Shamarpa founded a retreat center in Virginia in 1996, as well as other Bodhi Path centers, nonsectarian and secular meditation groups. Shamar Rinpoche wrote a book about reforming government corruption, and cared deeply about animals. In the book, he proposes a government structure in which decentralized power moves from small, democratic village units up to state and federal structures, where lawmakers protect the natural environment, humans and animals alike. He also founded the Infinite Compassion Foundation with the purpose of promoting the humane treatment of animals raised for consumption of meat and other products. Karmapa controversy In the latter part of his life, the Shamarpa was a central figure in the ongoing Karmapa controversy within the Karma Kagyu lineage; he recognised Trinley Thaye Dorje as the current (seventeenth) Karmapa, as opposed to Ogyen Trinley Dorje. Death After having completed several days of teachings at Renchen in Baden-Württemberg, the fourteenth Shamarpa died, due to a sudden heart attack, on the morning of 11 June 2014, at the age of sixty-one. “All beings, even the Buddha himself, must pass,” he told his followers just before his death. The government of Nepal granted a “no objection” letter to perform the traditional cremation of Rinpoche’s body at the new Shar Minub monastery in Kathmandu, but the government then reversed its decision. As a result of not being allowed into Nepal, the body was greeted by tens of thousands of people, first in Renchen-Ulm, Germany (where the majority were Diamond Way students), then in New Delhi and Kalimpong, India, and finally at the Royal Palace in Bhutan, where Shamar Rinpoche had a close relationship with the royal family. The Nepalese government reversed its decision again, and the cremation took place in Kathmandu. Relics of Shamar Rinpoche were placed in stūpas at Dhagpo Kagyu Ling in France, and at Renchen-Ulm in Germany. Other reliquaries are found in Natural Bridge, Virginia; KIBI, New Delhi; as well as at Shar Minub Institute in Nepal. Bibliography Most popular English titles: Creating a Transparent Democracy: A New Model. Bird of Paradise Press (2006). The Path to Awakening: How Buddhism’s Seven Points of Mind Training Can Lead You to a Life of Enlightenment and Happiness. Delphinium Books (2014) A Golden Swan in Turbulent Waters: The Life and Times of the Tenth Karmapa Chöying Dorje. Bird of Paradise Press (2012) 9782360170258 Boundless Awakening: The Heart of Buddhist Meditation. Bird of Paradise Press