"Karmapa - Two Ways of Divinity" (film)

KarmapaIssue; Tibet.net; Karmapa.org; Wisdom Quarterly

 

Om mani padme hum mantra (Tashi Mannox)

"Karmapa -- Two Ways of Divinity" is a unique, award-winning documentary on the current Karmapa and how China has used this Tibetan institution as a springboard for its politics leading to a peoples' violation of religious rights. The 17th Karmapa is not without controversy in Tibetan Buddhism also known as Lamaism, Esotericism, Tantrayana, Mantrayana, Bon, and even "Tibetanism" as distinct from Tibetan-Buddhism.

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Mary Finnigan (Guardian.co.uk, Nov. 18, 2011); modified by Wisdom Quarterly

Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje attracted 2,000 people, paying $200 each, to hear him speak at an event (Lobsang Wangyal/EPA).

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Here we are stuck in an economic downturn, with the threat of a financial tsunami gathering momentum in the eurozone, with pundits telling us it can only get worse.

One might expect people to be careful about their budget priorities -- and that nonessential expenditures like spiritual teachings would be put on hold.

Evidence suggests, however, that the opposite is true -- especially if one happens to be Buddhist.

"Spiritual materialism" has been a problem in Tibetan Buddhism at least since Chogyam Trungpa coined the term in 1973 while himself living the high life in the West.

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It seems that during this period of acute financial stress, Buddhists are still willing to part with their dollars, pounds, rubles, and rupees in order to sustain their meditation practice.

Because meditation calms the mind and generates insight, this is an understandable response -- but what does come as a surprise is the amounts of money involved.

Take the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, for example. He is a young, high-profile Tibetan Buddhist lama with a romantic history of escape from Tibet after escaping Chinese "security" forces.

Confined for several years under conditions resembling house arrest in India, he eventually managed to visit the United States for the first time in 2008. About 2,000 people gathered at a monastery in Woodstock to catch a glimpse of him. They paid $200 each.

Roughly $400,000 (£250,000) hit the registers. And after expenses, the monastery had enough left over to embark on an extensive building project.

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Then there's Sogyal Rinpoche -- credited as author of the bestseller The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. A recent feature in the French news magazine Marianne revealed that the cheapest fee for a week's teachings with him at his center Lerab Ling in France was $665 (€500, £425) -- which entitled participants to pitch a tent and eat vegetarian food.

Five hundred people attended the retreat, including reporter Elodie Emery, which means that Sogyal attracted more than $337,375 (€250,000) on one occasion. More

Karmapa: Research Theravada, Mahayana

AsianTribune.com, June 17, 2011; (Images: Kalimpong News blog)

Four-storey-high Thangka of the Buddha on display at Mela ground (Kalimpong News)

NEW DELHI, India - Spiritual leader His Holiness 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorge of Sikkim called on Buddhist scholars to undertake research on the doctrines of Theravada and Mahayana schools of Buddhism and introduce a uniform set of Buddhist teachings, values, and principles for the betterment of the world.

Buddhist monastics gather under Thangka, Sikkim state, India (Kalimpong News)

Addressing the celebrations of Saga Dawa (Buddha Purnima, "Buddhist full moon observance day celebration") of Sikkhim Buddhists on Poson full moon day (June 15) at the National Museum in New Delhi, HH Karmapa said that a common Buddhist doctrine would be immensely beneficial to humankind living in today’s conflict-ridden world.

The spiritual head of Sikkhim monastery said that Buddhist scholars from India, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, and other Buddhist countries should undertake research on Buddhist principles of different sects to incorporate common values in a uniform doctrine acceptable to all.

Buddha purnima celebrated in Diwakar, June 2011 (Kalimpong News)

“It will benefit the people all over the world who seek answers, clarifications, and solutions,” he said. His Holiness said that the germination of positive and good motivations leads to ultimate bliss and enlightenment. He added that the teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha is as relevant today as it was when initially preached by the Sage of the Sakyas about 2600 years ago in India. More

Karmapa not a Chinese agent, D.L. trusts

Press Trust of India

Rejecting allegations that he is a “Chinese agent,” the Tibetan government-in-exile on Friday strongly backed the Karmapa, Ugyen Trinley Dorji, from whose monastery there was a huge foreign currency haul recently, saying he has the absolute faith of spiritual leader [and CIA operative] the Dalai Lama.

The Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Samdhong Rinpoche, said from the beginning that the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan community knew that he was not a “Chinese agent” and termed the entire controversy a “media judgment without any trial.”

“His Holiness the Dalai Lama has 100 per cent faith in the Karmapa. He is not a Chinese agent. We know from the beginning. He has been allowed by the Indian government to move freely across India except to two monasteries due to some problems,” he told a select group of Indian journalists.

The Rinpoche said the Karmapa is a “free individual” that had nothing to do with the financial irregularities that were the reason for the whole controversy. More>>

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Tibetan Buddhism celebrates 900 years of...

Tibetan Buddhism celebrates 900 years of the Karmapa Lama

Both Tibetans and the Chinese government recognize Trinley Thaye Dorje, 17th Karmapa. He occupies the third highest post in Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or "lightning vehicle") after the Dalai and the Panchen Lama. He lives under Indian “protection.”

A two-day celebration will be in Bodh Gaya, India (the place thought to be where the Buddha gained enlightenment, but it is not certain even if people take it for granted and a related Bodhi tree has been planted there now), starting this Wednesday.

DHARAMSALA, India (AsiaNews) – “The 17th Karmapa is the oldest and the most revered reincarnate lineage in Tibetan Buddhism,” Samdhong Rinpoche told AsiaNews. The Kalon Tripa or prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile spoke a few days before the 900th anniversary of the Karmapa, the third highest spiritual office in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama.

