May 31st 2015 marked the first passing away anniversary of The 14th Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche as per the Tibetan calendar. KIBI under the guidance of His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, held a special 7-day prayer service in accordance with traditional and spiritual norms of Tibetan Buddhism, to commemorate this solemn occasion and to honor Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche’s extraordinary life and his vast immeasurable activities, reflecting that of a true Bodhisattva’s life.
A special ceremony was held on May 31st led by His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje. About 15 Venerable Rinpoches and Lamas, Sangha representatives from 27 monasteries from Sikkim, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Bhutan and Nepal, Sangha representatives of the Western Karma Kagyu Centers and lay devotees from all around the world joined His Holiness on this auspicious ceremony. Distinguished guests including representatives of the Embassy of Nepal and Bhutan, Indian dignitaries and several long-time Indian devotees of the 16th Karmapa also joined His Holiness in honoring Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche’s life.
The first ceremony on May 31st began with His Holiness Gyalwa Karmapa enshrining the precious bone relics of Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche at the main shrine hall in KIBI. His Holiness and the assembly of monks and nuns gathered, then recited the most auspicious prayers, which was followed by a minute of silence paying deep homage and respect to Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche. Professor Sempa Dorje (President of KIBI) and Venerable Jigme Rinpoche (Gen. Secretary to Gyalwa Karmapa and brother of Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche) gave moving speeches to the audience on Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche’s amazing life and his vast immeasurable activities. The program then concluded with an extremely inspirational and powerful speech by His Holiness on the lesson of impermanence and the importance of the Dharma as taught by his spiritual teacher Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche. Later in the evening, Rinpoches, Lamas, ordained Sangha and lay devotees gathered once again in the main shrine hall to recite the prayer Calling Guru from Afar and the swift rebirth prayers for Kunzig Rinpoche.
The traditional ritual ceremony for Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche’s Parinirvana anniversary started on June 1st and lasted until June 7th. Led by His Holiness, monks and nuns performed the grand Chakrasambara ritual ceremony for the whole week. The Chakrasambhara ritual is one of the highest Vajrayana teachings, representing an unbroken lineage passed down by Buddha Shakyamuni to the great Indian Maha Siddha Tilopa, down to the Karma Kagyu masters leading up to our present masters.
The ritual is difficult to perform unless guided by a well-experienced master, as it requires a combination of the profound acts of Samadhi, Mudra, Mantra, Mandala and visualization. If any of these aspects is missed or done incorrectly, the ritual performance is considered incomplete. The perfect completion of this ritual gives practitioners an opportunity to gain realizations during the ceremony and also purifies all broken Samayas.