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
Oct 06

Gyalwang Karmapa Teaches Mindfulness to American Embassy School Students

20131004 - AES
6 October 2013 – New Delhi

It was with evident delight that the Gyalwang Karmapa spent the afternoon of 4 October interacting with students, parents and staff at the American Embassy School in New Delhi. With this being his fourth such visit to the school, the Gyalwang Karmapa personally remembered many of the young students from previous years as they greeted him and approached for his blessings.

On his arrival at the school, a student first interviewed the Gyalwang Karmapa for a class project, asking him questions about his childhood and escape from Tibet. He then toured the school’s science labs, dropping in on an astronomy class and examining the telescope equipment.

Next the Gyalwang Karmapa headed to the school’s assembly hall, known as the Peace Hall, which was packed with 4th and 5th graders eagerly awaiting his arrival. The students, aged from 9–11 years, sang two songs for him on the theme of ‘shanti’ or peace. They later listened raptly as Ani Choying Drolma, the internationally renowned ‘singing nun’ from Nepal, performed live for them.

The young children asked the Gyalwang Karmapa a series of simple yet profound questions, seeking his wisdom on topics such as preserving the planet, preventing bullying, and finding inner peace.

“How can we be more mindful?” asked a young student.

In response the Gyalwang Karmapa then skillfully devised a ‘mindfulness game’ for the children as a way to train in becoming more mindful. He invited them to take a single day, and to deliberately pay more attention to their actions over the course of that entire day.

“For the mindfulness game, in the morning you can make a plan,” he explained. “When you follow that plan you can take a white stone and put it in the ‘mindful’ column. And when you’re not being mindful, you can then take a black stone and put that in the ‘unmindful’ column. Then at the end of the day you can keep score and see how many levels you get through. You can examine yourself, and that way you will know how mindful you are being.”

In response to a question on how to be happy, the Gyalwang Karmapa replied that it was very easy. Children are very happy when they get something, he explained, because they are easily satisfied.

“So I think the real spiritual instruction for being happy is to be satisfied with what you have. If you are, then that is the basis of being happy, and that is also the key point about being happy.”

Later, after many of the students had left school for the day, the Gyalwang Karmapa continued his interactions with parents and staff who also sought his wisdom on wide-ranging topics.

Continuing with the theme of mindfulness, the Gyalwang Karmapa elaborated further. Mindfulness is not something that we only do when we have a sudden emotional situation, he began. “We need to always, continually notice what is happening in our minds. We can say that being mindful is being in the present moment.”

“Normally we spend all day long working and doing things, and then when we come to the end of the day we don’t really know what we’ve done,” he said. “We don’t feel like we’ve tasted the flavor of anything that we’ve done, and that’s because we haven’t been in the present moment. So the feature of mindfulness is that we are being in the present moment, and are able to experience and taste it.”

He responded to a question on how artists can help keep their creative spirit alive.

“I think that drawing is actually really connected with mindfulness,” he said, “because as we’re drawing then our minds go along with what we’re drawing. When the mind and the drawing go along together, then our minds become more colorful, and our minds also have more beauty. I feel that this brings some peace.”

Late in the afternoon a group of 3 giggling young elementary school students snuck back into the hall and approached the Gyalwang Karmapa for a blessing—their second that day. ‘Again!?’ he admonished them jokingly, before gently placing the khatas around their necks. Their delighted peals of laughter echoed throughout the Peace Hall as they ran away home, filled with the Gyalwang Karmapa’s blessings.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • E-Mail

Related Posts

  • The Gyalwang Karmapa Tells Students in Search of Peace: Just RelaxNovember 9, 2012

[ 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

  • 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
  • The Gyalwang Karmapa’s Closing Remarks to the Mar Ngok Summer Teachings
  • Differing Perspectives on the First Council and the Compilation of the Tripiṭaka
  • Upāli – the Foremost in the Vinaya and Contemporary Analyses of the First Council  
  • Ananda’s Offenses, Arhatship, and Recitation of the Sūtras

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