Notes from Karmapa in Seattle 2008 by Julie Adler and Daniel Kane:
These notes are paraphrases taken at different times during the teachings, with unintended errors in context and meaning, therefore please read . . . not as a transcribed "teaching." Formal recordings are likely to be made available in the near future.
May 31, 2008 Saturday morning
A spiritual teacher must possess the necessary qualities. There is no ID card for spiritual teachers, so the way we find a teacher is to get to know who they are. We should approach a teacher as we would get to know teachers in the formal Western education process.
Faith alone will not mean we will practice correctly. Asking someone to be our teacher should occur after we get to know their motivation and conduct. In this day and age, we should not focus on the shortcomings of the teacher. In this age, all teachers will appear to have defects.
Besides, a perfect person would seem weird to us! (laughter)
The main duty of the student is to emulate the positive qualities of the teacher, not to critique their every move.
When doing a puja (offering) the real mandala is immense, it is the whole world and all its beings as pure, free of all problems, everything in its purest form.
Saturday afternoon
The ultimate Refuge is a manifestation of Buddhahood.
The suffering of others is difficult to comprehend; we see and hear about it every day, but we don't feel it in our hearts. We need to have a strong desire to help them, to take their suffering on ourselves.
Take the feelings of fear (that we don't want to suffer) and make it meaningful by cultivating compassion for them instead of our mundane feelings about life and suffering.
Attachment to outer objects is much weaker than our self clinging. We have such a fear of losing ourselves that it prevents us from allowing the deity to manifest. We should use our strongest creative powers.
Compassion is the willingness to never give up on sentient beings.
Saturday night (Sangha Gathering)
The Karmapa began with, "It's always good to see a loved one again after they have died so on behalf of the 16th Karmapa, it's good to see you again."
Then he went on to relate to everyone by saying that as a young person in the 21st century, he also struggles a lot with mental afflictions. And he has the aspiration that we experience joyfulness rather than suffering. He says to himself, `I'm not such a bad guy, an okay person.' If nothing else, he offers that his mere presence in the world is to help us experience love and happiness.
Once he gets back to India and reflects on his trip, he [said] he'll probably think, `there's no choice but to go back to America.'!!!
We need to have continual motivation, strong intention to bring the body, speech and mind under the service of good motivation. In this way, we do need to instruct ourselves also.
Here in the West, I see many of my friends, who have very busy lives and seem to take each little detail of their life and their activities so seriously, they get upset if they are 10 minutes late - when I first saw this I thought it was some kind of practice (laughter). We should be more relaxed in our activities and not take every detail so seriously.
Don't get caught up in self-talk during hardships and obstacles. Fear of loss is ever present is our minds which makes us more tense and paranoid. Allow more space, more openness. We should be more relaxed and not attempt to power our minds all the time.
Highly realized beings also go through hardship, but it is the way they meet the hardship that is different.
Q: For dharma students, what are the most important study topics in this age?
K: We've become [begun?] too late for many of these practices. But if we engage in actions to accumulate merit, this will be of benefit to the world. Due to changes in technology and external advancements, we have obtained power to change the world and create the causes for change but now we have to become mindful of the dangers in the world.
The world is in danger of being destroyed. It's very important for us to engage in actions as a whole, for the world. Rather than individual practice goals, seeking personal liberation is no longer
sufficient whatsoever. In years before, yogis attained enlightenment, by going away for years and years, bringing 1 or 2 students to the level of realization but that model is not practical now. We need practitioners who benefit the world as a whole while at the same time practicing. We need to have people who are both practicing and helping. Being out of the world, those who go off separating themselves from others, is now not an effective model for the dharma practitioner.
Go beyond limited concepts of what it means to have a Buddhist practice. The goal is to help all sentient beings, not just Buddhists. Step outside the boundaries of being only with Buddhist
people, in Buddhist environments. There are many aspects to helping.
Education and cultivating positive qualities take them and readily share your knowledge. Go beyond Buddhist conceptions and the clinging to our Buddhist concepts in a limited way.
Q: What are the serious obstacles we Westerners should be aware of?
