INSEPARABLE GURU HEART-MIND: THE 17TH GYALWANG KARMAPA ON THE 16TH KARMAPA. (Transcript of online teaching given at 16th Karmapa Guru Yoga event 2.10.24))

I am delighted to share with you a new transcript of an important, profound and blessed online teaching the 17^th Gyalwang Karmapa gave yesterday, during a 3-day 16th Karmapa Guru Yoga teaching event (1st – 3rd November 2024) for the upcoming 43^rd Anniversary of the parinirvana of the 16^th Karmapa, Rigpe Dorje (5th November 2024).

The online and in-person event (in Tapei, Taiwan) was organised by the 16 Karmapa Centre, Illinois, USA, a centre that was founded at the place where the 16th Karmapa passed into parinirvana. The event was not only arranged to give transmission and teachings on the 16th Karmapa’s Guru Yoga, Continuous Rain of Nectar, composed by the 16th Karmapa himself (free download here), but also to raise funds and awareness for that Centre and Stupa project. As their website says:  “It is not an accident that His Holiness attained parinirvana here in Illinois, in the United States. This area is considered to be a sacred site, and we wish to honor His presence there by offering a stupa as a monument to His great being, and as a place for current and future practitioners to gain merit.” 

The 3-day teaching event, which also included the precious chance to pay homage to some sacred relics and objects of the 16th Karmapa, was available to anyone who signed up with a donation, so no pre-requisites or empowerment needed. The first day teaching was by HE Dilyag Rinpoche who was told by the 16th Karmapa personally to give the oral transmission of the Guru Yoga, and whom the 16th Karmapa advised to receive the transmission of the Guru Yoga from HE 12th Gyaltsab Rinpoche (more on that in the next post!).

On the second day, HE Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche gave a teaching (which was very entertaining about yogis and siddhis). In the evening, a livestream teaching was given by the 17^th Karmapa in Chinese, with English translation. The English translator was not a native speaker, so it was difficult to follow at times, however, the main meaning was clear.

As my own humble offering for this event,  I have typed up this important and insightful teaching by the 17th Karmapa, as a transcript not only for the sake of Dharma preservation, but also for those who attended the online and in-person teachings, and all those who were unable to attend it (or not aware of it) and no doubt would be interested to know what the Karmapa said. The full transcript is below this summary report.

The 17th Karmapa said that he had forgotten what the topic he was supposed to speak about (ha ha) but that he would not ‘dare’ try and talk about the Guru Yoga in such a short space of time, so instead shared stories about the dispute over the 16th Karmapa’s recognition, his amazing life and powers and the 17th Karmapa’s own connection and feeling for the 16th Karmapa. Thus, I am not sharing anything secret or restricted on Guru Yoga in this transcript.

The speech is the first time I (and anyone else) has publicly heard the 17^th Karmapa talk about the dispute over the discovery of the 16^th Karmapa tulku after the 15th Karmapa, Khakyab Dorje,1870–1921 passed away (whom he said had been bullied a lot by other monks when he was at Tsurphu monastery). The 17th Karmapa explained that there was a person in the Tibetan government in Tibet [Lungshawa], who was close to the 13th Dalai Lama, and claimed his son was the 16^th Karmapa tulku. None of the monks in Tsurphu were happy about it because normally the Karmapas leaves a prophecy letter, so there had to be a letter from the 15^th Karmapa. The close attendant found a coded letter in the ear of a Mahakala shrine but no one knew how to decode it. So they went to see the 11th Tai Situpa who also did not know. While he was meditating, part of a pecha text was blown to him ‘by the wind’  written by the 13^th Karmapa with details how to decode such script. [I wondered if this may have been dakini code script, because the 15th Karmapa had been a terton/treasure-revealer who was very close to the great terton, Chogyur Lingpa. The 15th Karmapa was also a layperson, married with children and several consorts, two of whom became well known, such as Khandro Rinpoche, others who little is known about at all. I tried to find the letter in the Collected Works of the 15th Karmapa online, but was unable to do so. If anyone has a copy of it please send me].

