Category: Texts
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The 17 Gyalwa Karmapa’s Talk on Practicing Compassion and Understanding Impermanence
I hope you all had a good pilgrimage. ‘Good’ meaning a journey with positive and moving experiences that will change your perspective on how you have lived your life so far;
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Lama Jampa Thaye: An Introduction to Mahamudra
The following is a transcript of Lama Jampa Thaye’s teaching ‘An Introduction to Mahamudra’ given at an evening public lecture at K.I.B.I. in November 2015. If you would like to learn more about Lama Jampa Thaye and his activities, please visit the Teachers Section and Lama Jampa Thaye’s website. K.I.B.I. regularly offers a number of public…
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H.H. Gyalwa Karmapa’s Introduction to KIBI’s 2015/2016 Academic Year
“I welcome you back once again for the KIBI Academic Course. I can see that many familiar faces are here once again. I hope all of you here are well. I heard that from tomorrow onwards you will be away (on a University trip to Rajasthan) for a few days, for some new experiences. I…
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Message For The Young People Of India
Today marks the UN International Youth Day, and in just a few days, on 15th August, is India’s Independence Day. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to speak directly to the young people of India, who have not only an important role to play in directing the future of their nation, but in…
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Karmapa’s speech to mark the one year anniversary of Shamar Rinpoche’s passing
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone and offer my gratitude and appreciation to all of you for being here. I can see devotees of His Holiness Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche – many old devotees, friends and disciples, practitioners, and of course the Venerables. I would like to take a moment to remind…
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How do you love those who are cruel to you?
First of all, there are countless quotations from great masters, like Shantideva and so on.
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Why do we fear our greater abilities?
We fear our greater abilities due to a lack of experience. If we know how to channel our abilities then we will never fear. But if we don’t know how to handle them, then of course we fear them all the time.
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Karmapa’s Official Address on Vesak 2015
Dear friends, To all those affected by the earthquake that struck Nepal and neighbouring countries, I offer my deepest condolences and most heartfelt prayers on this day of Vesak, the day that marks the birth, enlightenment and passing of Buddha. I cannot even imagine just how hard it must be for all of you, losing…
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What Kind of Happiness Are You Seeking?
How much do we really know about happiness? From a Buddhist perspective, all sentient beings, including animals, seek happiness. We have a subconscious instinct to seek happiness — even though many of us don’t have a clear idea what it is, or how to achieve it.
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What is a Good Practice to Start With for People Who are New to Tibetan Buddhism?
Traditionally, when you begin Tibetan Buddhist practice, you take refuge in the Three Jewels, and start with the preliminary practices. But personally, I feel that if one is truly starting from step one, you must first have this attitude: ‘I want to be decent. I want to draw from the Inner Wealth within.’ This is…
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Khenpo Karma Ngedön on the Purpose of Dharma Studies
Introduction First of all, I would like to pay my greetings to every one of you here. I was fortunate to join, fortunate to come to KIBI and to participate in the Public Meditation Course, fortunate that I could share some words and some teachings with you. Today I do not have a particular subject…
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Teachings About Initiations
Karmapa’s teachings about initiations, given on the first day of The Karmapa Public Course-2015.
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Is Understanding Fear Beneficial?
Fear. We all experience it.
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Questions about practice
Here are questions and answers about practice.
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What is the Purpose of Taking the Sojong Vows on Buddha Purnima?
Buddha Purnima is an auspicious day. A precious day. A day that all of us celebrate – all of us as students of Buddha Shakyamuni. While the date of Buddha Purnima varies with different traditions, as Buddhists we all agree that during this month we celebrate the life of a person who was very precious…
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Is it True that Buddhists don’t Believe in God?
It is a very interesting and important question, and a simple yes/no answer would not suffice. Therefore, a little elaboration is required.
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What is Stopping Me from Realizing My True Nature, the Buddha Nature?
Perhaps it is a lack of a sense of adventure that is holding us back from realizing our true nature. It is easy to get used to the mundane life, the daily routines. As a result, we don’t want to let go of our familiar atmosphere, the life that we are used to. We are…
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How a True Buddhist Can Lead a Normal, Non-Monastic Life?
The poem ‘Letter to a Friend’ by Nagarjuna beautifully sets out some basic guidelines for a non-ordained person to live their life.
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What is the Best Practice to Work with Speech? How to Make it Become Buddha Speech?
I think a simple answer would be that any speech that comes from a kind heart (in the unemotional sense) would help make it more like Buddha speech.
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What is the Pure View?
My question is about pure view and the ability to discriminate. If one practices pure view of everyone, would it inhibit our ability to judge people and matters and function in daily life?
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How Can Buddhism Help Us to Avert the Crisis on Earth?
Question: global warming suggests that one day the earth will be uninhabitable. Governments seem too slow and in some cases unwilling to act for change, so how can Buddhism help us to avert this crisis?
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How to Balance Practice and Mundane Life?
Realisation of impermanence is an important part of building the motivation to practice. However, lay persons are mostly still caught up with work and family, and the time left for dharma study, inner reflection and meditation becomes little.
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How to Help My Mum Who is Dying of Cancer?
I believe that when anyone is in this kind of condition – be it cancer or any other form of illness – in these difficult moments, I think there is only one thing that we can provide.
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Why is it So Important to Have a Spiritual Teacher?
Question: Is it necessary to practice the spiritual practice only under proper guidance by a teacher, or can we start on our own if we have faith in what we do? If the beginning of all knowledge is to know yourself and we have all the answers within ourselves, why is it so important to…
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Day of Peace
Dear dharma friends, I am delighted to share this message as Faith in Peace Ambassador for Peace Day on 21st September 2013. With the United Nations Secretary-General and countless others supporting this global day of peace, this is an auspicious moment indeed.
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September 11th: Nonviolence and Compassion
September 11th marks the anniversary of the tragic events in New York and Washington in 2001. Nearly 3000 people were killed in the attacks, causing huge suffering and loss, still felt to this day. In the face of violence, where is there hope?
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Finding Freedom
Most of us tend to think about freedom as being able to say and do what we want. We think of freedom as depending on external circumstances. If we can’t do what we want, we think, this is largely due to society’s constraints on us. So, naturally, we think of ‘others’ as the enemies of…
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About Buddha Purnima
It is a very special day for all practitioners of Buddhism, because it is the anniversary of three important events in Lord Buddha’s life.
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Wars of Words Are Violent, Too
The so-called war of words involving North Korea, South Korea and the United States, raises an important question for our time: how do we define violence?