BODH GAYA, Dec 9: The “Karmapa 900 Years” celebration was held amidst a grand opening at a specially-built outdoor stage at Tergar Monastery in Bodh Gaya on Wednesday.
Hundreds of guests, including prominent lamas from Kagyu and other religious orders of Tibetan Buddhism and other Buddhist schools, thousands of monks and devotees from both home and abroad have gathered for the occasion.
The chief guests for the occasion, Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Samdhong Rinpoche, the Speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, Penpa Tsering, minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile and numerous other dignitaries gave standing ovation as the 17 Karmapa Orgyen Trinley Dorje received a statue of Dusum Khyenpa, the founder of the lineage of the Karmapa order, as the commemoration events commenced.
In his speech for the opening ceremomy, the Karmapa appealed to the people to pay attention towards education, to engage in meritorious works and to care for the environment.
Samdhong Rinpoche in his speech enumerated a brief chronology of the Karmapa lineage and the close ties the Karma Kagyu lineage has with the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
Rinpoche said that the founder of the Gelug order of Tibetan Buddhism — Je Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) — received the layman ordination from the 4th Karmapa, Rolpe Dorje, at age three.
The first in the line of 17 Karmapas, Dusum Khyenpa, was believed to have born in 1110 CE, and was believed to have lived up to a ripe age of 83.
Rinpoche said that he hoped to see the current 17th Karmapa to embody the greatness of all the past 16 Karmapas. He also said that the success and the respect for a lama depended on the way his disciples engage themselves in Dharma practice.
During a press conference, the young Karmapa lama recounted the strong religious and cultural relations shared between the people of Tibet and India.
He expressed his allegiance to the Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama, and said he supported the exiled Tibetan leader’s quest for a free Tibet through the ‘Middle-way’ policy, which seeks autonomy for Tibet.
Later in the afternoon, the Karmapa opened a water filtration system in front of the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya that he donated to the place.
Report filed by Lobsang Wangyal from Bodh Gaya