K: You should tell me what they are! Distractions are a great obstacle. It's a question for each of you. Often we get distracted by new objects. Protecting our minds is an individual endeavor. What
is important is to meet that with mindfulness, to distinguish what to adopt and what to reject. I'll pray for you that you don't experience great obstacles or if you do, I'll help remove them with
you. I'd be happy to fight the obstacles for you and we will see who wins! (big cheer from audience)
Since being in America, I have contracted many of your obstacles. When I get back to India, I'll have to practice really hard in order to remove them.
Q: Many students emphasize formal sitting but not much study. Can you talk/advise on this?
K: The fundamental difference between practice and study we study to increase our intelligence, further our knowledge on many topics but study is not genuinely connected to our heart, it's more connected to the brain. Practice leads to a genuine shift in our hearts and minds.
To practice however, without prior study is not good. If we don't know the reasons why we practice, it's not good. The real essential point brought forth by practice is to monitor the shift in our heart and mind. Feeling the process of positive qualities coming to light every day, delivering our heart to that state, is what we should aim for. If the mind stays at the level of conceptual dry practice however, then it's nothing more than study.
Genuinely practicing compassion, the mind and heart are not separated.
There should be a recognition of the vivid experience of mind taking on compassion itself. At the level of mere understanding or a little experience but no follow through is not genuine practice.
Q: Most lay practitioners have limited time and resources for formal extensive practice. How can we Western students best establish the lineage in our homelands?
K: You saved the worst question for last. (laughter) There should be a strong continuity of practice, a firm resolve. We should remind ourselves what we want to accomplish and refresh this resolve every day, for momentum on the path. Stick to this daily to witness progress. Body speech and mind have to work as servants of this goal.
Perhaps make a goal per month. Rely on mindfulness, set it up like the watchman. Create external supports such as `reminder notes' or use objects. When we work on computers, we take breaks to help our eyes. In the same way, we should take care of our minds, refresh them periodically, every hour or three times a day. Mindfulness is the seed you take with you and see how it grows.
In the West, there are no limits to our busy-ness.
We need to become teachers to ourselves, not just relying upon the instructions that our gurus provide but on our own instructions coming from ourselves. What we are lacking is instructions from ourselves -- we already have an abundance of our gurus' pith instructions. I have
started doing this - when I first arrived in India, there were no teachers yet to guide me so I rested my mind, relaxed and waited for that certain answer or instruction to come. We need to seek out
instructions from our own minds.
To end, the Karmapa said, "I'll come again, no matter how long it takes" and then he recited an aspiration prayer for the audience.
Sunday morning, June 1st, 2008
The Karmapa said that the 2nd Karmapa (Karma Pakshi) was an emanation of Chenrezig and therefore, there is no need to further research or trace the connection between Karmapa and Chenrezig.
The Karmapa's inspiration for Chenrezig is his blind grandmother who has already accumulated over 10 million Manis. She is still in Tibet and still remains so cheerful. Her recitation of the Manis is related to the great hope she has had for the future, it fills her with great joy. His mother is also on the way to approaching 10 million Manis. These [two] are influential figures for him. He grew up in a devotional environment to Chenrezig and that is his spiritual inheritance. Via phone, his mother told him that even if she only has the chance to do one Mani, she dedicates all the merit to him. And she aspires that it become part of his virtue. The love is passed down in the family, transmitted through the mantra. This is how it feels to him. It is his family heirloom, the most sacred and he is now offering it to all of us. This has been the profound gift of his family.
As for the connection with Chenrezig, it runs through the heart of every Tibetan. And also the Karmapa has a special connection to Chenrezig. May you enjoy the love and light of all the Karmapas.
The way to establish lineage in our homelands is to have strong resolve , a pure motivation and develop momentum in order to make progress.
Americans are very courageous, always speak of `possibility' and have a deep respect for the truth, these are good qualities on the spiritual path.
