Disunity threatens the Dalai Lama’s timeless authority

Buddhism exerts influence far beyond its home in Tibet, to the West and East. Uncharacteristic leadership questions now challenge its reputation

by Michael Binyon

The news that a Tibetan monk, chosen as a child by the Dalai Lama as a reincarnation of a spiritual leader, has thrown off his robes and renounced his vows has caused consternation among some Buddhists.

Lama Tenzin Osel Rinpoche has changed his name, denounced the Buddhist order that revered him as a man of spiritual authority and is now studying film in Madrid. He has renounced the strict life of meditation and prayer that traditionally isolates lamas away from the hurly-burly of modern life and reportedly now attends discos. To some, this will be a shock. But it underlines the extraordinary hold that one country, Tibet, has on Buddhists throughout the world and the many strands of faith and monastic traditions that are found there.

For centuries thousands of monasteries have held sway across the vast mountainous plateau. Tibetan Buddhism has now spread far beyond its cradle, however. The flight of the Dalai Lama in 1959, the resistance to Chinese rule, growing global interest in the monasteries and the setting up of Buddhist teaching centres in the West have put the spotlight on Tibet. And the key question, with far-reaching political and spiritual consequences, is: will Tibetan Buddhism retain unity after the Dalai Lama?

In recent months the issue has taken on a sharper edge. China’s confrontation with the exiled symbol of Tibetan identity has become more intense, with each side accusing the other of bad faith. The Dalai Lama has begun to speak of retiring and anointing a successor during his lifetime — a break, to many, with the tradition of reincarnation and an attempt to forestall Chinese attempts to install a political puppet.

Curiously, London could play a role in deciding the future of Tibet. The Dalai Lama’s choice as his successor appears to have fallen on Ogyen Trinley Dorje, a 23-year-old Tibetan who has been identified by his supporters as the 17th Karmapa, the so-called Black Hat lama (named because of the ceremonial black crown presented by the Ming dynasty emperor Yunglo). The Karmapa is the third-highest lama in Tibetan Buddhism and is head of the Karma Kagyu school, one of the four main “lineages” in Tibet. The identity of the true claimant of the Karmapa crown, however, is the subject of great debate.

At the age of 14, Ogyen Trinley Dorje slipped out of a window of Tolung Tsurphu monastery in central Tibet and fled across the mountains to Nepal and then India. He arrived at the exile headquarters of the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, northern India, in January 2000. Conveniently, he also appears to have Beijing’s backing. Certainly, he has spoken of his admiration for Chinese culture and a willingness to co-operate with China. Speaking Mandarin fluently and an avid watcher of Chinese films, he told the BBC earlier this year that he hoped the political issue of Tibet could be resolved peacefully. He has backed the Dalai Lama’s policy of seeking greater autonomy rather than independence.

The Chinese have long refused to recognise the man seen as the second most senior figure in Tibetan Buddhism, the Panchen Lama, identified as a boy by the Dalai Lama himself. Instead, they detained him and appointed their own candidate.

But there is a major difficulty to any smooth transfer of authority to Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje: the Tibetan community is deeply split over his claim to the Karmapa throne. A large number are loyal instead to the handsome and charismatic Trinley Thaye Dorje, a 26-year-old who was recognised as the 17th Karmapa after a secret visit to Llasa by a recognised spiritual leader when the boy appeared to him in a dream in 1988. He left Tibet in 1994.

Both have begun to travel widely in the West, visiting monasteries overseas and building up their profiles. And both will, by chance, be in Britain this summer. Were they to meet and settle their differences, Tibetan Buddhism could enjoy a return to a unity and tranquility that it has not known for years.

For now, the disputed succession has opened a damaging rift in Tibetan Buddhism. The Supreme Court in India has backed Thaye Dorje’s claim. There have been reports of violence between their followers and at the monastery where the Black Hat is stored — a terrible blow to those who see ahimsa, or non-violence, as the central tenet of Buddhism.

Thaye Dorje is less political than his rival, but is very much a modern lama, who lives in Kalimpong, India. He had a Western education from English and Australian tutors and an introduction to Western philosophy. Approachable, media-friendly and with his own website (in which he even said that his favourite group was Black Eyed Peas), he is making another European tour this summer, visiting London and Manchester from July 27-31. While here — his third visit to Britain — he will be hosted by two organisations, the Dechen Community and Diamond Way Buddhism, and will expound to his followers The Way of a Bodhisattva.

The details of the visit here by Karmapa Orgyen Trinley have not been announced, but it is understood that it may come at the same time. He will probably go to the Samye Ling Monastery, on the banks of the River Esk, which claims to be the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the West.

Traditionally, the Kagyu school has steered clear of politics. The two rival Karmapa claimants have not met face to face and have been careful not to speak ill of each other. Thaye Dorje, in his interviews, wishes enlightenment to all, including Orgyen Trinley and the Dalai Lama. Were a meeting between the two to be to be engineered, many of the current quarrels might fall away.

The dispute over their spiritual authority is as arcane as it is complex. It goes back to the authenticity of a letter left, according to tradition, by the 16th Karmapa to predict his successor to one of the senior Kagyu lamas. According to many commentators, the script in this, which appears to support Ogyen Trinley, was quite different from his normal writing.

The comparison perhaps can be made with the divisions within Christianity that often turn on some small point of history or dogma. A similar dispute arose at the time of the eighth Karmapa in the 16th century. Like Christianity, Tibetan Buddhism can point to an exceptionally rich heritage of rulers, poets, scholars, artists and ascetics.

source:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6439552.ece

Happiest Man on Earth: Matthieu Ricard

I heard a reference to Matthieu Ricard as "the Happiest Man on Earth" on KPCC (89.3Mhz) a few days ago.

In a gist, Matthieu explained that mind needed a training too and how an experience mind-trained person could achieve the unexpected high level of happiest from an experiment in University of Wisconsin-Madison's testing of happiness.


I had to cut short the tune-in and couldn't find the archive in their website. Anyway, here is another interview about the meditation effect on brain.

Also, I am glad Caesar is stilling posting article in here.

For Julia :)

Gendun Rinpoche

Hello, is anybody still reading this blog?

Dear friends, I haven't written in months. And nobody else has either, I noticed. (Nearly... Thank you, Ceasar). Too sad. How are you all doing? I have finished my semester teaching Tibetan students at TCV College Bangalore. And in a week, Ralph and I are on our way to the Buddhist sites (some of them that is). Sanchi with its great Stupa, Lumbini, Kushinagar, and on New Year's Eve: Bodhgaya, if all goes well.

Has anybody been to the Monlam which finished yesterday?

These pictures are not exactly up to date, but they are the most interesting I have for you. Here we were visiting the Tibetan settlements some 5 bus hours from here. In the middle of Indian nowhere there is suddenly little Tibet; with hundreds of debating monks, half a dozen temples, also a few nuns, and real momos to eat!


This is the monk Pema who explained the Dharma to us. For a longer visit in this settlement one needs to have a Protected Area Permit. We applied for it, and in a couple of months we'll be able to go for a little longer, and refresh ourselves with the inspiration of the Dharma.

We won't be connected to the internet during our travels. Therefore I want to send you my heartfelt wishes for your wellbeing - spiritual, mental, physical, all of it. Have a peaceful holiday and start the new year in good spirits.

Ralph is busy teaching right now, so I'll just send you his latest quote: "It's a good time to be a Buddhist."

Take care,
Julia

Precious Teachers - Fall 2008 VA

Seasons

The Seasons of Life

There are seasons in your life in the same way as there are seasons in nature. There are times to cultivate and create, when you nurture your world and give birth to new ideas and ventures. There are times of flourishing and abundance, when life feels in full bloom, energized and expanding. And there are times of fruition, when things come to an end. They have reached their climax and must be harvested before they begin to fade. And finally of course, there are times that are cold, and cutting and empty, times when the spring of new beginnings seems like a distant dream. Those rhythms in life are natural events. They weave into one another as day follows night, bringing, not messages of hope and fear, but messages of how things are. If you realize that each phase of your life is a natural occurrence, then you need not be swayed by the changes in circumstances and mood that life brings. You find that you have an opportunity to be fully in the world at all times and to show yourself as a brave and proud individual in any situation.

~ Chögyam Trungpa

Pilgrimage!

Dear Julia and Ralph,

So glad to see something up on the blog -- strange how I haven't checked in for what seems like months, and the one day I decide to visit the blog site is the day you posted! Another coincidence is the recurring theme of pilgrimage -- I went to see Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche speak in Hollywood last night -- my first dharma-related event in several weeks -- and although his talk was titled "Dharma Stuff" (which, he explained, gave him free reign to talk about anything he wanted), the main topic he wanted to talk about was going on pilgrimages, both inner and outer.

Lovely to hear from you and nice to see the pictures. :) Hope you are enjoying yourselves and your new country -- please update the blog when you can!


xoxo
Erica

Have we converted?

Greetings from India ! Read about our first pilgrimage to the Chamundi Temple.Dear friends! I finally send you news from our new home-sweet-home: rural Karnataka. We work during the week as teachers ( Ralph teaches journalism, as you know, and I teach English in a Tibetan college nearby). On weekends we explore what we can...

Here we were on a sacred hill near Mysore. In a tiny stone temple sat a Sadhu, who hopped out and made welcoming gestures, when we passed by. He gave me a flower and painted a tikka on my forehead. Then he sat down before his shrine and I was wondering which ritual would follow now. He dipped his finger in a rain puddle and then he painted on the stone ground: Rs 100. He wanted hundred rupies! I have to admit that he only got a laugh. My devotion has not yet sparked. And that answers the title-question.
Further down that same hill (Chamundi) is Lord Shiva's bull, which is here misused for secular tourist purposes!
And now some answers to frequently asked question: No we did not have a culture shock, no malaria yet, and no food poisoning. The food is indeed very good at the school (where we eat during the week.) There are of course many more stories to tell than you would want to read.

So this is just a greeting!
I am thinking of you! Many heartfelt wishes from Julia

Karmapa Project

Dear Sangha & Friends,

We are writing to inform you of the great progress that has been made towards accomplishing the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Thaye Dorje's intention to establish a major public meditation center on the Central Coast of California. Both spiritual heads of our lineage, the 14th Kunzig Shamarpa and the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, have said this center will be of great importance and the Karmapa foresees many different sanghas coming together to build the center.

We are happy to report that Siddhartha Foundation International (SFI), the Karmapa's California non-profit organization, has an option to purchase by December, a beautiful 500-acre property in San Luis Obispo. SFI's new website can be viewed at http://www.sfi-usa.org/.

The following may be helpful in guiding you through SFI's website:

Home Page: expresses the Karmapa's intention for the Center;
California Center: describes the project, the Karmapa's European seat and letters of support;
Karmapa News: has an impressive slideshow of Karmapa's worldwide activity;
Lineage: the 'Karmapa-Shamarpa Lineage' page explains why the 14th Shamarpa is the only one authorized to officially recognize and enthrone the authentic 17th Gyalwa Karmapa.

Next week we will send out more information about the project and a fundraising campaign for purchase of the land. We look forward to working together to create this center for the 17th Karmapa's activity in America.

Please forward this to those you believe may be interested in this project.

Yours in the Dharma,

Bart Mendel & Suzan Garner
Santa Barbara

Letter to Time magazine from Suzan Garner

June 23, 2008

David Van Biema, Senior Religion Writer
Editorial Department
Time
Time-Life Building, Rockefeller Center
New York, NY 10020

Dear Mr. David Van Biema:

I am writing to point out several mistakes and misrepresentations in your recent article, "Tibetan Idol" (May 29, 2008). For the sake of accuracy, I ask that Time print a correction or clarification.
The article makes it appear that Ogyen Trinley Dorje is universally accepted as the 17th Karmapa and, as such, is recognized as the undisputed spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu lineage, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
This is incorrect. In fact, he is one of two spiritual leaders who now lay claim to the title. The other, 25-year old Trinley Thaye Dorje is also recognized as the 17th Karmapa and serves as spiritual guide to multitudes of people including Tibetans, Asians and Westerners. He is recognized as the spiritual head of more than 650 meditation centers worldwide, as well as the largest group of Buddhist retreat centers and monastic hermitages in the West. Unlike Ogyen Trinley Dorje, who only now has visited the United States, Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje visited America in 2003 and currently draws crowds of thousands when he speaks in other countries. Over the past ten years, Karmapa Thaye Dorje has also met with many state dignitaries and served as keynote speaker at international interfaith conferences. I am enclosing photos of typical meetings for your inspection; additional photos are available as a slideshow on the “KARMAPA NEWS” page at www.sfi-usa.org. Other than Ogyen Trinley Dorje’s recent visit to the US, to our knowledge, he has not engaged in any such international activity.
Your article fails to note that the dispute between these two leaders has spawned a number of lawsuits in India and New Zealand. These lawsuits go to the heart of the issue: who should rightfully claim the title of Karmapa and control the lineage’s headquarters at Rumtek Monastery, as well as another major Karma Kagyu monastery founded in New Zealand in 1979. Both of these properties were seized by followers of Ogyen Trinley Dorje. In 2005, the New Zealand High court ruled that Ogyen Trinley’s followers had no legal right to the Auckland monastery and ordered it returned to the supporters of Karmapa Thaye Dorje.


