The Traveling Karmapa

The Hammerstein Ballroom -- actually a theater, originally an opera house -- on Manhattan's West 34th Street holds about 3,000 people. From where I was sitting on Saturday afternoon it looked filled to capacity. There were Tibetan monks and nuns in mustard yellow and maroon robes; lay Tibetans, including children, in their best traditional dress; and many others clutching glossy commemorative programs.

We were there to see Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa. The reborn head of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism arrived in New York last Thursday to begin an 18-day tour of the U.S.

The program began with a video shown on two Jumbotron screens that provided background on the Kagyu tradition and the Karmapas. This was followed by an unannounced appearance by Lou Reed, who performed his songs "Perfect Day" and "Power of the Heart."

The audience sprang to its feet when the 22-year-old Karmapa walked onstage. His Holiness shook hands with Lou Reed, then seated himself on a white sofa in the middle of the stage. "Now it's my time," he said in English.

His Holiness spoke mostly in Tibetan (translated by a man also sitting on stage) on the cultivation of compassion and bodhichitta, the wish to realize enlightenment for the sake of all beings. Accompanied from the audience by the occasional tinkling cell phone and crying baby, His Holiness first addressed his own youth and relative inexperience. He has learned much from what people tell him of their lives, he said, and he intended to talk about "not my experience, but yours."

As we cultivate compassion in ourselves, we must examine our own motivations, he continued. Further, true compassion grows from the realization of no separation between self and other. "The Buddha experienced all beings as himself," His Holiness said.

The Karmapa addressed impediments, such as anger. "Anger is the rejection of what is unwanted," he said. Desire is the effort or impulse to attract that which is wanted. These habits of mind arise from seeing ourselves as separate from everything else.

The audience was charmed by some of the Karmapa's personal observations, such as calling New York City traffic an "intense emotional experience." In spite of the traffic, he had "really enjoyed" his first three days in America. He recalled first seeing Westeners -- "odd-looking people" -- when he was eight years old.

He ended his talk by remembering the suffering caused by the recent cyclone in Burma and earthquake in China. Aid to Burma may be compromised by the political situation there (although see my earlier post on ways to help Burma). However, he urged everyone to send whatever help they could to the earthquake survivors of China.

You can follow the remainder of the Karmapa's American tour on -- what else? -- the Karmapa's American Visit Blog. On May 23 he is giving another public teaching in New Jersey. On May 25 there will be public teachings in Boulder, Colorado. He will give public teachings in Seattle on May 31 and June 1.

Photo courtesy of Karmapa's Office of Administration.