His Holiness the XVIIth Gyalwa Karmapa, In India
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-Karma Triyana Dharmachakra

In conjunction with the ceremonies for the 60th anniversary of the enthronement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the latter gave an interview to the BBC in Dharamsala, and from Dharamsala participated in his first online internet forum, in which he answered questions live over the internet. The questions were selected by the BBC moderator from the thousands submitted by internet participants and callers from all over the world.

The Karmapa seeks "to help Tibetan Buddhism and the Tibetan people and that goal he cannot fulfill if he remains inside Tibet, and so there is no other alternative except to escape, and in spite of such a risk, he decided to leave."

--Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, 23 February, 2000 (BBC interview by Mike Woolridge in Dharamsala)

The interview was conducted by the BBC's Mike Woolridge, a highly skilled veteran BBC reporter who has been on the scene from Dharamsala at least since the Karmapa arrived there in early January. The BBC interview in streaming video is available at the BBC site. Woolridge noted that the Dalai Lama had been successful in raising Tibet as an issue in many world capitals, but asked whether there was any solution in sight. In response, the Dalai Lama noted that without a solution, the problems would be intractable, causing suffering for Tibetans and continuing environmental degradation, and problems and embarrassment for China. The tape then cuts to scenes of the Karmapa in Dharamsala, and Woolridge then notes at 0:59 of the segment that one major embarrassment for China had been caused by "the Karmapa, only 14, but one of the most senior Tibetan lamas and recognized by China, after his escape to Dharmshala last month." As footage of the Karmapa plays in the video, the following exchange about the Karmapa ensues:

BBC's Woolridge (1:14): He has now begun to emerge into the limelight, but some have continued to ask, could his flight have been stage-managed by China? Was it a plot to undermine the Dalai Lama? The Dalai Lama says he's convinced it wasn't.

[Off camera, Woolridge apparently asks why the Dalai Lama is convinced about the Karmapa's intentions, and the footage returns to the Dalai Lama answering the question as follows:]

The Dalai Lama (1:31): He tells me it is to help Tibetan Buddhism and the Tibetan people and that goal he cannot fulfill if he remains inside Tibet, and so there is no other alternative except to escape, and in spite of such a risk, he decided to leave.

These streaming video segments do not have the audio or video quality found in television, and the medium accordingly tends to make it more difficult to understand His Holiness' statements. However, by watching the video for visual clues while listening, it is possible to reconstruct His Holiness words accurately, particularly with some background in Tibetan Buddhism.

In a BBC news release about the interview, the BBC reports that the Dalai Lama in the interview "also spoke for the first time, of the escape from Tibet last month of the third-most important Tibetan spiritual leader, the fourteen-year-old Karmapa Lama. He said he believed the escape had been genuine, and not stage-managed by China. He said the Karmapa had told him that he felt he could best serve Tibetan Buddhism by escaping."

In the BBC online forum, His Holiness the Dalai Lama appeared live on computers all over the world as internet citizens tuned into the BBC's internet site. Viewers and internet participants were allowed to send in questions in advance for His Holiness. The moderator from the BBC selected a few from what he described as "thousands of questions" from all over the world. His Holiness' entire interview is fascinating and informative, and a video recording of the entire forum is available for viewing in streaming Real video format. The BBC separately reported in a BBC news release that "In a display of enthusiasm for the medium, the Dalai Lama used the one-and-a-half-minute delay in transmission of the interview to rush into an adjoining room to watch himself live on a computer linked to the internet." We strongly recommend viewing the recording of the online forum it in its entirety using the online streaming video.

One exchange concerned His Holiness Karmapa, and we necessarily confine ourselves to that question and answer here. A transcript of sorts is also published at the BBC site, but we independently transcribed the question and answer for this site, and in doing so noted that the orignal BBC transcription contained some inaccuracies in the initial rush to meet the internet speed schedule, but which have subsequently been corrected.

We again note, that the press, particularly the BBC, has fastened onto the phrase "the Karmapa Lama," even though the addition of "Lama" to "Karmapa" is not consonant with Tibetan linguistic practice. Notably, for example, the Dalai Lama refers to the Karmapa as "the Karmapa." Moreover, we believe that if there is any value in the political correctness 'movement,' it is in teaching that such uneducated use of apparently transparent phraseology may in fact convey inappropriate connotations.

The segment in question begins at about 11:10.00 on the tape. Our transcription of the question and answer: 

Russell Timmerman, Canada: Sir what is your official relationship to the Karmapa Lama? What is his spiritual and political role compared to yours?