[These] Miscellaneous notes from Julie Adler & Daniel Kane [are posted here with his permission]
May they be of some benefit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LINKS
*
Tibet Connection Podcast [tc0508] June 29/08, at minutes 33:14 "Karmapa in Seattle"
(Karmapa explained by Himself, by others, old, new, Tibetan, Western, Chinese)
*
An Aspiration for the World (Karmapa's song set to music in English by C. Stagg & T. Dewar) mp3
o
May 25/08: Boulder, Colorado "Healing the World Through Awakening" or, how to relate to the world.
More From the Seattle Part of the Visit
* BlueOregon : "The Karmapa Visits the Northwest" by Jeff Allworth + comments by many.
o http://www.blueoregon.com/2008/05/the-karmapa-vis.html
* May 30/08, The Seattle Times (USA) "Seattle-ites Get Spiritual Insight: The Karmapa visits" by Janet I. Tu, religion reporter :
TIME magazine referred to him as "the world's next top lama."
Elle Magazine named him one of "25 People to Watch."
That's a lot of responsibility and acclaim for a 22-year-old.
But, in a sense, this young man was born into the role. He is the Karmapa, one of the most prominent lamas -- or teachers - in Tibetan Buddhism, and a person regarded as a likely successor to the Dalai Lama as the symbol of Tibetan Buddhism worldwide.
The Karmapa arrived Thursday in Seattle as part of a two-week U.S. tour -- his first visit to the West. He plans to meet with local Buddhists and give public teachings.
The Karmapa is traditionally regarded as third in prominence among lamas, after the Dalai and Panchen Lamas, said Robert Thurman, professor of Indo-Tibetan Studies at Columbia University and author of the new book "Why the Dalai Lama Matters."
The Karmapa's U.S. tour is significant, Thurman said, because "it's good for the world to note that there are these younger lamas who can become major spokespersons for the Tibetan people."
His visit is "a very big deal for us," said Dzogchen Ponlop, the Seattle-based Buddhist monk who organized the tour. "His presence brings a lot of blessings, a lot of inspiration."
Controversial matters
The 17th Karmapa, named Ogyen Drodul Trinley Dorje, was born to a nomadic family in eastern Tibet.
He is considered to be the reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa, although there is controversy surrounding the matter.
Another boy was also identified as being the reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa, and that young man also has a strong following, particularly in Asia and Europe. But most Tibetan Buddhists, especially in America, regard Ogyen Dorje as the Karmapa, and he was confirmed as such by the Dalai Lama, Thurman said.
The Karmapa -- who is a leader of the Kagyu order, one of the four major schools within Tibetan Buddhism -- made international news when he escaped Tibet eight years ago, fleeing across the Himalayas to India. There, he met with the Dalai Lama.
That was significant, Thurman said, because for centuries there was a strained relationship between the Kagyu school and the Gelug school, to which the Dalai Lama belongs.
That the Karmapa and Dalai Lama have a "wonderful mentor, senior-junior relationship bodes very well for unity between these important lamas and their orders," Thurman said. "This is very important for the unity of the Tibetan community."
Thurman also thinks the Karmapa's U.S. visit -- he spoke to sold-out audiences in New York and Boulder, Colo., earlier this month - could help gain support for the Tibetan cause.
Thurman said China believes "when the Dalai Lama is gone, people will forget about Tibet. This helps people know this is not going to be the case."
Nonpolitical motives
Nonetheless, the Karmapa's visit is nonpolitical, emphasized Ponlop, the tour organizer and Seattle-based monk who founded Nalanda West, a center in Fremont dedicated to fostering American Buddhism.
Unlike the Dalai Lama, who is both spiritual and [viewed as a] political leader of Tibetan Buddhists, the Karmapa's role has historically been spiritual, Ponlop said. "I don't see him getting involved in politics."
While the Karmapa will be teaching here, he will also be learning about the West.
"It's good to get him exposed to Western culture," said Ponlop, who has known the Karmapa since he was a boy.
Ponlop said the Karmapa is an inquisitive young man, open to ideas from the West. And "his participation in our goal to establish American Buddhism is indispensable."
America has an open, pioneering spirit, but at the same time, there is much anxiety, pain and rage, Ponlop said.
"There is this sense of need for spiritual insight," he said. The presence of the Karmapa "helps us connect with our own heart."
