Karmapa – The Official Website of the 17th Karmapa Karmapa – The Official Website of the 17th Karmapa Karmapa – The Official Website of the 17th Karmapa Karmapa – The Official Website of the 17th Karmapa
  • The Karmapa
    • A Short Biography
    • The Lineage of Karmapas
    • Activities & Projects
  • Teachings
    • YouTube Archive
    • Video Library
    • Podcast
  • News
  • Schedule
  • Buddhism
    • Shakyamuni Buddha
    • Buddhism in India
    • Buddhism in Tibet
    • Kagyu Lineage
    • The Golden Rosary
  • Centers
    • North America
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Oceania
    • Africa
    • South America
  • Office
    • Media
    • Contact
Karmapa – The Official Website of the 17th Karmapa Karmapa – The Official Website of the 17th Karmapa
  • The Karmapa
    • A Short Biography
    • The Lineage of Karmapas
    • Activities & Projects
  • Teachings
    • YouTube Archive
    • Video Library
    • Podcast
  • News
  • Schedule
  • Buddhism
    • Shakyamuni Buddha
    • Buddhism in India
    • Buddhism in Tibet
    • Kagyu Lineage
    • The Golden Rosary
  • Centers
    • North America
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Oceania
    • Africa
    • South America
  • Office
    • Media
    • Contact
  • English
  • France
  • Germany
  • Spain
  • Italy
  • Canada
  • United Kingdom
  • Australia
  • Poland
May 30

Frankfurt Press Conference

In his first public activity in Europe, His Holiness the 17th Karmapa addressed a press conference this morning in Frankfurt, followed by a brief meeting with members of the local Tibetan community. At an event hosted by Tibethaus Deutschland under the patronage of the 14th Dalai Lama, the Karmapa spoke to a room full of members of the German and international press. He expressed his delight at having arrived in Europe for his first trip, and fielded questions on climate change, the future of Tibetan culture, ordination of women in Tibetan Buddhism and other spiritual questions. Puntsok Tsering, Managing Director of Tibethaus offered an initial welcome, while Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, a highly respected lama who is also the head of Karmapa Foundation Europe, introduced His Holiness and later provided the English translation.

“As a member of the younger generation of Tibetan lamas, I feel responsibility for the future of Tibet,” His Holiness said. “We should not see the Tibetan issue as only a political one. It is an issue deeply linked with culture, religion and the environment. The Tibetan Plateau is so important for all of Asia. At the same time, the preservation of Tibet’s ecology is dependent on the preservation of Tibetan culture, values and way of life,”

Queried regarding climate change, the Gyalwang Karmapa described it as “the most important issue facing the world today,” and called for the people of the world to play a part in addressing it. “In world history, there have been other periods of climate change. But these were due to natural shifts in the climate. Scientists tell us that the change this time has a lot to do with human activity. Therefore as human beings we all have a great responsibility in regards to climate change.”

He observed that, “especially since the Industrial Revolution, people have developed a mentality that assumes that happiness is totally dependent on material progress. A way of life based on consumerism and materialism developed, and therefore people’s greed increased.” He called for people to reassess this assumption, and to work on inner development, cultivating compassion as their central motivation in working for climate change.

The very first question broached during the press conference was regarding bhikṣuṇī ordination—or full ordination for women–which the Gyalwang Karmapa has vocally championed. “It is indispensable to have a bhikṣuṇī sangha upholding the Dharma… His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been making many efforts and I have also made a point of raising this issue, as I feel it is very important,” he said, and added, “I have high hopes that this will happen within one or two years.”

Frankfurt is home to a local community of Tibetans, who arrived at Tibethaus in hopes of seeing the Karmapa. Following the interaction with the press, the 17th Karmapa was joined by a group of Tibetans living in Germany. Noting a substantial number of children among them, the Gyalwang Karmapa acknowledged that many of the Tibetan families in Europe have two working parents, and so have many demands on their time and attention. Nevertheless, he stressed the importance of making it a priority to provide their children with an education in Tibetan language. He closed by expressing his hope to be able to return to Europe many times in the future, and so to meet them again and again.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • E-Mail

Related Posts

  • His Holiness the Gyalwang Karmapa’s Greetings to His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the Occasion of His Eighty-Fifth BirthdayJuly 7, 2020
  • The Gyalwang Karmapa Felicitates His Holiness the Dalai LamaJuly 11, 2018
  • His Holiness and Wade Davis – In Dialogue in VancouverJune 22, 2017
  • Guru Rinpoche and the Gyalwang Karmapa Are Celebrated at Palpung SherablingDecember 16, 2016

[ long read ]

MIND TRAINING TEACHING
The Gyalwang Karmapa gave an extensive teaching on the 8 Verses of Training the Mind

[ video series ]

THE PRAJNAPARAMITA
Taught over six sessions, this is a direct explanation of the Buddhist view of emptiness

[ long read ]

THE CHENREZIK PRACTICE
The Gyalwang Karmapa taught on how to practice Chenrezik and recite his mantra

[ video series ]

100 SHORT INSTRUCTIONS
Taught over nine sessions, this text by the 8th Karmapa was taught in great depth by the present Karmapa.

[ long read ]

THREE PRINCIPLE ASPECTS
A comprehensive teaching that condenses the entire Buddhist path by Tsongkhapa

 

Recent Updates

  • The Special Kagyu Monlam Begins at Bokar Monastery: Day One
  • The Anniversaries of Marpa, Milarepa and Gampopa: Kagyu Gunchoe Conference
  • Restoring Karma Kamtsang Traditions: Hayagriva
  • Ancient Translation Methods: Dynamism and Debate
  • Approaches to Understanding the Thirty Verses of the Mind Only
  • The Inauguration of the 23rd Kagyu Gunchoe
  • The Essence of Glory: A Shakyamuni Puja in the Kadampa Style

Kagyu Office Around the World

中文 // Français // Polski // Español
The Karmapa’s website is carbon neutral. //

About the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa

His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, is the head of the 900 year old Karma Kagyu Lineage and guide to millions of Buddhists around the world.

Born in 1985, the Karmapa resides in his temporary home at Gyuto Monastery in India after making a dramatic escape from Tibet in the year 2000.

Traveling the world, the Karmapa skillfully teaches traditional Tibetan Buddhist Dharma while also advocating topics such as environmental conservation, feminism, digitization of the Dharma, and much more.

Please use the icons below to find the Karmapa on social media maintained by his office of administration.

// // // //

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Please view our Privacy Policy. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo