Planning of HH the 16th Karmapa 1974/75 journey to the West
Courtesy Bruce Cowen/Karma Kargyud Society of Canada
Courtesy Bruce Cowen/Karma Kargyud Society of Canada
For the first Black Crown ceremony in the West, please scroll down.
The 17 of September 2024 was the 50th anniversary of His Holiness the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa touching western soil.
This page is intended as an homage and an occasion to express gratitude and to celebrate.
Texts and links to various articles on this subject will be published gradually.
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Karmapa’s First Journey
to the West
These days, people have very strong emotions and their behavior can change very quickly. Their human existence possibly might not last long and after it they might have to experience suffering like the heat of the lower realms.
If we can spread the Dharma everywhere, thanks to the compassion of the Dharma, they can discern what is right and what is wrong and eventually pull back from negative actions. Accordingly, this suffering will be minimized.
The 16th Gyalwa Karmapa.
The 16th Gyalwa Karmapa seems to have fixed the “perfect timing” of his travel dates in 1974. One day he told Sister Palmo: “Fetch my calendar.” He went through it and stopped on one page. “On September the 15th we leave for the West!” he announced. What seemed like a random choice was, according to “Mummy-la” (Sister Palmo), “in fact the display of a vast mind scanning the universe to settle on the most auspicious intersection of time and space to help usher in the historic event” when he would start to spread Tibetan Buddhism in the West.[1]
As planned, he did leave Rumtek on that very day for his first journey to western shores. His entourage included vajra master Tenga Rinpoche, Jigme Rinpoche, Bardor Rinpoche, Akong Rinpoche, Sister Palmo, Lama Tenzin Chönyi, chant master Umze Thubten, attendant Lama Tsültrim Namgyal, Lodrö Sherab, Chöpen Gyaltsen Lobsang, Jamdrak (today Lama Yeshe Losal), and the translators Achi Tsepal and Dr. Andrea Loseries-Leick[2]. On September 17th they flew to London, where the Karmapa was welcomed by Chime, Ato, and Akong Rinpoches along with some of their students, and representatives of other European centers, including Hannah and Ole Nydahl.
As planned, he did leave Rumtek on that very day for his first journey to western shores. His entourage included vajra master Tenga Rinpoche, Jigme Rinpoche, Bardor Rinpoche, Akong Rinpoche, Sister Palmo, Lama Tenzin Chönyi, chant master Umze Thubten, attendant Lama Tsültrim Namgyal, Lodrö Sherab, Chöpen Gyaltsen Lobsang, Jamdrak (today Lama Yeshe Losal), and the translators Achi Tsepal and Dr. Andrea Loseries-Leick[2]. On September 17th they flew to London, where the Karmapa was welcomed by Chime, Ato, and Akong Rinpoches along with some of their students, and representatives of other European centers, including Hannah and Ole Nydahl.
HH the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, Chime Rinpoche, Seulpeunla Tsultrim Namgyal and unknown disciple at London airport in November 1974.
Arrival in New York
The following day Karmapa took a plane to New York. The welcoming party when he landed at John F. Kennedy Airport consisted mainly of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and his students. His Holiness was given a warm, traditional reception with khatas, incense and a lot of flowers. Having been welcomed in the custom of his own country, Karmapa responded in the style of his hosts with an “American style handshake.”[3] A VIP-lounge had been prepared, which even included a throne for him to give his first blessings in the new world. “He seemed very touched by the joyous welcome which was for some a happy reunion, and for others the moment when this legendary person we had heard about became flesh and blood,” remembers one of those present. “It was difficult not to get swept up in the festive moment and enthusiasm.”[4]
Trungpa Rinpoche, whose former incarnations had been connected with the Karmapas since the 5th Karmapa Deshin Shegpa, had not seen his master since 1968. It was a touching reunion. Trungpa, whose physical handicap normally did not allow him to do prostrations, could do nothing other than prostrate right in front of the Karmapa and “from that moment on, Rinpoche went into an energy state that we had never seen before.”[5] He was not afraid to cry in public, and he was not the only one. The others were also immediately transfixed by the Karmapa’s presence. “It was not necessary that he had to do something special for this. It was sufficient that he was simply present”, as a practitioner who assisted the events expressed it. Karmapa travelled with a Bhutanese diplomatic passport and the US had given him diplomatic status.[6] On the way to his accommodation he had a motorcade of NYC police flanking his convoy of cars. “The reception was just amazing, everything was very well organized and His Holiness was received like a head of state,” remembers translator Achi Tsepal. Even the small flags on his car’s wings were in place.