~ Janet I. Tu: jtu@seattletimes.com
These notes are paraphrases taken at different times during the teachings, with unintended errors in context and meaning, therefore please read . . . not as a transcribed "teaching." Formal recordings are likely to be made available in the near future.
May 31, 2008 Saturday morning
A spiritual teacher must possess the necessary qualities. There is no ID card for spiritual teachers, so the way we find a teacher is to get to know who they are. We should approach a teacher as we would get to know teachers in the formal Western education process.
Faith alone will not mean we will practice correctly. Asking someone to be our teacher should occur after we get to know their motivation and conduct. In this day and age, we should not focus on the shortcomings of the teacher. In this age, all teachers will appear to have defects.
Besides, a perfect person would seem weird to us! (laughter)
The main duty of the student is to emulate the positive qualities of the teacher, not to critique their every move.
When doing a puja (offering) the real mandala is immense, it is the whole world and all its beings as pure, free of all problems, everything in its purest form.
Saturday afternoon
The ultimate Refuge is a manifestation of Buddhahood.
The suffering of others is difficult to comprehend; we see and hear about it every day, but we don't feel it in our hearts. We need to have a strong desire to help them, to take their suffering on ourselves.
Take the feelings of fear (that we don't want to suffer) and make it meaningful by cultivating compassion for them instead of our mundane feelings about life and suffering.
Attachment to outer objects is much weaker than our self clinging. We have such a fear of losing ourselves that it prevents us from allowing the deity to manifest. We should use our strongest creative powers.
Compassion is the willingness to never give up on sentient beings.
Saturday night (Sangha Gathering)
The Karmapa began with, "It's always good to see a loved one again after they have died so on behalf of the 16th Karmapa, it's good to see you again."
Then he went on to relate to everyone by saying that as a young person in the 21st century, he also struggles a lot with mental afflictions. And he has the aspiration that we experience joyfulness rather than suffering. He says to himself, `I'm not such a bad guy, an okay person.' If nothing else, he offers that his mere presence in the world is to help us experience love and happiness.
Once he gets back to India and reflects on his trip, he [said] he'll probably think, `there's no choice but to go back to America.'!!!
We need to have continual motivation, strong intention to bring the body, speech and mind under the service of good motivation. In this way, we do need to instruct ourselves also.
Here in the West, I see many of my friends, who have very busy lives and seem to take each little detail of their life and their activities so seriously, they get upset if they are 10 minutes late - when I first saw this I thought it was some kind of practice (laughter). We should be more relaxed in our activities and not take every detail so seriously.
Don't get caught up in self-talk during hardships and obstacles. Fear of loss is ever present is our minds which makes us more tense and paranoid. Allow more space, more openness. We should be more relaxed and not attempt to power our minds all the time.
Highly realized beings also go through hardship, but it is the way they meet the hardship that is different.
Q: For dharma students, what are the most important study topics in this age?
K: We've become [begun?] too late for many of these practices. But if we engage in actions to accumulate merit, this will be of benefit to the world. Due to changes in technology and external advancements, we have obtained power to change the world and create the causes for change but now we have to become mindful of the dangers in the world.
The world is in danger of being destroyed. It's very important for us to engage in actions as a whole, for the world. Rather than individual practice goals, seeking personal liberation is no longer
sufficient whatsoever. In years before, yogis attained enlightenment, by going away for years and years, bringing 1 or 2 students to the level of realization but that model is not practical now. We need practitioners who benefit the world as a whole while at the same time practicing. We need to have people who are both practicing and helping. Being out of the world, those who go off separating themselves from others, is now not an effective model for the dharma practitioner.
Go beyond limited concepts of what it means to have a Buddhist practice. The goal is to help all sentient beings, not just Buddhists. Step outside the boundaries of being only with Buddhist
people, in Buddhist environments. There are many aspects to helping.
Education and cultivating positive qualities take them and readily share your knowledge. Go beyond Buddhist conceptions and the clinging to our Buddhist concepts in a limited way.
Q: What are the serious obstacles we Westerners should be aware of?
