NEWS & CURRENT ACTIVITES

21-22 June 2013, Delhi.
Gyalwang Karmapa convened a meeting to initiate an overhaul of education for Tibetan Buddhist nuns, and particularly for nuns of the Karma Kagyu tradition. Over the course of two days, the Gyalwang Karmapa met with senior members of eight nunneries to discuss plans to offer nuns the opportunity to engage in rigorous philosophical study up to the highest standards.

As an initial step towards this aim, the Gyalwang Karmapa will inaugurate the Arya Kshema Winter Debates this coming winter. A bhikshuni who was a direct disciple of Buddha Shakyamuni, Arya Kshema (known as Ayya Khema in Pali) was pronounced by the Buddha to be foremost among his female disciples in wisdom and confident eloquence.

Since the nuns’ study and debate curriculum is still under development, the inaugural session of the first winter debates will center not on dialectical debate, but on laying the groundwork for the future. The Gyalwang Karmapa stated that the First Arya Read the rest of this article

18th June 2013 – Habitat Center, New Delhi.

His Holiness the Karmapa’s new book was the talk of the town in Delhi, India this week, where it was officially released by the eminent social activist Aruna Roy. Entitled The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside out, the book explores the most pressing issues of our day, including the environmental crisis, food justice and gender issues, arguing that each and every citizen of the world has a role to play in creating a better future for us all. The book launch was standing-room-only at the India Habitat Centre, where such highly distinguished figures as Rajiv Mehrotra, Pavan K. Varma and Vandana Shiva also spoke in support of His Holiness the Karmapa’s approach to society as outlined in his new book.

Speaking as chief guest at the book-launch event, Aruna Roy said, “As a social activist I was very excited to find that a person who is religious and who Read the rest of this article

31 May 2013 – Gyuto Monastery, Dharamsala

Over 500 Buddhists from across India recently converged on Gyuto Monastery to receive a teaching from the Gyalwang Karmapa. The Nalanda Shiksha group, representing Buddhist associations from throughout the country, met with the Gyalwang Karmapa on the eve of their annual teachings with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala.

Speaking through a Hindi translator, the Gyalwang Karmapa told the packed room that it was very important for each individual to make their connection with the Buddha dharma on a personal level, rather than just following along with traditions and customs.

“If you truly know why you are doing your practice,” he told the group, “then you understand how deep the relationship is between your practice and your life, and how your practice is helping you to live a good life. It’s very important that you know and understand what you are doing, and what the goal of practice is. The danger is that if religion becomes just a tradition or a custom that you follow, Read the rest of this article

Gyalwang Karmapa’s Birthday: 26th June, 2013

The Karmapa’s Office of Administration wishes to announce that there will be no official celebration of the Gyalwang Karmapa’s birthday at Gyuto Monastery this year.The Gyalwang Karmapa requests those who wish to celebrate this day to do so privately.

In addition, because of increased demands on the Gyalwang Karmapa’s time due to on-going projects, there will be no private audiences from the end of June until the beginning of August. The twice-weekly public audiences, on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, will be held as usual. Read the rest of this article

28 May 2013 – Gyuto Monastery, Dharamsala

When a group of students from Emory University in the United States recently visited the Gyalwang Karmapa, he spoke candidly with them about his life.

The group of around 26 students, led by Geshe Lobsang Tenzin, travelled to Gyuto Monastery during an annual study-abroad program, and spent about an hour with the Gyalwang Karmapa.

When asked by one student about the role of art in his life, the Gyalwang Karmapa responded,

“There could be a number of reasons why art is important, and it’s not necessarily important to everyone for the same reason. In my case, when the environment around me seems to be quite restricting, which happens to be often, and I feel the need to vent out this feeling of restriction that I’m bound by, then I want to put my feelings of creativity or imagination on paper or canvas and nobody’s trying to restrict me from doing that. For me art is a very important way to express myself under such circumstances, to have an outlet for my creative Read the rest of this article