I think it is important for us to use these opportunities to try to gain a sense of continuous harmony, cooperation, and friendliness with each other. It is a chance for us to remind ourselves of this, and refresh our concern for one another and our support and closeness to one another. These gatherings are an important reminder of what our collective situation is like, how we’re doing as a people in general. “It is very important for Tibetans to come together when such occasions arise,” he said, “because when we are scattered, we tend to begin to forget our collective situation and our collective condition, and focus more exclusively on our own individual lives, as opposed to what’s going on with everyone else. He began reflecting about the overall state of the Tibetan refugee population worldwide, noting that although Tibetans have scattered to many areas of the globe, those Tibetans living in the United States have many opportunities to come together as a community, since so many important leaders do visit the USA often. Old, young and the very young were all turned out in traditional Tibetan attire. His Holiness at a certain point quipped that he might need to speak louder to be heard over the children, but this just seemed to make them louder. Parents had brought their children, and the far end of the hall served as a makeshift playground for them. In perfect keeping with the sense of a family gathering, the discourse was punctuated by the delighted shrieks of children playing together at the far back of the vast space. Since we’re all family, I feel it would be suitable for me to share some spontaneous thoughts and ideas with you this evening.” “Nevertheless,” the 17th Karmapa said, “since we are all Tibetans, we are like one big family, and one does not need to prepare any kind of speech to give when you meet your own family members. His Holiness the Karmapa reflected that since Tibetans living in the United States have the tremendous good fortune of seeing and receiving advice from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama frequently, as well as other great masters of the various traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, he himself did not come prepared with anything in particular to communicate to them. We are all refugees, we have all been separated from our homeland and we all share the same sorrows and joys in connection with our experience as Tibetans.” This is because we are all the same in terms of being Tibetan. “These opportunities to meet together with you are very important to me. “I’m always very happy to meet with members of the Tibetan community wherever I go in the world,” he told the large assembly. This time, the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa spoke to a gathering of over 1,300 Tibetans, who had assembled from all across northern California and beyond.Īddressing this gathering of the Tibetan community in diaspora, His Holiness spoke from the heart, describing how important it was to him to have such opportunities to meet with his fellow Tibetans, and reflecting on ways to address the challenges that Tibetans collectively face as a people in exile. At that time, thousands of people had crowded into a harborside hangar in Fort Mason, right across the water from where the 17th Karmapa addressed the Tibetan community. The setting was reminiscent of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa’s first major Dharma activity in San Francisco in 1974. The event took place in a warehouse space on the waterfront. At the invitation of the Tibetan Association of Northern California, in the evening His Holiness the Karmapa proceeded across the bay to Richmond to deliver an address to over 1,300 Tibetans from around the region. (March 19, 2015, San Francisco, California) After delivering a public teaching in the morning and visiting the Kagyu Droden Kunchab center and American Himalayans Foundation in the afternoon, His Holiness the Karmapa continued devoting time to connecting with Tibetans.
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