Choying Dorje

Life & Legacy

Chöying Dorje (1604–1674) was the tenth Karmapa or head of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Chöying Dorje was born in the kingdom of Golok, Amdo. At the age of eight, he was recognized by Shamar Mipam Chökyi Wangchuk, the sixth Shamarpa and received the complete Kagyu transmissions.
During his life, Tibet faced inner instability as a pro-Kagyu king suppressed - against the will of the Karmapa - the Gelug school and forbade the search for the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. The regent of the Gelug asked Güshi Khan, the warrior king of the Khoshut Mongols, for help.
The Mongolian army attacked Shigatse and forced many monasteries to convert to the Gelug school. The civil war became such that Chöying Dorje had to flee Tibet and he appointed Goshir Gyaltsab as the temporary regent. The Kagyu school was almost completely annihilated in Tsang province, however, it remained in the provinces of Amdo and Kham.