News archives

Karmapa-media profile

Asia Times Online - April 14, 2010
Entente cordiale blocks Karmapa Lama

By Saransh Sehgal

DHARAMSALA, India - The Indian government's ban on a long trip to Europe by the 17th Karmapa Lama, the second-most important "Living Buddha" after the Dalai Lama for Tibetans in exile here, has dealt a blow to the Free Tibet movement.

While many analysts believe New Delhi imposed the travel restriction on Karmapa so as not to upset Beijing and hurt ties between the two countries that are warming up, rumors have been circulating - without any hard evidence to back them up - that India suspects the Karmapa might be a spy for China.

Whatever the real reason, the ban comes at a time when the Karmapa is believed to be being groomed as successor to the aging Dalai Lama as spiritual leader of the Free Tibet moment. The Karmapa's potential would become limited if his activities were restricted by Indian authorities....

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/LD15Df01.html

The Asian Age - April 8, 2010
Karmapa Europe visit put on hold
(This article has been removed from Asian Age website)

By: RAMESH RAMACHANDRAN

http://asianage.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8240:karmapa-europe-visit-put-on-hold&catid=35:india&Itemid=60

Phayul - April 6, 2010
Indian Govt shows red signal to Karmapa over Europe tour

By Kalsang Rinchen

Dharamsala, April 6 – A proposed visit of the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorjee to Europe next month had to be called off as the Indian government has not given its approval to the visit scheduled from May 27 and July 2, 2010. The Karmapa was scheduled to give a series of teachings, lectures and initiations in nine European countries.

RIngu Tulku, the coordinator of the visit has written on a website dedicated for the visit that the decision was conveyed to the Kagyu Office through the exile Tibetan government.

“The process has begun to find out why this visit was not possible and what positive conditions are needed to make the visit possible in near future. I know a huge number of followers and friends in Europe were eagerly waiting for the visit of Gyalwang Karmapa and I know that all of you are sad and disappointed.”

The young head of the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism made his maiden visit outside India in May 2008 to the United States after the Ministry of External Affairs of the Indian government granted him permission in February 2008. The visit took place between May 15 to June 2, 2008. He arrived in India on January 5, 2000.

http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=27055&article=Indian+Govt+shows+red+signal+to+Karmapa+over+Europe+tour

A message from the Karmapa - April 7, 2010
Source Karmapaeurope.wordpress.com

A Statement from the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje

I know that the Co-ordinator of Karmapa in Europe 2010, has already notified everyone that my proposed visit has had to be cancelled for reasons beyond my control. I was very much looking forward to meeting with my European students, visiting your dharma centres, giving teachings, and having the opportunity to gain first-hand experience and insight into the great variety of European life and culture.

I was wholeheartedly preparing for this visit so you will understand that I too was sad and disappointed when I learned that I would not be able to come this time. However, I hope that this is merely a temporary setback and that I will definitely be able to visit Europe in the near future.

It remains for me to express my gratitude to Ringu Tulku and all of you in the different countries and dharma centres who have worked so hard to prepare for the visit. Please be assured that your work has not been in vain or wasted. By these efforts, you have planted a powerful seed and when it reaches fruition my intention to come to Europe will be fulfilled.

Meanwhile, my aspiration and vision remain firm. I am determined to follow in the footsteps of the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, renewing connections with long-standing students and forging a closer relationship with all my European friends, past, present and future.

17th Gyalwang Karmapa,
Ogyen Trinley Dorje,
Gyuto Tantric University,
Himachal Pradesh,
India
7th April, 2010

http://karmapaeurope.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/a-message-from-his-holiness/

The Guardian - February 26, 2010
'World's next top lama' to visit Europe

By Ed Halliwell

...With his rare combination of humour, gentleness, and charisma, the Dalai Lama remains, at 75, the undisputed western poster boy for both Buddhism and Tibet. But his singular popularity is both a boon and a curse for the Tibetan cause – such is the inextricable association between the ageing monk and his homeland that when he dies, there will come an emptiness that the western media, let alone Tibet, will struggle to fill. The procedures for finding a new incarnation being what they are, there will be no adult Dalai Lama for around a quarter of a century, unless unlikely radical rule changes are implemented.

