His Holiness the Gyalwang Karmapa Returns from american Dharma Tour

His Holiness the Gyalwang Karmapa Returns from american Dharma Tour

August 5, 2011 - Dharamsala, Gyuto

His Holiness successfully completed a three-week trip to the United States, returning today to Dharamsala. During his Dharma tour, His Holiness the Karmapa received the Kalachakra initiation from His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Washington, and visited his main monastic seat in North America, as well as other centers under his spiritual guidance in the New York area . This was His Holiness' second trip overseas since his escape in 2000 from Tibet to his adopted home of India.
"It was a long-cherished wish of mine to be able to receive the Kalachakra initiation from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I am very grateful to have had this opportunity to visit my Dharma centers overseas and participate in religious activities there," His Holiness said upon his arrival in Delhi. "I am also happy to be home."
"We are thankful to the Indian government for this unequivocal sign of its confidence in His Holiness the Karmapa," said Karma Chungyalpa, Deputy General Secretary, Karmapa's Office of Administration. "We also thank the Tibetan Central Administration for their support of His Holiness throughout this tour."
During his three-week stay in the United States, His Holiness was welcomed by his disciples, who had eagerly anticipated his visit. Thousands of disciples of the Gyalwang Karmapa were able to meet their spiritual master, receive his blessings and listen to his Dharma discourses. Throughout his visit, His Holiness offered the Dharma again and again, with multiple public teachings, including a two-day teaching and transmission at his KTD Monastery in Woodstock, NY, an Avalokiteshvara initiation requested by his center in New Jersey, KTC-NJ, as well as a talk at Hunter College for the Tibetan community of the New York area, among others. The Gyalwang Karmapa also visited the Karmae Ling retreat center, an affiliate of KTD Monastery in Delhi, NY, where a large group of his disciples are currently engaged in a strict three-year retreat.KTC

International Campaign for Tibet

Won't you help the International Campaign for Tibet work to expose the injustices afflicted upon the Tibetan people by the Chinese government?

Today, the core of the Tibetan culture and religious leadership are under threat from the People's Republic of China.

I'm sure you know that Gedhun Choekyi Nyima - recognized at the age of six by the Dalai Lama to be the 11th incarnation of the Panchen Lama - was abducted with his family fifteen years ago by the Chinese government. Since that time, no one has been permitted to see or speak with him.

But the Panchen Lama is not the only important Tibetan lama who the Chinese authorities seek to control.

Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Karmapa.

The Karmapa, another important Tibetan religious figure, made the decision at only 14 years of age to leave his monastery in Tibet.

Asked how he came to that difficult decision he replied, "In Tibet there is religious freedom only in our minds."

"To carry out my responsibilities legitimately as the Karmapa, I must further my religious education and receive the teachings of other lamas. The Chinese authorities refused to let these teachers come to me in Tibet, so I had to leave my monastery and my community to find these teachers in exile."

Today in Tibet, the most prominent figures of one of the world's oldest and most sophisticated religious cultures face serious threats to their abililty to guide their people in wisdom and compassion.

The Panchen Lama remains in Chinese custody.

The Karmapa has been forced into exile.

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama.

And the Dalai Lama - forced from his homeland more than 50 years ago by the Chinese government - is continuing his efforts on the international stage to end what he describes as a kind of cultural genocide in his homeland.

China wants the world to ignore its policies in Tibet. It wants not only to choose the Panchen Lama and other teachers, but to select the next Dalai Lama to lock-in political and religious control over the Tibetan people.

The mission of the International Campaign for Tibet is clear: We must hold the Chinese government accountable for the violations against religious freedom, and we must ensure that the world responds with one voice. The future of Tibet is for the Tibetans to determine.

Please be as generous as you can by making a donation to support our work to protect Tibetan Buddhism and culture.

With my thanks,

Mary Beth Markey
President