K: You should tell me what they are! Distractions are a great obstacle. It's a question for each of you. Often we get distracted by new objects. Protecting our minds is an individual endeavor. What
is important is to meet that with mindfulness, to distinguish what to adopt and what to reject. I'll pray for you that you don't experience great obstacles or if you do, I'll help remove them with
you. I'd be happy to fight the obstacles for you and we will see who wins! (big cheer from audience)
Since being in America, I have contracted many of your obstacles. When I get back to India, I'll have to practice really hard in order to remove them.
Q: Many students emphasize formal sitting but not much study. Can you talk/advise on this?
K: The fundamental difference between practice and study we study to increase our intelligence, further our knowledge on many topics but study is not genuinely connected to our heart, it's more connected to the brain. Practice leads to a genuine shift in our hearts and minds.
To practice however, without prior study is not good. If we don't know the reasons why we practice, it's not good. The real essential point brought forth by practice is to monitor the shift in our heart and mind. Feeling the process of positive qualities coming to light every day, delivering our heart to that state, is what we should aim for. If the mind stays at the level of conceptual dry practice however, then it's nothing more than study.
Genuinely practicing compassion, the mind and heart are not separated.
There should be a recognition of the vivid experience of mind taking on compassion itself. At the level of mere understanding or a little experience but no follow through is not genuine practice.
Q: Most lay practitioners have limited time and resources for formal extensive practice. How can we Western students best establish the lineage in our homelands?
K: You saved the worst question for last. (laughter) There should be a strong continuity of practice, a firm resolve. We should remind ourselves what we want to accomplish and refresh this resolve every day, for momentum on the path. Stick to this daily to witness progress. Body speech and mind have to work as servants of this goal.
Perhaps make a goal per month. Rely on mindfulness, set it up like the watchman. Create external supports such as `reminder notes' or use objects. When we work on computers, we take breaks to help our eyes. In the same way, we should take care of our minds, refresh them periodically, every hour or three times a day. Mindfulness is the seed you take with you and see how it grows.
In the West, there are no limits to our busy-ness.
We need to become teachers to ourselves, not just relying upon the instructions that our gurus provide but on our own instructions coming from ourselves. What we are lacking is instructions from ourselves -- we already have an abundance of our gurus' pith instructions. I have
started doing this - when I first arrived in India, there were no teachers yet to guide me so I rested my mind, relaxed and waited for that certain answer or instruction to come. We need to seek out
instructions from our own minds.
To end, the Karmapa said, "I'll come again, no matter how long it takes" and then he recited an aspiration prayer for the audience.
Sunday morning, June 1st, 2008
The Karmapa said that the 2nd Karmapa (Karma Pakshi) was an emanation of Chenrezig and therefore, there is no need to further research or trace the connection between Karmapa and Chenrezig.
The Karmapa's inspiration for Chenrezig is his blind grandmother who has already accumulated over 10 million Manis. She is still in Tibet and still remains so cheerful. Her recitation of the Manis is related to the great hope she has had for the future, it fills her with great joy. His mother is also on the way to approaching 10 million Manis. These [two] are influential figures for him. He grew up in a devotional environment to Chenrezig and that is his spiritual inheritance. Via phone, his mother told him that even if she only has the chance to do one Mani, she dedicates all the merit to him. And she aspires that it become part of his virtue. The love is passed down in the family, transmitted through the mantra. This is how it feels to him. It is his family heirloom, the most sacred and he is now offering it to all of us. This has been the profound gift of his family.
As for the connection with Chenrezig, it runs through the heart of every Tibetan. And also the Karmapa has a special connection to Chenrezig. May you enjoy the love and light of all the Karmapas.
The way to establish lineage in our homelands is to have strong resolve , a pure motivation and develop momentum in order to make progress.
Americans are very courageous, always speak of `possibility' and have a deep respect for the truth, these are good qualities on the spiritual path.
[These] Miscellaneous notes from Julie Adler & Daniel Kane [are posted here with his permission]
May they be of some benefit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LINKS
*
Tibet Connection Podcast [tc0508] June 29/08, at minutes 33:14 "Karmapa in Seattle"
(Karmapa explained by Himself, by others, old, new, Tibetan, Western, Chinese)
*
An Aspiration for the World (Karmapa's song set to music in English by C. Stagg & T. Dewar) mp3
o
May 25/08: Boulder, Colorado "Healing the World Through Awakening" or, how to relate to the world.
