NEWS & CURRENT ACTIVITES

As one of the major events of the upcoming 31st Kagyu Monlam Chenmo prayer gathering, on 10 January 2014 the Gyalwang Karmapa will lead a historic performance of the Guru Chöwang Tse Chu lama dance in Bodhgaya.

The day-long event heralds the revival of the unique Tsurphu tradition of the dance, and will be performed for the first time in India under the Gyalwang Karmapa’s direct guidance.

The Gyalwang Karmapa will personally dance during the event, adorned in full costume, while other luminaries to join him on stage include Kyabje Gyaltsab Rinpoche, Kyabje Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, and numerous other Kagyu lineage tulkus.

And, in another historic first, nuns from five Kagyu nunneries will also take part in the lama dance, allowing female dancers for the first time to perform the female roles such as Khandro Yeshe Tsogyal. The nuns will join monks from four monasteries of the Tsurluk tradition, including Rumtek, Palchen Choling, Mirik, and Benchen.

The lama dance centers around the sacred Read the rest of this article

5 December 2013 – Tergar Monastery, Bodhgaya

On the anniversary of the parinirvana of the great First Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa, His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa led several special celebratory events in the holy place of Bodhgaya.

After continuing the scheduled Kagyu Gunchö program in the morning, in the afternoon the Gyalwang Karmapa gave a detailed teaching on the sacred spiritual biography or namthar of Dusum Khyenpa, followed in the evening by a special Feast Offering Puja.

The great master known as Dusum Khyenpa, or ‘the knower of the three times’, was renowned for his ability to clearly see the past, present and future. He was the wellspring of the Karma Kamtsang lineage, and the first in the string of lives of the seventeen Karmapas, following one after another like beads on a mala.

Teaching to a gompa packed full with monks, nuns and a growing crowd of international students, the Gyalwang Karmapa began by observing that only recently have people begun to give greater importance to the anniversary of Dusum Read the rest of this article

3 December, 2013 – Tergar Monastery, Bodhgaya.

The 17^th Kagyu Gunchoe – Winter Debates began this year on December 3^rd  at Tergar Monastery in Bodhgaya, India. The daily schedule includes debates during the morning and in the afternoon, the Karmapa’s teaching on a text by the Eighth Karmapa, Mikyö Dorje, called The One Hundred Short Instructions. Throughout his presentation, the Karmapa emphasized the importance of balancing study with practice, of tempering intellectual pursuit with realization arising from experience. In the Tibetan tradition, debating is an integral part of intellectual and experiential training. Its purpose is to probe an individual’s knowledge of Dharma, to remove doubts, and to elucidate what is not clear. Debating helps to ensure that understanding does not stay at the level of words, but goes deeper into the meaning. It also allows a great number of topics to be explored in a short time and to be retained more easily.

From 3rd December the Gyalwang Karmapa will teach daily Read the rest of this article

30 November 2013 – Tergar Monastery, Bodhgaya

Gyalwang Karmapa today celebrated Mingyur Rinpoche’s 38th birthday by leading the monks of Tergar monastery in a dedicated long-life Tsedrup puja.

The sound of gyaling horns echoed down the stairwells from the roof of Tergar monastery, heralding the Gyalwang Karmapa’s arrival as he descended into the gompa below to lead the final session of the three-day puja. He joined around 300 monks as well as a small crowd of international devotees in the birthday long-life aspirations.

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, abbot of Tergar Monastery and one of the highly respected lamas, entered an advanced meditation retreat two and a half years ago. After leaving behind a letter to his students around the world setting out his intentions, he disappeared alone into the Himalayas to follow the path of a solitary wandering yogi. He carried no provisions, and no fixed plans, as he set off to meditate alone in remote Himalayan caves and at sacred Read the rest of this article