Alison Melnick March 2007
Karma Monastery (karma dgon) was founded in 1147 by the first Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa (dus gsum mkhyen pa 1110-1193). Located in Kham, the monastery was founded during the ten year period that the Karmapa traveled in and around the region. The monastery is frequently noted in the Blue Annals; it is often mentioned along with Tsurphu Monastery as a place visited by eminent monks where important rituals and teachings take place. Snellgrove and Richardson conjecture that the name 'Karmapa' (the foremost reincarnation lineage in the Karma Kagyu tradition) is derived from the group's association with this monastery (Snellgrove and Richardson, pg. 285).
Reference:
Davidson, Ronald M. Tibetan Renaissance: Tantric Buddhism in the Rebirth of Tibetan Culture. Columbia University Press, 2005.
Gardner, Alexander "Khams pa Histories: Visions of People, Place, and Authority." In The Tibet Journal Vol. XXVIII, no. 3 Autumn 2003 pp. 61-96
Roerich, George N. The Blue Annals Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 1996 (Reprint)
Snellgrove, David, and Hugh Richardson. A Cultural History of Tibet Shambhala Press, Boston and London, 1995.