His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje held a special session for the students of the Shamatha Meditation Course 2012 on 18th November 2012 at the main hall of the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute (KIBI).
The students, enrolled for the month long KIBI Shamatha course which had commenced on 8th November, availed this special session with a heartfelt reception of His Holiness. The students had looked forward to the session as a rare opportunity to seek guidance, inspiration and remove their misconceptions on the many issues of meditation directly from His Holiness.
His Holiness began by straightaway delving into the progress of the students, the lessons from their classes and their practice of meditation. His Holiness then encouraged the students to a vigorous Question & Answer session, which the students readily availed. The questions from the students covered a broad range from the technical details of Shamantha practice and personal experiences to philosophical questions on the subject of meditation.
His Holiness in response to all queries touched on the broad overarching as well as many precise points on the subject of meditation: about the interconnectedness between Madhyamika and meditation; how to integrate compassion with wisdom/emptiness; techniques of meditation such as the size of the object of focus and so on; parables of Buddha with the theme of meditation; pitfalls on the path of meditation such as faulty and emotional definition of results/experiences along the path; the interconnectedness between philosophy and practice and other related subjects.
All the guidance and advice delivered had a rich theme of encouragement for the students on the path of meditation as His Holiness quoted examples and teachings from the scriptures, instructions from his own teachers and other sources. His Holiness also guided the students with a rich array of advice on the proper ways of progressing on the path of meditation.
Thereafter, His Holiness presided over the daily evening Cherenzig sadhana. It was a matter of great auspiciousness for the whole congregation to chant and meditate in the presence of His Holiness.
At the end of a very enriching session, the students received personal blessings as well as another precious opportunity to clarify their very personal concerns directly to His Holiness.