His Holiness stayed in New York at the Bodhi House in Port Jefferson on Long Island, where he was generously hosted by Dr. and Mrs. C. T. Shen , who were without doubt the greatest Buddhist benefactors in the US.[7] Away from the hectic city, these wealthy suburbs, with their villas in a park-like coastal setting, provided an ideal base for Karmapa’s activities during these first days in the West.
Dr. and Mrs. Shen, who hosted Karmapa at the request of Trungpa Rinpoche’s sangha, originally had not been especially interested in the Karmapa’s visit. On the eve of Gyalwa Karmapa’s arrival, according to Jigme Rinpoche, they did not even want to actually meet him. But then, the night before the arrival, Shen had a dream in which. The sun shone very strongly in his Bodhi House.
He considered this to be extraordinary”, Jigme Rinpoche remembers, “and decided to look through the house. When he came into his library, he found seven large footprints on the floor. He had a PhD in Buddhist philosophy and so he knew what his dream and the footprints meant and was really perplexed. They showed that a Buddha had come to North America, and so Dr. Shen decided to support Karmapa.”[8]
This miracle had impressed the Shens to such a degree that, as Sister Palmo said,
“They kept quiet about it and felt embarrassed talking about it. It was actually only in the hotel, where the goodbye ceremony took place, that they told His Holiness about the seven footsteps that had appeared. His Holiness was silent for a while and then he said: ‘Yes, in the time of Deshin Shegpa and the time of Karma Pakśi there are stories about the appearance of seven footsteps before the coming of the Karmapa’.”
When Karma Pakśi manifested this, it is said, he did so in order to prove that he was a great being, because the people who received him in China didn’t believe in his powers or that he was a Buddha. So as in the West people mainly believe what they see, the reason for manifesting the seven footsteps on the Bodhi House estate in Long island was to show in a material way that the person who was coming was not an ordinary person.[9]
Photo:
Welcome ceremony in the VIP lounge at J.F. Kennedy Airport, New York, 18 September 1974.
19 September
On the second day he visited Manhattan. On the way, his group stopped briefly at the Institute for the Advanced Studies of World Religions at Stony Brook University, which was headed by Dr. Shen and which houses a huge collection of Tibetan texts. A tour through the United Nations followed, ending with His Holiness performing a short pūjā in the U.N.’s inter-religious Church Center and giving blessings. In the afternoon they enjoyed the spectacular view from the Empire State Building.
20 September
Later Karmapa visted the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, where Trungpa’s sangha had rented a whole floor. There he gave a reception, followed by an empowerment. This was his first opportunity to meet with students. About five hundred people attended. Karmapa loved animals and expressed a wish to visit a zoo. So the next morning he was taken on an extensive tour of the famous Bronx Zoo. At lunchtime a great banquet was held in the Bronx Botanical Gardens, where 150 business people, local celebrities, priests, ministers and rabbis warmly welcomed Karmapa to the city. He was visibly touched by the gesture.[10]
See Jeff Blooms photos of the visit to New York:
https://photos.jeffbloom.net/a-personal-photographic-portrait-of-1970s-new-york-city/east-meets-west/
21 September
The evening of the following day brought the first major Buddhist event on American soil. Even though relatively few people had encountered Tibetan Buddhism at that time, nearly four thousand people came to the first Black Crown Ceremony in the West, held in New York’s Manhattan Center in the busiest part of the city. Trungpa’s disciples had worked tremendously hard to transform the bland and functional setting of a conference hall into a gorgeously arrayed environment suitable for the transmission of the Dharma. The guests were mainly young adults, half of them Buddhists and many who would subsequently become Buddhists. Karmapa included them all in his heart. Dr. Andrea Loseries-Leick recalls:
Once again Karmapa dedicated his full attention to each and every one, as if he or she were the only human on earth. He gave everybody what they needed, be it a smile or be it something else. That went on for hours, without him showing any signs of tiredness—in spite of the fact that the long journey had tired him.[11]
The day ended with a Karma Pakśi empowerment that Karmapa gave in the New York Dharmadhatu, as Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s centers were called at that time.
