His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, is speaking out on environmental issues. The Karmapa is the 22-year-old head of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.
In an essay translated into English, His Holiness discusses the connection between Buddhism and taking care of the Earth. He wants environmental issues to be taught in Kagyu monasteries, and he has called for increasing environmental activism among Kagyu monastics.
Development in Tibet in particular is causing environmental damage. Many ancient Tibetan Buddhist practices that protected the environment have been put aside. For example, once people would not wash or introduce soaps or chemicals into streams for fear of angering the nagas. Now nagas are considered a silly myth, and the streams are being polluted. "The traditional way of seeing things is gone, but has not been replaced by contemporary education about environmental protection," His Holiness said.
Photo Credit: NASA
It’s nice to see information and news about Buddhism spread on the Internet. But any article is misleading if it states that Orgyen Trinley is the head of the Karma Kagyu lineage without mentioning, even parenthetically, that the most senior of the Karma Kagyu Regents (whose responsibility it is to identify the reincarnation of Karmapa) rejects Orgyen Trinley and endorses Karmapa Thaye Dorje, who has a large and devoted following and who travels freely around the world.
Paul — Thank you for your comment. I intend to write more about this matter in the near future, possibly next week, in anticipation of Ogyen Trinley Dorje’s visit to the U.S.
Paul,
I am sorry you say Karmapa Orgyen Trinley was rejected by Karma Kaygu School. Actually major Rinpoches including Thrangu Rinpoches respects Orgyen Trinley as the reincarnation of 16th Karmapa. If you have watched Karmapa Orgyen Trinley’s speech or interview either on the internet or other places, you will see he is different and he has received very good feedback in his teaching in US.