Dalai Lama: Of course, the Karmapa is one of the highest religious leaders in the community. The late 16th Karmapa--since the early 50's, you see, we had become very close friends with each other. Anyway, now this young, new Karmapa, before he left Tibet, the last few years, his sort of natural potential or quality, was becoming quite positive; then all of a sudden he reaches Dharamsala, and everybody is surprised. A complete surprise. Then we met, and I noticed his spirit is very clear and very strong; the main motivation of his coming, is the service to the Dharma and the Buddha; that goal defines Buddhism, you see, if you will. Of course still he is very young. My major concern is that he must complete his proper education and practice. There is good potential, so proper study and practice is very, very necessary. Of course he is one of the important, high reincarnations, so if he is properly developed and trained, certainly he can make a great contribution to the dharma.

The BBC's report on the forum in its news release stated that "Answering a question from Canada on the role of the young leader, the Dalai Lama described him as 'one of the highest leaders in the community' and said he possessed a 'very clear and strong' spirit. 'If he is properly developed and trained, certainly he can make a great contribution,' he said."

The BBC interview in streaming Real video format is at the BBC website.The streaming video of the forum with His Holiness Dalai Lama is also available, as is a partial transcript of the question and answer forum and BBC news release about the forum.

-Informal reports from Dharamsala regarding His Holiness Karmapa's informal remarks

Translation of His Holiness informal remarks by Department of Information and International Relations, Central Tibetan Administration, Dharamsala, H.P., India

Photo #1of His Holiness speaking at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts

AP photo #2

In connection with his attendance at celebrations in honor of the Dalai Lama, noted below, the Karmapa made his first public comments in Dharamsala over the weekend, which were reported in numerous media outlets around the world, and summarized in part, below. Since we posted references to some of the initial press reports of the Karmapa's remarks, we have heard additional comments from people in Dharamsala that indicate there may have been some inaccuracies with the initial accounts due to translation problems and unfamiliarity of the press with the style of the remarks.

We are attempting to obtain the actual speech and a better translation, but until that time will give our best shot as to what transpired based on a variety of second-hand accounts we are receiving.

According to traditions of the Kagyu lineage stretching back hundreds, or even thousands, of years, the young Karmapa must receive teachings, training and transmission from lineage holders of the Kagyu tradition, in order for him to fulfill his traditional role within the Kagyu lineage. These transmissions are part of the practice of creating a continuous line of oral instructions that are passed down from mouth-to-ear between teacher and student over the ages. Tibetan Buddhists trace Buddhist oral teachings through lineage holder lines going back hundreds of years, and some oral teachings are said even to extend over 2,500 years to Buddha Sakyamuni.

The 16th Karmapa, who received these oral teachings from his teachers, in turn passed them on to lineage holders like Their Eminences Tai Situ Rinpoche and Gyaltsab Rinpoche. They in turn are responsible for teaching the 17th Karmapa. Those teachers had left Tibet, however, in the troubled years, and the 17th Karmapa's teachers were not allowed to teach him in Tibet, because they resided in exile and could not obtain visas to reenter Tibet on a regular basis. Similar discontinuities are threatening other Tibetan Buddhists schools. Barring exiled lineage holders from Tibet threatens to break the continuity of the oral tradition, on which all Tibetan schools are founded. The inability to practice the hallowed traditions of the each school's lineage also undermines the religious and educational systems designed to preserve Tibet's culture and its religious heritage, and has similar detrimental impact on other traditions. In this context, His Holiness made the following remarks in Dharamsala:

"Generally speaking, many parts of the world suffer from strife and deprivation of freedom. In the particular case of our snow land of Tibet, Buddhism and Buddhist system flourished there in the past. However, over the last two or three decades, Tibet has suffered great losses. Tibetan religion and culture have reached the point of complete destruction. I pray that the Tibetan people achieve happiness as a result of the efforts of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Boddhisattva motivation of the great spiritual beings of all sects, and the common merit and prayers of the Tibetan people themselves.

"I am actually an ordinary refugee from Tibet. But I have now become a famous refugee in this Arya land of India. This is due to the grace of the Indian leaders and people, great efforts of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the concerns of the great spiritual beings of all sects. I wish to thank the Tibetan people in different parts of the world and the media persons for showing interest in my case."

Two new photos taken of His Holiness Karmapa during the remarks he made at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts are available from the Associated Press. They are available on the Excite website as AP photo #1 and Photo #2.

