Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, 16th Karmapa, Tibetan spiritual leader (b. 1924)
The sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje (Tibetan: རང་འབྱུང་རིག་པའི་རྡོ་རྗེ་, Wylie: Rang 'byung rig pa'i rdo rje; August 14, 1924 – November 5, 1981) was the spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Followers believed him to be part of the oldest line of reincarnate lamas in Vajrayana Buddhism, known as the Karmapas, whose coming was predicted by the Buddha in the Samadhiraja Sutra. The 16th Karmapa was considered to be a "living Buddha" and was deeply involved in the transmission of the Vajrayana Buddhism to Europe and North America following the Chinese invasion of Tibet. He had many monikers, including “King of the Yogis”, and is the subject of numerous books and films.