A glimpse of the Gyalwang Karmapa’s hectic schedule

January 06, 2009, report by Jo Gibson, photos taken by Karma Lekcho, Karma Norbu, Pema Orser Dorje

Consecration ceremony at the Bangladeshi Buddhist Monastery
After attending the morning session of Kagyu Monlam at the Mahabodhi Temple, and giving a teaching on The Songs of Milarepa, His Holiness went on to the Bangladeshi Buddhist Monastery. There he lit candles and joss sticks at the shrine to bless the shrine room, and chanted prayers with the resident monks, who belong to the Theravadin tradition. He then consecrated a new Buddha statue in the monastery grounds.

Visit to Monlam Medical Camp
His next stop was to inspect this year’s medical camp which has been sponsored by Datin Loo of the Malaysia Life Foundation. The camp, housed at the Bodhgaya Tourist Bungalow, provides free medical treatment, both allopathic and Tibetan, for local people, pilgrims, monks and nuns. It also provides basic dental treatment. A long queue of local villagers hunkered down patiently along the path to the clinic, waiting uncomplainingly to be seen by one of the doctors. Most were poorly clad for the cool weather and many, especially the elderly, looked to be just skin and bone, a stark reminder of the degree of poverty in this area.

 

Visit to the Nyingma Monastery
Next on the schedule was a visit to the Nyingma Monastery. This huge complex, now nearing completion, was designed and built to house the Nyingma sangha when they attend the Nyingma Monlam in winter. The Kagyu Monlam organisation rents it in order to provide accommodation for the majority of monks and nuns attending the Kagyu Monlam. Food for the getsul and getsulma (novice monks and nuns) is prepared and served from a massive kitchen, staffed mainly by volunteers.

His Holiness first sampled the midday meal and then called in at the on-site clinic which provides dental treatment in addition to allopathic and Tibetan medicine. His Holiness talked briefly with the staff and inspected the facilities. He then returned to Tergar Monastery.

Visit to the special kitchen for sangha at Tergar
Arriving at Tergar Monastery, he went directly to view the kitchen where lunch is specially prepared for the gelong and gelongma (fully ordained monks and nuns) attending Kagyu Monlam. The kitchen has been set up in a large tent and is staffed by volunteers from Taiwan, mainland China, Hong Kong. The kitchen provides a varied menu of nutritionally balanced, purely vegetarian food, concomitant with the sojong commitments (no garlic, no onion, no egg). His Holiness then went to join the gelongs and gelongmas in the main assembly hall  for lunch.

Press Conference
At 1.30pm the Gyalwang Karmapa attended a press conference and was questioned by twenty eight journalists, mostly from India, but some from Europe. (See separate report for details.)

Public and Private Audiences
At 3.30pm His Holiness began several hours of audiences with his followers. First, came a public audience with several hundred people in the main assembly hall. Each had chance to offer a khatag and receive a blessing cord. There followed more than two hours of private audiences.

Historic audience between Gyalwang Karmapa and European devotees
More than 110 people from Samye Ling and Samye Dzong dharma centres in Belgium, England, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Scotland, and Spain were granted an historic private audience with the Gyalwang Karmapa. The group also included members from centres in South Africa and Zimbabwe. As the group was too large to fit into the audience chamber, His Holiness received them outside on the patio to answer a range of questions.

Headed by members of the Western sangha, this was the largest ever group of European disciples of His Holiness to attend Kagyu Monlam. A few had been regular visitors, but the majority had never been before. They expressed their heartfelt wish that His Holiness would visit Europe in the near future.

His Holiness said that a visit to Europe should follow soon, now that he had started travelling to the Western hemisphere, but Europe was a large continent made up of many countries, so it would require extensive planning, which will take some time. Everyone laughed heartily when His Holiness joked that he had no particular message but “When I come to Europe I expect you will feed me well!”