In any case, the 17th Karmapa explained that after decoding the letter with the 13th Karmapa’s text, it had all the details in it of his birthplace, parents and so on. It had to be accepted by the 13^th Dalai Lama and the conflict over the candidate for 16th Karmapa immediately ended. [Again, this is interesting to know because, the ‘division’ over the 17^th Karmapa really should have ended when the 12th Tai Situpa produced the 16^th Karmapa’s handwritten letter, which was agreed as genuine by all the three main Karma Kagyu heart sons, with the exception of the 14th Zhamarpa) and yet the dispute has been allowed to continue for years, despite the presence of that important and sacred document.]

The 17th Karmapa also spoke about his own admiration for all the different Karmapas and their different personalities, his favourite one being the 2nd Karmapa, Karma Pakshi for his amazing life-story and powers. He also stated that he felt closest to the 16th Karmapa and  saw him like a guru, and shared a funny anecdote about how he told his mother that was him although none of his family believed their son would ever be the 16th Karmapa, whom they revered like a deity. He also spoke about the 16th Karmapa’s great powers, dignity, seriousness and clairvoyance as being like a King’.

The 17th Karmapa shared a hilarious story about a Tibetan professor who worked in Sikkim who had been brainwashed by political propaganda and loathed the 16th Karmapa (whom he thought did the Black Crown ceremonies for money and spent too much time looking after birds), yet who gradually came to realise his great power and realisations. He also spoke about the 16th Karmapa’s wisdom and vision, and how unlike the 14th Dalai Lama he did not have to leave Tibet quickly and so not only was able to transport many sacred and precious objects out of Tibet, but was also able to build one of the first, and biggest Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, Rumtek, Sikkim at which many masters and tulkus from the four main lineages studied and met with the 16th Karmapa.

The 17th Karmapa ended the talk by speaking of the Tibetan culture of compassion, and the  ‘unnatural’ death,  murdered father of HE Dzogchen Ponlop Rinoche who had been the General Secretary of Tsurphu and Rumtek monastery, and how the 16th Karmapa had such amazing trust in him (see video of HE Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche speaking about his father’s connection to 16th Karmapa here).  [I had not been aware that the General Secretary died in suspicious circumstances before hearing this, as it was always simply reported that he had died of a heart attack,  but on further investigation it was reported that the General Secretary had been invited to lunch by the 14th Shamarpa’s cousin, Tobga, and died mysteriously within minutes of returning home. Tobga succeeded the general secretary as head of operations and business affairs at Rumtek monastery, which contains treasures worth “millions.” He was later voted out by all the Karma Kagyu heart-sons.]

The 17th Karmapa also praised both Rinpoches for their activities with the Centre and Stupa project as being very worthwhile not only for the Buddha Dharma and beings, and not only based on their devotion to the 16th Karmapa, but also their wanting to pay back the kindness of their family members. He encouraged everyone to donate to their 16th Karmapa Centre project, if they had not done so already.

For myself, the 17th Karmapa and the 16th Karmapa are the same mind, different bodies. I have never understood why anyone would see them as different. Even though I have met and received many teachings in India with the 17th Karmapa in person, as well as  several private audiences in Dharamsala, getting the Guru Yoga transmission and teaching yesterday from the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa live in the same ‘room’ , felt like a dream and blessing come true. Devotion is the root of Vajrayana and I felt my heart become wide open and the blissful blessings pouring in. As Dilyag Rinpoche quoted Naropa: “Without a qualified guru, there are no realisations.”  Time, space and obstacles, karma and merit can never stop the uncontrived ‘real’ heart devotion for a qualified guru. Even though I was born in the UK and not a Buddhist, ever since I ‘purely’ met the 17th Karmapa for the first time in India, in person in 2005, and almost immediately requested Buddhist refuge vows in private with him (for the first time from a Buddhist teacher in my life this lifetime), the heart connection was there, awakened from past lifetimes. So, as laughter, joy, love, sadness and tears poured down my face at times, listening to and gazing at the beautiful ‘face’ (physical and secret) of the 17th Karmapa live on a computer screen, even though it was not in ‘the flesh’, the mind and heart connection remained fully alive and present, as if there had never been any separation at all, and never would be. The blissful  ‘juicy’ nectar of devotion indeed rained forth continuously and effortlessly.

So, it is with that kind of blissful appreciation, devotion for the Guru that I offer this report and transcript. If anyone benefits from reading it, I kindly request you make a donation to the 16th Karmapa centre project here (citing this report as your inspiration!) For other original research, transcripts and translations about the 16th Karmapa on this website, see here.

Music? Karmapa Khyenno by KTenpa, New Karmapa song by Dege Jamyang, and for more contemporary western vibes, I’ll Be Yours  and Soulmates Never Die by Placebo, Pagan Poetry by Bjork.

Written and compiled by Adele Tomlin, 3rd November 2024. Dedicated to the long-life and activities of the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa. The transcript is free to use, however, if you publish or share it, please cite the original source.

Transcript of 17th Karmapa’s online teaching for the 16th Karmapa’s Guru Yoga event (2nd November 2024)

“I have not spoken Chinese for a long time but I will give the teaching in Chinese. To all the Rinpoches and Venerable brothers and sisters, this year, is the 43rd year anniversary the 16th Karmapa passed into the parinirvana. So our Chicago 16th Karmapa centre, the memorial centre. Venerable Dilyak Rinpoche held this event. I am so happy and pay my gratitude to Rinpoche who gave me this chance to have this talk. And thank you to all the Dharma brothers and sisters who have helped this event.

The main topic for this event is Guru Yoga. Yesterday, I asked Rinpoche what is the main topic for this event and retreat, and I had forgotten. So he said I can share whatever I want. So I do not know what to say. However, since the main topic for this retreat is the Guru Yoga of the 16^th Karmapa, I am going to give the transmission of the Guru Yoga. He wrote this Guru Yoga himself, so I will give the oral transmission. So, the 16^th Karmapa gave the lineage transmission of this Guru Yoga to HE Gyaltsab Rinpoche and he has given the oral transmission many times, not just once. So I am very fortunate to have received this transmission of the 16^th Karmapa Guru Yoga. This is called the Rain of Nectar, there are different translations of it.” The Karmapa then gave the oral transmission of it.

So that is the Guru Yoga of 16^th Karmapa, the Rain of Nectar, there will be different translations with different names. I was going to explain the Guru Yoga directly, but because we do not have time, and my Chinese is not that good, I cannot explain this teaching in Chinese, so I would not take the risk of doing that. We can talk instead about some Dharma stories of the 16^th Karmapa. “

Rousing Devotion for the 16th Karmapa

“We know the main point of Guru Yoga is devotion. We know this is the main important, devotion. Most people, however, have never met the 16th Karmapa in this life, including myself. If you never met someone, and you want to rouse devotion and faith it is not that easy. From only the pictures and videos it is really hard to rouse devotion. So, it can be good to hear from people who are familiar with the 16th Karmapa and their stories that they share of him, to know his activities and qualities. By hearing those, then we can gradually and slowly have devotion towards him

Dispute over the recognition of the 16th Karmapa and the 15th Karmapa’s coded prophecy letter

The 16^th Gyalwang Karmapa passed into parinirvana 43 years ago. He was born in 1924, and passed into parinirvana in 1981. After the 15^th Karmapa passed into parinirvana, they recognized the 16^th Karmapa. The process for doing that  was rather complicated though, and they had some difficulties. A person within the Tibetan government, had a child whom he wanted to be recognized as the 16^th Karmapa. As that person was very famous for his connection to the 13^th Dalai Lama [Lungshawa] and was close to him, his son became the 16^th Karmapa’s recognition. At that time the monks of Tsurphu monastery were very worried about this. And they tried many ways to stop just anyone being recognized as the 16^th Karmapa. They tried to tell the 13^th Dalai Lama not to recognize him as the 16^th Karmapa. However, they could not just tell him not to do that, they had to have a reason.

They needed the prophecy from the 15^th Karmapa’s letter, as everyone needs to follow that, to tell them their recognition is not valid. But no one knew where the letter was. The 13^th Dalai Lama also asked them where the letter was.  As the monks in the Tsurphu Monastery did not know, they asked around and tried to find it.

The 15^th Karmapa had an attendant, Jampal Tsultrim who was a fully ordained monk, we do not need to know his name. he attended the 15^th Karmapa for many years and attended him 24 hours per day. This fully ordained monk left Tsurphu when the 15^th Karmapa passed into parinirvana, and went off somewhere else. People thought as  he was the one that knew the 15^th Karmapa the best, he probably also knew where the letter was.

So they thought “we have to ask him first as he probably has some news or knows something”. They asked him, and he replied that he did not know. He then thought about it and when the 15^th Karmapa had passed into parinirvana, so e went to the Mahakala protector shrine room, and did some rituals there. While he was there it seemed like there was something going on in the ears of the Mahakala statue, so he took a look at the ear. Then,  the monks of Tsurphu monastery went to see the Mahakala statue and the prophecy letter was discovered in the ear of the statue. It looked like a Chinese Emperor. The 15th Karmapa had put the letter inside the ear of the statue, there was a picture and behind the picture they found the letter.

We can all see the copy of the prophecy letter; it is a long one. Among all the letters of the all the Karmapas, this is the longest one. Although they found this letter, that was not enough, regarding the parents’ names, where he was born, the month and year, nobody really understood what the letter means because it was a coded letter. No one could read it, not in Tibetan, so someone had to know what the code means, and they have to decode it.

One needs a skillful means to decode a letter. So they sent the letter to Palpung Monastery, the 11th Tai Situ Rinpoche was there and was one of the main disciples of 1^5th Gyalwang Karmapa. But he also did not know how to decode the letter.  So one day, when Tai Situpa who was one of the main disciples of the 15^th Karmapa, was giving teachings, suddenly a piece of Tibetan pecha text flew to him, blown from somewhere by the wind. The code to decipher the letter was on this pecha, designed and written by the 13^th Karmapa. So then they decoded the letter immediately with this text. All the information was in the letter about his parents, place of birth and so on.  Of course, the 13^th Dalai Lama then also was shown this letter.  And once they saw the letter, the conflict ended.

The 15th Karmapa’s aspiration to be re-born in Kham to a rich and renowned family

“In the 15^th Karmapa’s liberation-story, he really wanted to be born in Kham and into a famous family. Why is that? There are a lot of stories because he was bullied a lot by others. I will not share that kind of story. So the 15th Karmapa he is from central Tibet, he was very humble and so he was very easy to be bullied by others, because he was so humble.  A lot of monks in the mountains were not treating him well. So he told his close disciples when he was reincarnated, he wanted to be re-born in a Khampa family. Kham is a tough place and the people are not so easy to get along with, right? I am also from Kham, right? So not easy to get on with. If we have conflict, we will raise the sword immediately. We are kind of wild people; we are hot-tempered and wild. So the 15^th Karmapa prayed he would be born in the Kham area with a famous and rich family.

So the 16^th Karmapa was born into a rich, noble and renowned family. Have you ever seen his father’s photo? It is easy to get his father’s photo? He looks very tough. When the 16^th Karmapa was very young, his teacher would hit him. So the 16^th Karmapa’s father confronted the teacher and said “You cannot hit my son, he is the Karmapa! You do not have to teach him, he is a tulku, he is good already. Do not hit him.” It probably was too much but on the other hand, his father really stood by him. So nobody would bully him.

