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Links to pictures, albums, videos, etc. follow
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Tibet Connection Podcast [tc0508] June 29/08, at minutes 33:14 "Karmapa in Seattle" |
(Karmapa explained by Himself, by others, old, new, Tibetan, Western, Chinese)
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An Aspiration for the World (Karmapa's song set to music in English by C. Stagg & T. Dewar) mp3
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More From the Seattle Part of the Visit
| PicasaWeb album, Seattle | ||
| BlueOregon : "The Karmapa Visits the Northwest" by Jeff
Allworth + comments by many.
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| May 30/08, The Seattle Times (USA) "Seattle-ites Get Spiritual
Insight: The Karmapa visits" by Janet I. Tu, religion reporter : TIME magazine referred to him as "the world's next top lama." Elle Magazine named him one of "25 People to Watch." That's a lot of responsibility and acclaim for a 22-year-old. But, in a sense, this young man was born into the role. He is the Karmapa, one of the most prominent lamas -- or teachers - in Tibetan Buddhism, and a person regarded as a likely successor to the Dalai Lama as the symbol of Tibetan Buddhism worldwide. The Karmapa arrived Thursday in Seattle as part of a two-week U.S. tour -- his first visit to the West. He plans to meet with local Buddhists and give public teachings. The Karmapa is traditionally regarded as third in prominence among lamas, after the Dalai and Panchen Lamas, said Robert Thurman, professor of Indo-Tibetan Studies at Columbia University and author of the new book "Why the Dalai Lama Matters." The Karmapa's U.S. tour is significant, Thurman said, because "it's good for the world to note that there are these younger lamas who can become major spokespersons for the Tibetan people." His visit is "a very big deal for us," said Dzogchen Ponlop, the Seattle-based Buddhist monk who organized the tour. "His presence brings a lot of blessings, a lot of inspiration." Controversial matters The 17th Karmapa, named Ogyen Drodul Trinley Dorje, was born to a nomadic family in eastern Tibet. He is considered to be the reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa, although there is controversy surrounding the matter. Another boy was also identified as being the reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa, and that young man also has a strong following, particularly in Asia and Europe. But most Tibetan Buddhists, especially in America, regard Ogyen Dorje as the Karmapa, and he was confirmed as such by the Dalai Lama, Thurman said. The Karmapa -- who is a leader of the Kagyu order, one of the four major schools within Tibetan Buddhism -- made international news when he escaped Tibet eight years ago, fleeing across the Himalayas to India. There, he met with the Dalai Lama. That was significant, Thurman said, because for centuries there was a strained relationship between the Kagyu school and the Gelug school, to which the Dalai Lama belongs. That the Karmapa and Dalai Lama have a "wonderful mentor, senior-junior relationship bodes very well for unity between these important lamas and their orders," Thurman said. "This is very important for the unity of the Tibetan community." Thurman also thinks the Karmapa's U.S. visit -- he spoke to sold-out audiences in New York and Boulder, Colo., earlier this month - could help gain support for the Tibetan cause. Thurman said China believes "when the Dalai Lama is gone, people will forget about Tibet. This helps people know this is not going to be the case." Nonpolitical motives Nonetheless, the Karmapa's visit is nonpolitical, emphasized Ponlop, the tour organizer and Seattle-based monk who founded Nalanda West, a center in Fremont dedicated to fostering American Buddhism. Unlike the Dalai Lama, who is both spiritual and [viewed as a] political leader of Tibetan Buddhists, the Karmapa's role has historically been spiritual, Ponlop said. "I don't see him getting involved in politics." While the Karmapa will be teaching here, he will also be learning about the West. "It's good to get him exposed to Western culture," said Ponlop, who has known the Karmapa since he was a boy. Ponlop said the Karmapa is an inquisitive young man, open to ideas from the West. And "his participation in our goal to establish American Buddhism is indispensable." America has an open, pioneering spirit, but at the same time, there is much anxiety, pain and rage, Ponlop said. "There is this sense of need for spiritual insight," he said. The presence of the Karmapa "helps us connect with our own heart." ~ Janet I. Tu: jtu@seattletimes.com | ||
| May 27/09, NPR, 4 min. interview, Robert Thurman re: Karmapa |
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With Mickey et al. click Christine's gallery link |
From Colorado
| May 27/08: Karmapa at Shambhala, Boulder, CO |
| May 27/08: J. Gritz' photo of renewal of link w. Hopi nation |
Public teaching [?], Boulder, CO: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/787079/the_17th_karmapa_visits_boulder_seattle.html
From New York
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***CurryNoodle's blog, May 20, NYC*** |
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J. Gritz' photo #22, is of HH greeting Lou Reed at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC. |
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HH at Kunzang Palchen Ling, Red Hook, NY |
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11 Great Photos of Karmapa at KTD |
| New Jersey, more rainbows |
| KTD's gallery of press photos |
| May 22/08: Karmapa w. entourage on "Dharma Path" towards Shady, NY and back. |
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kagyu1188/sets/72157605197439980/
You may have to register (free) on Flickr to see this set. (Yahoo! owns that site, so the id can be the same.)
