September 2024 Newsletter
His Holiness Karmapa's thoughts on the Mikyo Dorje Institute
During his recent, wonderful visit to the north of England, His Holiness Karmapa graciously gave some time to attend a presentation at Kagyu Ling, on the Mikyo Dorje Institute.
His Holiness listened to the story of the Institute so far, including Karma Thinley Rinpoche’s original inspiration for the project, the commissioning of the beautiful painting, the kind and generous support of the Dechen sangha, and the exciting prospect of Haughton Farm as a potential location for the Institute.
Haughton Farm
When the story was finished, Lama Jampa asked His Holiness to advise us what we need to do to accomplish the Institute.
His Holiness responded by explaining that he had spent the first 11 years of his life in Tibet, during which time he was unaware of the ‘outside world’. When he eventually came out of Tibet, he was quite shocked to see that the dharma had taken deep root in the West, which has a very different culture, different values and so on. His Holiness said that it was a particularly wonderful surprise to see the traditional aspects of Tibetan dharma being embraced within the environment of Kagyu Ling.
His Holiness then reflected on the purpose of the Mikyo Dorje Institute, first placing it in the context of the other projects in the Buddhist world as well as specifically in the Tibetan Buddhist and Kagyu communities.
His Holiness said that it is quite natural for Tibetans to talk about undertaking such projects ‘for the lineage’, as this term is deeply understood throughout the Himalayan region. However, he said that for Westerners this term could actually be a bit confusing and that it would be simpler to use the term ‘happiness’ – in fact, the project is just about plain, simple happiness and what will really make the project beautiful - more than statues and so on – is the deep shared experiences and wonderful memories of everyone involved in it.
With this in mind, His Holiness encouraged everyone to reflect on how we all came to be together in the first place and the simple happiness we felt from sharing something together. His Holiness said that remembering this feeling and drawing upon these cherished memories will help us to realise the project. Without this, however, things could soon become too mechanical. His Holiness even gave the example of Lama Jampa singing Bob Dylan songs at Chang-Lo-Chen as an example of a wonderful memory!
His Holiness reminded us of the unpredictable nature of the world and the impermanence of all things and appearances. He also cautioned that it is not guaranteed that what we do will turn out quite as we expected.
His Holiness said that, at the end of the day, the project is for the next generation and that, bearing that in mind, he was pleased to see some younger people present. He said that we must think about the next generation, although of course there are no guarantees as to how long someone will live. His Holiness concluded by saying he will pray for the success of the project and for the fulfilment of our wishes but that he did not know what the outcome would be. He urged us again to draw on our experiences and cherished memories and said that, if we do that, the next steps are likely to be good.
His Holiness blessing the stupa at Kagyu Ling
After guests enjoyed some tea and cake, His Holiness kindly blessed the stupa in Kagyu Ling’s garden, which contains some relics of Shamar Rinpoche, the preceding lineage holder of the Karma Kagyu tradition and His Holiness’s root guru. It will be a great benefit to have such a beautiful representation of enlightened mind at Kagyu Ling as it will be a source of merit to those who make offerings, prostrations and circumambulations.
Please continue to aspire and pray for the Mikyo Dorje Institute to come to fruition swiftly!
If you would like to get involved or show your support for the development, please contact the team on info@mikyodorje.institute
With best wishes,
The Project Team