More importantly, the Sikkim High Court has determined that Rumtek Monastery—founded in 1960 and regarded on the order of the Dalai Lama’s headquarters in Dharamsala, India—must also be returned to the supporters of Trinley Thaye Dorje, who was recognized as the rightful Karmapa in accordance with the Karma Kagyu Lineage’s centuries-old tradition. It appears the last critical Rumtek Monastery lawsuit concerning ownership will be settled next month and it, too, is expected to go in Karmapa Thaye Dorje’s favor. After this next ruling, the followers of Thaye Dorje will seek return of the millions of dollars worth of antiquities, relics, statues and paintings that have been missing from Rumtek Monastery since the violent takeover.
Your article also presents as an unqualified fact that Ogyen Trinley Dorje was proclaimed the 17th Karmapa based on a “prediction letter” purportedly written by his predecessor, the 16th Karmapa, who died in 1981. However, it is widely believed that the letter is a forgery. This questionable “prediction letter” was presented to the Dalai Lama for confirmation by Tai Situ Rinpoche, one of the elders of the Karma Kagyu lineage. What the article fails to mention is that the second-highest ranking elder and co-head of the Karma Kagyu lineage, Shamar Rinpoche, has from the start disputed the authenticity of this prediction letter. His calls for a handwriting analysis have been ignored and now the letter has “disappeared” altogether.
Finally, your article reports that Ogyen Trinley Dorje has received the endorsement and backing of the Dalai Lama for his claim to be the 17th Karmapa. This is true. Unfortunately, what you fail to mention is that, while the Dalai Lama is widely revered and beloved as the political leader of the Tibetan government-in-exile, his spiritual authority is limited in Tibetan Buddhism. Thus, his involvement in the Karmapa controversy is unprecedented. The Dalai Lama is the head of the Gelug School and has no authority over the matters of the Karma Kagyu School. In fact, never before in the 900-year history of the Karma Kagyu School has a leader from another school crossed the line, to so speak, to meddle in the affairs of another lineage. It would be like the Pope weighing in—and campaigning—for his own candidate to lead the Greek Orthodox Church. Both are Christian denominations but the similarity stops there.
Unfortunately, the media tends to view Buddhism in general as a monolithic tradition. In fact, Buddhism predates Christianity and is rich in varied traditions, lineages and viewpoints. The universal respect for the Dalai Lama further obscures the issues involved in the Karmapa dispute. While it may not be politically popular to say so, mounting legal and ecclesiastical evidence suggests that he may have overstepped his bounds by backing the candidacy of Ogyen Trinley Dorje, whose selection was based on a dubious “prediction letter” and whose followers may soon be forced to relinquish possession of Rumtek Monastery, the seat of the Karma Kagyu School.


In the face of these circumstances, I am compelled to point out that your story was incomplete, inaccurate and misleading. I respectfully ask for a correction or clarification. Or, better yet, a follow-up article that focuses on the dispute and gives equal time to Karmapa Thaye Trinley Dorje, who has now embarked on building a major meditation and spiritual center in Central California.
As president of the foundation in charge of this project, I am able to connect you to any of the spiritual leaders or outside experts who can present a more balanced, accurate and insightful view of what is really going on in the Karma Kagyu School and, by extension, within the Buddhist community. I believe that the failure to tell the complete story would perpetuate a distorted view about the Karmapa issue, ignore substantial and compelling evidence for Trinley Thaye Dorje’s claim to the title, and most of all, would be a disservice to your readers.

Sincerely,


Suzan Garner, President/CEO
Siddhartha Foundation International (SFI)
1774 Glen Oaks Drive
Santa Barbara, CA 93108
tel: 805-455-8420
email: suzan@sfi-usa.org
web: www.sfi-usa.org

Leaving Home

Dear friends,

on this morning of departure Ralph and I sit in an empty house (and a full car, ready to go) and I think of you and all the goodness that I have received in the two years we have walked together the (Bodhi) Path. Thank you all. May the seed of Bodhicitta grow in our hearts.