More probable is a passing of the mantle to the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, who, it has been announced, will make his first ever trip to Europe in June, and will fulfil speaking engagements in London, Oxford and Scotland. Though he currently enjoys a fraction of the exposure given to the Dalai Lama, the 24-year-old Karmapa is increasingly being groomed for an expanded role – on his first US visit in 2008, Time magazine dubbed him the "world's next top lama". The lineage of Karmapas have tended to eschew political comment, but the current incarnation may be impelled to break with that tradition – he has already described the situation in Tibet as "dire", having reached "a level of emergency".

As head of the Karma Kagyu lineage, the Karmapa ranks third in the list of eminent Tibetan Buddhists, but with number two – the Panchen Lama – having disappeared (presumed captured by the Chinese) and replaced by a Beijing-sponsored appointee, it is the Karmapa who carries the hopes of many Tibetans for a future figurehead. And while the Dalai Lama has made it clear that Tibetan political authority must in future rest with an elected secular government, it seems unlikely that any Tibetan prime minister could match for public relations value the perceived spiritual power of a respected high lama. The previous 16th Karmapa apparently had it in spades – when in a US hospital dying of cancer, even hardcore religious sceptics among the hospital staff ended up referring to him as "his holiness", such was his good cheer and equanimity in the face of great pain and imminent death.

The current incarnation seems to bear up well against expectation. Born to a nomad family in East Tibet in 1985, he was formally recognised at the age of eight by a Karmapa search party and installed at Tsurphu Monastery near Lhasa. Despite attracting many Chinese devotees, relations with Beijing became strained, and at the start of the new millennium he made an audacious eight-day escape by horseback and helicopter over the mountains to India, where he was received in Dharamsala by the Dalai Lama, who he now regards as his teacher.

He insists, like his mentor, that he harbours no anger towards China, and supports a continued middle way policy rather than the independence demanded by some Tibetan radicals. Though considered more serious than the Dalai Lama, he has nevertheless impressed with his diplomacy, maturity and intelligence.

There has been controversy – his credentials are disputed among a faction of the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy, which found and enthroned its own Karmapa (a story of intrigue catalogued by Mick Brown in his book The Dance of 17 Lives). Some eyebrows were also raised recently when he admitted playing war games on his Playstation as a form of emotional therapy – "If I'm having negative thoughts or feelings, video games are one way I can release that energy in the context of the illusion of the game ... I don't have to go and hit anyone over the head."

Passionate about environmental issues, he is also a strict vegetarian (Tibetan Buddhists are usually meat-eaters) and a fan of hip-hop. A typical 24-year-old, basically. As to whether he has the charisma to walk in the shoes of his 75-year-old mentor is something that will likely only emerge once that mentor is no longer with us. In the meantime, his visit to the UK in June will offer a first-hand opportunity to experience the mind which may one day represent Tibet in the way the Dalai Lama does now.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/feb/26/karmapa-buddhism-lama

North India Times- July 27, 2009

Karmapa facing exile within an exile

By: Anamika Sarma

Ugyen Trinley Dorjee, the 17th Karmapa has been living as an exile within an exile from quite some time. His activities have been on the radar of security agencies ever since he was granted asylum in Dharamshala in January 2000 .Karmapa's activities which were earlier confined to a radius of 15 kilometres (between Dalai Lama's residence to Sidhbari where Karmapa resides) have reportedly been tightened further.

He cannot even see Dalai Lama easily. If the sources are to be believed, Karmapa's three requests to meet Dalai Lama were rejected by the Indian security agencies."On 25th of July (Saturday last) Karmapa was only given 30 minutes to see Dalai Lama. Earlier three requests made by him to see the spiritual Leader were turned down by the authorities ," sources close to Dalai Lama said.

In July last (2008) Indian government had refused to allow Karmapa to visit various monasteries in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir states. These Monasteries are situated close to China borders.

Karmapa has also been banned from travelling abroad by the Indian government. He made his first trip to the United States in 2008, including visits to New York and San Francisco. The trip was seen by Tibetans and security agencies as an attempt to raise his international profile. In fact , Karmapa is still being looked with an eye of suspicion. Sources said Karmapa was escorted by a group of four people till 2006 who were removed after the security agencies objected.

Not only this , a multi crore religious structure which the Karmapa Lama reportedly started on a huge land site ( 600 kanals ) in Kotla , 42 kms from Dharamshala had also come under scanner one month back when the Income Tax department and security agencies had questioned the souce of funding. The matter was also reported to the Ministry of External affairs which later stopped the construction of this structure. Atul Phulzhele , The superintendent of Police, Kangra refused to speak on the issue and said that the matter belongs to the Ministry of External affairs.

"I am not aware and not supposed to speak on karmapa issue," Atul Phulzehele said.

The buck does not stop here, a couple of months ago the Z plus security cover was also withdrawn from karmapa. Now in place of 24 security personnel , he is guarded by a single police constable .

Sources said, Karmapa is keen to visit USA again but the Indian authorities are not ready to budge. Twenty three year old Ugyen Trinley Dorjee , who took refuse in Dharamshala in January 2000 , is the leader of the Kagyu sect, one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The followers of Kagyu sect are believed to be richest among all Tibetans. The Dalai Lama is the head of the Gelug sect. Karmapa's followers often tip him as Dalai lama's successor but his sect is a major hindrance .

If the Indian authorities did not allow him to visit abroad, the Karmapa will have to spend his remaining life in Sidhbari , sources said.

http://www.northindiatimes.com/news/117/ARTICLE/1262/2009-07-27.html

The Business Standard- May 23, 2009,

The Karmapa Breaks His Silence

By: Anand Sankar

Ogyen Trinley Dorje hopes to get a university education, but will the government allow it? Anand Sankar wonde rs.

I n the Dalai Lama, both Tibet and Buddhism have their poster boy, though a triad governs the spiritual leadership of Tibetan Buddhism with the Gyalwang Karmapa and the Panchen Lama as important pivots. The last Karmapa, usually resident in Gangtok's Rumtek Monastery, passed away in 1981, and the search for his successor and the 17th Karmapa ended, like the Dalai Lama before him, in Tibet, from where he fled to India in January 2000 as a young boy barely 14-years-old. Trapped in the cross-fire between Chinese restrictions and accusations that he might be an indoctrinated "imposter" — part of the sect had recognised Trinley They Dorje as its Karmapa, while the larger view is that the spiritual leadership rests in the shape of Ogyen Trinley Dorje, with a few intellectuals suggesting that more than one Karmapa can manifest himself — Ogyen Trinley Dorje has remained out of the range of media glare while studying scriptures, science and psychology at the scenic Gyuto Monastery near the town of Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh..

... Nine years after his flight to India, the Karmapa lives under tight security and access to him is watched closely by the Indian government, which has granted him political asylum. No one is allowed to photograph him, or record an interview electronically, on orders from the home ministry. But conditions have been relaxed to allow him to travel to monasteries in India, and he made a maiden visit to the US last year...

How would you summarise your nine years in India?

There is more than one reason for thinking that much has been received. There is the ability to interact with many Rinpoches (Buddhist spiritual heads). The prime achievement is the opportunity to interact with people from different countries.

What interests you apart from spiritual studies and how do you plan to further your education in that field?

All my background education is traditional. Lately, I have made an endeavour with psychology and environmental studies. So far, I have been able to attend a few conferences but there has been no real opportunity to pursue serious study in these subjects. I want to study modern science in the near future and I hope to enroll into a university for formal education. Modern science and Buddhist philosophy are complementary and beneficial to each other.

Are you able to get messages from your family back home in Tibet? It is said your parents are unwell.

At random, yes, I do get messages. My parents are in good health and occasionally they do send me messages.

You have maintained a distance from political activities in support of the Tibetan struggle. How long do you see yourself keeping to that stance?

It is difficult to say [since] one is not affiliated with politics. It is very much a part of life. The possibilities are there and a time might come [to engage more actively with politics]. I might engage in giving directives. I don't want to be a politician though. I want to be involved with matters of society.

At 23, you are in the age bracket of today's Tibetan youth. How do you want to engage with them?

From a very young age I have had a straight and direct connectivity with younger people. They also feel close to me, we have a close relationship. I find myself as a bridge between older times and modern times. We must not be carried away by the impact of modern times. We need a pure and pristine understanding of both times.

After coming to India, you said you felt restricted due to the government not allowing you to travel. How do you feel after your trip to America?

It was a very short trip, but a big opening of the door. It was relaxed and happy. I hope more such opportunities come.

What is your view of the many ongoing crises in the world today?

The world faces economic crisis and conflict, especially wars. Behind all this is man, his behaviour, of which we need to take stock. But these issues are less serious than the environmental crisis. Controlling population is a solution, but, again, the solution depends on behaviour.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/the-karmapa-breaks-his-silence/358897/

Himvani- May 10, 2009

I-T dept raids Tibetan monasteries in Himachal

By: Ravinder Vasudeva

Dharamshala: In a significant development, income tax officials have been raiding Tibetan settlements in Kangra district for the last few days after they got leads about a number of benami land deals being carried out in the area.

According to sources, the Income Tax department of the government of India has even raided Karmapa's premises after receiving intelligence reports about huge amount of money being used by his office to buy land in and around Dharmashala.

According to reports, a team headed by Additional Commissioner of Income Tax, Vinod Kumar Singh, raided the Karmapa's premises and similar raids have also been conducted in other monasteries in the region. Unconfirmed information received from sources suggest that the land on which Karmapa has build the monastery was initially bought in the name of person, Raj Mukh Singh Negi, a resident of Morang village of Kinnaur district, which he later donated to the Karmapa.

What has really raised the eyebrows of the I-T officials is the increasing amount of benami properties being bought in McLeodganj, Sudhed and Sidhbari areas around Dharamsala, the areas in which Tibetan monasteries are situated. A report published in a daily vernacular has termed the estimated cost of these benami properties to worth 15,000 crores. The reports has also raised serious questions about a suspected "behind the scene' role of the Chinese government.

It may be mentioned that recently, a land deal in Shahpur on behalf of the Karmapa was protested by locals, alleging that the land was illegally transferred.

http://www.himvani.com/news/2009/05/10/i-t-dept-raids-tibetan-monasteries-in-himachal/2853/

The Times (India) - March 12, 2009

Karmapa Ugyen Trinley Dorje: the hip-hop lama ready to lead the Tibetan struggle

By: Jeremy Page

…The Karmapa had grown into a confident 23-year-old man, who, I learnt, balances Buddhist studies with painting, learning English, listening to hip-hop on his iPod and playing "war games" on his PlayStation.
He is also now being talked about as a potential successor to the Dalai Lama – and a mediator between China and the 200,000 Tibetans in exile.

"His Holiness [the Dalai Lama] has been very successful in laying the foundations for the Tibetan struggle," he said, speaking partly in broken English and partly through an interpreter.

"He has done a great job. Now it is time for the next generation to build on this and carry it forward."

In 2000, however, he [the Karmapa] shocked Beijing by fleeing on foot and horseback to India.

When he first arrived, Indian intelligence thought he was a spy. He needed an escort to pray and exercised by walking around the roof of his new monastery. "Personally speaking, it didn't meet my expectations," he said. "Sometimes I feel a little bit like a prisoner. Like under house arrest."

Visitors are still frisked and forbidden to carry cameras and mobile phones. Three bodyguards monitor his quarters, one an Indian security agent with a pistol tucked in his jeans.

Some Tibet experts say that China is leaving a window open for the Karmapa as an interlocutor but he has his own ideas about what role he should play.

"I wish I have no political responsibilities . . . Having a monk as head of state doesn't qualify as a fully fledged democracy," he said.

He took an equally independent view of recent unrest in Tibet, saying: "All this could be a blessing in disguise. All the inspiration for the Tibetan struggle is coming from within Tibet." He admitted that sometimes he felt frustrated and vented his "negative energy" playing "war games" on his computer.

— The Karmapa is the leader of the Kagyu sect, one of four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama heads the Gelung sect
— The 17th Karmapa is a keen environmentalist and has overseen the publication of environmental guidelines for his followers Karmapas wear a black crown, so are sometimes described as the Black Hat Lamas
— The first Karmapa died in 1193, having attained enlightenment at the age of 50. His successor, the second Karmapa, is claimed to have been the first reincarnated lama
Source: Times database

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5891043.ece

Reuters India- March 2, 2009

"EXCLUSIVE- Among Tibetan exiles, a new "living Buddha" emerges"

By; Alistair Scrutton and Abhishek Madhukar

…His followers say he is forbidden from talking about politics by the Indian government. But the Karmapa sees a growing role as an advocate for Tibetan rights.

"We are under a huge power, under the suppression of a huge power and the suppression is so extreme that sometimes we have no right, liberty to breathe in and out," the Karmapa said, referring to China.

During the interview, he occasionally rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders when the translator tried to direct talk away from politics, a sign perhaps of a young rebel under his maroon-coloured robes.

…The Dalai Lama has suggested the idea of a regent, a spiritual leader who could take his place while a new Lama was groomed. But the Karmapa -- again in a hint of rebelliousness -- said he might not want the job.

"Tibetan society today is a democracy, so each individual has rights and reasons to say what he feels and thinks. It is not compulsory for someone to follow what someone has said."

The Karmapa's upbringing -- he speaks fluent Chinese and writes Chinese calligraphy -- may allow him to mend bridges with Beijing.
"
These learnings can help in creating a cordial understanding, relationship and providing a sort of situation for peaceful coexistence," said the Karmapa.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/66156.cms

Thaindian News -March 2, 2009

"Z plus' security of Tibetan spiritual leader withdrawn"

Dharamsala, Feb 26 (IANS) The Himachal Pradesh government has withdrawn "Z plus" security provided to 17th Karmapa, Ugyen Trinley Dorjee, the only major monk reincarnate recognised by both the Dalai Lama and China, police officials said Thursday.

"After reviewing the threat perception, the "Z plus' security provided to the Karmapa has been withdrawn. We are following the directions of the central government," Kangra's superintendent of police Atul Kumar Fulzele told IANS. Under the "X category", only one personal security officer would accompany the spiritual guru while he is on tour.

Gonpo Tsering, secretary to the Karmapa, said he had no information in this regard.

"We have no information (regarding the decision of the government to withdraw "Z plus' security)," Tsering said.

The third most important Tibetan religious head after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, the Karmapa fled Tibet and sought refuge in India some nine years ago. Ever since, he has mostly lived in the Gyuto Tantric monastery.

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/z-plus-security-of-tibetan-spiritual-leader-withdrawn_100160153.html

NEWSWEEK - Feb 21, 2009

"Tibet's Rising Son"

By- Patrick Symmes
…Asked directly if he can replace the Dalai Lama as a leader, he replied that he was only one of many possible heirs. "The Dalai Lama is like the sun. No matter how many stars there are, they don't look too bright in comparison." A broader leadership could form, he suggested, "if many stars come together [with] the same strength and power and brilliance of that sun."

He has condemned violence, including the Tibetan riots against Chinese rule in Lhasa last April that killed dozens of ethnic Chinese. But he says he understands the "sheer frustration, the sheer sense of suffocation" of Tibetans scattered in exile or forced to live under Chinese rule.

"For any living being," he said, "when you feel the force of being cornered time and again, more and more, the time comes when you have nothing else left except to explode."

…"When there isn't somebody like him [the Dalai Lama], then there is a great danger." But isn't there someone like him waiting in the wings—the Karmapa Lama, perhaps? "I have no goals, nor any ambitions to be of great influence," the Karmapa said during the interview at his monastery in Bihar. "But if circumstances make me a force for change, then I am a force for change."

In some obvious ways, the Karmapa Lama is a wrong choice to replace the Dalai Lama. Already a tulku, or reincarnation, he cannot be chosen as the reborn Dalai Lama. The Karmapa is also from a rival school of Buddhism, the Kagyu, a small order known colloquially as the Black Hats. Naming the Karmapa as regent would effectively place an outsider at the head of the Dalai Lama's own Gelug, or Yellow Hat, sect. That's like sending an Episcopalian to oversee the Vatican for 20 years.