| videos of Karmapa's arrival: Newark & NYC & security detail arrival before dawn. |
| May 20/08, The Daily Freeman, Woodstock, NY: Karmapa arrives at KTD |
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King of Yogis visits US |
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HH Karmapa arrives at Shambhala |
| May 15/08, Time Magazine, "The World's Next Top Lama" by David Van
Biema: To the apparent astonishment and delight of his American retinue, the baby-faced 22-year-old who may one day replace the Dalai Lama as the world symbol of Tibetan Buddhism and icon of Tibetan aspirations said today, on his first trip here, that he hoped he might be able to spend two months a year in the United States, raising the possibility that in decades to come, America could become an important focus for that community. Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Karmapa, or head of the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism, sat at his ease in a throne-like overstuffed chair in New York's Waldorf Towers hotel, rimless rectangular glasses perched on his pleasantly round, shaven head, a yellow shirt peeking out from underneath a dark red robe, feet in pebbled brown loafers. Reputedly stern, the Karmapa, who spent half an hour with TIME, was both remarkably well-tempered and focused for a man who had just come off a 14-hour flight -- by far his longest since he arrived in India eight years ago as a teenager after a swash-buckling escape from China by foot, horseback and plane. Asked whether he had slept on on his way here, he replied in English, "Sleep, but not well. Lot of . . ." and he did an expert mime of transatlantic turbulence. Dorje's two-week American trip, which will include stops in New York City, his sect's center in Seattle and the vast monastery his adherents have nearly completed in Woodstock, N.Y., is a literal "coming out." The Indian government, wary of relations with China, had not until now allowed the young man, whom the Dalai Lama had taken under his wing, to travel internationally. Followers here who have not seen their leader since his predecessor died in 1981 (they believe four years passed before his reincarnation) will bask in his attention and teachings. "The previous Karmapa visited the U.S. several times and his dharma activity here was vast," he said (this time through a translator). "It is my hope to continue that." He added, "My work is not going to be conducted only among other Buddhists, but to help everyone." He also said he wants to "look at things not only from a Buddhist perspective," but from the viewpoint of other faiths as well -- a tall order. And although he confirmed an adviser's caution that Kagyu leaders have no tradition of engaging in politics, he noted, "As far as I'm concerned, the situation in Tibet, particularly the political situation, has reached a level of emergency." He sees his teacher as a major player in dealing with it: "The Dalai Lama is both the spiritual and secular leader of all the Tibetan people, and is recognized as such all over the world, and the Dalai Lama has a tremendous responsibility in his great efforts to bring about a peaceful resolution." But he noted that "in the Tibetan tradition we regard the connection between a lama and his spiritual teacher to be sacred." And "like all Tibetans, I will continue to support him in this as best I can in the future." Indeed, when the Dalai Lama, currently a relatively healthy 72, dies, the Karmapa could end up his replacement as the face of Tibet. He could never be the next Dalai Lama. "Karmapa," like "Dalai Lama," is its own reincarnate title. Nor could he become the hands-on political leader of a Tibetan government or government-in-exile, a job the Dalai Lama has ceded to a prime minister. But a recent YouTube video shows the Dalai Lama talking to the Karmapa and Ling Rinpoche, the 19-year-old reincarnation of another high monk. The older man tells them, "You two . . . are still young, and when I die you will be the ones who continue my work." In the video, the Karmapa starts slightly, and his eyes roll back a moment before he regains composure. The video, which seems authentic, reinforces sentiments the Dalai Lama expressed in public in 2001 and acknowledges the Karmapa's unique portfolio. The Karmapa is traditionally regarded as the third most important person in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, who disappeared years ago and whose replacement, picked by the Chinese, is not recognized by most Tibetans. He is unusual among a new generation of leaders because of his birth and training as a high lama in Tibet. He speaks fluent Chinese, and attracted numerous Chinese adherents before fleeing. The Karmapa's close relationship with the Dalai Lama knits up a historic tension between their two lineages, and helps make him a unifying figure. Robert Thurman, an expert in Tibetan Buddhism at Columbia University who knows the Dalai Lama well, has had repeated contact with the Karmapa and will soon publish a book titled Why the Dalai Lama Matters, worries that "if [the Karmapa] is pressured by devotees to travel and teach too much at too young an age at the expense of his studies," it could prevent him from "manifesting his full strength." But if he is allowed to mature, says Thurman, "50 years from now my son may have to write a book saying Why the Karmapa matters." Meanwhile, for the head of a major Tibetan lineage to spend a sixth of every year in the United States would be a tremendous boost for the Buddhist community here. The Karmapa's p.r. representative claims he has attained a near sell-out of 21,000 seats at teachings he will give here (starting with one Saturday at Manhattan's Hammerstein Ballroom) almost solely on the strength of e-mail chains. Many in the audience will be his age. When a reporter noted that the Kagyu lineage is known for its stress on practice and that his own generation is not known for its patience, the Karmapa delivered some advice that his American followers could no doubt appreciate. "If people have no patience," he said, "they have no patience, and I can't insist that they develop it. But I've observed that human life without patience becomes unworkable. My experience has been that I've been forced to develop patience with unchangeable situations." It is a virtue to recommend as well to those hoping for a solution for Tibet's status. |
| KarmapaVisit/Blogspot updates |
This editor would like to thank very much everyone who made, preserved (and will preserve) the memory, and to all who made this visit possible.
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Notes from
Karmapa in Seattle 2008 by Julie Adler and Daniel Kane: