclaimed artist, often credited with the development of the Karma Gadri style of painting. Though he only lived into his mid-40's his contributions to the Karma Kagyu and Tibetan tradition, in general, were immense. His collected works are said to have originally filled thirty volumes and he is widely held to be one of the most significant of the Karmapa incarnations.
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