Lama Jigme Rinpoche
Dharma is a precious gem in that it gives advice on how to truly become genuine human beings. The Gyalwa Karmapas are the authentic manifestation of the best of human potential and appear in this world to support the Buddha’s teaching. The Dharma teachings of the Karmapa show how to actualize enlightenment in this very lifetime and bring peace and harmony to this world.
It is with the utmost joy that I offer my full support and wishes for success of the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Thaye Dorje’s Central Coast Centre.
- Jigme Rinpoche, Spiritual Director
European Seat of the Karma Kagyu Lineage
The Venerable Lama Jigme Rinpoche is a highly accomplished spiritual master of the Karma Kagyu Lineage. He was born in Kham, Eastern Tibet in 1949 and is the nephew of the late 16th Gyalwa Karmapa and the older brother of the 14th Kunzig Shamarpa. He was educated amongst many of the most prominent teachers in the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages.
Due to the impending Chinese invasion in 1959, the 16th Karmapa gathered the young Jigme, the Shamarpa and many high lamas and tulkus of all ages and fled for sanctuary in Sikkim. There, Rumtek Monastery was founded in order to preserve the precious Buddhist teachings. Together with the lamas and tulkus that had fled Tibet, Jigme Rinpoche received all the transmissions of the Kagyu Lineage directly from the 16th Karmapa himself.
During the 16th Karmapa’s first visit to Europe in 1974, he designated Dhagpo Kagyu Ling in the Dordogne region of France to be the central seat of his European activity. The 16th Karmapa chose Jigme Rinpoche to serve as his European representative and in making this appointment said, "In the person of Jigme Rinpoche, I give you my heart." With great wisdom and gentleness, Lama Jigme continues his activity in Europe and the US, teaching and inspiring those who come in contact with him.