NEWS & CURRENT ACTIVITES

24th Feb –Vajra Vidhya Institute, Sarnath.

On the 14th day of the Tibetan calendar, the Gyalwang Karmapa presided over a day of activities commemorating the founding luminaries of the Kagyu lineage. Organized by the Kagyu Relief and Protection Committee from the Central University of Tibetan Studies as well as the Vajra Vidya Institute, the day was an opportunity to venerate the realized masters who together form the great wellspring of the whispered lineage.

This year marks the 1000th birth anniversary of the glorious Marpa Lotsawa, the great translator who made the arduous journey to India four times in order to receive the sacred instructions and thereby plant the seeds of the practice lineage within Tibet. At the same time, today marks the commemoration of the Mahaparinirvana of Marpa himself and his heart-son Milarepa, the exalted yogi-saint whose remarkable life has inspired countless practitioners for generations. With this combination of lineage milestones, it was a particularly auspicious moment to conduct a day of Read the rest of this article

23rd Feb –Vajra Vidhya Institute, Sarnath.

Day 3 Report

On the third day of his Spring Teachings the Gyalwang Karmapa began by reflecting on the sacredness of the teaching space, and it’s preciousness to him personally. Arising out of the vast vision of its Abbot, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, Vajra Vidya Institute is nestled at the edge of Sarnath’s Deer Park, the sacred place where the Buddha Shakyamuni first turned the wheel of dharma. The towering Dhamek Stupa, constructed over a millennia ago to venerate the Buddha’s monumental act of teaching the dharma, is only a short walk away from where the Gyalwang Karmapa’s own teachings are taking place, in Vajra Vidya Institute’s temple. “When I come to this temple it’s like I have a special feeling that arises here,” he said. “Since the time I came to India, for the few small things that I have done in my life they’ve all started here, in this monastery’s temple. It’s like Read the rest of this article

22ND Feb –Vajra Vidhya Institute, Sarnath.

Day 2 Report

Beginning several hours before the scheduled teaching time, hundreds of people began to gather at the Vajra Vidya Institute gompa for the second day of the Gyalwang Karmapa’s Spring Teachings. With Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche once again in attendance, together with Tulkus and Khenpos, monks and nuns, and international and local devotees, the gompa was quickly filled to capacity. A large group of students from the nearby Central University of Tibetan Studies gathered, while a growing webcast audience also tuned in live from across the world, all eager to absorb the Gyalwang Karmapa’s vast and profound wisdom.

As the rain of dharma continued for a second day, the Gyalwang Karmapa opened the teaching by once again reiterating the urgency to practice the dharma right now, in this very moment.

“We need to practice the dharma from now. We need to do it on this very seat, in this Read the rest of this article

21st Feb –Vajra Vidhya Institute, Sarnath.

On 21 February 2013 the Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje’s main teacher, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, commenced an elaborate Tsedrup (long-life puja) dedicated to the long life of the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa. Lasting for five consecutive days, the extensive prayers are being conducted at Vajra Vidya Institute by tulkus and monks from Thrangu Rinpoche’s monasteries, including many who have travelled especially from Nepal.

With the chanting lasting from morning until night, the puja will culminate in a grand long-life Tenshug offering to the Gyalwang Karmapa on the auspicious day of 25 February, which is known as Chotrul Duchen or the Day of Miracles. The 14 days leading up to Chotrul Duchen are considered to be a very auspicious time in the Tibetan calendar, with positive deeds performed at this time being especially potent. In this context, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche’s offering serves as a particularly powerful cause for the long life of the 17th Read the rest of this article

March 21, 2011 – Vajra Vidya Institute, Sarnath

The Gyalwang Karmapa today visited the Central University for Tibetan Studies in Sarnath, and delivered an address to its students and faculty. During his annual stays in Sarnath, the Gyalwang Karmapa often lectures at the institute, which is the first accredited university in India to offer academic degrees in Tibetan studies.

Vice Chancellor Geshe Ngawang Samten gave a warm speech of welcome, praising the Gyalwang Karmapa for the acute sense of responsibility for preserving Tibetan cultures that he has displayed over the years.

In his own address to the assembly, the Gyalwang Karmapa evoked the era when India was the far-away destination for Tibetan scholars and translators seeking Buddhist training and texts. His Holiness pointed out how many hardships these scholars of old had endured in Read the rest of this article