Shamar Rinpoche, the 14th Shamarpa, also known as the Red Hat Lama of Tibet, has always been a man of controversy. The head of the second-oldest reincarnate lineage in Tibetan Buddhism, Shamar Rinpoche’s strong opposition to the selection of the 17th Karmapa and his remonstrations against the present Dalai Lama, created divisions within the Tibetan Buddhist sects and among the Tibetans in exile.

In a chat with Soumik Dutta at Kalimpong in Darjeeling, Shamar Rinpoche talks about his objections to the high-profile Dalai Lama.

Referring to the ongoing court case regarding the transfer of legal rights of Rumtek Monastery to the Karmapa Charitable Trust, and his detractors supporting Rinpoche Ugyen Trinley as the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa (whose incarnation he has objected to), Shamar Rinpoche said politics should not interfere in religious matters. “Frankly, the then Sikkim Chief Minister N B Bhandari made a mistake by interfering in religious matters of the Rumtek Monastery; this was the turning point in the history of the selection and reinstatement of the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, the controversies have since then kept on,” the 14th Shamarpa said. “Bhandari had his vested interest in the forcible takeover of the Monastery in August 1993 from me and the other monks of the Karmapa Charitable Trust, who were ousted by sheer force.”

Talking about what the Karmapa controversy is and how it was created systematically, the Shamarpa said, ‘’The seat of the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa does not need public endorsement or support, traditionally it has been governed by Kagyu tradition of prediction letters left by Karmapas as to who would be their reincarnations.’’ Unfortunately, the late 16th Gyalwang Karmapa Rangjung Rigpei Dorje, did not leave such a letter, upon which Rinpoche Tai Situ forged a prediction letter proclaiming Rinpoche Ugyen Trinley as the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, which I had objected to, the Shamarpa said.

‘’However, this was disallowed and subsequently HH Dalai Lama too endorsed Rinpoche Ugyen Trinley,” he added. “Since then and the forceful takeover of the Rumtek Monastery, the Karmapa controversy has lived on.”

When asked if he has fallen out with HH Dalai Lama, the Shamarpa said, ‘’My respect for Dalai Lama remains the same, however, I feel he has unduly used his religious influence, since he foresees a political mileage of his Tibetan government in exile. I cannot sacrifice the principles of our Kagyupa lineage. In our last meeting in Northampton, USA, HH had requested me for the sake of universal peace and the dharma, to abstain from commenting on the Karmapa issue.”

The Karmapa and Shamarpa worked as a team, one often recognizing the incarnations of the other. Their partnership was enshrined in parallel titles, based on the color of the identical ceremonial miters the lama wore: The Black Hat Karmapa (Karmapa) and the Red Hat Karmapa (Shamarpa).The current Shamar is the nephew of the sixteenth Karmapa and was raised by the Karma Kagyu leader at Rumtek monastery in the sixties and seventies. He managed Rumtek until 1993, when supporters of Ogyen Trinley took over.

Since then, Shamar has led the remaining officials of the sixteenth Karmapa’s administration in court battles and publicity campaigns in India to regain the monastery. “I believe that the Karma Kagyu should be able to choose its own spiritual leader in the traditional way,” Shamar said, adding, “Ogyen Trinley was not chosen the way the Karmapa should have been, but through political interference from the Tibetan exile government of the Dalai Lama, the government of China, and many others. All the other religious schools of Tibet are able to choose their leaders on their own. Why can’t we choose ours? His Holiness Dalai Lama is putting politics before religion in this case.”