Commemorations

The 14th Shamar Rinpoche passed away on June 11, 2014 at his center in Renchen-Ulm, Germany. This page is dedicated to celebrating the life of Shamar Rinpoche and recounting the events and tributes that took place following his passing.

KTR in Renchen Ulm

Part 1 and 2 Remembrance

by Trinlay Rinpoche

Over two days, June 18 and 19, 2014, soon after the 14th Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche’s passing on June 11, 2014, in the Bodhi Path Center in Renchen-Ulm, Germany, Karma Trinlay Rinpoche gave a two-part compelling account of Shamar Rinpoche’s life, which was captured on video. Trinlay Rinpoche gave the presentation in Renchen-Ulm to the many people who had gathered there to remember the beloved Shamar Rinpoche.

Voices Cover Image

Voices: A Tribute

by Shamar Rinpoche’s students

This book is a series of tributes, memories, essays, poetry, and photographs in memory of Shamar Rinpoche, created by students, teachers, and friends. Contributors include Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa; Lama Jigme Rinpoche; Karma Trinlay Rinpoche; Khenpo Tsering Samdup; Lama Jampa Thaye; and Pamela Gayle White, among many others. This hardcover edition includes excerpts from Shamar Rinpoche’s teachings and numerous rare color photographs.

Audacity and Tradition

Audacity and Tradition: Portrait of a Master of our Time

by Trinlay Rinpoche

The masters of a Buddhist tradition are part of a succession lineage holders. Their thoughts and teachings echo those of their lineage, but each master presents them in a new light, according to the needs of the time. This is the case for Mipham Chökyi Lodrö (1952-2014), the 14th reincarnation of Shamarpa or holder of the red hat, an accomplished meditator and leader of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage of Shamarpas dating back to the 13th century is the second oldest line of reincarnation of Tibetan Buddhism. This book pays tribute to a modern master, heir to Buddha’s methods, who used his life to make them accessible and to transmit them in the East and the West.

The Passing of the 14th Shamar Rinpoche

Shamar Rinpoche passed away on June 11, 2014 in Germany. During the next seven weeks his remains, or kudung (Tib.), traveled from Germany to New Delhi, Kalimpong, Bhutan, and finally to the site of his funeral in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Shamar Rinpoche: Calling the Lama from Afar

During the time of travel of the kudung (Tib.), tens of thousands of devotees lined streets and filled rooms to pay their respects.

Courtesy of DKL Media

Use Watch now link above or do we show Youtube video directly below?: Calling the Lama from Afar

Official address: Passing of HIs Holiness Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa recorded this official address.

Courtesy of Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Karmapa

From Renchen-Ulm: A Poem for Shamar Rinpoche

The 14th Shamar Rinpoche passed away on June 11, 2014 at the Bodhi Path Buddhist Center in Renchen-Ulm, Germany, just a few days after his last teaching program there. Rinpoche remained in tukdam meditation for two days and two nights, leaving his meditation at daybreak on June 13, the most auspicious day according to the Buddhist calendar, the full moon day of Saga Dawa.

Shamar Rinpoche’s kudung was prepared and remained at the chapel of the Renchen-Ulm cemetery for a week, during which time Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa came from India to perform pujas. Thousands of people from all over the world attended to pay their last respects.

Courtesy of DKL Media

Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche’s “Kudung” in KIBI, New Dehli

At the request of Karmapa, Rinpoche’s kudung (Tib.) was then transported to the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute (KIBI) in New Delhi, India. According to tradition, meditative practices were conducted throughout the next several weeks.

Courtesy of Karmapa International Buddhist Institute (KIBI)

Shamar Rinpoche: The Road to Kalimpong

On July 1, the kudung (Tib.) was brought to Shri Diwakar Vihara Institute in Kalimpong, where practices were again continuously performed around the clock, and during which time thousands came daily to pay their respects.

Courtesy of DKL Media

Shamar Rinpoche: The Final Flame

After weeks of waiting, the Kudung of Shamar Rinpoche is finally allowed to enter Nepal. It is greeted at the airport by hundreds, and the streets of Kathmandu are overflowing by the thousands.

Courtesy of DKL Media

Watch now link: Karmapa video or do we show Youtube video directly below?

Remembering Shamar Rinpoche at DKL
Renchen-Ulm Flowers in Vase

A Poem from Renchen-Ulm

by Various

Shamar Rinpoche’s kudung was prepared and remained at the chapel of the Renchen-Ulm cemetery for a week, during which time Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa came from India to perform pujas. Thousands of people from all over the world attended to pay their last respects.

Link to videos: A Poem and to Karmapa arriving in Germany

Renchen-Ulm Flowers in Vase

Paying Respects in New Delhi

by Various

At the request of Karmapa, Rinpoche’s kudung was then transported to the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute (KIBI) in New Delhi, India. According to tradition, meditative practices were conducted throughout the next several weeks.

Link to videos: KIBI Video and Kunzig SR’s kudung in KIBI

Renchen-Ulm Flowers in Vase

Paying Respects in Kalimpong

by Various

On July 1, the kudung was brought to Shri Diwakar Vihara Institute in Kalimpong, where practices were again continuously performed around the clock, and during which time thousands came daily to pay their respects.

Link to videos: Road to Kalimpong and Candlelight Kora at Kalimpong

Funeral in Kathmandu, Nepal

by Shamar Rinpoche
edited and translated by Lara Braitstein

On July 27, Rinpoche’s kudung journeyed to the Kingdom of Bhutan and was welcomed for two days at the Royal Palace in Paro, where last respects were paid by the royal family and bereaved disciples.

Shamar Rinpoche: The Final Flame

Finally, on July 29, Rinpoche’s remains were brought to Kathmandu, Nepal for the cremation ceremony. Thousands of people lined the streets all day awaiting the procession from the airport to the final resting place at Sharminub Institute. The concluding ceremony took place on July 31, 2014, led by Karmapa and other principle Dharma holders of different lineages who conducted the last rites. This was attended by a vast multitude of mourners from around the globe.

Courtesy of DKL Media

Watch now link: The Final Flame

Life of Shamar-Rinpoche

Boundless Awakening: The Heart of Buddhist Meditation (1st Edition-2013)

by Shamar Rinpoche

Boundless Awakening is a pocket-sized book on meditation written by Shamar Rinpoche. The book is a concise yet profound guide for meditation practice, both beginners and advanced. This is a book to share widely; it is completely accessible and vastly profound.

Boundless Awakening 2nd Edition 2nd Edition-2020

The Path to Awakening: How Buddhism’s Seven Points of Mind Training Can Lead You to a Life of Enlightenment and Happiness (2014)

by Shamar Rinpoche
edited and translated by Lara Braitstein

In The Path to Awakening, Shamar Rinpoche gives a detailed commentary on Chekawa Yeshe Dorje’s Seven Points of Mind Training, a text that has been used for transformative practice in Tibetan Buddhism for close to a thousand years.

Clear, accessible, and profound, this book is filled with practical wisdom, philosophy, and meditation instructions. Mind training is a comprehensive practice that contains the entire path and does not depend on a person’s background. Put into practice diligently, it is enough to lead you all the way to awakening.

Boundless Wisdom: A Mahāmudrā Practice Manual (2018)

by Shamar Rinpoche
edited and translated by Tina Draszczyk

Boundless Wisdom offers precise guidelines for meditation. In it, Shamar Rinpoche extracts the meditation-oriented teachings from Moonlight of Mahamudra, a comprehensive treatise on the practice of Kagyu Mahamudra composed by Dagpo Tashi Namgyal, a renowned sixteenth-century master of the Kagyu tradition. Shamar Rinpoche produced this book in order to compile a written manual for his students, which incorporates teachings and transmissions that he gave on the source text in the 1990s. He provided new explanations for the final manuscript and continued refining it up until close to his death in 2014.

Introductory Teachings

For people who are new to Buddhism, these teachings provide a good starting place. As part of your introduction, we strongly recommend consulting a qualified Buddhist teacher.

Introduction to Meditation

by Trinlay Rinpoche

A brief introduction into why we meditate, and an overview of the physical and mental posture for calm-abiding meditation practice.

Foundations of Buddhism

by Trinlay Rinpoche

A five-part seminar offering an introduction to the Buddhist path. Suited for newcomers and experienced practitioners alike, this program provides a foundation for the path of practice and study offered by Bodhi Path Buddhist centers.

Calming Our Minds is the First Step

by Shamar Rinpoche

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FINAL TEACHINGS AND DEDICATIONS

Additional Remembrances

Watch the final journey captured in a video compilation, as well as Shamar Rinpoche’s exceptional visit to Dhagpo Kagyu Ling in France. Read also a final Washington Post article and condolence letters from dignitaries around the world.