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The 8th Gyalwa Karmapa
Mikyö Dorje (1507–1554)
"The three [Buddha] states [i.e. kayas] are those of enlightened fearless wisdom, self-arisen bliss, and far-sighted, meaningful action. They appear spontaneously from the experience of mind as indestructible space, luminously clear and limitless, and let the four fields of activity arise." — Lama Ole Nydahl
8th Karmapa Mikyö Dorje
A unique marble image of the 8th Karmapa, Mikyö Dorje, made by himself as his own likeness. It is said that whoever ever sees this icon must quickly become liberated.

A praise of King Dzalendara, a former incarnation of the Karmapa

Unborn great Dharmakaya —
The indivisible union of emptiness and pure intelligence,
Supreme bliss — the Sambhogakaya —
The very expression of pure intelligence,
Nirmanakaya — the manifestation of compassion in action,
We praise the Guru, the indivisible union of the three Kayas.

Clarity and Emptiness — the Vajra-Mind
Free from all conceptual complications,
Sound and Emptiness — the ineffable Vajra-Speech,
All-pervading, spontaneous Vajra-Body,
We praise you, the Lord Guru endowed with all the qualities
of the perfect Body, Speech and Mind.

— Stories from the former lives of the Gyalwa Karmapa


A story from the life of the 8th Karmapa

When he was five he was invited to the house of Lhorongpa, a nobleman from Ri Wo Che, in Eastern Khams. One day, while staying there he was asked by Lama Sönam Rinchen to say who he really was. Immediately the small boy laughed and said, "Sometimes I am Padmasambhava, sometimes Saraha and at other times I am the Karmapa!"