Chokyi Gyeltsen (ta'i si tu 05 chos kyi rgyal mtshan) was born around the year 1560, although many sources erroneously give the date as 1586. At the age of fifteen, the Ninth Karmapa, Wangchuk Dorje (karma pa 09 dbang phyug rdo rje 1556-1603), gave him his novice ordination with the name Chokyi Gyeltsen Gelek Pal Zangpo (chos kyi rgyal mtshan dge legs dpal bzang po) and the red crown of that henceforth was worn by his lineage. Previous incarnations had worn either a black lotus hat or a black hat of the five buddha families.
He was enthroned the following year at Karma Gon (karma dgon) and began his studies.
Few other details of his life are currently available.
The Ming Emperor Chongzhen (崇禎r. 1627-1644) gave him a golden seal and edict with an extensive title (kwan ting dben thong me'u ci gu srI ste spyi bo nas dbang bskur ba'i mkhyen pa brtse ldan 'jig rten bla ma). It is also said that he was invited to teach by the leader of Jangyul ('jang yul), in contemporary Yunnan province.
He was instrumental in building a new prayer hall at Karma Gon Monastery, filling the building with statues and paintings of Karmapa incarnations, a project that took him nine years to complete. The hall was painted based on instructions given by the Karmapa himself.
There is some confusion about his later life and the date of his death. According to some sources, he passed away in 1632 at the age of forty-six in Lhodrak (lho brag). Other sourced have it that he lived until he was seventy-one, passing away in in 1657. This is certainly incorrect, as the Sixth Situ, Chogyel Mipam Trinle Rabten (si tu 06 chos rgyal 'phrin las rab bstan, d.1682) received full ordination from the Tenth Karmapa Choying Dorje (karmapa 10 chos dbyings rdo rje 1604-1674) in 1655, and was likely born in 1633 or 1634.
Bibliography
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