Karmapa’s message on the Parinirvana of Maniwa Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche

September 5, 2025

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, shares the following message on the passing of Maniwa Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche.

A transcript of the message follows.

Dear Dharma friends,

Venerable Maniwa Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche – or simply ‘Lama Rinpoche’, as he was affectionately known – was one of the most beloved and highly respected masters within our Karma Kagyu lineage. His life story and his vast activities abundantly illustrate his profound commitment to the Buddha Dharma and the benefit of sentient beings.

I have known Lama Rinpoche since I was a child, and ever since our first meeting Lama Rinpoche has always looked after me, like a loving grandfather, with the sole aspiration to fulfil the late Shamar Rinpoche’s wishes, right up until to the last breath of his life. Fulfiling these wishes, as well as the commitment he had made to the great 16th Karmapa, meant nothing other than dedicating his life to the practice of Dharma – and Lama Rinpoche was the very embodiment of this dedication.

Now his physical presence has gone from this world, and this loss has left all of us with a sense of deep sorrow, a sense of what it means to have a spiritual friend, and a sense of what it means to lose the tangible manifestation of such a friend.

Although the form of Lama Rinpoche that we came to know and got used to has dissolved, his activity will surely continue in ways that we cannot imagine. A Bodhisattva’s activity doesn’t wane, and if we have enough merit, their activity will manifest even in ways that we are used to.

While Lama Rinpoche inspired countless individuals and helped them to connect with the Buddha Dharma, he was and always remained one of the very few who never ever expected us to worship or idolise him in any way.

His own love, respect and devotion to the 16th Karmapa were immense, beyond anything we are able to comprehend. Why? Because we all have a preconceived notion of what devotion is – and even if we think we understand devotion, there is no way we can actually know it. In fact, we cannot really say what devotion is – we can only say what it is not, and it is definitely nothing like worship or idolatry.

Dear Dharma friends, this period following the Parinirvana of Lama Rinpoche is not a time of celebration for us. Of course, death in itself is not a bad thing, and people like Rinpoche have no fear of dying; they actually accept and even celebrate death in the same way they accept and celebrate birth. However, from our mundane perspective, we have preconceived notions about death, and due to that it can be a source of great emotion.

And so therefore, rather than a time of celebration, for us as the next generation this Parinirvana is an opportunity to reflect on what this moment means for us. The generation of our elders is leaving, one by one, and this should make us wonder whether we will be able to continue what they have achieved.

It is true that from a profound Buddhist perspective the reason why Manjushri is portrayed as a young boy is that wisdom is said to be found in youth, because of the freshness, curiosity, and willpower embodied by youth. However, even though many of the young generation may possess these qualities, nevertheless the Parinirvana of Lama Rinpoche and other parent figures in our lineage who have recently passed should really lead us to ask ourselves the question, “Are we ready?”

Personally, I have a lot of doubts, not in terms of our capabilities, but in terms of whether we are experienced enough. When I say ‘experience’ I’m not talking about something dry and sterile, but about how much time we have spent on our practice. If we have spent enough time on it, then all the rest will flow from that naturally.

Lama Rinpoche’s Parinirvana is a great cause for us, to really take time and cherish however many parent figures we have left in our lineage, to learn from them, and to follow their example. This is not about whether we can manage our Buddhist organisations or support our Buddhist societies. It means to follow their spiritual example, or their example of practicing, because teachers like the late Lama Rinpoche and his peers are models of having been able to implement the examples of practice from their own elders.

That’s the heart of it; otherwise, no matter how many monasteries and Dharma centres we may establish, they will just be another company, another organisation. We will have an abundance of tools but we won’t know what to do with them.

So, in terms of loss – will we really lose our precious Lama Rinpoche? I think that if we are not able to apply the practice as he and his predecessors did, it’s the same as losing him for good. But if we are able to be curious, thoughtful, to observe and pay attention, then maybe there is a hope of not really losing him.

Therefore, I feel that the real teaching of Lama Rinpoche’s Parinirvana is that Dharma practice is the key, and it’s also a reminder that soon there will be no qualified spiritual friend who will check on us to see whether we are practising or not, or whether our practice is going in the right direction. The generation of true practitioners is becoming thinner and thinner, so it’s up to us to check whether we are practising, and if we are practising well.

However, if we know that we are practising, and most of all, if we enjoy practising, like the late Lama Rinpoche and those like him, then I feel we don’t have much to worry about. Whether there will be good days or not, whether there will be good weather or not, whether the coming season will be good or not – as long as we enjoy the practice, it won’t matter all that much.

With prayers,

Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa