5. The Wrathful Buddhas.

In April 1992, amidst the last rites of Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, Shamar Rinpoche left for briefly for the US to attend a conference. Situ and Gyaltshab Rinpoches usurped the positions of full-time regents at Rumtek. They began to call the shots. On 17 May they publicly announced that Akong Tulku, the famous eminence from Scotland, representing Situ Rinpoche and Sherab Tharchin, representing Gyaltshab Rinpoche, were on their way to Tibet to look for the reincarnation. The representatives turned out to be shadowy. Three days later, Situ Rinpoche swung into more action. He staged his coup. The prediction letter was shown to Sakya Tridzin, the head of Sakya order. He asked Sakya Tridzin to compose a prayer for the Karmapa, which the latter did instantaneously. Though just a gesture, it was depicted by Situ Rinpoche as support for his action. Traditionally, the Sakya Lama has no role whatsoever in the process of the Karmapa's recognition. Conspicuously absent from the event were two key figures in the delicate procedure: the senior regent Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche and the General Secretary Tobga Yulgyal. None of the eminent lamas who assembled in the Rumtek courtyard seemed to recognise, let alone protest, their exclusion. It was as if the two had ceased to exist. None defended Shamar Rinpoche and Topga Yulgyal as their rivals spreadcanards and lies about them. They were accused of obstructing the XVIIth Karmapa's way to Tsurphu.

Shamar Rinpoche, who had left the last rites ceremony of Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche midway on the pretext of delivering pre-arranged lectures in America, was carrying the copy of the 'prediction letter' for a forensic test. Confident that Situ Rinpoche would find it inappropriate to make a move during the holy observances, his hopes were crushed when his efforts to get the letter tested forensically proved futile. He was told that a copy, no matter how good, was definitely not enough for a reliable and scientific inspection of any document.

Events had definitely run ahead of him. The senior regent began to suspect that his venerable peers had cast him aside. If he was ever to have a say in the recognition of the XVIIth Karmapa and in the future of the lineage, Shamar Rinpoche realised, he had better hurry home. On his way back to Gangtok, he ran into the then Chief Minister of Sikkim, Nar Bahadur Bhandari, at the Bagdogra airport, about 115 km from Rumtek. He confided his problem to the Chief Minister. Earlier while leaving for America, he had sought the Chief Minister's help to guard the prediction letter. The request had been granted, and policemen were posted outside the room where the document had been kept. Now, the senior regent admitted, he was unable to accept the letter as genuine and asked for assistance from the ruling politician to get the original text for forensic examination. Bhandari forced a smile and politely explained that he had assigned this matter to Karma Topden, Member of Parliament. The Topden family was already under the total influence of Situ Rinpoche.

On June 7, Shamar Rinpoche returned to Rumtek. He intended to question the two regents, but inexplicably the pair had vanished. That very morning they had left the monastery in haste to seek an audience with the Dalai Lama at Dharamsala. Shamar Rinpoche had the smug optismism that the Dalai Lama and half of his government-in-exile were in Brazil to attend an environmental conference. Confident that the visit of the two regents would not bear fruit, Shamar Rinpoche convened ameeting of all Tibetans in the Nalanda Institute in Rumtek. The time had come to speak out, he felt.

Recounting the events since the March meeting, and the agreement between the regents to keep the discord secret, he also recalled the happenings during his absence in Rumtek. There was also another letter, he stressed — the one the four rinpoches had found in the Karmapa's relic box in 1986. This letter was difficult to interpret, but when the time was right, its meaning would become clear. He placed his trust in the people of Rumtek, in the lamas, monks and others. He urged them to look for truth, to insist on the verification of the prediction letter.

Next day, he assembled all the foreign disciples of the Karmapa and repeated his speech in English. He also disclosed a few more things. There was a close disciple of the late Karmapa, a most trustworthy person, who had approached him with the news that he possessed direct instructions from the last Karmapa. This man, highly respected by all, would not come forward publicly. Not yet! He had been told by the Karmapa himself when to reveal his possessions, and the time was not ripe yet. Shamar Rinpoche was fully confident that the man carried the right information and that he would offer himself when the time was suitable. The senior regent finished, stating rather sombrely that he would resign his seat and title if his trust in the man proved wrong. He requested the audience not to speculate about who the real Karmapa was but to show confidence in the dharma and to practise the same instead.

Shamar Rinpoche opted for a session with questions. As hands went up and later down, he proceeded with details from the turbulent years that followed the XVIth Karmapa's cremation. The atmosphere in Rumtek was strained. Although the prayer ceremonies proceeded according to schedule, everyone had his eyes set somewhere else. The Tibetans from that otherwise sleepy village were quick to make up their minds and began to cast their lot with one or the other regent. The Rumtek administration was getting exasperated. Meanwhile, the supporters of Situ Rinpoche started letting everybody know how many days were left for the XVIIth Karmapa to arrive in Tsurphu.

On June 11, Shamar Rinpoche issued an official statement where he made public his doubts about the authenticity of the letter. He distanced himself from the two other regents' present manoeuvres in Tibet and from Akong's and Sherab's efforts to find the reincarnation on the basis of the information from the disputed letter. As long as the document in question remained unchecked, he would not advise anybody to "rush into any kind of action." The statement was without any rancour against the other two regents.

The following afternoon, horns resounded from the roof of the temple, signalling the return of Situ and Gyaltshab Rinpoches from their five-day travels. Thrones were erected and loudspeakers installed in the monastery's courtyard; the regents' servants and assistants were busy ushering people in and out. Everybody was told that the two lineage holders were going to make an important announcement. Pointedly, no seat was put up for Shamar Rinpoche, as if to drive home the point that the senior regent did not count anymore.

Situ and Gyaltshab Rinpoches emerged through a side door. Without mentioning the absence 6f the senior regent and the reason behind it, Situ Rinpoche cleared his throat and launched into an hour-long speech in Tibetan. When he finished, a disorderly round of hearty applause greeted his words. The noisy acclaim came especially from the numerous guests that kept popping up from nowhere. Gyaltshab Rinpoche too added a few sentences of his own. Then Situ Rinpoche grabbed the centre stage again with a microphone in hand, this time talking in English.

He began that both of them — Gyaltshab and himself — had seriously considered whether or not they should disclose this, but since Shamar Rinpoche had already done so, they felt that they were breaking no vows by saying it again now. Ever since the Karmapa passed away in 1981, the four rinpoches had been devotedly searching for their Guru's written instructions about his incarnation. They firmly believed that the Karmapa had left such a letter. So they had tirelessly looked for it in all possible places. As the years were going by and the letter was still elusive, they had become anxious as to what to tell the people. One day they found a special gau (relic box) that belonged to the Karmapa. They fixed it on the altar and calmly stated that they had found the prediction letter inside it. Feeling somewhat guilty that people would have to prostrate to an empty box, they decided to place one of the Karmapa's texts, a poem or something spiritual in the gau. Well, the Gyaltshab Rinpoche knew a four-verse meditation prayer that the Karmapa had composed at his request. And so, Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche wrote it down and the four regents unitedly put the paper in the relic box. All for the best, beamed Situ Rinpoche.

He paused to allow for the implications of his words to sink in. The listeners gaped at each other with disbelief. So this was the Karmapa's famous letter that, with much pomp, the regents announced they had located in 1986! What they had done was to simply recall a poem, copy it, and place it in a relic box! The listeners clearly remembered. The lineage holders had claimed to have discovered two letters, one inside the other, a "pregnant creation", as Situ had smartly called it at that time. Subsequently, they had engaged the followers of the XVIth Karmapa all over the world in scrupulous rites and infinite mantras to allow for the second letter to be opened. However, it was all a product of their fantasy. The first and the second letter did not exist at all. Situ Rinpoche brushed it off as a motivated, if slightly irresponsible, act, a result of their frustration with the search for the real text and of their desire to calm Karmapa's devotees. Naturally he did not breathe a word about the Indian incarnation of whom he had known about ever since the mother's pregnancy in 1982.

Seemingly indifferent to the baffled faces around him, Situ ploughed on with his speech. He went on to describe the days in 1989 when he realised that for eight long years he had been carrying the Karmapa's genuine instructions close to his body. He recollected his unceasing efforts in trying to organise a meeting with the other three regents and how he finally secured their presence in Delhi. But the Indian capital seemed so unsuitable a location. Alas, he felt, he had to remain silent. He trusted, however, that Rumtek was the proper place to reveal such important news and had thus embarked on a plan to bring the four of them together at the Karmapa's seat. He informed the other three regents that he would arrive in Sikkim on March 19 and requested them to be ready at his side. He thenshared with the audience the details from the March meeting. The regents also decided to remove the four-line prayer that they had secretly placed in the relic box six years before. Since Gyaltshab Rinpoche had come up with the verses, he was then to have the paper back.

Not only was there no mention of the senior regent Shamar Rinpoche, but the eminent speaker also seemed to be giving himself the entire credit for the great success he thought he was achieving. His account of their March meeting was totally different from that of Shamar Rinpoche a few days earlier. Situ Rinpoche gave not so much as the tiniest hint that two of the regents and the General Secretary had, in fact, objected to the prediction letter. Undeterred by any such contradictions, Situ Rinpoche droned on. He had arrived in Rumtek to pray for the late Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche on 5 May. His plan was to confer with the two rinpoches — Shamar and Gyaltshab — about their future course of action. Situ Rinpoche added that Shamar Rinpoche's "dharma obligations overseas" presented a setback to his plan, but he respected his peer's call of duty and, together with Gyaltshab Rinpoche, shouldered the responsibility of bringing forward the XVIIth Karmapa upon his already burdened shoulders. Their inability to wait for the senior regent's return had forced them to move on without him. Now, due to his and Gyaltsab's heroic efforts, their representatives, Akong Tulku and Sherab Tharchin, were about to bring the reincarnation to Tsurphu. However, he preferred not to disclose why he could not call up Shamar Rinpoche on phone before taking such an important decision. All through his speech, Situ Rinpoche had an oily smile pasted on his face.

Suddenly, a servant laden with a chair appeared in the yard. Sweating profusely, he elbowed his way through the throng. Once he reached the rinpoches¹ thrones, he placed, with relief, the piece of furniture on the ground and whispered into the ear of Situ Rinpoche. Situ Rinpoche turned pale but he immediately regained his composure and stared nonchalantly at the gathering.

Gathering momentum, he reached the core of his address. He said that having completed their duties, Situ and Gyaltshab Rinpoches had decided the time was ripe to pay their respectsto the Dalai Lama and to petition the Tibetan leader for the recognition of the XVIIth Karmapa. Thus, on the morning of 7 May, the two had set out on the long journey to Dharamsala. But to their disappointment, the Dalai Lama was away in Brazil attending the Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro. With the help of his secretary, they settled down to the lengthy process of phoning Brazil from India. It was late in the night when they got the Tibetan leader on the phone. They informed the Dalai Lama of how they had located the genuine letter left by the late Karmapa and that with devotion all Kagyu rinpoches, lamas and monks agreed with the enclosed instructions. The Dalai Lama expressed a wish to see the letter, so the rinpoches faxed him the document. They also included all other details they thought were necessary.

Speaking on the phone a few hours later, the Dalai Lama stated that since the information they had relayed to him matched the instructions in the letter of prediction he had received by fax, and since all rinpoches and lamas had agreed with unanimous faith and aspiration, he would confirm the reincarnation as that of the XVIIth Karmapa. The next day the Dalai Lama's office in Dharamsala issued a document verifying his words with the Lama still in Rio.

The two regents hurried back to Rumtek. Right after their arrival and without breaking for a single moment of rest, they called a meeting to show all disciples the Dalai Lama's letter of approval. Situ Rinpoche emphatically took a pause to stress the fact that the two had not slept for nearly a day. He was about to roll out a document he had kept all this time on his lap when a commotion resounded at the entrance to the monastery's yard. With his head defiantly up, Shamar Rinpoche briskly strode into the square, a monk running ahead of him kept clearing a passage in the thick crowd. Also, suddenly, a jeep full of Indian Army soldiers drove in at high speed through the gates of the courtyard and came to a screeching halt right before the gathering. Six armed men jumped out and, ignoring the vociferous protests of the spectators, followed Shamar Rinpoche into the throng.

When Situ and Gyaltshab Rinpoches noticed the senior regent with conscripts trotting obediently behind him asbodyguards, they turned white, hopped off their thrones, and unceremoniously scuttled off towards the monastery. The unusual sight of the obviously terrified high eminences holding up the skirts of their robes and running away from their senior regent and the party of Indian soldiers was indeed amusing, but nobody felt like laughing. The Khampas, who had come to Rumtek only a few hours before, began to yell at Shamar Rinpoche.

Reaching the safety of the cloister, the two rinpoches zipped past their bewildered attendants at an astounding pace. Without a word of clarification, they made for their respective rooms and bolted themselves in. Shamar Rinpoche followed them, at a more dignified step, into the building and, arriving at their doors, loudly called their names. The rooms remained solidly locked, and utter silence answered Shamar Rinpoche. One could almost hear a pin drop. By now the supporters of Situ Rinpoche had congregated to block the way to the rinpoches' quarters. Even as more and more hostile characters kept pouring into the corridors, and their mood seemed to be hostile, Shamar Rinpoche prudently opted for the exit. Loyally, the soldiers strode out after him.

In the meantime, the atmosphere outside was turning volatile -- the tension building up over the last few days had finally ignited. People screamed and ran in all directions. Scuffles between the monks of warring factions erupted. Tsultrim Namgyal, the XVIth Karmapa's nephew and loyal servant, received a head injury, bleeding profusely. The policemen began to restore order. For a while, an ominous silence prevailed.

Situ Rinpoches supporters launched a virulent verbal attack. Their hysterical outbursts portrayed a mad Shamar Rinpoche heading a division of the Indian Army in a brutal assault on the monastery. 'Witnesses' swore they saw the senior regent wildly charging at the two rinpoches and giving orders to the soldiers to raze the monastery to the ground. They added that it was only due to the calm but firm response of Situ and Gyaltshab Rinpoches that a tragedy had been averted. Shamar Rinpoche was portrayed as a bully determined to chase everybody out of Rumtek.

Situ Rinpoche alleged:

Shamar Rinpoche arrived with a group of fully armed soldiers purporting to be of (the) Kumaon Regiment of the Indian Army, to intimidate Gyaltshab Rinpoche and me and those present there. Some senior officials of the Sikkim government, such as the Resident Commissioner of Sikkim at New Delhi, even reasoned with these soldiers and requested them not to enter the shrine hall of the monastery with their shoes and arms, but they ignored these pleas, and stormed a place of worship against a completely unarmed public, without any provocation or reason. This resulted in a serious breach of peace, and severe injuries to the innocent public. The Sikkim government had to post police and the CRPF (a para-military force) at the monastery in order to maintain law and order. It is incomprehensible that Shamar Rinpoche, a foreigner, was being allowed to lead armed troops into a monastery, without the sanction and/or the knowledge of the concerned state government, and that too in Sikkim.

In fact, sensing trouble, Tobga Yulgyal had told his wife (aunt of the King of Bhutan) about the eventuality of threat to the life of Shamar Rinpoche in the wake of presence of aggressive Khampas, who had been called in a sizable number from Nepal. Tobga's wife requested her nephew (the King of Bhutan) to help. The King, with a history of Karmapa-supporting ancestors, in turn, made a request to the Indian Ambassador in Bhutan. The Government of India conceded the request of the King of Bhutan. Due to paucity of time, however, the nearest Army contingent was ordered to rush to help Shamar Rinpoche. The Sikkim government was not taken into confidence because it was blatantly taking sides in the dispute.

Moreover, the Government of India could not remain a mere spectator to the sordid drama taking place at the behest of China which way back in 1962 had occupied Indian territories in army action.

Over the next few days, Rumtek settled down to an uneasy stalemate. The strength of Sikkim policemen was increased. The monastery's monks continued with the rituals for Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche. The administrators of the Rumtek monastery and Tsultrim Namgyal, the personal servant of the XVIth Karmapa, stood firmly behind the senior regent. Tobga Yulgyal, having received threats to his life, left Sikkim as the Sikkim government headed by Nar Bahadur Bhandari refused to guarantee his safety. The Rumtek village and the capital city of Gangtok resonated with wild gossip and absurd rumours. Shamar Rinpoche was the talk of the town.

Bhandari's ruling party called for a general strike protesting the army's intervention in Sikkim without permission from the state government. Shamar Rinpoche's camp clumsily failed to brief the press whereas the rivals, with the help of the state government, went all out to spread canards and speculation in the guise of press statements. Expectedly, the headlines in local newspapers next day screamed, 'Rumtek high cleric and Indian Army take over monastery'. It was a classic case of bad press for Shamar Rinpoche.

On 15 June, Jamgon Kongtrul's kudung (mummified body) was brought from the monastery to the main hall in the Nalanda Institute in Rumtek amid pushing and pulling, the usual Tibetan way. The last rites began. The next day, Situ and Gyaltshab Rinpoches again went on the offensive.

During the pujas on 16 June, while all the rinpoches were seated in long rows reciting their prayers, two letters were sent down the aisles. The first one, addressed to all lamas and followers of the lineage, was a demand for unconditional acceptance of the prediction letter. It stressed that the XVIIth Karmapa had been recognised in accordance with the instructions from the sacred testament. This had been confirmed by the Dalai Lama. The Karmapa would be brought to Tsurphu and some time later installed on his throne in Rumtek. The letter also referred to some holy vision that the Dalai Lama had had — a further proof of the authenticity of the choice.

The second letter was an expression of deepest gratitude to the supreme Tibetan leader for having confirmed the Karmapa'sXVIIth reincarnation. After having placed their signatures on both documents, Situ and Gyaltshab Rinpoches passed them over to the other rinpoches. Every one of the eminent lamas signed without so much as a blink as no Tibetan ever dares to go against his or her highest political leader. Moreover, collecting the signatures during the main pujas for the late Jamgon Kongtrul was a sort of collective pressure on the assembled rinpoches. One after the other, they obediently put their signatures on the circulating set of papers. After all, these most venerable monks were no men-at-arms and would much rather trot behind power and titles than fight for some uncertain principles.

The unprecedented act of collecting signatures in order to certify the Karmapa's authenticity was also a dubious innovation. So far the procedures to identify a reincarnation had never called for any signature-drive to determine the accuracy of a given choice. But the two regents felt themselves standing on a shaky ground and, as such, needed the long titles to lend credence and support to their claim. Once the letters had been crowned with the distinguished names, Situ's attendant pocketed the documents and vanished from the shrine room. The eminent Kagyu teachers' autographs were neatly lined up at the bottom of each page: Situ Rinpoche, Gyaltshab Rinpoche, Bairi Khyentse Rinpoche, Bokar Tulku, Thrangu Rinpoche, Ponlob Rinpoche, Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche and many others. Conspicuously absent were two signatures. They were of the senior regent Shamar Rinpoche and General Secretary Topga Yulgyal.

In his eagerness, Situ Rinpoche forgot that the zealously promoted acceptance from the Dalai Lama was in fact no more than just an informal recollection of his words spoken on phone from Brazil and hurriedly put on paper late at night in Dharamsala by his secretary. It fell short of a formal recognition, which would not happen until 29 June, when the Dalai Lama would return to Dharamsala. A corresponding document would eventually be issued on 3 July by the foreign office of the Tibetan government-in-exile. The rinpoches were bowing down to a useless piece of paper, the statement by Dharamsala.

Moreover, the document issued on 3 July by the Dharamsala foreign office read as if the three regents, Shamar, Situ and Gyaltshab Rinpoches, had been together on 29 June in the audience with the Dalai Lama and apprised the Tibetan leader of the details concerning the reincarnation. The Dalai Lama had then issued the formal confirmation letter. His words were quoted in full. The document was signed by Tashi Wangdi, a minister in the Tibetan government-in-exile.

In fact, the two regents — Situ and Gyaltshab Rinpoches — had called on the Dalai Lama in the morning, and Shamar Rinpoche had done so in the afternoon of the same day. They also probably had very different things to say. Shamar Rinpoche later disclosed that he had apprised the Dalai Lama other clues as to the identity of the XVIIth Karmapa and had requested him to examine all these clues when the time was ripe. According to an interview published in the Tibetan Review in the following August, the senior regent Shamar Rinpoche claimed that the Dalai Lama had consented to his request.

In fact, the issue of recognition had never rested in the hands of the Tibetan government or the Dalai Lama. In the past, when the supreme political authority in Lhasa validated the reincarnation of the Karmapa, it was purely a political, and in no way a spiritual, decision which merely certified that the matter had been decided within the Karma Kagyu order. It did not determine the eligibility of a candidate. The Karmapa was not approved or chosen but proved and presented, sometimes by a testimony left by the predecessor and always by the virtue of his deeds. The Karmapa's line went back to the 12th century, whereas the Dalai Lama's incarnations started three hundred years later. How then could he have approved the first four Karmapas?

Together with the official document issued in Dharamsala, a 'brief advice' from the Dalai Lama to Situ and Goshir Gyaltshab Rinpoches was also released. It is not clear who added this extra sheet of paper as it bore no official stamp or signature but claimed to be a transcription of the Dalai Lama's words. In his short message, the Tibetan leader was said to disclose tactfully that it was mainly Situ and Gyaltshab Rinpoches and those closely connected with them who were responsible for finding thereincarnation of the Gyalwa Karmapa. How the Dalai Lama had arrived at this conclusion is also shrouded in mystery.

Traditionally, the process of recognising the Karmapa had never been restricted to one particular lama or a given group of lamas, certainly not to just Situ and Gyaltshab Rinpoches as the Dalai Lama was maintaining. Looking back in history and quoting the clearly impartial written records left by the VIIIth Situ Rinpoche, Choskyi Jungne (the Birthplace of the Dharma) one discovers that until the time of the XVIth Karmapa, the main person to have brought forward the successive Karmapas was, in fact, Shamar Rinpoche. He had recognised five reincarnations of his teacher. Situ Rinpoche was responsible for three recognitions, including his contribution in locating the XVIth Karmapa. But, most of these findings happened during the period of Shamar's official banishment. Gyaltshab Rinpoches sole claim to fame was his backing of the wrong candidate during the search for the XVIth Karmapa.

That evening, Situ and Gyaltshab Rinpoches announced that Ugyen Trinley (their candidate as reincarnation of the XVIth Karmapa) had arrived the previous day in Tsurphu. The Rumtek monks and ritual masters were ordered to sound the horns and get ready for an official ceremony the next morning. Everybody else was told to be present at sunrise to offer khada (scarf) on the Karmapa's throne. Late that night, the monastery's senior staff secretly fled Rumtek. Afraid of being party to the dispute, they took shelter in Gangtok.

A day before the pujas, Ugyen Tulku (not to be confused with Ugyen Trinley Dorji) and Lobpon Tshechoo, the highly respected Kagyu lamas, arrived from Kathmandu to mediate in the dispute between the regents. They were highly regarded by all concerned, both having been very close to the XVIth Karmapa. Ugyen Trulku was also teacher to the four lineage holders. The high lamas sitting in Rumtek wanted at all costs to patch up the disagreement.

Ugyen Trulku conferred first with the two lineage holders, Situ and Gyaltshab Rinpoches. Several hours elapsed before he emerged from their quarters and at once directed his steps to Shamar's residence. He then proceeded to press the senior regentto surrender. "Rinpoche must accept the letter and withdraw his insistence on a forensic test," he pleaded. The elderly lama painted a gruesome picture of blood being spilled in Tibet and Kathmandu if the senior regent stuck to his guns. Besides, the Dalai Lama had already given his recognition. They could not oppose the Dalai Lama. Eventually, the distinguished trulku, with tears in his eyes, fully prostrated himself in front of the senior regent, imploring him to see reason. Shamar Rinpoche could hardly bear the sight. After all, Ugyen Trulku was his senior and his teacher. The apprehension of trouble to his followers in Tibet too lurked in the mind of Shamar Rinpoche.

The next day the venerable lama returned — armed with the ammunition of emotional blackmail. Situ Rinpoche, he disclosed, was sitting in his room distressed, crying his eyes out. He also feared that if the letter were put to a forensic test, Situ Rinpoche would end up in prison for forgery. Shamar Rinpoche then finally gave in and agreed to the Ugyen Trulku's supplications.

Ugyen Trulku brokered a meeting between the two on 17 June in the Karmapa's private quarters on the first floor of the monastery. Shamar Rinpoche insisted that Gyaltshab Rinpoche stay away. The senior regent recalled the distasteful epithets Gyaltshab Rinpoche had hurled at the Dalai Lama at the time when a division between the Tibetan political leader and the XVIth Karmapa had manifested. The young Gyaltshab Rinpoche had become those days the Dalai Lama's loudest and most passionate critic, but his insolence had done Rumtek little good. Everyone just wished that Gyaltshab Rinpoche would keep his vile and slanderous mouth shut. Subsequently when the Dalai Lama visited Dharma Chakra Centre, it was Gyaltshab Rinpoche who had busied himself purifying the throne upon which he had sat! Now, in an abrupt change of heart, the same Gyaltshab was very conveniently hiding behind the Dalai Lama's holy name.

As Shamar Rinpoche ascended the steps of the temple, he noticed a large gathering of Khampas and monks from the monastery of Situ Rinpoche in Himachal Pradesh defiantly lined up in the corridor. Their aggressive postures and unpleasant remarks were by then becoming a common occurrence in Rumtek. Hastily, he forced his way through groups of hostile individuals and arrived, unmolested, in the Karmapa's room. SituRinpoche was already in place. The two lineage holders locked themselves inside, but the windows were left open. Shamar Rinpoche let it all hang out: the eleven years of rumour mongering and defamation, the campaign of hatred against him and Tobga Yulgyal, the aborted attempt to take him to court, and the recent illegal proceedings. Surprisingly, Situ Rinpoche meekly accepted his peer's accusations.

Eventually, after Shamar Rinpoche had exhausted his litany of woes, the time had come to sign. Ugyen Trulku was called in as witness. However, when the senior regent was about to give his written acceptance of Ugyen Trinley (Situ's candidate as the reincarnation of the Karmapa), suddenly a former Dharamsala minister burst inside. In the old days, when the XVIth Karmapa was still alive, the same person had made himself famous for opposing the Karmapa. Now, in a new role, he came to lecture Shamar Rinpoche on the senior regent's lukewarm devotion to his Guru and on the consequences of his 'foolish' acts. Whatever the minister intended to achieve, his words at once achieved the opposite. Shamar Rinpoche put away his pen, grabbed the document, and was about to tear it up when he met Ugyen Trulku's eyes. The old lama pleaded with him to stop. Also Situ Rinpoche, his hands folded in supplication, pleaded humbly, "Please, rinpoche, don't." The senior regent paused. Then, as if trying to put an end to the embarrassing scene, with one frenzied stroke of his pen, recognised — in accordance with the Dalai Lama's decision — Ugyen Trinley as the XVIth Karmapa. However, he did add a rider. The shrewd politician in him led him to include, "Hence I suspend my demand such as having the handwritten prediction letter being subjected to a (forensic) test."

Hours later, Situ Rinpoche and his supporters let the world know that the senior regent had unequivocally offered his willing approval and would therefore no longer pursue the matter of examining the sacred testament. The Situ group deliberately distorted the letter. In a letter to Situ Rinpoche on 18 July 1992, Shamar Rinpoche said the translation of his letter on behalf of Situ Rinpoche was a distorted one. He enclosed the English translation and asked Situ Rinpoche to see that the distortedversion was not circulated anymore. Situ Rinpoche said that once you accepted a cow, you could not say that you would not have the tail.

Ugyen Trulku announced in his speech on 18 June, "The regents had reached a compromise and the Situ group submitted the statement signed by Shamar Rinpoche accepting the verdict of the Dalai Lama to the Chief Minister of Sikkim on 29 June. Obstacles had been overcome."

Of course, there was Tobga Yulgyal who had not recognised Situ's candidate as the XVIIth Karmapa as he was away from the scene, at his home in Bhutan.