"Theological issues are becoming secondary," Lobsang of Harvard notes. Choosing the Karmapa Lama fits "the political reality of the Tibetan movement."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/185796/page/1

McClatchy Newspapers- Feb 17, 2009

" Meet a living Buddha: Young, handsome, with an old soul"-

By: Tim Johnson

…Even eight years after the more popular Karmapa's arrival, security agents still hover, barring journalists from bringing cameras, tape recorders or electronic devices to interviews.

The Karmapa said he'd like to play a bigger role in easing tensions between Tibetans and Han Chinese but doesn't quite know how to do so.
"If I get a chance, I want to do this. I'm not sure I'll get this chance. It's difficult, as you see, to connect with the outside world," he said, signaling to the security presence.

… The Karmapa has been given a significantly looser leash by Indian security, winning a chance to visit with U.S. followers last summer in New York, Boulder, Colo., and Seattle, a trip he called "wonderful" and adding, "I found some freedom."

His residence in exile carries some sadness, too, as his parents remain in Tibet. China doesn't permit them to travel to India. "I want to see my parents," he said. "Their life is very simple, in a remote place."
So he devotes himself to intense religious study, preparing himself for the future, although he does enjoy a favorite pastime.

"I like music. I can't dance because of these robes," he said. "I just listen."

http://www.newsobserver.com/1573/story/1307970.html

My Himachal- Jan 12, 2009

"Land for housing Karmapa monastery in Himachal yet to be settled"

By - Ravinder Makhaik

Shimla:Efforts to establish a monastery suitable for housing Orgyen Trinley Dorje, claimant for the 17th Karmapa of the Kaygu sect of Tibetan Buddhism presently living at the Gyuto Tantaric monastery - Sidhbari in Kangra district for the last eight years has failed to resolve even as there are reports about land having been marked out at two possible sites.

http://himachal.us/2009/01/12/land-for-housing-karmapa-monastery-in-himachal-yet-to-be-settled/9555/news/ravinder

PBS-RELIGION AND ETHICS NEWS WEEKLY- July 11, 2008

"KARMAPA LAMA"

By: Kim Lawton

…GYALWANG KARMAPA (teaching, through a translator): And I would think thoughts like, why are my attendants who are disciples of the Karmapa making my life so miserable? Why are they locking me in a box and putting on the lid?

LAWTON: Followers say this karmapa is well aware that technology has made the world a smaller place, and that Buddhism must stay relevant.

GYALWANG KARMAPA (through translator): Because of the Internet, we live in an age in which information can travel very rapidly to different places. Before, it used to be the case that just having a karmapa alive was good enough for everyone. People didn't need a lot of information about who the karmapa was or what the karmapa was doing.

SURYA DAS: He has continuously talked about not holding on to things just because they're old, but to adapt, and keep the essence, but to adapt to new times and places.

LAWTON: This karmapa believes that Eastern Buddhists and Western Buddhists can learn from one another.

GYALWANG KARMAPA (through translator): The essential points of Buddhism are beyond culture and beyond traditions.

LAWTON: Given the level of devotion he's already cultivating in the West, his followers say this karmapa lama may well be the future face of Buddhism around the world.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week1145/profile.html

TIME- May 29, 2008

"Ogyen Trinley Dorje: the Next Dalai Lama?"

By : DAVID VAN BIEMA

…In a pre-trip video, he described his religious goals but also expressed the hope that "by connecting with a powerful country such as the United States ... my own abilities to bring peace to the world ... will be enhanced." He says he'd like to spend two months a year in the U.S.
His religious plans are adventurous, too. He wants to be a "21st century religious leader," reaching beyond those of his faith. "My work is not going to be conducted only among other Buddhists," he said, "but to help everyone."

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1810314,00.html

NEWSWEEK- July 7-14, 2008 issue

On the eve of his 23rd birthday, the monk spoke to Newsweek's Sudip Mazumda r about his recent trip to America, the global pro-Tibet protests and boycotting the upcoming Beijing Olympics. Excerpts:

MAZUMDAR : How has your recent trip to the United States changed your perspectives on the world?

