A Gift of Dharma for 10.22.09
by Danny Fisher
Today’s quote comes to us from His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje. His Holiness is the leader of the Karma Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism, and the author of The Future is Now: Timely Advice for Creating a Better World and Environmental Guidelines for Karma Kagyu Buddhist Monasteries, Centers and Communities. The Karmapa managed a daring escape from Tibet in 1999, and is currently in residence at Gyuto Tantric Monastery, near Dharamsala, India.
It should be noted that there is some disagreement among Tibetan Buddhists about who the real 17th Karmapa is. Although Ogyen Trinley Dorje has been recognized by, among others, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and the Chinese government as the 17th Karmapa, there is a vocal contigent who assert that it is in fact a young man named Trinley Thaye Dorje. Of the controversy, one of my own teachers, Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche, has said, “As far as my father [Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche] was concerned, they were both to be respected and perceived with pure appreciation.” This, I think, is the important point.
Here’s the quote:
Our priceless pure heart is not something that can be purchased at a pharmacy, poured into our body, or obtained through a cure. If we went to a major city looking to buy it, we could not purchase this pure heart no matter what price we were willing to pay. How do we find it? With the sincere wish to discover it, we discipline our mind with our mind. When such a motivation is born within us, we and others are benefitted and so our lives become meaningful. With a pure motivation that does not wane and with great courage that does not despair, may each one of us endeavor to make our lives meaningful.
I was just wondering why the opinion of the Chinese government as to who the real 17th Gyalwang Karmapa is? They have no respect for the country or its people, and while I agree we should be in dialogue with them, it should be limited, and they should not have the right to decide who Tibetans’ religious leaders are, or anything of that nature. Its a poor comparison, but that’d be kind of like if America invaded Vatican city and announced they had the right to decide who was going to be pope next. Why are we being so permissive with the Chinese?
The first sentence of that should read “why the opinion of the Chinese government as to who the real 17th Gyalwang Karmapa is MATTERS?”
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