More From the Seattle Part of the Visit
* BlueOregon : "The Karmapa Visits the Northwest" by Jeff Allworth + comments by many.
o http://www.blueoregon.com/2008/05/the-karmapa-vis.html
* May 30/08, The Seattle Times (USA) "Seattle-ites Get Spiritual Insight: The Karmapa visits" by Janet I. Tu, religion reporter :
TIME magazine referred to him as "the world's next top lama."
Elle Magazine named him one of "25 People to Watch."
That's a lot of responsibility and acclaim for a 22-year-old.
But, in a sense, this young man was born into the role. He is the Karmapa, one of the most prominent lamas -- or teachers - in Tibetan Buddhism, and a person regarded as a likely successor to the Dalai Lama as the symbol of Tibetan Buddhism worldwide.
The Karmapa arrived Thursday in Seattle as part of a two-week U.S. tour -- his first visit to the West. He plans to meet with local Buddhists and give public teachings.
The Karmapa is traditionally regarded as third in prominence among lamas, after the Dalai and Panchen Lamas, said Robert Thurman, professor of Indo-Tibetan Studies at Columbia University and author of the new book "Why the Dalai Lama Matters."
The Karmapa's U.S. tour is significant, Thurman said, because "it's good for the world to note that there are these younger lamas who can become major spokespersons for the Tibetan people."
His visit is "a very big deal for us," said Dzogchen Ponlop, the Seattle-based Buddhist monk who organized the tour. "His presence brings a lot of blessings, a lot of inspiration."
Controversial matters
The 17th Karmapa, named Ogyen Drodul Trinley Dorje, was born to a nomadic family in eastern Tibet.
He is considered to be the reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa, although there is controversy surrounding the matter.
Another boy was also identified as being the reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa, and that young man also has a strong following, particularly in Asia and Europe. But most Tibetan Buddhists, especially in America, regard Ogyen Dorje as the Karmapa, and he was confirmed as such by the Dalai Lama, Thurman said.
The Karmapa -- who is a leader of the Kagyu order, one of the four major schools within Tibetan Buddhism -- made international news when he escaped Tibet eight years ago, fleeing across the Himalayas to India. There, he met with the Dalai Lama.
That was significant, Thurman said, because for centuries there was a strained relationship between the Kagyu school and the Gelug school, to which the Dalai Lama belongs.
That the Karmapa and Dalai Lama have a "wonderful mentor, senior-junior relationship bodes very well for unity between these important lamas and their orders," Thurman said. "This is very important for the unity of the Tibetan community."
Thurman also thinks the Karmapa's U.S. visit -- he spoke to sold-out audiences in New York and Boulder, Colo., earlier this month - could help gain support for the Tibetan cause.
Thurman said China believes "when the Dalai Lama is gone, people will forget about Tibet. This helps people know this is not going to be the case."
Nonpolitical motives
Nonetheless, the Karmapa's visit is nonpolitical, emphasized Ponlop, the tour organizer and Seattle-based monk who founded Nalanda West, a center in Fremont dedicated to fostering American Buddhism.
Unlike the Dalai Lama, who is both spiritual and [viewed as a] political leader of Tibetan Buddhists, the Karmapa's role has historically been spiritual, Ponlop said. "I don't see him getting involved in politics."
While the Karmapa will be teaching here, he will also be learning about the West.
"It's good to get him exposed to Western culture," said Ponlop, who has known the Karmapa since he was a boy.
Ponlop said the Karmapa is an inquisitive young man, open to ideas from the West. And "his participation in our goal to establish American Buddhism is indispensable."
America has an open, pioneering spirit, but at the same time, there is much anxiety, pain and rage, Ponlop said.
"There is this sense of need for spiritual insight," he said. The presence of the Karmapa "helps us connect with our own heart."
~ Janet I. Tu: jtu@seattletimes.com