I want to share with you a poem by a Nyingma master, because it reminds me of Saraha:

Since pure awareness of nowness is the real buddha,
In openness and contentment I found the Lama in my heart.
When we realize this unending natural mind is the very nature of the Lama,
Then there is no need for attached, grasping, or weeping prayers or artificial complaints,
By simply relaxing in this uncontrived, open, and natural state,
We obtain the blessing of aimless self-liberation of whatever arises.

DUDJOM RINPOCHE

Be well
Julia

Blast from the Past

A photo of Ceez setting up offerings during Tsony's retreat at Zen Mountain Center in February 2007!

New Year's Day Rose Parade Photos

Retreat

Dhatu of Cayucos

saludos to the Glorious Sangha!

some photos for your enjoyment...


on the road..


dhatu of cayucos...


OM MUNI MUNI MAHA MUNI SAKYAMUNI SVAHA

Blessing Mudra of the Shamarpa

Shamarpa: red hat lama of the Kamtsangpa School, with Vajravarahi above and Black-Cloak Mahakala below.
Youthful in appearance with the eyes gazing slightly downward, he is light in complexion. The right hand held to the heart is in the mudra (gesture) of blessing and the left placed palm upward in the lap performs the mudra of meditation supporting a small black begging bowl. The head is adorned with the red vajra crown in the same design as the black vajra hat of the Karmapas. Attired in the garb of a monk, across the shoulders is an orange patchwork robe. Covering the upper torso is a monastic vest, originally designed for the Buddhist nuns of India. The lower body is wrapped with a thick red meditation cloak decorated with a gold floral pattern. With the head surrounded by a blue aureola of light, the back supported by a dark blue backrest and the top covered with a white scarf, above a thick cushion seat, spread with a monk's patchwork mat, he sits atop a small throne platform. In front on a plain table a water flask, teacup and a gold plate stacked with fruit are arranged. From the foreground of a plain green hillock, blue clouds rise into a violet sky behind.
Above and below the outline of the hands and feet of the lama have been traced and filled with gold, standing on a pink lotus blossom, each marked on the palm and sole with a faint eight-spoked Dharma wheel.

Eastern Tibet 1700 - 1799Karma (Kagyu) and Buddhist Lineages
Collection of Rubin Museum of Art

http://www.himalayanart.org/image.cfm/195.html

Mala Knot

Hi friends, reciters of mantras.

I just found a description of the vajra knot in my archives and as there is regularly somebody looking for an occasion to learn how to do it, this could be of help. Of you have questions about it, ask me!

Best to all of you.

Julia

Sunday sweeping!

On Sunday, May 4th, 9:30-12:00 noon, at Robin Stout's home (666 Madre Street, Pasadena) we will have our next group practice day proceeded by a Refuge ceremony lasting approximately 45mins.

Stroke and Enlightenment

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/229

This is an interesting talk by a Neuroscientist who describes her experience of a stroke in terms that resemble amazingly descriptions of mystic experiences.

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche in LA

Dharma Stuff ~ August 8-10, 2008 Los Angeles, CA

August 8: Friday, 7-9PM
August 9: Saturday, 9AM-12PM
August 10: Sunday, 9AM-12PM

www.siddharthasintent.org/Programs/0808-DharmaStuff-LA.html

Purity!

Hello Friends - Seekers of Eternal Purity!
One of my meditation teachers in France, Lama Wally, once told us: What is the purpose of doing all those Vajrayana purification practices, if then you fill your body indiscriminately with (junk) food? I don't remeber whether that were the exact words, but anyway, it makes sense to me (even though I don't claim to be the perfect purist, when it comes to sweets...)
Anyhow, Erinn found this funny contribution to the discussion on purity and naturalness. Enjoy!

Welcome, Tsony!

Great News!

In case you wonder who hides behind the name Busuku in our list of blog contributers: it is Tsony. We are happy to have you connected and hopefully hear from you from time to time, Tsony!

Voila.

No fool's compassion

A couple of years ago, when I learned the outrageous overhead of a BINGO (Big International Non-Government Organisation). I felt that I was a fool to donate to them.

I came across the Smile Train project last night. Rather than wasting on "overhead", 100% of anyone's donation will go to cleft-repair surgery. Its overhead is funded by the directors.

It is the most cost-efficient cleft-repair surgery provider in the world. For a mere $250, one can change the life of other person like this.

Please read these two New York Times Magazine articles in here & here about their "business" model.

As a Buddhist, we were taught to have compassion but not to have a fool's compassion. IMHO, the Smile Train might fit into this "no fool's compassion" model.