Nurture the Tradition Of Harmonious Living

Jan 16, 2004, 12.00am IST


Karmapa comes from the word karma or karmaka, which means activity. The Karmapas are the first to have realised successive reincarnations. This unbroken succession of masters who have preserved and transmitted the instructions of the Karma Kagyu tradition is referred to as the ‘Golden Rosary’.

Hence in the Kagyu lineage and practice, the oral teachings and the master-disciple relationship are of supreme significance.

The process of choosing the spiritual head, the Kar-mapa, is intricate. Generally, it is not easy to recognise a rebirth or reincarnation.

This is hidden from ordinary minds. Normally, individuals have no idea as to who is the incarnation of whom. It takes certain blessed individuals with a particular insight into the past, the present and the future, to be able to do this.

In reference to the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, the Karmapa lineage started with its first Karmapa way back in 1110-1193.

The general emphasis is on the doctrines of the Buddha, but more signi-ficantly, the Mahamudra path of meditation, which is of course based on Buddhist views and tenets but with particular emphasis on the practice of meditation.

In order to understand the nature of the mind and to evolve spiritually, one needs to do spiritual practice.

This tradition of the path of Mahamudra can be practised either in serene mountains or when taking part in some retreats with the monastic community or through the discipline of monasticism, the purpose being to gain self-realisation.

Buddha’s philosophy revolved around attaining freedom from the samsaric state. He taught that enlightenment or embodiment is not something that can be gifted to anyone.

Buddha shows the path of know-ledge and enlightenment to his disciples, but implementation of the knowledge is something that the disciple must accomplish on his own.

To attain liberation, one should follow two essentials: karuna or compassion, prajana or wisdom. In spiritual terms, compassion and the wisdom of Shunyata (realisation of the empty nature of things) should go hand in hand.

This needs to be understood not merely by the ordinary gross intelligence but by a refined wisdom combined with the deep understanding of unconditional refined compassion. A combination of these two leads to liberation.

To make these Buddhist teachings available widely, an institute has been established in the Capital where Buddhist studies are taking place.

For a peaceful future, there are three spheres one can think about: The past, the present and the future. The past, which is in the memory realm, is insigni-ficant. Similarly, to ponder over the present is not of much use, as the present is not stationary.

The future is the only area on which we can focus. And shaping the future is completely in the hands of the youth. With the increasing trend to acquire large-scale destructive potentialities, the world is becoming only more insecure.

So the youth should be trained to cultivate altruistic intentions and nurture a clear consciousness. Secondly, the right kind of education should be imparted and this, combined with a ‘carrying consciousness’, could hold out hope for lasting peace in the world.

Regardless of however genuinely altruistic you are, without the means to put it into use, you remain ‘ignorant’. Peaceful traditions and heri-tage should be handed down to successive generations so that there is less disharmony and destruction.

Urgyen Trinlay Thaye Dorje

( The Karmapa is the 17th spiritual head of the Karma Kagyu tradition, one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He spoke to Niti Panta .)