-UPDATED

-The New York Times

Poughkeepsie Journal

The New York Times reported on Friday that Woodstock Monastery is preparing for a visit by His Holiness Karmapa. Karma Triyana Dharmachakra ("KTD"), in Woodstock New York, is the North American seat of His Holiness, the XVIIth Gyalwang Karmapa, as it was for His Holiness the XVIth Gyalwang Karmapa, who stayed in Woodstock when he was in North America. As Barbara Crossette describes the scene, "In late December, one of Tibetan Buddhism's highest-ranking lamas, a 14-year-old monk known as the 17th Karmapa, made a spectacular flight from his Chinese keepers in Tibet. Ever since, the monastery here that was designed to be his home in the West has been filled with joy and anticipation."

The 16th Karmapa was the primary spiritual energy behind the establishment of the Kagyu religion in the West, and many centers  in North America, Europe and Asia were started or built during his lifetime. After his death in 1981, Kagyu institutions began the long period of waiting for the 17th Karmapa, wishing that he could physically visit their centers again, since he represented in the most palpable way the extraordinary spiritual force of the Kagyu lineage. KTD exemplifies the vast worldwide community of Kagyu centers and their practitioners. At those centers, joy and excitement has suddenly arisen after years of waiting for the appearance of His Holiness. It is in part this history which explains the impatience in the Kagyu and wider community, as the world watches and waits for India's decision with respect to His Holiness' status, and why it is important that he be provided a status that allows him to travel to visit all his Kagyu organizations, wherever located. 

Officials at KTD say that a visit of His Holiness there is a certainty, and hope that it can even be scheduled within a year. The visits of the 16th Karmapa required enormous planning, coordination and resources. Given the activity of the 17th Karmapa so far, even more work will be necessary to provide an appropriate environment for him when he begins to visit his students around the world. Indeed, the sudden appearance of His Holiness has stirred meditation centers and monasteries all over the world into a whir of activity, as Kagyu organizations everywhere begin to ready themselves for a possible visit. 

While KTD waited for its seat holder to return to his North American seat, it has over the last decades constructed a wonderful monastery on top of Overlook Mountain in Woodstock, New York. The building mixes traditional Tibetan decoration and design with building materials, standards, and architectural concepts appropriate to 21st century North America. Crossette describes the centerpiece of the monastery, "the dazzling central shrine at Woodstock, with its 11-foot tall golden Buddha image and walls hung with religious paintings known as thangkas (pronounced TONG-kas) mounted on fine brocades." The KTD website at www.kagyu.org features breathtaking photos of the monastery, and even a photo album of the history of its elaborate construction and decoration , begun in 1982, substantially completed in the early 1990's, with numerous decorative refinements continuing to this day. KTD is now commencing another major renovation project, which will be needed to fully prepare KTD as a proper seat for His Holiness in North America.

KTD is headed by two main teachers, Bardor Tulku Rinpoche and Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche. Crossette interviewed the former: "'The 16th Karmapa established his main seat in America because of his vision of the future,' said Bardor Tulku Rinpoche, a Tibetan exile who was sent to the United States by the 16th Karmapa two decades ago. . . . 'What we strongly feel is in the West many of the Westerners have a very strong karma in the past, and the time has come to connect,' he said."

Crossette also elicits a rare public statement from the famous jazz musician Thomas Schmidt, who left the more established music scene a number of years ago to assist the 16th Karmapa. Now a central figure in preparing for the 17th Karmapa, he also "directs music and recording activities for the monastery." Some of his productions are available at Karma Thegsum Choyang Music.

As for the daily environment of the monastery, Crossette also interviewed Trinley Chojor, who noted that "It's very tranquil and relaxing around here, which is nice . . . . It's actually a great relief to be here in the tranquillity and freedom that this country provides."

Poughkeepsie, New York, is a small city close to Woodstock. The Poughkeepsie Journal also ran a story about the preparations at KTD for the arrival of His Holiness, based on an interview with the "secretary of the corporation," Michael Doran, who is responsible for making the KTD administration function smoothly, and for relations with the affiliates of KTD located throughout North America. Doran noted that KTD had been preparing for 20 years for the arrival of His Holiness.

 "'It means everything to us. It's pretty clear people from all over the world will come to see him,' said Doran. Woodstock — described as 'an icon of world peace,' by Doran — was chosen as the monastery site because of the town's reputation as a beacon for diversity and also due to good, old-fashioned lobbying. 'It's a perfect home for the Karmapa. It's the only place where he can be accepted into the community without much upheaval. Western people said, "Please build us a place where we can study the teachings of the Buddha in an authentic way."'"

The New York Times article is available at its website. Those who wish to learn more about the monastery may also visit KTD's website at www.kagyu.org, which features many beautiful photos of the monastery, as well as extensive information about the teachers and the lineage. The Poughkeepsie Journal article is currently available at its website.