Of course, no one could bully the 16^th Karmapa, he was very powerful and serious. People feared him. Not just those in Karma Kagyu but others were afraid of him. Not just seeing him, the people around his place of residence started to  fear him. They began to think they might have done something wrong. The 16^th Karmapa also had clairvoyance and because of that people were afraid of him. Many people said he is like  King, and powerful like a King. Many people said that in front of him they cannot arouse kleshas. It is not like one taming one’s own kleshas, it is because he was so powerful so he would tame your kleshas. All your kleshas disappeared in front of the 16^th Karmapa.

The Tibetan professor in Sikkim who loathed the 16th Karmapa

There is another story, you might have heard before. There was one Tibetan, he is a lama. He was not a lama before, but became one later on, and he lives in Sikkim and is a professor there. He lives in Gangtok, Sikkim. He was a teacher; his English and Sanskrit were very good. He was very good at languages and used to teach there. If you have ever been to Sikkim, you will know from the capital of Sikkim, you can see the Rumtek monastery. This person had no confidence or faith in the Karmapa. He had some wrong views towards the 16th Karmapa.

So when he saw the photo of the 16^th Karmapa he was upset and not happy about it. From the capital city of Sikkim, one can see the Rumtek monastery and he is even more upset when he sees it. He got very upset and angry whenever he saw the monastery. So he disliked the 16^th Karmapa very much. Not to mention about having no devotion.

So why did he change? It is kind of complicated and because of the political situation, he had been brainwashed and did not like the 16^th Karmapa. So because of the situation and condition, even when he saw the photos of the Karmapa he feels dislike. The 16th Karmapa had never been to Taiwan but went to SE Asia. Because there were some political problems, he could not go to Taiwan, someone stopped him from going there.  So this Tibetan guy did not like the 16th Karmapa. So one day a group of foreigners came to Sikkim and because he knows English they asked him to translate for them when they went to see the 16th Karmapa. So he had to agree.

The night before they were going to see the 16th Karmapa at Rumtek, he could not sleep at all and was thinking that he had to go, but was thinking about it the whole night and felt so angry about it. The next day, he was with all the foreigners and at that time, the 16th Karmapa was in the main shrine room and always met the audiences there. The 16^th Karmapa really liked birds so when he had free time, he was taking care of the birds and playing with them in the cages. So they offered katags scarves to him, and the foreigners sat on the chairs. But this Tibetan professor would not sit on a chair. Tibetans normally sit on the ground. But he would not even sit on the chair. So they had tea and were chatting for a while. Then he calmed down a  bit and became silent. He was not that comfortable and was a bit upset. When one has devotion, one should feel happy, but he was not happy at all and does not like him. He kept thinking of the faults and disadvantages of the 16th Karmapa. He was thinking that the Karmapa should give teachings and liberate beings, but “just look at him, he is wearing that black hat and making money.”

The black hat ceremony at Rumtek Monastery, sometimes happened three or four times per day. One could go there and request the black hat ceremony and there were so many people requesting it.  One has  to offer a price for it.  Then they could request it. However, if one does not like the Karmapa, then one might think they are just making money from the black hat ceremony. So, he thought this was a lie and just a trick. In his mind, he also thinks being a guru, he should recite some mantras, do some chanting and meditation. “But what is he doing? He does not do mediation. He spends so much time taking care of the birds and cleaning up the bird sh**!” So this man was drinking tea and thinking all these things. Then,  the 16^th Karmapa said to him “your thoughts are excellent and correct, do  not just think them in your mind, you should translate it to all those foreigners, because they are all excellent and correct.” 

The man was so shocked and felt so scared and ashamed and trembling, and the cup of tea dropped to the floor. He did not even realize it had fallen to the floor; he was so scared. Since then he had great faith and confidence in the 16^th Karmapa. After that, he went home to the capital of Sikkim and he was packing and he came back to the Karmapa, and he was crying and saying “I was so ignorant. Because others said things to me, I had wrong view of you and I want to confess in front of you. Today, I am so lucky that I know I was wrong, so from today, whatever you say I will listen, if you ask me to go East or West I will listen. Please do not abandon me.”