The current incarnation (since each person who fills the post is thought to be the same person reborn and returning on purpose to continue the work) has lived in India since 2000, free from Chinese control. He is viewed as the “natural” successor to the Dalai Lama.

Born in 1983, the current Karmapa Lama (Trinley Thaye Dorje) fled from Tsurphu Temple in central Tibet. And after an overland winter trek across the Himalayas, he reached India where he was given asylum.

He has lived in Dharamsala (the seat of the government in exile) since he went into exile. He is free to travel but requires official permission to receive visitors.

For Rinpoche, 900 years “of Karma tradition are significant because it is an occasion to strengthen and reinforce the Tibetan religious and cultural identity.” Here is the interview Samdhong Rinpoche gave AsiaNews. More>>

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Karmapa Lama's 24th birthday

Tibetans celebrate Karmapa Lama's 24th birthday in Dharamshala
(SifyNews.com, 6/26/09)

The Karmapa and the Dalai Lama (karmakagyu.org.au)

Tibetans living in exile in Dharamshala, India celebrated the 24th birthday of Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Karmapa on Friday.

Born on June 26, 1985 in Kham region of eastern Tibet, Ogyen Trinley Dorje is heir to the Tibetan's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. He is considered the third most important leader after the Dalai Lama, and his authority is recognized by both Beijing and the renowned 14th Dalai Lama.

Buddhist monks and nuns assembled at the Gyuto monastery in Dharamsala to pray for the well-being and long life of the Karmapa. However, this year, no singing and dancing program were organized because of the demise of Penor Rinpoche, head of the Nyingma sect, and also due to the mass killings of Tibetans in Tibet last year.

"It is because of the demise of the head of the Nyingma sect, Penor Rinpoche and so many Tibetans have lost their lives in Tibet, so they didn't perform any sort of cultural events and they don't have big ceremony. Just to mark the birthday celebration, we have this prayer and puja [i.e., devotional] ceremony only," said Tashi Wangchuk, a Tibetan youth. Followers of Karmpa from far-flung places also came to take part in the celebration. More>>

Karmapa Visits U.S.

Possible successor to Dalai Lama, 22 y.o. Karmapa, visits U.S.

Listen Now Robert Thurman (NPR) on Karmapa's visit [3 min. 58 sec.]

Morning Edition, May 27, 2008: The Karmapa, one of the most important leaders in Tibetan Buddhism, is visiting the United States. Some think the young lama will succeed the Dalai Lama as the next spokesman for Tibetan Buddhism and Tibet. Co-host Renee Montagne talks to Robert Thurman, professor of Buddhist studies at Columbia University, about the 22-year-old Karmapa.

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Very Important Tibetan Lama To Visit USA
By Swaraaj Chauhan, International Columnist (April 9th, 2008, The Moderate Voice)

His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, is no ordinary Tibetan monk. His visit to the USA, the first outside his home in exile in India, can be considered historic. There are speculations that the Karmapa, a 22-year-old Buddhist monk, may emerge as the successor to the Dalai Lama in case the latter decides to step down, especially in view of the growing hostility shown towards him by Beijing in recent times. More importantly, the Karmapa is the only major monk reincarnate recognized by both the Dalai Lama and China.

According to a recent BBC report: “India has allowed the Tibetan monk, the Karmapa Lama, who fled China and sought asylum in India eight years ago, to travel to the United States next month. The Tibetan monk arrives in New York City on May 15, 2008 and then travels to Woodstock, New York; Boulder, Colorado; and Seattle, Washington, ending his US tour in the first week of June.”

The Karmapa website also provides the detailed schedule of his US trip. The website mentions the birth and early years of the 17th Karmapa: “Prior to the birth of the first Karmapa, the arrival of a Buddhist master who would be known as the Karmapa had been prophezied by the historic Buddha Shakyamuni and the great tantric master of India, Guru Padmasambhava. Throughout the centuries, Karmapas have been the central figure in the continuation of the Vajrayana [Lightning-vehicle] lineage in general and Kagyu lineage in particular, and have played a very important role in the preservation of the study and practice lineages of Buddhism.

“In 1985 a male infant was born into a nomad family in the Lhatok region of Eastern Tibet. In the months prior to his birth, his mother had wonderful dreams during her pregnancy. On the day of his birth, a cuckoo landed on the tent in which he was born, and a mysterious conch-like sound was heard by many throughout the valley in which the family of the infant lived. In Tibet, such events are considered auspicious portents of the birth of an enlightened teacher.” More here…

Although the BBC says that “the move is certain to enrage Beijing, which has put pressure on India to stamp out any political activity by Tibetan exiles,” I am not so sure. There is a flurry of diplomatic activity following dramatic protests wherever the Olympic flame passes through in the world…First there was a visit of Nancy Pelosi to meet the Dalai Lama in India…Then the US president spoke to his counterpart in China on the phone…And the well known stand of the French and German heads of state that they may boycott the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony…and so on.

China has not reacted so far although the news of the Karmapa’s visit has been in the air for some time now. The Karmapa’s US schedule does not in any way indicate that he would be doing much more than talking about Buddhism to the audience. But then this is no ordinary visit…and especially the timing of it…

At the abode of the Dalai Lama in India, the spokesman for the Central Tibetan administration said the Tibetan government in exile was “really appreciative” of India’s decision to allow the Karmapa visit. And with China maintaining a discreet silence, would the US (and others) be doing some behind-the-scenes work to bring about some improvement in Tibet…And for the Beijing Olympics to be held without too much protest?