The sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje (; August 14, 1924 – November 5, 1981) was the spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Followers believed him to be part of the oldest line of reincarnate lamas in Vajrayana Buddhism, known as the Karmapas, whose coming was predicted by the Buddha in the Samadhiraja Sutra. The 16th Karmapa was considered to be a "living Buddha" and was deeply involved in the transmission of the Vajrayana Buddhism to Europe and North America following the Chinese invasion of Tibet. He had many monikers, including “King of the Yogis”, and is the subject of numerous books and films. Biography Birth The 16th Karmapa was born in Denkhok in the Dergé province in Eastern Tibet, Kham, near the Dri Chu or Yangtze River. The previous Karmapa Khakhyab Dorje (1871-1922) left a letter setting forth the circumstances of his next incarnation. The Karmapa's attendant, Jampal Tsultrim, possessed the letter of prediction, which matched exactly with the proceeding the 11th Tai Situpa was already undertaking to find the 16th Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje. Controversy and Recognition as Karmapa As with previous and future Karmapas political obstacles arose in the recognition of the 16th Karmapa. Before the letter from Jampal Tsultrim could arrive to the 13th Dalai Lama's Gelugpa controlled government in Lhasa, the Ministry of Religion issued a formal statement that the Karmapa’s reincarnation had been born as the son of one of the cabinet ministers, Lungshawa, in Lhasa. Lungshawa wanted his son to be named as the Karmapa as part of his plan to modernize Tibet. The Karmapa's labrang (the Tsurphu monastery administration) appealed the decision saying that they had an authentic prediction letter, however, the central government replied that the Dalai Lama had issued a position, which couldn't be changed. The petitioning went back and forth for a year until Lungshawa's son fell from a roof, broke his pelvis and died from ensuing complications. The Tsurphu monastery re-submitted their Karmapa candidate but were again rebuffed by the central government—submitting a single candidate was equivalent to the Tsurphu monastery choosing the candidate. The first Beru Khyentse Rinpoche came up with a plan to submit the same candidate—one name as the son of the father and the "other" the name as the son of the mother. The central government responded by saying the correct tulku was the mother's son, not the father's son.