17 Karmapas' History:

• The First Karmapa
  Dusum Khyenpa (1100-1193)
• The Second Karmapa
  Karma Pakshi (1204-1283)
• The Third Karmapa
  Rangjung Dorje (1284-1339)
• The Fourth Karmapa
  Rolpe Dorje (1340-1383)
• The Fifth Karmapa
  Dezhin Shekpa (1384-1415)
• The Sixth Karmapa
  Thongwa Donden (1416-1453)
• The Seventh Karmapa
  Chodrak Gyatso (1454-1506)
• The Eighth Karmapa
  Mikyo Dorje (1507-1554)
• The Ninth Karmapa
  Wangchuk Dorje (1556-1603)
• The Tenth Karmapa
  Choying Dorje (1604-1674)
• The Eleventh Karmapa
  Yeshe Dorje (1676-1702)
• The Twelfth Karmapa
  Changchub Dorje (1703-1732)
• The Thirteenth Karmapa
  Dudul Dorje (1733-1797)
• The Fourteenth Karmapa
  Thekchok Dorje (1798-1868)
• The Fifteenth Karmapa
  Khakhyab Dorje (1871-1922)
• The Sixteenth Karmapa
  Rangjung Rigpe Dorje (1924-1981)
• The Seventeenth Gyalwa Karmapa
  Ogyen Trinley Dorje (1985-Present)

The Tenth Karmapa Choying Dorje (1604-1674)

• Was born in the Golok region in the far northeast of Tibet.
• Was recognized and enthroned by Shamar Chokyi Wangchuk, from whom he received the full Kagyu transmission.
• Was forced to leave Tibet owing to Mongol armies' attack much of the Tibet and traveled to what is today northern Yunnan, Burma, and Nepal.
• Some twenty years passed before he could return to his homeland. He recognized the next incarnations of Shamar Yeshe Nyingpo, Goshir Gyaltsap, and Pawo Rinpoche and gave transmissions of the Kagyu teachings.
• Choying Dorje passed into parinirvana at the age of seventy-one, leaving instructions and a prediction letter.
• By this time, the political landscape in Tibet had changed for good. The fifth Dalai Lama had become the official ruler of Tibet and this position would continue to be filled by his successive incarnations.