Born on 6 May 1983 in Tibet, Trinley Thaye Dorje is the son of the 3rd Mipham Rinpoche (Tshe-dbang Bdud-'dul lineage) of Junyung Monastery (one of several persons believed to be a reincarnation of Ju Mipham, an important lama of the Nyingmapa school) and Dechen Wangmo, the daughter of a noble family descended from King Gesar of Ling.

In 1988, the 14th Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche went on a secret visit to Lhasa to investigate whether Trinley Thaye Dorje was the reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa, because, he said, the boy appeared to him in a dream.

[4] In 1994, after Trinley Thaye Dorje and his family escaped from Tibet to Nepal and then to India, Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche formally recognized him as the genuine reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa.

Fluent in English, he has traveled extensively in the East and the West to spread the authentic teachings of the Karma Kagyu Lineage to increasingly large audiences.

As a result of this, Thaye Dorje was enthroned as Vidhyadhara (Knowledge Holder) by the 14th Shamarpa in December 2003 at the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute.

[7] Thaye Dorje currently lives in Kalimpong, India where he continues the thorough traditional education required for a holder of the Karmapa title.

On June 30, 1992, following meetings with senior Karma Kagyu leaders, the 14th Dalai Lama issued an official letter with his seal of confirmation.