On November 6, 1981, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, the 16th Karmapa, died at a cancer center near Chicago, and the duty of finding the child who was his reincarnation and successor fell to four of the Karmapa's disciples who were living Buddhas in their own right: the Shampar, Tai Situ, Jamgon, and Gyalstab rinpoches.
一九八一年十一月六日，噶居白派第十六世大寶法王「讓炯日佩多傑」在美國芝加哥癌症中心圓寂，尋找大寶法王接班人──轉世靈童的工作，就由法王座下的四大弟子（稱為「法王子」）負責，他們依年歲長幼次序為：夏瑪巴、泰錫度、蔣貢、嘉察。