During his stay in New York, His Holiness met Buddhists, university professors, politicians and everyone else who wanted to see him and responded to the needs of all. His impact on people was so strong that even the members of his police escort asked for his blessing after they had completed their duty.
Karmapa received a huge gift during these first days of his visit in America. Saying, “Whatever Dharma activity you wish to achieve in the States—a temple or a center, we will make every effort to support you,” his hosts in Long Island, Dr. and Mrs. Shen, offered him a large piece of land sixty miles north of New York City. Even though in the end the center was not built there, this was the first step towards Karmapa’s American seat, Karma Triyana Dharmachakra (KTD).[12]
For more details about the visit in New York, see: Kevin Lyon’s account on: https://web.archive.org/web/20160220010228/http://radiofreeshambhala.org/2012/09/knower-of-the-three-times/
and interview with Achi Tsepal here.
Extract from Radiant Compassion, Volume 1.
© Gerd Bausch. You are welcome to pass on this link, but please ask for written permission before publishing the text or parts of it elsewhere.
Footnotes on the bottom of the page.
The following day Karmapa took a plane to New York. The welcoming party when he landed at John F. Kennedy Airport consisted mainly of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and his students. His Holiness was given a warm, traditional reception with khatas, incense and a lot of flowers. Having been welcomed in the custom of his own country, Karmapa responded in the style of his hosts with an “American style handshake.”[3] A VIP-lounge had been prepared, which even included a throne for him to give his first blessings in the new world. “He seemed very touched by the joyous welcome which was for some a happy reunion, and for others the moment when this legendary person we had heard about became flesh and blood,” remembers one of those present. “It was difficult not to get swept up in the festive moment and enthusiasm.”[4]
Trungpa Rinpoche, whose former incarnations had been connected with the Karmapas since the 5th Karmapa Deshin Shegpa, had not seen his master since 1968. It was a touching reunion. Trungpa, whose physical handicap normally did not allow him to do prostrations, could do nothing other than prostrate right in front of the Karmapa and “from that moment on, Rinpoche went into an energy state that we had never seen before.”[5] He was not afraid to cry in public, and he was not the only one. The others were also immediately transfixed by the Karmapa’s presence. “It was not necessary that he had to do something special for this. It was sufficient that he was simply present”, as a practitioner who assisted the events expressed it. Karmapa travelled with a Bhutanese diplomatic passport and the US had given him diplomatic status.[6] On the way to his accommodation he had a motorcade of NYC police flanking his convoy of cars. “The reception was just amazing, everything was very well organized and His Holiness was received like a head of state,” remembers translator Achi Tsepal. Even the small flags on his car’s wings were in place.
His Holiness stayed in New York at the Bodhi House in Port Jefferson on Long Island, where he was generously hosted by Dr. and Mrs. C. T. Shen , who were without doubt the greatest Buddhist benefactors in the US.[7] Away from the hectic city, these wealthy suburbs, with their villas in a park-like coastal setting, provided an ideal base for Karmapa’s activities during these first days in the West.
Dr. and Mrs. Shen, who hosted Karmapa at the request of Trungpa Rinpoche’s sangha, originally had not been especially interested in the Karmapa’s visit. On the eve of Gyalwa Karmapa’s arrival, according to Jigme Rinpoche, they did not even want to actually meet him. But then, the night before the arrival, Shen had a dream in which. The sun shone very strongly in his Bodhi House.
