The Kagyu sect is one of six main schools Tibetan Buddhism, and its head is the Karmapa, second only to the Dalai Lama as the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. The Karmapa is also regarded as the preserver of an unbroken line of teaching of the Buddha. There is some controversy within the Karma Kagyu school over the recognition process, and thus, the identity of the current 17th Karmapa is disputed,  but some believe that Ogyen Trinley Dorje is that person, the seventeenth Karmapa (seen at the left). Dorje was born in 1985 to a family of nomadic yak and goat herders in eastern Tibet and was groomed by the Chinese to succeed the exiled Dalai Lama until the “Boy God” slipped past his Chinese guards at Tsurphu Monastery in Tibet in 1999. He fled across the Himalayas into India where he has lived under virtual house arrest at Gyuto Monastery, the Indian Government keen not to  antagonize their Chinese neighbors. A younger Dorje is seen here with his Pekingese, “Dekyi,” in his room at the monastery. Because Pekes have symbolized the lion for more than 1,000 years and were considered the sacred steed of the Buddha, was is a good match.

Photo found on Pinterest and happily credited upon receipt of information.