It has become customary
for Gyalwang Karmapa to make a concludiing speech during the
final session of the Monlam. Today he first gave an introductory
talk about the function of dedication, beginning with the duties
of laypeople and sangha with respect to offerings. The supreme
field of offering, he explained, is the sangha, those who have
pure conduct, because there were two benefits which arose from
making offerings to the sangha: the benefit of giving, and the
benefit of the offering being accepted. Laypeople have to offer
with devotion, and the sangha should have genuine aspirations
when they make the prayers and dedication. It was said that if
both these conditions were met, it was possible for laypeople to
become enlightened simultaneously.
Those making the
dedication had to know how to make it properly because if the
person making the offering lacked the corrrect motivation,
through the dedication the offering could still become complete.
There were three
possible ways of making the dedication. The first and best way
was without any attachment or self interest in the light of an
understanding of emptiness, as described in the Perfection of
Wisdom Sutra and in Uma. The second way is to dedicate in the
same way as Buddhas and bodhisattvas. The third way was through
dedicating the merit to the enlightenment of all sentient
beings, without limit, so that it included all our own and
others merit, and encompassed the merit of the three times
-past, present and future. Basically, it was always importont
to wish for the peace, happiness and well-being of all sentient
beings, and to dedicate the merit without pride or attachment.
Finally, Gyalwang Karmapa
reminded everyone that merit is like a single drop of water;
on its own it won’t last for long but if you put it in the
ocean it will remain until the oceans run dry, and that is why
it had to be dedicated properly. He unwrapped his black crown
from its yellow silk cloth and placed it on his head ready for
the first prayer: The Offering of the Eight Auspicious
Substances.
In the second part of
his speech, Gyalwang Karmapa expressed his gratitude to all the
sponsors, and reminded the sangha that they should pray
earnestly during the dedications and aspirations. His Holiness
particularly mentioned “Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, my great and
kind teacher” and his Hong Kong Dharma Centre, led by Lama
Sonam, who were the main sponsors of the 27th Kagyu
Monlam. Then there were the hundreds of Kagyu Monlam workers ,
without whom the Monlam would not function and, finally,
everyone had to thank themselves and rejoice in the positive
virtue each one had created by being at the Monlam and taking
part.
Moving on, His Holiness
returned to environmental issues, which he had raised at the 26th
Kagyu Monlam. He noted that empty promises are worthless, and
he had done his best to fulfill his own promise to work for the
environment. The earth is our only home, he argued. Like an
enormous theatre, whether we are good or bad characters, we can
only commit our virtuous or non-virtuous deeds on the stage
that the earth provides. Without the theatre there will be no
more plays! The earth had shown great forebearance of human
activity up till now, but unless we woke up to the situation of
human activity harming countless sentient beings, terrible
disasters might befall us.
He introduced a new
focus on health issues for the coming year. So many diseases
linked to poor hygiene were preventable, and there were many
improvements which the monasteries could make in this area.
During the teachings on Milarepa, he had emphasised that
practising Dharma was more than study and prayer. The Dharma
had to be integrated into our lives and lead to action. His
Holiness emphasised that loving kindness and compassion need
to be expressed in action. He hoped that the monsteries could
take a lead in working for health improvements and be an
example in their local community. Unfortunately, he commented,
monasteries had become like elephants, large and unmoving.
Gyalwang Karmapa then
talked on a personal level of what it means to be Karmapa and
his own aspirations. “ Because of my karma, I had to carry the
name of Karmapa,” he began, “but I also have mental afflictions,
I can cry, I can laugh. Some people say to me Karmapa is Buddha.
You can’t get sick, you can’t feel good or feel bad. But this
is not how it is.” He then expressed his devotion and respect
for all schools of Tibetan Buddhism and vowed that he would try
to do whatever he could to help the Tibetan people. His heart
is sincere and his aspiration is that his life will be lived for
the sake and benefit of others. “ I am living and breathing,”
he said, “ with the intention of being of beneit to others” He
reminded everyone that in order to be of help, we need merit,
and merit comes from being mindful and practising the six
perfections. He suggested that people should look at him only
twenty-four years old, yet striving to do so much, and think
to themselves, “ I am much older. I should be doing more!”
He reminded everyone of
another point he had made during the Milarepa teaching, that,
ultimately, as Lord Buddha said, whether we attain
enlightenment or not depends on whether we practise or not.
As he ended his speech,
he turned his attention to the great aspiration and dedication
prayers about to be recited, and guided everyone’s thoughts. All
the merit accumulated had to be dedicated to the enlightenment
of limitless sentient beings, that they may be liberated from
suffering, and this had to be done in a non-partisan joyful
way, irrespective of caste or race.
He then detailed more
specific aspirations: that there may be peace and happiness
especially in India, the birthplace of Buddhism; that the
Dharma remain long bringing great benefit to all sentient
beings; that the wishes of His Holiness the Dalai Lama,
Avalokiteshvara in human form, be fulfilled, and that he be
able to serve the dharma; that the lineage holders of all the
different traditions live long; that the new Gaden Tripa live
long; that the Jonang Lineage be restored; that the sangha
remain in harmony.
His final aspirations
were reserved for Tibet: that there may be peace and happiness
in Tibet., and that the Land of Snows may become prosperous.
Now began the concluding prayers and everyone reached for
their khatags, The first prayer to be chanted was the
Dharma Blaze Aspiration , with its refrain of tenpa
yunring bar gyur chig - May the Dharma blaze for a long
time. At each refrain, His Holiness took the lead, waving his
khatag with a dignified flick of the wrist, and, at his signal,
the area under the Bodhi tree erupted into a sea of
fluttering white ceremonial scarves and joyful faces.
