Karmapa Mikyo Dorje was an outstanding student.  From a very young age he was able to maintain his concentration during very long periods of study, reflect on the meaning of difficult texts and debate complicated points of philosophy.

He was also a prolific scholar and produced thirty volumes of writings on various aspects of Buddhist philosophy, as well as on Sanskrit grammar, art and poetry.   

Mikyo Dorje also devoted himself to meditation practice and became a highly accomplished master of meditation, highly respected for his deep realisation.

As a monk, Mikyo Dorje lived an exemplary life of virtue, austerity and simplicity.

There are many stories about the miraculous powers of Karmapa Mikyo Dorje.  For example, in 1554 there was an outbreak of leprosy in southern Tibet and Karmapa Mikyo Dorje travelled there to bring the epidemic to an end.  

Motivated by compassion he prayed and absorbed the imbalance that was causing the disease into himself.  The epidemic quickly cleared – however, Karmapa then began to exhibit signs of leprosy and was soon unable to walk.

Karmapa Mikyo Dorje passed away at the age of forty-seven. His corpse was cremated at Tsurphu Monastery  and his relics were enshrined in a silver stūpa.  

During his life, Karmapa Mikyo Dorje had a huge influence on the lives of both lay and monastic people in Tibet.  He encouraged political and cultural leaders to practise virtue and non-aggression and to act beneficently.  

He influenced healthy religious debate amongst the  different traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as informing an art movement and reinvigorating a philosophical view which continues to thrive to this day.