So the Karmapa said: “OK. Sure. Actually, your thoughts are not bad. However, since you say so, I will give you a command.” So the man said “Yes, I am ready, give me a command.” So, the 16th Karmapa told him to go to France, Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche is there, and needs a translator. So he went to Delhi and then France and became the translator for Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. This is a true story, he did not like the 16th Karmapa at all before that.  Maybe you have heard this story before.

The clairvoyance of the 16th Karmapa

“The 16^th Karmapa had great clairvoyance, not only Kagyupa, but also Sakya and Nyingma Rinpoches were recognized by the 16^th Karmapa, so they all believed his judgement and clairvoyance. He was an indisputable person, all people had respect and faith in him. Not only that, when he was young, he had a lot of clairvoyance, even his teachers, say please do not show those higher cognitive powers/clairvoyances too much. They have great faith to him, but you talk too much, and so do not be so precise on those clairvoyances/prophecies, it is better. In the Chinese tradition, please do not reveal the secrets, you have to keep them.

In the Tibetan tradition, if you reveal too many secrets you will lose your life. So his teachers told him not to share too much when he was young. When he was talking about the masters’ reincarnations, he revealed even more when he was young. But later, he talked less about that. This is clairvoyance from a religious perspective, he has a great vision.

The great vision and wisdom of the 16th Karmapa after he left Tibet

In 1959, a lot of great Tibetan gurus, including the 1^3th Dalai Lama and the 16^th Karmapa left Tibet. The 16th Karmapa was special and when he prepared to go to India, he brought a lot of precious and sacred things to India with him. The 14^th Dalai Lama did not have time to bring too many precious things to India but the 16^th Karmapa has enough time to prepare and he envisioned that in the future there will be a critical moment and so brought all those things to India. So that was rare and special at that time.

While building Rumtek monastery in the 1960s, all the Tibetan people were fleeing to India, and they thought they would be back home soon and just temporarily stay in India. So no-one wanted to build houses or monasteries in India. But 16th Karmapa had a vision, and so built the Rumtek monastery, so this was the biggest monastery built at that time in India. It was built for the heart disciples, and a lot of Rinpoches from Nyingma, Sakya and Kagyu received their education  there. This shows that he has vision.

Another thing is, his first group of Gurus propagated Buddhism in the West. A lot of people who went West to propagate Buddhism were under the 16th Karmapa’s command when he went West, earlier than the 14th Dalai Lama. So from all these stories it shows he has great vision, he can see really far and he has a lot of wisdom. We can say he is special. Also, there are many interesting stories, but we do not have enough  time to talk about it. That is about it for today.

The 17th Karmapa’s favourite Karmapa and his connection to the 16th Karmapa

I talk about myself, how I feel for the 16^th Karmapa. When we talk about him, all the Karmapas they all have different qualities and characters, personalities. Among the 16 Karmapas I have great faith, trust in all the Karmapas. Of course, I have my personal feelings and feel more connected, for example, to the 2^nd Karmapa the best. Because of the very interesting stories. He will say that I am the famous Karmapa, every day he should day that, the name Karmapa. So he became famous and he became well known. He has many stories and he has some qualitied and personality I really like. The 8^th Karmapa and 10^th Karmapa they have different personalities.

I feel most connected to the 16^th Karmapa. He is like my guru; I feel very connected. Although a lot of people say he is very powerful and serious. Of course, he is powerful, I like that too. Myself, I cannot be serious. Since I was little, I cannot be serious, a lot of people bullied me since I was small. I cannot get so serious, I do not know how to become so full of gravity. It is difficult for me,  I cannot just pretend to be serious. So when they say the 16th Karmapa is very serious, because I cannot be serious, I admire that. Because I cannot be serious. He did not have to say anything, when he gave you the eye, people would be scared. I think this is a great quality.

It was not just him being serious though, he also had some blessings and the power to transform. His dignity will transform your mind into a different mentality. He has that kind of power. Not just serious and great dignity but also great blessings. He was also connected to all the people. He liked to play, ad is naughty as well and likes to tease people, he was very liberal, not very stubborn. He has dignity and is very close and dear to people. It is not like he would not talk to you,  like a statue and not moving. At the same time he is close and dear, because he has special blessings. Many people met him so many people only have the 16^th Karmapa only in their heart. When you know him better, he has a great position in your heart, because you were touched by him so you remember him a lot.

