![]() There are several types of pills that may be distributed during the Vajra Crown Ceremony. Since these blessings contains very sacred substances blessed by many great masters and have been preserved for many generations, it is important to keep them in a clean place of respect and to take them with devotion. They can also be crushed and put in liquids to share with others, including animals. In general, any of the pills can be taken at any time, and one is enough. Therefore, the opportunity to sponsor the crown ceremony is extended to all would-be participants.Īdditionally, special blessing pills are distributed to the sponsors. Sponsorship is an expression of an individual’s interest in receiving what the lama is offering. There is a tradition of requesting lamas to grant empowerments, teachings, and such ceremonies. When the crown ceremony is performed, participants are given an opportunity to sponsor the event. Afterwards, the Dalai Lama asked if he could inspect the vajra crown, and when Wangchuk Dorje handed it to him, the crown remained suspended in space, prompting the Dalai Lama to exclaim that the Black Crown is quite special indeed! The Fifth Dalai Lama recounts in his biography of the Third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso, that this master approached Gyalwang Wangchuk Dorje (the Ninth Karmapa), and requested him to perform the Black Crown ceremony. However, this doesn’t mean that one is liberated in the very moment of seeing them, but rather that beholding the crowns plants the seed of future liberation in one’s being. ![]() Beholding the Vajra Crowns is said to grant liberation upon sight. Thus crown ceremonies became an important aspect of the Kamtsang Kagyu lineage. Later, various Gyalwang Karmapas bestowed red crowns upon Shamar Rinpoche, Situ Rinpoche, and Gyaltsab Rinpoche. Karma Pakshi, the Second Gyalwang Karmapa, stated that whoever witnesses the crown ceremony will not fall into the lower realms. The Gyalwang Karmapas began the tradition of Vajra Crown ceremonies utilizing the Black Crown, which is particular to them. Sometimes they are symbols of the special noble qualities of the guru himself, as is true of the Gyalwang Karmapa’s Black Crown. The hats can represent the guru, and they may represent the lineage. A Brief History of the Vajra Crown CeremonyĮach lineage of Tibetan Buddhism has its own style of ceremonial hats with their own particular symbolic meanings. Under instructions from the 17th Karmapa, the 12th Goshir Gyaltsab Rinpoche had agreed to perform the Vajra Crown ceremony this year during the Kagyu Monlam’s extended program. This would be of special historical importance since it was the first time that a Vajra Crown ceremony had ever been performed in Bodhgaya, the site of Buddha Shakyamuni’s enlightenment. At last the time had come for the momentous occasion of the Red Crown ceremony. ![]() After several minutes, the Gyalwang Karmapa led an elderly Theravadin monk from Bangladesh and his small entourage onto the stage.He had come bearing a special gift for the Karmapa, which with reverence His Holiness placed inside the silver pavilion, before taking his seat on a throne to the front right of Gyaltsab Rinpoche’s. To the right, on an elegant golden table covered with brocade, sat a delicately wrought silver pavilion.Īt last the stage was set, the gyalings blew, and the sangha returned from the break to take their seats. Gyaltsab Rinpoche’s throne was placed directly in front of the Gyalwang Karmapa’s high throne. His Holiness the 17th Karmapa personally took charge of arranging Gyaltsab Rinpoche’s throne with great respect and care he had received the Empowerment of the Three Roots Combined from Gyaltsab Rinpoche when he bestowed the Treasury of Precious Terma, or Rinchen Terdzo empowerments some years earlier. During the break, after the smoke offering Massing Clouds of Amrita had ended on Sunday morning, the stage needed to be cleared and rearranged in order for Gyaltsab Rinpoche to bestow the Red Crown ceremony and the Long Life Empowerment of the Three Roots Combined. ![]()
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