He considered this to be extraordinary”, Jigme Rinpoche remembers, “and decided to look through the house. When he came into his library, he found seven large footprints on the floor. He had a PhD in Buddhist philosophy and so he knew what his dream and the footprints meant and was really perplexed. They showed that a Buddha had come to North America, and so Dr. Shen decided to support Karmapa.”[8]
This miracle had impressed the Shens to such a degree that, as Sister Palmo said,
“They kept quiet about it and felt embarrassed talking about it. It was actually only in the hotel, where the goodbye ceremony took place, that they told His Holiness about the seven footsteps that had appeared. His Holiness was silent for a while and then he said: ‘Yes, in the time of Deshin Shegpa and the time of Karma Pakśi there are stories about the appearance of seven footsteps before the coming of the Karmapa’.”
When Karma Pakśi manifested this, it is said, he did so in order to prove that he was a great being, because the people who received him in China didn’t believe in his powers or that he was a Buddha. So as in the West people mainly believe what they see, the reason for manifesting the seven footsteps on the Bodhi House estate in Long island was to show in a material way that the person who was coming was not an ordinary person.[9]
Photo:
Welcome ceremony in the VIP lounge at J.F. Kennedy Airport, New York, 18 September 1974.
19 September
On the second day he visited Manhattan. On the way, his group stopped briefly at the Institute for the Advanced Studies of World Religions at Stony Brook University, which was headed by Dr. Shen and which houses a huge collection of Tibetan texts. A tour through the United Nations followed, ending with His Holiness performing a short pūjā in the U.N.’s inter-religious Church Center and giving blessings. In the afternoon they enjoyed the spectacular view from the Empire State Building.
20 September
Later Karmapa visted the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, where Trungpa’s sangha had rented a whole floor. There he gave a reception, followed by an empowerment. This was his first opportunity to meet with students. About five hundred people attended. Karmapa loved animals and expressed a wish to visit a zoo. So the next morning he was taken on an extensive tour of the famous Bronx Zoo. At lunchtime a great banquet was held in the Bronx Botanical Gardens, where 150 business people, local celebrities, priests, ministers and rabbis warmly welcomed Karmapa to the city. He was visibly touched by the gesture.[10]
See Jeff Blooms photos of the visit to New York:
https://photos.jeffbloom.net/a-personal-photographic-portrait-of-1970s-new-york-city/east-meets-west/
21 September
The evening of the following day brought the first major Buddhist event on American soil. Even though relatively few people had encountered Tibetan Buddhism at that time, nearly four thousand people came to the first Black Crown Ceremony in the West, held in New York’s Manhattan Center in the busiest part of the city. Trungpa’s disciples had worked tremendously hard to transform the bland and functional setting of a conference hall into a gorgeously arrayed environment suitable for the transmission of the Dharma. The guests were mainly young adults, half of them Buddhists and many who would subsequently become Buddhists. Karmapa included them all in his heart. Dr. Andrea Loseries-Leick recalls:
Once again Karmapa dedicated his full attention to each and every one, as if he or she were the only human on earth. He gave everybody what they needed, be it a smile or be it something else. That went on for hours, without him showing any signs of tiredness—in spite of the fact that the long journey had tired him.[11]
The day ended with a Karma Pakśi empowerment that Karmapa gave in the New York Dharmadhatu, as Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s centers were called at that time.
During his stay in New York, His Holiness met Buddhists, university professors, politicians and everyone else who wanted to see him and responded to the needs of all. His impact on people was so strong that even the members of his police escort asked for his blessing after they had completed their duty.
Karmapa received a huge gift during these first days of his visit in America. Saying, “Whatever Dharma activity you wish to achieve in the States—a temple or a center, we will make every effort to support you,” his hosts in Long Island, Dr. and Mrs. Shen, offered him a large piece of land sixty miles north of New York City. Even though in the end the center was not built there, this was the first step towards Karmapa’s American seat, Karma Triyana Dharmachakra (KTD).[12]
For more details about the visit in New York, see: Kevin Lyon’s account on: https://web.archive.org/web/20160220010228/http://radiofreeshambhala.org/2012/09/knower-of-the-three-times/
and interview with Achi Tsepal here.