THE KARMAPA: It was a big change for me, because I had only seen pictures of America. Now I have seen America in real life, and I was amazed. The Western world is so different from the Eastern world. I feel that I can learn so much from the Western world.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/143672

The Times of India- May 18, 2008

"Tibetans deserve care just like the quake victims"

By: Shoban Saxena

Interviewer: What is the objective of your visit to the US at this critical juncture?

Karmapa: My immediate predecessor, the 16th Karmapa, set up a number of dharma centres in the US during his time there. And, eventually, he also achieved nirvana in that country. As a result of his activities, we have a huge number of devotees and students in America. They have been looking forward to my visit to the US.

So the main purpose of this trip is to fulfill the wishes of the people who have been waiting for the continuation of the activities of the 16th Karmapa. We applied for this trip a year ago and the permission came through this year.

The government of India gave you permission to travel abroad after eight years. Aren't you disappointed by such a long wait?

No. For me, it's ok. When I was recognized as the reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa, I was just eight and from that time I have been living a very traditional, closed life in a monastery. For me, it's ok. I am quite used to living in a cage (smiles).

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Deep_Focus/Tibetans_deserve_care_just_like_the_quake_victims/articleshow/3049857.cms

Shambhala Sunspace- September 2008

"Kindness Is the Most Important Thing": an interview with the 17th Karmapa Melvin Mcleod –Shambhala Sun Editor in Chief

You've spoken several times here in Seattle about the freedom of Americans and how much that has impressed you. What were you referring to specifically?

The 17th Karmapa: My sense of the spirit of American freedom comes from my experience relating to Westerners. It seems to me that in general Westerners are very spacious and open-minded. I have seen this in my meetings with Westerners who come to see me in India. I really admire their directness, their forthrightness, their freedom. They say things to you directly and frankly, instead of holding back. There's a feeling of openness that I like very much, and I feel even more kinship with that spirit now that I have come here to America.

When I interviewed you last year in New Delhi for the Shambhala Sun's sister publication, Buddhadharma, you talked about the evolution taking place in your life from your previous secular identity to becoming the Karmapa. How has this visit to the West changed your understanding of what it means to be the Karmapa?

The 17th Karmapa: I think my appreciation for what it means to be the Karmapa has deepened since I have come to the United States. Previously, I had met Westerners in India and Tibet, but it's different to come here and see with my own eyes that there are thousands of people who are looking to me with hope. I have the sense that I have to stretch my arms out even further than I have stretched them before, that I have to widen my perspective even more than it had been before, keeping in mind all of the people throughout the world who have faith and hope toward the Karmapa. I'm encouraged to think in an even vaster way about all the people who live in different places and have different habits, and try to benefit them in accordance with their specific situations.

One of the places you visited here was Disneyland. Was that something you particularly wanted to do?

The 17th Karmapa: The people hosting my visit of the U.S. were interested in showing me the neatest places to go in terms of recreation and leisure. I was really happy to have the opportunity to go to Disneyland. I've been familiar with Mickey Mouse since I was young, so it was a great experience to go to Mickey Mouse's hometown. I was really delighted with my experience at Disneyland-I saw so much in just a couple of hours. The density of the experience was wonderful.

http://www.shambhalasun.com/sunspace/?p=5099

"PRISONER OF DHARAMSALA" 2001 - Rashmi Saksena

A letter written by a 14-year-old boy in the cold mountains of Himachal Pradesh has become a red hot document on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's table. It is no ordinary letter from an ordinary teenager. The spiritual leader of the Kagyu order of Tibetan Buddhism, the 17th Karmapa, under virtual house arrest at Dharamsala after his dramatic appearance in India last January, has for the first time written direct to Vajpayee expressing his desire to be allowed to go to Rumtek, his seat-in-exile, in Sikkim.

The Karmapa had earlier written a similar appeal to Home Minister L.K. Advani. Several heavyweights, including the Dalai Lama and chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh, also wrote to Advani urging that the Karmapa be permitted to travel. All these states have a large number of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries.

