Karmapa presides over the last rites for Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche

November 2, 2025

On the 29th of October 2025, the cremation ceremony for Venerable Maniwa Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche was held at the site prepared for the occasion on the premises of Dhagpo Sheydrub Ling monastery.

In the early morning the monastic sangha started the preparatory rituals in the main shrine room.

After a short break, the Kudung (Wylie: sku gdung, honorific term for the mortal remains of a realised master) was carried from the shrine hall to the nearby cremation site in a ceremonial procession, and placed inside the cremation stupa in meditation posture.

Karmapa then took his place on the throne prepared under the canopy covering the cremation stupa and the surrounding area, the fire for the funeral rites was lit, and five Djinsek (Wylie: sbyin sreg, fire offering pujas) were performed simultaneously, each of them led by an eminent Buddhist master: Karmapa himself in the eastern direction, directly facing the cremation stupa; His Eminence Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche in the south; Venerable Dupseng Rinpoche and Tulku Karma Rinpoche in the west, and Venerable Phagchog Rinpoche in the north, each of them surrounded by an assembly of Rinpoches, lamas, monks and nuns.

The thousands of devotees gathered around the funeral site to pay their final respects to their beloved master were vivid testimony to Lama Rinpoche’s vast compassion and wisdom, and the countless lives he had touched.

It is now up to each and every one of us to honour his legacy by following in his footsteps and making the best use of the precious human life we have.

On the day following the cremation, Karmapa met with several Rinpoches and lamas, and granted audiences to groups of monastic and lay practitioners from both East and West.

In the evening he was given a guided tour of the premises of Dhagpo Sheydrub Ling.