Extract from Radiant Compassion, Volume 1.
© Gerd Bausch. You are welcome to pass on this link, but please ask for written permission before publishing the text or parts of it elsewhere.
Footnotes on the bottom of the page.
In the Bronx Zoo. Photo: Jeff Bloom.
Blessing at the Bodhi House. Photo: Jeff Bloom.
With Kalu Rinpoche, Trungpa Rinpoche, Dr C. T. Shen, and monks. Photo: Jeff Bloom.
The first Black Crown Ceremony in the West
Photo: Jeff Bloom.
Photo: Jeff Bloom.
New York Times, 22 September 1974. For the whole article, please click here.
[1] MacKenzie: The Revolutionary Life…, op. cit. p. 157.
[2] Translator Dr. Andrea Loseries-Leick joined the group in New York City.
[3] Chögyam Trungpa: Empowerment. The Visit of H.H. the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa to the United States, Vajradhatu Publications 1976, p. 28.
[4] Lyons, Kevin: Knower of the Three Times, http://radiofreeshambhala.org/2012/09/knower-of-the-three-times. Published with kind permission of the author.
[5] Hayward, Jeremy: Warrior King of Shambhala. Remembering Chögyam Trungpa, Wisdom Pubs. 2008, p. 113.
[6] It was almost a miracle in itself that his entourage had been allowed to cross the borders, as some of their papers consisted of no more than simple rice sheets.
[7] Dr. and Mrs. Shen had since the 1950s maintained a center in the Mahayana tradition. They had become extremely wealthy with a shipping company and helped Buddhists wherever they could. Dr. Shen was president of the American Buddhist Association. “Karmapa treated Dr. Shen as a brother” (Ole Nydahl). In the Bodhi House, where about fifty people could be hosted, regular Buddhist conferences and courses took place.
[8] Jigme Rinpoche: Der Guru Yoga auf Gyalwa Karmapa [Guru Yoga of the Gyalwa Karmapa], Buddhismus Heute Nr. 55, Summer 2015.
[9] Sister Palmo: The Life of the 16th Karmapa, op. cit.
[10] Kevin Lyons: Knower of the Three Times, op. cit.
[11] Interview with Dr. Andrea Loseries-Leick 2013.
[12] As the 250 acres in Putnam County were not suitable, the land was later sold and the money used to acquire the future site of KTD in Woodstock.
[2] Translator Dr. Andrea Loseries-Leick joined the group in New York City.
[3] Chögyam Trungpa: Empowerment. The Visit of H.H. the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa to the United States, Vajradhatu Publications 1976, p. 28.
[4] Lyons, Kevin: Knower of the Three Times, http://radiofreeshambhala.org/2012/09/knower-of-the-three-times. Published with kind permission of the author.
[5] Hayward, Jeremy: Warrior King of Shambhala. Remembering Chögyam Trungpa, Wisdom Pubs. 2008, p. 113.
[6] It was almost a miracle in itself that his entourage had been allowed to cross the borders, as some of their papers consisted of no more than simple rice sheets.
[7] Dr. and Mrs. Shen had since the 1950s maintained a center in the Mahayana tradition. They had become extremely wealthy with a shipping company and helped Buddhists wherever they could. Dr. Shen was president of the American Buddhist Association. “Karmapa treated Dr. Shen as a brother” (Ole Nydahl). In the Bodhi House, where about fifty people could be hosted, regular Buddhist conferences and courses took place.
[8] Jigme Rinpoche: Der Guru Yoga auf Gyalwa Karmapa [Guru Yoga of the Gyalwa Karmapa], Buddhismus Heute Nr. 55, Summer 2015.
[9] Sister Palmo: The Life of the 16th Karmapa, op. cit.
[10] Kevin Lyons: Knower of the Three Times, op. cit.
[11] Interview with Dr. Andrea Loseries-Leick 2013.
[12] As the 250 acres in Putnam County were not suitable, the land was later sold and the money used to acquire the future site of KTD in Woodstock.
