The Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism traces its origin back to Buddha Shakyamuni. The most important source of the Kagyu order is traced back to the great Indian yogi Tilopa (988-1069), one of the 84 mahasiddhas of India, who first developed the spontaneous insight. He gained this realization through the methods that were taught by the historical Buddha Shakyamuni to his closest students, methods that continued to be practiced during the time of Tilopa. In turn, the realization or these masters was passed down to their disciples through the great forefathers of the lineage: Indian mahasiddha Naropa, Marpa-the great translator, Milarepa-the greatest yogi of Tibet, and then to Gampopa-whose coming was prophesied by the Buddha. The lineage of the Kagyu emphasizes the continuity of oral instructions passed on from master to student, from whence the name "Kagyu" derives.
His Holiness Gyalwang Karmapa, during the annual Great Kagyu Monlam in Bodhgaya, where the Buddha attained enlightenment. His Holiness completed his Fall-Winter Tour for 2006-2007.
His Holiness Gyalwang Karmapa, from a recent photograph. His Holiness is now 22 years of age (according to the reckoning of the Western calendar system).
Music
Sweet Melody of Joyful Aspiration -- by H. H. the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa
Books
Ceremony of Offering to the Gurus, by H.H. The 17 th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje
Dance of 17 lives: The incredible Trae Store of Tibet..s 17th Karmapa
By. MIck Brown
Karmapa: The Politics of Reincarnation
By: Lea Terhune
Music in the Sky; The Life, Art and Teachings of the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje By: Michele Martin
Since the Twelfth Century, people in the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism have revered the Karmapas as spiritual leaders, just as people in the Gelugpa tradition are devoted to the Dalai Lamas. The Sixteenth incarnation, H.H. Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, helped to save thousands of people and many sacred texts and art treasures from the Communist invasion of Tibet. He died near Chicago in 1981.
The 16th Karmapa saw this flag in a dream. He called it Namkhyen Gyaldar -- "Victorious Flag of the Buddha's Wisdom" -- and announced "Wherever this banner is flown, the Dharma will flourish."
The Ocean of Wisdom Tibetan: gyalwa or Mongolian: dalai as in Gyalwa Karmapa or Dalai Lama
At the level of relative truth, the blue is the sky (heaven), symbolizing spiritual insight and vision, and the yellow is the earth, the actual world of our everyday experience. The symmetry of the wave pattern shows how we come to understand their interdependence when we practice the dharma.
As a reminder of absolute truth, the blue symbolizes the wisdom, or emptiness aspect of awakened being, while the yellow stands for the compassion aspect. The wavy intermingling of the two colors represents their inseparability.
The interdependence shown in the flag can also be seen as the wisdom of Mahamudra, the ultimate realization of ones true nature..
"There is a new logo for the Monlam this year, and I would like to explain it:"
(...)
"This is a symbol of the Kagyu Monlam. We hold the Kagyu Monlam for the benefit of the entire world. We will not give up on the earth! May there be peace on earth! May the earth be sustained for many thousands of years! These are the prayers we make at the Kagyu Monlam, which is why this symbol is the logo of the Kagyu Monlam. I also think this might become a symbol of people having affection for the earth and wanting to protect it".
The Kagyu Office website presents extensive information on His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa. The oficial page provides links to sections on His Holiness's current activities and schedule, as well as his personal history, from his recognition through his life in Tibet, his escape to India, to the current day.
Below is an overview of the life of His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa.
Karmapa means "the one who carries out buddha-activity" or "the embodiment of all the activities of the buddhas." In the Tibetan tradition, great enlightened teachers are said to be able to consciously arrange to be reborn as a teacher who can carry on the teachings of a predecessor in a prior life. Pursuant to this tradition, the Karmapas have incarnated in this form of manifestation body (Skt. nirmanakaya), for seventeen lifetimes, as of the present, and all have played the most important role in preserving and propagating the Buddhist teachings of Tibet.
Prior to the birth of the first Karmapa, the arrival of a Buddhist master who would be known as the Karmapa was been prophesied by the historic Buddha Shakyamuni and the great tantric master of India, Guru Padmasambhava. Throughout the centuries, Karmapas have been the central figure in the continuation of the vajrayana lineage in general and Kagyu lineage in particular, and have played a very important role in the preservation of the study and practice lineages of Buddhism.
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H.H. The 16 Th Karmapa (left) and H.H. The 17Th Karmapa (right)
Birth and Early Years of the 17th Karmapa
In 1985 a male infant was born into a nomad family in the Lhatok region of Eastern Tibet. In the months prior to his birth, his mother had wonderful dreams during her pregnancy. On the day of his birth, a cuckoo landed on the tent in which he was born, and a mysterious conch-like sound was heard by many throughout the valley in which the family of the infant lived. .
In Tibet, such events are considered auspicious portents of the birth of an enlightened teacher.
The young nomad was called Apo Gaga. While his early years seemed, to his family, full of blessing, at first Apo Gaga did not talk of any connection to the Karmapas. However, in 1992, he asked his family to move the location of their nomadic home to another valley, and told them to expect a visit from traveling monks. Soon after setting up their home in the new location, followers of the Sixteenth Karmapa came to that valley pursuant to the secret instructions of the Sixteenth Karmapa, contained in his lrtter of prediction. The birth and the other details of Apo Gaga's life matched the predictions of the letter. Apo Gaga was discovered to be the Seventeenth Karmapa, Ogyen Drodul Trinley Dorje.
