A dream, a lion, an inescapable blade....

Thomas Brooks from Seattle offers this beautiful account of his encounter with His Holiness Karmapa.

After many years of anticipation, I finally saw His Holiness Karmapa at Nalanda West (in Seattle) on May 30th, 2008....

He is like a dream, I thought at first, and later as well. He appears also to be like a lion, or some other huge cat with a cauldron of awakened energy flashing out through the eyes, which seem to be two beautiful hooded windows offering glimpses into some radiant fiery universe within. Most of all, however: he is like a blade, a sword or perhaps Dorje Bernagchen's knife, an inescapable blade that cuts through all triviality, all hokum, all that is mundane, dead, asleep, inauthentic. He is gracious, graceful (all his physical movements and gestures are naturally beautiful), but he is utterly uncompromising. Only the truth will do, for him. Only the truth beyond flimsy appearances. He is heartbreaking, breathtaking, a source of ferocious delight, the cutting wind that sweeps away all facades. One wants to stare at him, drink him in, be slashed by the sword of wisdom. And yet he is kind: his fearlessness demonstrates the real world, the awakened world beyond suffering, beyond falsity. He leads one immediately beyond one's own folly. He is the gleaming blade of rejoicing; his words and voice make the Dharma direct and actual. No theory or ideas here: just the roar of clarity that relieves all this preposterous illusion. This is the presence of Mind.

Karmapa on PBS "Religion & Ethics Newsweekly"

While the Karmapa was in Seattle, Kim Lawton from the PBS program "Religion and Ethics Newsweekly" sat down for an exclusive television interview with His Holiness. Episode 1145 which contains the profile of His Holiness Karmapa aired for the first time on PBS stations around the country this weekend, and can be viewed online at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week1145/profile.html. Or check your local PBS listings to find out when the show will be rebroadcast in your area.

Karmapa Visit on Tibet Connection Radio Program

For a limited time*, the link below to the Tibet Connection website includes an audio feature story on His Holiness Karmapa's visit to America. This program aired Sunday, June 29th at 9am PST on KPFK Pacifica 90.7FM in Los Angeles and 98.7FM in Santa Barbara. Producer Julie Adler went to Seattle to create this special report on the historic first visit to the West of His Holiness Karmapa, who is fast becoming the hope for generations new and old of Westerners and Tibetans alike.

http://www.thetibetconnection.org/ournextprogram.html


* After the July program is posted later this month, the above URL may be refreshed with new content and features. At that point, readers can check the Past Programs page and search for the June program which features Julie Adler's report on His Holiness Karmapa's visit.