RADIANT COMPASSION: GLIMPSES OF THE LIFE OF THE 16TH GYALWA KARMAPA
  • Welcome
  • Short Biography of HH the 16th Karmapa
  • Words of His Holiness
    • Prophecies >
      • Prophecy 1944
    • Vajrasongs >
      • Spontaneous Vajrasong at the Ground Breaking Ceremony of the Shri Nalanda Shedra in Rumtek
      • Words of Advice >
        • Short Wisdom Quotes
    • Interview 1980
    • Long-life prayers by HH the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa
    • Western Visitor's Interview
    • Letter to European Disciples 1978
    • Words of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa: From Social Media, Part One
  • A book about HH the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa
    • Presentation of the book about HH the 16th Karmapa >
      • Interviews
      • background informations
  • Extracts from Radiant Compassion
    • Table of Contents
    • prefaces and introduction
    • From Volume One, Chapter One >
      • Enthronement in Tsurphu
      • Lama Tönsang about Tsurphu
      • Tireless Dharma activity despite escalating violence
      • Garchen
    • From Volume One, Chaper Two: Travel to Nepal, Bhutan and India >
      • Birth of a Buddha
      • Construction of the Rumtek Monastery
      • travels
      • Minor Obstacles Abroad
      • The First Western Students
      • The 16th Karmapa in the USA 1974
      • Visit to the Hopi Nation
      • extracts of volume two >
        • Vienna 1977
        • Laying of the Foundation Stone of the KIBI
        • HH the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa's Parinirvana
        • Birdstories
        • Steve Roth Supreme Lord of Compassion
        • The Black Crown of the Karmapas
        • Moments that Changed Entire Lives
        • Bardor Rinpoche
        • Peace!
  • Who's the Karmapa?
  • Texts about HH the 16th Karmapa
    • Sickness and Parirvana
    • Visit in Rumtek 1965
  • Videos
  • background
    • rumtek shedra >
      • additional information >
        • dates
        • risks
  • bibliography
  • mistakes and modifications
  • links
  • about the author
  • contact, disclaimer, copyright
  • Dana - Donations
  • Acknowledgements
  • Feedback and Reviews
  • Disclaimer
  • sitemap
    • original documents >
      • ranking
      • Letter to Practitiones in Scandinavia
  • Contact
  • additional interviews and accounts
  • Bookorders Volume One and Two
    • Prices
    • Volume Two
  • the latest posts
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Prefaces and passages of the introduction

Prefaces of HH the 41st Sakya Trizin, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and
Beru Khyentse Rinpoche
Please click here for the Table of Contents

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Preface of Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche
His Holiness the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa, Rigpe Dorje, through his sheer presence, was living proof that the Buddhadharma works. Tibetan intellectuals can be very critical, and some criticized the Sixteenth Karmapa for not being highly literate and well-versed in philosophical discourse and liturgical details. People can say what they wish, but no one can deny that when the 16th Karmapa appeared on the throne, he instantly transformed the environment and the people within.
I have been extremely fortunate to receive many teachings from the Sixteenth Karmapa, and even as a young boy to follow him when he circumambulated the Great Stupa at Boudhanath at 2:30 in the morning. He often circumambulated at that time because he was so busy during the day.
But only now am I beginning to appreciate that the Buddhist teachings need not be verbal or philosophical. In those early days I was too young to grasp that fully. Now I see that the simple presence of the 16th Karmapa, the Buddhas and the great masters, is enough to transmit the essence of the Buddhadharma. Many others who saw the 16th Karmapa share this view, including in the west, where in those days the Dharma was just beginning to be heard. Even the most intellectually stubborn academics and egomaniacs from different universities, without receiving any teachings, would feel something inside them change and open up when they saw His Holiness the Karmapa.
Khenpos, intellectuals, scholars, and people like me try to teach so much over so many years. Maybe all our logic and explanation will convince one person the very morning of a teaching, but even then whatever you learn is gone the moment you leave the classroom. Nothing remains. But if you walk into the presence of someone like H.H. Karmapa, he does something to you that will remain with you much longer than all our ‘verbal diarrhea’.
It is really the presence and being of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas that matters most. Because of who they are and how they exist they actually needn’t do much. Their mode of manifestation is living proof of the Dharma. This is particularly important at times like these when wrong views are so prevalent. Wrong views are very difficult, if not impossible, to defeat by logic alone. On the contrary, the better your logic, the more likely that you end up with a wrong view, something you become even sharper at promoting. The physical presence of someone like H.H. the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa is actually the best evidence of the right view, and gives us the greatest inspiration. Therefore, I’m very happy about this new book describing His Holiness’ life.