Clearly the Karmapa, confined to the Gyuto Ramoche Monastery at Sidburi, 6 km downhill from Dharamsala, is getting restless. Under the Foreigners Act, India has put restrictions on his movements since his appearance in McLeodganj, the Dalai Lama's headquarters 10 km uphill from Dharamsala. Even visits by Hollywood stars like Richard Gere and Pierce Brosnan or Bollywood actors like Suresh Oberoi are not enough to make the Karmapa satisfied with his stay at Gyuto.

He is permitted to drive within a 10 km radius when invited to attend religious functions and conferences. He gives public darshan at the temple in the Gyuto monastery on specific days but is barred from meeting the media. Photographs are also out for security reasons. Even during an audience with special devotees there is little scope to meet journalists.

http://www.karmapa.org.nz/articles/2001/saksena.html

The Observer- April 29, 2001

Interview with His Holiness

By: Luke Harding

…The Karmapa's dramatic escape - which echoed the Dalai Lama's flight from Tibet 40 years earlier - captured the West's imagination and made him a celebrity.

But it also plunged the boy lama into a political chess game. Shortly after greeting the Dalai Lama for the first time, with blistered feet and cracked cheeks, the Karmapa found himself more or less locked up in a monastery near Dharmasala, the scruffy hill station in northern India which is home to the Tibetan government in exile.

'I sometimes wondered who had taken my freedom away,' he said. 'It wasn't that much different from my previous state in Tibet, where I was constantly watched.' The Indian security guards who lived downstairs rarely allowed him out.

…The Karmapa has made it clear he wants to travel to his sect's principal monastery, Rumtek, in Sikkim. But so far the Indian government has prevented him from going. China has never accepted Sikkim as part of India, and it seems officials fear his presence there would further offend Beijing.

http://www.kagyuoffice.org/karmapa.reference.media.observer.010429.html

The Times of India-Nov 5, 2002

"Boy Lama to Spiritual Icon"

By - Swati Chopra

NEW DELHI : For the past three years, Ugyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, has lived in limbo. Ever since his daring flight from Tibet, he has been waiting in the wings to take up his spiritual duties as head of the Tibetan Buddhist Karma Kagyu sect through formal enthronement at his predecessor's monastery in Rumtek, Sikkim.

Now, the 18-year-old's spirit seems to be flagging.

""I have faced some trying times. It has been quite disheartening,'' he said, during a rare visit to Delhi.

Although he cushions his candor by wishing for the ""confidence and support of the government and people of India'', the strain of living under constant surveillance is palpable.
The unkindest cut for him, however, have been the Indian government's suspicions of his being an agent of the Chinese government.

""To the best of my ability, I have made clarifications. I cannot think of answers to every new point that is raised except for what is the truth. Because the Chinese authorities ended up with egg on their face, they are trying to make it appear as if they had a hand in my escape. This has confused the Indian government,'' says the Karmapa.

…Like other Tibetans who hold India in great reverence as the land of the Buddha, the Karmapa speaks of a ""great longing'' for the ""land of democracy and spirituality'' as being a source of strength during his difficult journey to India. Today, he is not so sure. ""Unfortunately, my confidence in India's spirituality is shaken,'' he says

…Then, last month, the Karmapa attended the Mind and Life conference, a dialogue between Buddhism and modern science, at the Dalai Lama's invitation in Dharamsala. ""It was a great exposure. I would like to study science seriously in future,'' he said about the experience."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/27395909.cms

The Times of India-July 8, 2003

"I cant stay in Dharamsala forever: Karmapa"

By: Jagdish Bhatt

SHIMLA: Ugyen Trinley Dorjee, the 17^th Karmapa of the Kagyu order of Tibetan Buddhism on Tuesday said that Rumtek monastery in Sikkim is his permanent seat and he should be there.

Talking to Times News Network, he said that Dharamsala was not his official seat and he could not stay there forever. "The Indian government should allow me to go to Rumtek, in fact, it should help me go there, where my permanent seat is in the monastery", he added.
He said that he had been living in Dharamsala for the last three years, ever since he crossed over and came to India, but he had not been given permission to move out by the Indian government. Even the permission to visit Shimla was given after three years, he added.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/66156.cms

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