From 17 until the 23 July, His Holiness the 17th Karmapa was in the north of England to give series of teachings at Lama Jampa’s Dechen Kagyu centres. On Thursday 18 he bestowed the initiation of Green Tara in the beautiful Yorkshire town of Harrogate.
On Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 July he gave two mornings of teachings on the bodhisattva way of life and in the afternoon the initiations on Sangye Menla and Chenrezik respectively. Amongst many things, His Holiness spoke about the central role of wishes in the dharma, about refuge as being the heartfelt ‘wish to wake up’ and bodhchitta as the wish that all beings be free from bad dreams. He also spoke about the value and power of reading and re-reading the Bodhisattvacharyavatara, and of developing a good relationship with both study and practice.
During his visit His Holiness found time bless the stupa at Kagyu Ling Buddhist centre and to talk at length with Lama Jampa on topics ranging from how one can find a good teacher to the state of dharma in the west. Selected video footage of these discussions will be available on Lama Jampa’s YouTube channel in due course.