in 1988 shamar rinpoche went on a secret visit to lhasa to investigate whether thaye dorje was the reincarnation of the karmapa, because, he said, the boy appeared to him in a dream. in march 1994, thaye dorje and his family escaped from tibet to nepal and then to india, where shamar rinpoche formally recognized him as the 17th karmapa. in 1994 thaye dorje was enthroned by the 14th kunzig shamarpa as the 17th gyalwa karmapa at the karmapa international buddhist institute in new delhi, india.