The 17th Karmapa’s family’s great devotion to the 16th Karmapa like a deity, and who never thought their son could be his incarnation

I never met the 16th Karmapa. When I was young, in my family we had the photo of the 16^th Karmapa. My mother said when I was ,little I could not talk and was crawling like a baby. My mother told me one day we have a shrine in our home and a Gau, so we were offered tea, and offered the butter lamp or yoghurt and lashi. My mother was making offering and I asked “what are you doing?” I told her: “I am him, give it to me”. My mother said I was being disrespectful. When I was little, I saw his photo, so in our home town he is like a God. Not a fairytale God, but not like a normal human being. My parents, they feel I am different because there are some signs. They think I am a tulku or reincarnation. But they never thought I am the reincarnation of Karmapa. They told me some people are seeking the tulku of the 16th Karmapa and they are coming to this area. So they told them they think I am the reincarnation. My father thought that was impossible. They thought maybe it would be one of the Khenpo or lama’s child. They never thought like that our son could be the 16^th Karmapa.  In our town, we had great respect for him,  like a God, so my parents would never dare to think like that. They had a very noble, high respect to the Karmapa.

The culture and compassion of Tibetans

If you do not live in Tibet, you cannot feel that, you will not understand how they respect and love the Karmapa and this culture and has come from centuries of Tibetan culture. You are born with that kind of culture and faith. Not just towards the Karmapa but also faith towards Dharma and Buddhism.

My parents were my first teachers and spiritual friends, they taught me how to respect karma, cause and result. They taught me how to respect sentient beings and not to hurt a tiny bug. I always talk about Tibetans; they have a unique heritage. They have a strong Mahayana mentality. Why? Because they think of all sentient beings, it is  in their genes. They have a mindset of thinking about all sentient beings. Right now, maybe a lot of people do not think like that maybe, although a lot of people had that. They might not read or have much of a cultured education, or knowledge, but they have compassion, kindness. From the moment they wake up and before going to bed, they think of sentient beings.

So in Tibet, we had so many great Buddhist masters, due to their blessing a lot of Tibetans are born with that kind of character and personality. Their purpose is for all sentient beings. This is because in Tibet, we had so many masters and siddhas. Due to their blessings, a lot of Tibetans are born with those kinds of personality and character. So that is enough, I talked too much.

The family connection: General Secretary of Tsurphu’s amazing devotion to the 16th Karmapa who was murdered

So I want to say to Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche and Dilyak Rinpoche, they are very connected to the 16th Karmapa, I do not have to say more than that.  In particular, their father was the general secretary of 16th Karmapa, who trusted their father so much. Not just a little trust, unbelievable trust. Other people close to the 16^th Karmapa, told me lots of stories about the general secretary and 16^th Karmapa. He trusted him so much. However, after he passed away, their father passed away right after that. There was an unnatural reason for dying, because someone murdered their father.  

However, the main thing is if the general secretary were alive today, then there would not be these kinds of conflict in the Karma Kagyu lineage because they can control these things. Also, the 3^rd Jamgon Kongtrul passed away. So we cannot control this and a lot of conflicts happened. Slowly, it is getting better and being pacified, I hope that is the case. So the 16^th Karmapa really trusted their father, not normal trust.

So, the two Rinpoches, especially Dilyag Tulku Rinpoche want to build the 16^th Karmapa stupa and Memorial Hall,  out of their memory for the 16^th Karmapa, not only for the Dharma, but they want to repay the kindness that the 16th Karmapa showed to their families. So they want to build a memorial hall and stupa at the place where the 16th Karmapa passed into parinirvana. Please support it. Not necessarily with the red envelope [money] although that is good. There are many ways to give and offer. You have to understand their intention towards the 16th Karmapa. So please support them, please.”