In addition to his letter of prediction, the Sixteenth Karmapa wrote many poems, or songs, predicting that though he would leave his traditional main seat in Tsurphu, Tibet, he would soon return to Tsurphu again, that his root teacher would be HE Situ Rinpoche, and that he would study in India. After the death of the 16th Karmapa, it became clear that these predictions applied to his successor. Furthermore, the 19th Century master Chogyur Lingpa made a number of predictions about the lives of the Karmapas, and for the 17th, Chogyur Lingpa's predictions matched the details of His Holiness's birth. Since these predictions were to be fulfilled in themselves without recognition by any other master, it is traditionally said that the Karmapa is "self-recognized."
In His Holiness's historic return to Tsurphu Monastery, Tibet in June 1992, he donned ritual clothing and approached on horseback
The Karmapa's Return To Tsurphu In Tibet, The Historic Seat Of The Karmapas
The Seventeenth Karmapa did in fact return to Tolung Tsurphu Monastery in Central Tibet in 1992, where he was enthroned on September 27, 1992, with the permission of the Chinese government. The granting of permission by the Chinese was a first in Tibet.
At Tsurphu, over 20,000 supplicants assembled to witness the return of His Holiness Karmapa. The following morning, some 25,000 people filed before His Holiness to receive a personal blessing.
At Tsurphu, the Karmapa studied the Buddhist sciences of mind, learned ritual, and practiced sacred arts, such as dance. Each day he received hundreds of visitors from throughout Tibet and around the world. He eventually began to offer empowerments and participated in various rituals at the monastery. At the age of about 10, His Holiness recognized the rebirth of reincarnate teachers, including such eminent teachers as Pawo Rinpoche, Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche and the Dabzang Rinpoche.
While His Holiness was at Tsurphu, the monastery underwent extensive rebuilding to restore the temples, shrines, stupas, a shedra, and residences that had been destroyed over the years, fulfilling one of the main duties of a Karmapa. As the years went by, however, His Holiness came under increasing pressure from Tibetan and Chinese authorities to act in ways which were contrary to his obligations as a Karmapa. He publically refused to denounce the Dalai Lama and to recognize the Panchen Lama, and engaged in numerous other acts which were contrary to the wishes of the authorities.Though he was under constant surveillance from the Chinese government, who refused to grant him permission to leave the country even for a short time, he and a handful of attendants concocted a bold scheme to escape from Tibet to India. Finally, in 1999, recognizing perhaps that his usefulness in Tibet was being undermined, he decided to leave.
Holiness the Gyalwang Karmapa meets His Holiness the Dalai Lama for the first time upon his arrival in Dharamsala on January 5, 2000
Karmapa's Great Escape
After months of careful planning, on December 28, the fourteen-year-old Karmapa pretended to enter into a solitary retreat, and instead, donned civilian garb and slipped out a window. Leaving Tsurphu Monastery with a handful of attendants, he began a daring escape by car, foot, horseback, helicopter, train and taxi, a heroic journey which was to become the stuff of headlines throughout the world. On January 5, 2000 he arrived, to the the great surprise and overwhelming joy of the world, in Dharamsala, India, where he was met by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. He received refugee status from the government of India in 2001.
His Holiness has since 2000 continued to live near Dharamsala. He has been permitted by Indian governmental authorities to engage in tours to Buddhist sites in India, and annually travels to Bodhgaya and Sarnath for important Kagyu ceremonies over which he presides. He has also travelled to Ladakh, Tibetan settlements in southern India, Calcutta and elsewhere in Himachal area. His Holiness still awaits permission from the Indian authorities to leave Dharamsala and return to Rumtek Monastery the tradicional seat of the Karmapas in India.
Information about His Holiness's extensive activities since his arrival and his current schedule are also available at his official website.
THE KARMAPA MANTRA (For more information please see my blog)
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TIBET..S STOLEN CHILD
The 11 Th. Panchen Lama
Tibet..s stolen child is Gedhun Choekyi Nyima the boy recognized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as one of Tibet..s most important religious leaders. He is known as the Panchen Lama and is one of the young victims of China..s brutal repression of the Tibetan people. Determined to control religion in Tibet, the Chinese authorities kidnapped this young boy and his family in 1995 just days after he was recognized as the Panchen Lama. He is growing up under house arrest.Despite repeated appeals to gain access to him, no international agency or human rights organization has been granted contact with the young Panchen Lama or His family. But the story is not over. Suspicions that he had been kidnapped were confirmed in 1996, when the Chinese government admitted to holding the boy and his family in "protective custody" After repeated attempts to locate and visit the boy, not one international agency or human rights organization has been allowed to meet with the Panchen Lama or his family, and their condition remains uncertain. Furthermore, in an attempt to establish their pre-eminence in all "internal affairs" of China, political or otherwise, the atheistic Chinese government nominated and selected their own 11th Panchen Lama in November 1995. Their selection, a six year-old boy named Gyaltsen Norbu,is another young victim in China..s plan to undermine and control the Tibetan people, their religion,and their nation.
Please, Click On the pic or HERE to sign the petition for the release of the 11th Panchen Lama thank you very much for your kind help!
RELATED CLICKABLE LINKS
HH the 17th Karmapa Chants the Karmapa Mantra (Karmapa Khenno)
Official MySpace of H.H. The 17th Gyalwang Karmapa's Friend Space (Top 3)
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may You be happy as we are through Your presence; may Your teachings keep reaching many hearts as the stars, and may Your life glows brighter and brighter dissipating our ignorance.Have a happy birthday! KARMAPA KHENNO!
happy birthday and on this day..we are closer and closer to being awake..eat your cake and taste the wine..and say to yourself it is divine..the beautiful way we get home..and let today be another happy steppingstone.
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