From the introduction
Head of one of the largest schools of Tibetan – or in modern terms Himalayan – Buddhism, the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa was completely free, approaching everybody and everything completely impartially. His actions were quite naturally steeped in deep compassion. For him enlightenment was not a theory; he manifested wisdom and compassion spontaneously in every single moment of his life. At the same time, he seemed to overcome all cultural barriers naturally and without any effort. Despite his upbringing in the completely traditional culture of a Tibet that was in many ways still medieval, during his travels he inspired people who had grown up in a totally different world. Whoever they were, be they hippies, senior politicians – such as a former Prime Minister of France – or others who had found their way to him ‘only by chance,’ they changed in the presence of the 16th Karmapa: People opened up and were spontaneously ‘infected’ by his boundless joy. Quite naturally he brought them into contact with their positive potential, and motivated them to act in a wholesome manner, both in terms of spirituality as well as in their dedication to helping others. He brought not the slightest moral pressure to bear on others – no feelings of guilt – and did not expect people to blindly adopt any Buddhist dogmas. Karmapa touched people of all religions and spiritual traditions who were interested in spiritual transformation, even those who emphatically refused everything religious. Individuals lucky enough to meet or to see him – even in the presence of thousands of spectators – felt spontaneously accepted, their neuroses as well as their good qualities.
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  • Welcome
  • Short Biography of HH the 16th Karmapa
  • Words of His Holiness
    • Prophecies >
      • Prophecy 1944
    • Vajrasongs >
      • Spontaneous Vajrasong at the Ground Breaking Ceremony of the Shri Nalanda Shedra in Rumtek
      • Words of Advice >
        • Short Wisdom Quotes
    • Interview 1980
    • Long-life prayers by HH the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa
    • Western Visitor's Interview
    • Letter to European Disciples 1978
    • Words of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa: From Social Media, Part One
  • A book about HH the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa
    • Presentation of the book about HH the 16th Karmapa >
      • Interviews
      • background informations
  • Extracts from Radiant Compassion
    • Table of Contents
    • prefaces and introduction
    • From Volume One, Chapter One >
      • Enthronement in Tsurphu
      • Lama Tönsang about Tsurphu
      • Tireless Dharma activity despite escalating violence
      • Garchen
    • From Volume One, Chaper Two: Travel to Nepal, Bhutan and India >
      • Birth of a Buddha
      • Construction of the Rumtek Monastery
      • travels
      • Minor Obstacles Abroad
      • The First Western Students
      • The 16th Karmapa in the USA 1974
      • Visit to the Hopi Nation
      • extracts of volume two >
        • Vienna 1977
        • Laying of the Foundation Stone of the KIBI
        • HH the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa's Parinirvana
        • Birdstories
        • Steve Roth Supreme Lord of Compassion
        • The Black Crown of the Karmapas
        • Moments that Changed Entire Lives
        • Bardor Rinpoche
        • Peace!
  • Who's the Karmapa?
  • Texts about HH the 16th Karmapa
    • Sickness and Parirvana
    • Visit in Rumtek 1965
  • Videos
  • background
    • rumtek shedra >
      • additional information >
        • dates
        • risks
  • bibliography
  • mistakes and modifications
  • links
  • about the author
  • contact, disclaimer, copyright
  • Dana - Donations
  • Acknowledgements
  • Feedback and Reviews
  • Disclaimer
  • sitemap
    • original documents >
      • ranking
      • Letter to Practitiones in Scandinavia
  • Contact
  • additional interviews and accounts
  • Bookorders Volume One and Two
    • Prices
    • Volume Two
  • the latest posts