mi pham chos grub rgya mtsho

Mipham Chödrub Gyatso, the Tenth Shamarpa, was the last Shamarpa to be recognized and enthroned in Tibet. The Ninth Shamarpa had died a premature death due to obstacles in his lineage. The tenth took birth in Central Tibet and was the brother of the Sixth Panchen Lama. Both the Panchen Lamas as well as the Shamarpas are thought to be emanations of Buddha Amitabha. The Tenth Shamarpa passed on many Lineage transmissions to the Ninth Tai Situpa, who became the Root Guru of the Fourteenth Gyalwa Karmapa.

After the Panchen Lama passed away, Shamarpa fled from his homeland amid growing tensions with the Tibetan Government and he continued pursuing his activities in Nepal. But, the Shamarpa passed away soon after King Bahadur of Nepal invaded Tibet in 1792 on account of a currency dispute and shortly after the Tibetans, who were supported by the Chinese, defeated Nepal. It is said that rainbows appeared in the sky above the Shamarpa’s cremation mound. In the meantime, the Tibetan Government seized Yangpachen Monastery, seat of the Shamarpas in Tibet, and forbid an enthronement of future Shamarpas on Tibetan soil. So, the line of Shamarpas in Tibet came to an abrupt end.

May virtue increase!