Karmapa's Aspiration for the World

Yesterday morning His Holiness Karmapa gave the Avalokiteshvara Empowerment to a sold-out house of 2,800 at Seattle's Paramount Theatre, and in the afternoon taught on his song "Aspiration for the World." Because we need to depend on things and people other than ourselves for every benefit that we experience in life, Karmapa taught, our happiness is therefore connected to other beings and their well-being. However, our habitual "me and mine" mentality of self-centricity does not bring us happiness -- rather, the source of happiness lies in working for the benefit of others, since our own happiness cannot come from anywhere else.

His Holiness Karmapa shared many personal stories from his own life to illustrate his teachings. Although the Gyalwang Karmapa is regarded by some as being a fully enlightened and faultless Buddha, nevertheless this has not prevented the Karmapa from experiencing hardship in life. The key, Karmapa said, is how we meet the hardships we encounter -- we can embrace hardships as opportunities to grow and think in different ways and create more benefit for ourselves and others. But often, we simply create a lot of negative "self-talk" about our situation that compounds more suffering onto the original hardship. We can learn to allow hardships to happen (since we cannot, in many cases, prevent them) but limit the self-talk about them.

Our minds, Karmapa said, often become like a motor that is always running at high speed -- but it does not always need to be running at high speed. Sometimes we need to shut down the motor and simply relax.

In the West we have experienced so many external advancements and technological benefits, yet we have also seen a corresponding increase of fear and suffering in people's minds, His Holiness said. This is related to our inability to cherish others -- our pattern of clinging solely to our own concerns, the habitual "me and mine" mentality. If we are not aware of how our happiness depends upon others and we do not work to benefit others, we end up with a society full of people who think only about themselves and act in ways that cause harm to themselves and those around them.

His Holiness expressed his profound gratitude to everyone who has helped make his first visit to America possible, and said that he has been very happy during his stay here -- and said he didn't quite realize this until someone showed him some of the photographs from his travels here, and he saw that he was smiling in many of the pictures. The Karmapa said that this surprised him somewhat, as he does not generally smile a great deal. His Holiness said that his happiness during his travels in America came from the fact that everyone around him was also happy and smiling -- a further illustration of his teaching that our happiness depends upon others.


Paramount Theatre before His Holiness Karmapa's teaching, May 31, 2008.
Photographer: James Gritz. Copyright 2008 by Karmapa Foundation.


Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche delivers opening
remarks before His Holiness Karmapa's teaching
at Paramount Theatre in Seattle, May 31, 2008.
Photographer: James Gritz. Copyright 2008 by
Karmapa Foundation.


A young Tibetan audience member waiting to see
His Holiness Karmapa. May 30th, 2008.
Photographer: James Gritz. Copyright 2008 by
Karmapa Foundation.


His Holiness Karmapa teaching at Paramount Theatre in Seattle, May 31,
2008. Photographer: James Gritz. Copyright 2008 by Karmapa Foundation.


His Holiness Karmapa at Seattle's Space Needle, May 30, 2008.
Photographer: James Gritz. Copyright 2008 by Karmapa Foundation.


His Holiness Karmapa enjoys a Seattle boat ride. May 30th, 2008.
Photographer: James Gritz. Copyright 2008 by Karmapa Foundation.


His Holiness Karmapa teaching at Paramount
Theatre in Seattle, May 31, 2008. Photographer:
James Gritz. Copyright 2008 by Karmapa Foundation.


His Holiness Karmapa addresses members of the West coast organizing
sanghas for the U.S. visit at Seattle's Paramount Theatre, May 31, 2008.
Photographer: James Gritz. Copyright 2008 by Karmapa Foundation.