The Second Karmapa Karma Pakshi was born in the Chiley Tsakto region of eastern Tibet.  By ten years old, Karma Pakshi had a vast understanding of the dharma; he only had to read a scripture once to memorize it.  Karma Pakshi traveled to central Tibet to receive teachings of the dharma.  He then met Pomdragpa.  The Kagyu transmissions were formally passed onto and realized by Karma Pakshi. 

For about half of his life, Karma Pakshi meditated in caves and retreat houses, mostly in the Tolung valley near Tsurphu.  In these retreat houses, his mother also meditated for many years.

Karma Pakshi reestablished the monasteries of Dusum Khyenpa.  The Mantra of Chenrezig, Om Mani Padme Hum, was taught widely by the 2nd Karmapa. 

Gyalwa Karmapa traveled to China upon the request of the Munga Khan, performing many miracles, ending wars and traveling for over ten years in the country.  Munga Khan adored the Karmapa and the Khan was recognized as a past disciple of His Holiness.

After Munga Khan passed away, Munga's brother (Kublai Khan) became angry that Karma Pakshi was closer to Munga than himself.  Kublai Khan tried to arrest and torture the Gyalwa Karmapa to no avail. 

Karma Pakshi demonstrated his enlightened abilities by literally making an army of soldiers unable to move, through the mere use of a hand gesture.  The Khan continued to try to prove that Karma Pakshi wasn't really a realized master.

In one of his first attempts, the Khan invited the 2nd Karmapa to the imperial court. He arranged a throne and placed copies of the scriptures inside of it. The 2nd Karmapa arrived and seated himself upon the throne, to the delightment of the Khan and his ministers. The imperial court joyfully condemned the Karmapa for sitting on the sacred words of the Buddha.

However, the Karmapa stated there were no words under him and after checking, to the amazement of the Imperial Court, the scriptures were blank of any script known to man.

Kublai Khan captured the Karmapa and jailed him. His tortures included hanging the Karmapa by his beard and having him dragged around by a chariot.

Through the Karmapa’s use of further miracles the Khan realized his grave misdeeds.  The Khan thereafter funneled offerings to build a sixteen meter high statue of the Buddha Shakyamuni at Tsurphu Monastery. The statue was tilted but fixed by Karma Pakshi through his extraordinary powers. 

Karma Pakshi passed away at eighty years old and the instructions to find his next incarnation were relayed to Drubtop Urgyenpa. 

Karma Pakshi at first was displeased, since previously Ganggarwa’s actions created an obstacle to the Karmapa lineage.  Karma Pakshi indicted to Urgyenpa that he would incarnate in the direction of the setting sun, west of their location. 

Yeshe Wangchuk, a preceding incarnation of the Tai Situpa, was the 2nd Karmapa’s closest attendant. He faithfully served the Karmapa.  Yeshe Wangchuk reopened the tsaritra sacred grounds in southern Tibet, which was previously unveiled by a disciple of Gampopa. Until today, this site remains as a holy place to the Karmapas.

Urgyenpa was born in Northern Tibet.  By his late teenage years, he already had studied numerous Buddhist texts and could meditate very easily.  He then entered the Podrong Er College in the Tsangpa region of Central Tibet to study, and became a famous scholar. 

Urgyenpa received the complete transmission of the Drukpa Kagyu lineage from Gotsangpa, and numerous other transmissions from teachers he met in his travels through Pakistan, India, Nepal and China.  Upon his return to Tibet, Urgyenpa became the root disciple of the 2nd Karmapa, receiving the instructions to find Karma Pakshi's next incarnation and the entire lineage transmission.