Self Arisen Thunderbolt of Rigpa
Rangjung Rigpa’i Dorje – the Great 16th Karmapa
Karmapa Rangjung Rigpa’i Dorje sent Rig’dzin Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Akong Tulku Rinpoche to Britain in 1967 where they established Samyé Ling. It was here that Ngak’chang Rinpoche met Karmapa Rangjung Rigpa’i Dorje on several occasions and received the blessing of witnessing the Vajra Crown ceremony. Ngak’chang Rinpoche visited Samyé Ling on many occasions during the 1970s and received empowerments and transmissions from Karmapa Rangjung Rigpa’i Dorje and other Kagyüd Lamas there.
Rig’dzin Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche—who was a Kagyüd-Nyingma Master—later went on to found a large Vajrayana organisation which spanned Europe and the Americas. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche founded numerous institutes including a college, and was the bastion of authenticity upon which both Kagyüd and Nyingma lines in the West owe a great deal.
